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| Sports ExtraThursday, March 27, 2008 10:26 PM CDT |
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Extreme notes: First victory was badly needed
Kenton Carr didn’t disguise his excitement over the Bloomington Extreme’s first victory last Saturday. | Extreme page “Very important,” the first-year coach said of his team’s 58-39 win over Wichita. “We had two tough losses there. We needed that one bad.” The Extreme let two potential victories slip out of its hands the first two weeks of the season. The disappointment soon filtered throughout the team. “The mood was one of those things where you knew you should’ve won but you felt like you defeated yourself,” defensive back James Temple said. “That’s the way we felt.” A victory eased the pain. The Extreme put together a solid offensive performance as it accumulated 298 yards of total offense. Even more impressive was the defense. After allowing at least 110 years rushing in its first two games, Bloomington limited the Wild to 65 yards on the ground. “The first two games, we just weren’t real confident,” Temple said. The Extreme held Wichita to a 3.2 yards-per-carry average last week, down from 4.8 the previous two weeks. Even though the Extreme showed improvement in the run defense, the team believes its opponents will continue to run the ball. “Teams are still going to try and run on us because they saw weaknesses,” Temple said. “We’re going to make the plays. It starts up front with the defensive line.” The line believes it begins with pressure. “We need to get to that quarterback … otherwise we’re going to be in trouble,” defensive end Quince Holman said. “The more we can get that quarterback on the ground, the better.” Finally a turnover, but … The Extreme went its first two games of the season without forcing a turnover. That changed last week. Bloomington intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble, which led to 14 points. “Huge,” Carr said of causing a turnover. “We were talking about that every day in practice.” Forcing turnovers and creating points alleviates the pressure put on the offense. “We feed off that and it gives us a chance to add to a lead rather than just try and sustain one,” quarterback Dusty Burk said. “Anytime the defense is scoring points, it makes our job a little easier.” Still, Bloomington must find a way to control the ball. Through three games, the Extreme is minus-one in turnover differential. Temple said turnover margin is a “key part of the game.” “Turnovers are real critical,” he said. “It’s just real critical that we, as a defense, step up and get more turnovers for the offense. We’re going to keep pushing it and keep the game coming to us. We just got to play football.” Despite the turnovers numbers, a sense of relief came over the team after forcing a turnover. “It was like a stepping stone,” Holman said. “We know we’re capable now. There won’t be any more steps backward. We know what we’re capable of. We can only get better from this.” Carr believes getting that first turnover will bring the team together. “It takes one turnover to ignite a spark,” he said. “Offense and defense feed off each other. We really needed those turnovers.” Extreme measures Extreme receivers James Walton and Derin Graham are Nos. 1-2 in the UIF in receiving yards at 323 and 195 yards, respectively. Still, Bloomington may have found a nice compliment to the duo. Running back Andre Raymond, a rookie from Western Illinois, is eighth in the league in receiving at 126 yards on 12 catches. “He’s a great asset,” Carr said. “He’s a threat. We got to get the ball in Andre’s hands. We want to try to get the ball to him as much as possible.” … Friday’s contest against Colorado will be the Extreme’s final home game until April 19 when it faces Omaha at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. “We want to get better each game,” Carr said. “Things we needed to work on this week we hope we improve in. We got to have a win to have confidence going on the road.” … Bloomington is currently third in the UIF in scoring offense at 45.7 points per game, but its defense allows the third-most points at 45.3. “I’m well aware of that,” Carr said. “I think we’re correcting that. Now is the time for the defense to start rolling. Once the defense starts rolling, you’re going to see a different ballclub.” … Holman set a Coliseum record with three sacks in last Saturday’s 59-38 win over Wichita. The previous record was 2{. “It was just fun,” Holman said. … Bloomington’s next four opponents — Colorado, Wichita, RiverCity and Omaha — have a combined record of 3-7. “I don’t necessarily believe in records in this league,” Carr said. “Every game is important in this league. We got to take it as an opportunity to get better each and every game.” UIF standingsEAST Team...W...L...PCT...PF...PA RiverCity ...3...0...1.000...104 78 Sioux City...1...1...1.000...69...95 Bloomington...1...2....333...141...140 Wichita...0...3....000...86...116 WEST Sioux Falls...2...0...1.000...98...61 Billings...2...0...1.000...142...75 Omaha...1...2....333...107...151 Colorado...0...2....000...59...90 Friday’s games Colorado at Bloomington, 7:05 p.m. Billings at Sioux City Saturday’s game Sioux Falls at Omaha Extreme leadersPoints 1. James Walton...48 2. Peter Christofilakos...29 3. Derin Graham...18 Passing Yards 1. Dusty Burk...674 2. Freddie Ray...39 Rushing 1. Dusty Burk...76 Receiving 1. James Walton...323 2. Derin Graham...195 3. Andre Raymond...126 Kick returns...No....Avg. 1. Mar Washington...9...15.7 2. Derin Graham...4...15.5 3. Andre Raymond...6...15.3 UIF leadersPoints 1. James Walton, Blo...48 2. Derek Kutz, Riv...29 2. Peter Christofilakos, Blo...29 Passing 1. Dusty Burk, Blo...674 2. Chris Dixon, Bil...570 Rushing 1. James McNear...138 2. Cliff Edwards, Wit...132 Receiving 1. James Walton, Blo...323 2. Derin Graham, Blo...195 Kick returns...No....Avg. 1. Cartez Brown, Wit...2...35.5 2. George Hill, Col...4...25.5 Field goals...FG-FGA...Pct. 1. Jeffery Hastings, Bil...1-2....500 1. Derek Kutz, Riv...8-16....500 1. Adam Hicks, SFS...5-10....500 This week with the ExtremeExtreme vs. Ice When: 7:05 p.m. Friday Where: U.S. Cellular Coliseum Radio: WJBC-AM (1230) FYI: Colorado (0-2) lost its only game against the Extreme, a 40-15 loss in Bloomington last June 23. The Ice has a total of eight touchdowns this season. 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