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Buffalo
players mob coach Michael Watts after winning the OIF2 Cup game in
Brinkhaven.
WINGS SOAR TO
TITLE
BRINKHAVEN, OH - (October 31, 2008)
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The Buffalo Wings had one goal this season: win the OIF2 championship. On
Sunday night, they did just that- and they aren't done just yet.
Backed by a 4 touchdown performance from WRDB Alex Emmons and 2
interceptions by DS Ivan Wynne, the Wings defeated the Eugene Knights by a
score of 52-38 at the Bombing Square in Brinkhaven, Ohio. The game easily
featured the best two OIF2 teams of the 2008 season; the teams combined
for a 17-3 regular season record and each won the regular season
championship of their conference.
With the victory, the Wings received an invitation to join the OIFL
starting in 2009. Futhermore, the Wings will compete in the 2008 OIFL
Invitational Tournament. The OIT is a OIFL postseason tournament featuring
11 OIFL teams and the OIF2 champion. The Wings will be the 12 seed in the
tournament, which is slated to begin in late November.
In what will be the Wings' final game in the OIF2, the Buffalo defense was
absolutely stifling against the OIF2 team with the 2nd best offense in the
league. Knights all-star RBLB Andrew Fox Jr. was unable to get anything
going all night, and he finished with only 62 yards and a TD. "Our rushing
defense was spectacular this evening, I'm so proud of our guys," said
Wings head coach Michael Watts. "Listen, Andrew Fox is the best RB in the
OIF2, and we won because we shut him down. Man, what a great job by our
defense, they sure as hell stepped up big tonight." The Wings passing
defense also played a big role in the victory, as the defensive backfield
combined for 3 interceptions, 2 of them returned for touchdowns.
On offense, the Wings got things done through the air. The Knights kept QB
Spencer Morrow under pressure all night, and DL Christian Osbourne
recorded an impressive 4 sacks. However, Morrow found just enough time to
get off most of his throws. Alex Emmons hauled in 3 receiving touchdowns
and Tarvaris Holmes chipped in with 1 touchdown. RB Brian Cameron had
trouble against the stout defensive line of Eugene, but did manage to
score 1 rushing touchdown. "Wooohhh! OIF2 champions baby! Man, I can't
believe we did it! What a game, what a season, what a team!" said an
obviously excited WRLB Benjamin Slynt.
The Wings held a championship parade in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday. Fans
far and wide came downtown to congratulate the Wings roster and coaching
staff on a job well done. The Wings accounted for Buffalo's second
championship of 2008. The first was won by the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse
team, who captured the NLL championship back in May.
Team owner Adam Tupitza was very excited about the championship victory,
and he offered some insight into what's next for his franchise. "Well,
we're obviously going to relish this championship win for the time being.
Once the excitement has worn off at least slightly, we as an organization
are going to hold a closed door meeting in which we'll discuss what going
to the OIFL means for this team. Obviously, the jump from league to league
is significant and there are numerous things we need to do to make that
jump go as smoothly as possible."
The Wings players will take some much deserved time off before returning
to practice in preparation for the OIT. Ticket information for the OIT as
well as the 2009 OIFL season will be available on the Wings website around
mid-November. The Wings would like to extend a special thank you to all
Wings fans, both for packing the HSBC Arena every game this season as well
as loyally supporting the team all year.
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PHANTOMS ON THE MOVE
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - (October 29, 2008) -
The Cedar Valley Phantoms are pleased to announce that their new arena now
has a Corporate sponsor and name. The General Mills Center will be the new
home of the Cedar Valley Phantoms in 2009, and as it's name says it will
be paid for by a large donation from the General Mills company.
A spokesman from General Mills gave us this statement; "We have a large
stronghold in the Cedar Rapids Community and we wanted to make sure that
we had our name out there as a major sponsor of the Phantoms organization
and thier efforts to attain a championship. We approached Matt (Patten)
with the possibility of fully funding the Arena and he was more than happy
to take the financial Investment."
In an attempt to use the Cereal brands produced by General Mills the
Phantoms have have also announced that they will have a Children's play
area Named Lucky Chamrs Land. This Children's area will feature General
Mills Cereal Characters such as Lucky the Leprachaun, and The Cheerios
Bee, as well as an inflatable bouincing room and soft children's play
equipment.
The Arena will also feature two suites, the Patten and Newgard suites
named for the last name of Cedar Valley Owner and General Manager Matt
Patten and his Fiance and Director of Game Day Operations, Bonnie Newgard.
Going along with the family theme the Playing Surface used by the Phantoms
will be Donald N. Eades field, named after the late grandfather of Mr.
Patten. The General Mills Center logo will be released by the Phantoms
later this week via their team website.
The General Mills Center is set to be ready for the 2009 OIF2 season and
is set to seat an estimated 18,000 plus.
To Find out more information about the new and improved Cedar Valley
Phantoms visit their website at
http://cedarvalleyphantoms.webs.com/
CONSPIRACY END YEAR
WITH FAN FEST
WASHINGTON, DC - (October 23, 2008) -
The Conspiracy
suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Buffalo Wings last Sunday 41-27,
but rather than look at the season as having ended on a sour note they
decided to celebrate the season's many successes. It was with this in mind
that the Conspiracy held their end of the season celebration that had
historic implications.
The center-piece of the celebration was a football game played between
club football teams from George Mason University and Radford University.
The game was a first in football history, as it was the first arena-style
football game held between two teams playing at the college level. George
Mason won the game 69-57 in an offensive shootout. For winning all of the
members of the GMU football team were given season tickets for the 2009
season. Though there is the possibility that one or two may get more than
that. The Conspiracy along with scouts from various other teams were
reported to be in attendance.
Following the game, the fans got to witness the Conspiracy Team Awards
Ceremony where awards were presented for numerous categories. With the
exception of the Fan's Player of the Year, the awards were voted for by
the team following the loss on Sunday. The Fan's PotY Award was voted on
via text message voting among the estimated 8,000 fans who turned out for
the celebration Monday night, and went to All-Star WR/DB Anthony
Satterfield. Satterfield had a good showing at the ceremony, also
gathering in the Ironman Award and Loan of the Year Award. OL/DL Brady
Downing received the Defensive Player of the Year Award, and RB/LB Adrian
Anarcho was given the Offensive Player of the Year and Most Improved
Player awards. The Specialist of the Year Award went to DS Tom Gilliam,
while Team MVP went to QB Jacob Strong.
While individual game tickets will not go on sale until a schedule is
announced, fans can renew their season tickets starting Friday. Season
Ticket reservations will be available to the general public starting on
November 1st. Stay tuned to the Conspiracy website for more upcoming
information leading up until the 2009 season kicks off next Summer. Fans
should know there is a possibility the Conspiracy will be granted an
invitation to join the OIFL should enough teams leave the league to open
up three spots. Owner Adam Beyer has stated he would move the team up in a
heart beat if given the opportunity.
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2008 OIF2 CHAMPIONS - BUFFALO WINGS