BLOOMINGTON - Facing at least a four-week layoff between games, Quince Holman burst into the boisterous Bloomington Extreme locker room armed with a grin and a quip. | MyPantagraph: Extreme Fans Group

"I'm going to Disneyland," the Extreme's defensive lineman said after Saturday night's regular-season finale, a resounding 50-12 win over Maryland at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Holman was joking, but he and his teammates will be getting a "vacation" of sorts before beginning preparations for their still-undetermined Indoor Football League playoff opener on July 18 or July 25.

Bloomington (10-4) is locked in a virtual tie with Omaha (9-3) for first place in the Central Division. The Central champion will receive a first-round bye before hosting the division championship on July 25.

With that crazy scheduling scenario in mind, Extreme coach Kenton Carr has given his team the next two weeks off before returning to practice on July 8.

"We didn't see another way to do it," Carr said on Tuesday. "You can't keep the guys around here that long because they're not making any money on the weekends. A lot of the guys are going to go home to their families.

"It's hard to keep that focus for four weeks when they're not doing a whole lot. We just thought it was the best thing to do right now. Then we'll bring them back in two weeks and get them focused."

The layoff couldn't come at a more inopportune time for the streaking Extreme, which ended the regular season with a five-game winning streak.

"Having as many weeks off as we do, it's kind of concerning because you hate to be rusty," said Extreme quarterback Dusty Burk, who will have ample time to rest his slightly separated right (throwing) shoulder.

"We'd like to have all the momentum from our last five wins going into the playoffs and keep riding that high. But guys will be able to heal up and it will give us a chance to be fresh. No one will be any fresher than us."

Extreme kicker Peter Christofilakos also found a bright side to the layoff.

"It is a long time off, but I think it could be good, too," Christofilakos said. "It's a rest for everybody mentally and physically. The only bad thing is we we're hitting a hot streak here.

"I think we have it down to where everybody is on the same page and everybody knows what they need to do. I think we have a good group. Everybody is pretty intent on winning (the IFL title) so I think they're going to do everything they can to stay sharp and focused."

Carr said the team will have a couple of practices and a controlled scrimmage when they first return.

"We'll try to stay sharp and get some of the rust out when they get back," Carr said. "These guys have to work out on their own and stay in shape. They know what's out there in front of them."

Bloomington or Omaha?: The Beef can win the Central title outright if its beats last-place Sioux City (3-8) and Pacific Division powerhouse Billings (12-1) in its remaining two regular-season games.

Since the Extreme and Beef didn't play each other, a season-long point differential will be used to break a tie for first place. Bloomington holds a whopping 216-37 edge over the Beef under the tiebreaking formula of points scored minus points allowed.