ABILENE RIDING HIGH

LAKE CHARLES, LA – The Abilene Ruff Riders held a press conference today at the Abilene Regional Airport to announce their new affiliation with the Southern Indoor Football League.

After much deliberation, the Ruff Riders chose to join the SIFL for the upcoming 2011 season. “We share the same vision as the SIFL and look forward to entertaining fans for years to come”, said owner Scott Anderson. It’s all about offering affordable family entertainment to our fans. We like the SIFL’s modest business model and believe the best is yet to come, Anderson said.

General Manager Brett Quigley stated, “I believe our fans will enjoy this style of play even more as it’s closer to the actual arena game - fast paced and high scoring. One of my focuses this season will be to help develop rivalries with teams close to home”.

Season Tickets are now on sale starting at just $126 and can be purchased by calling 325-677-PASS (7277) or through the team’s website at www.abileneruffriders.com.

Southern Indoor Football League

900 Lakeshore Drive, Suite C

Lake Charles, LA 70601

866-898-7435

www.southernifl.com

CORPUS CHRISTI — Close again but still short again.

The Abilene Ruff Riders lost their fifth game by three or fewer points Sunday, as the Corpus Christi Hammerheads overcame a sluggish start and then held on to defeat the Riders 49-46 at American Bank Center.

Redford Borel led the Hammerheads with 49-yards rushing and three touchdowns while Wes Cooper completed a workmanlike 8-of-12 passes for 52 yards and another score for Corpus Christi.

The victory improved the Hammerheads’ chances to gain a playoff spot. Corpus is 6-6 and plays at home next week against 8-4 San Angelo. The Stampede-Express already has nailed down an Indoor Football League playoff berth.

Abilene fell to 2-11 and 0-6 in road games this year. Eight of the Riders losses have been 11 or fewer points, including a pair of three-point losses to the West Texas Roughnecks, which is host to Abilene on Saturday.

While the Riders have made a bad habit of giving up leads, they scored two touchdowns after falling behind 49-33 with just over five minutes to play. Robert Kent, who was 12-of-36 for 101 yards, passed 3 yards to Fred Howze for one score and went back to Howze for nine yards, with Omar Moreno taking on the extra point.

The Hammerheads were able to protect their 49-46 lead for the win.

Abilene got on the board first when the Riders’ Nate Jackson recovered a fumble in the Corpus end zone on the Hammerheads’ first snap from scrimmage.

On its next possession, Corpus Christi again coughed up the ball on its first snap but the Riders were unable to cash in and build on its lead.

Later in the first quarter, after stopping the Hammerheads, Abilene started from its 2 yard line and drove downfield, with Kent scoring on the final play of the quarter for a 13-0 lead after Moreno’s kick.

Abilene’s seasonlong scoreless quarter woes continued. The Riders failed to put points on the board in the second quarter while two fumbles set up CC scores. Redford Borel ran for a score and then recovered a fumble that set up Wesley Cooper’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Julius Eppinger. Stephen Moreno’s kick after the second TD tied the game 13-13 at halftime.

Corpus scored the first two touchdowns of the third quarter — both set up by Abilene turnovers — on touchdown runs to open a 27-13 lead but Abilene came back.

Ivory McCann ran back the kickoff 45 yards to end Corpus Christi’s 27-point run but the Hammerheads answered with Cooper’s 1-yard run at the end of the third quarter.

Abilene outscored Corpus Christi 26-15 in the fourth quarter but the Hammerheads always held at least a one-score lead.

In the fourth, Abilene again narrowed the gap, this time on a 16-yard scoring strike from Kent to former Hardin-Simmons baseball player LeJuan Edwards, making the score 34-27 with 10:13 left in the game.

Jason Lee gave Corpus Christi good field position, returning the ensuing kick to midfield. Two plays later, Borel scored from 12 yards out and Fillmore carried the ball in on the two-point conversion giving Corpus Christi a 42-27 margin.

Abilene answered with a 4-yard run by Kent but Corpus Christi responded with Eppinger’s 27-yard run out with 5:48 left in the game to make the score 49-33.

The Hammerheads hung on to win their fifth straight game at home.

Abilene had 186 total yards to 151 for Corpus Christi. Trae Ivory rushed for 54 yards and Kent 38 for the Riders, who had 102 rushing yards.

The Riders were hurt by five turnovers and 90 penalty yards.

This wasn’t the last impression Abilene Ruff Riders coach Rodney Blackshear wanted to leave on the home folks — a 56-22 shellacking at the hands of the Amarillo Venom on Saturday in the Riders’ home finale at Taylor County Coliseum.

Never mind that the Riders were without receivers Ivory McCann and Robert Gill. McCann couldn’t play after being ejected from a game the week before, and Gill was at a United Football League tryout.

Still, Blackshear couldn’t fathom such a lopsided loss.

“We didn’t practice like we wanted to win this week,” he said. “I can’t blame it on guys not being here. The bottom line is this guys are professional athletes under contract who need to find the way to make plays.”

The Venom (10-1), who already had nailed down the Lone Star West Division title, went into the game averaging 51.6 points per game — fourth-best in the Indoor Football League — and continued the hot hand on offense. But the defense was superb, forcing two fumbles and amassing seven sacks.

Still, Amarillo coach Josh Lyles saw room for improvement with three regular-season games remaining before the playoffs.

“I was happy with how we played in all three aspects of the game,” he said. “But there is room for improvement. We definitely have our holes. You can’t see it based on the score, but we definitely have things to fix.”

The Riders (2-10), meanwhile, must salvage the season with two road games, beginning Saturday in Corpus Christi.

“Protection was a problem,” Blackshear said of the seven sacks. “That hasn’t been a problem all year. The receivers didn’t make certain plays they have to make. As a coach, I have to put the best team on the field that I can find. When called on to make the plays, they have to make the plays. That didn’t happen tonight.”

Not often enough.

The Riders took the opening kickoff and drove 47 yards on 11 plays. Quarterback Robert Kent capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. However, the PAT attempt by Oscar Moreno was blocked, and Tarleton State graduate Ray Gates caught the ball at the goal line and returned it 50 yards for a two-point score.

The Venom needed only four plays to get in the end zone on their first possession. Alex Watson scored from two yards out.

It was all Amarillo from there on out. Julian Reese threw for a pair of touchdown and ran for two more. He completed 7-of-15 passes for 105 yards on the night — five of those passes, including a 19-yard touchdown, were to Ricardo Lenhart for 91 yards. Don’Trell Moore also ran for touchdowns of 10, 38 and 1 yards. He finished with 93 yards on mome carries.

The Riders, down 43-9 going into the fourth quarter, got touchdown passes of 5 and 28 yards from Fred Howze in the final quarter. Both were from Kent, who completed 22-of-38 passes for a season-best 196 yards.

Cory White had 10 catches for 75 yards, and Howze had nine for 76 yards.

The Venom outscored Abilene 58-50 in the first game between the team in Amarillo.

Amarillo 56, Abilene 22

Amarillo 9 13 21 14—56

Abilene 6 3 0 13—22

1st Quarter

ABI — Robert Kent 2 run (kick blocked), 7:37

AMA — Ray Gates 50 blocked PAT return, 7:12

AMA — Alex Watson 2 run (Darren McCaleb kick), 4:19

2nd Quarter

AM — Watson 3 pass from Julian Reese (kick failed), 6:13

AMA — Reese 2 run (McCaleb kick), :49

ABI — Omar Moreno 34 FG, :00

3rd Quarter

AMA — Don’Trell Moore 10 run (McCaleb kick), 14:05

AMA — Reese 1 run (McCaleb kick), 9:37

AMA — Ricardo Lenhart 19 pass from Reese (McCaleb kick), 3:48

4th Quarter

ABI — Fred Howze 5 pass from Kent (Moreno kick), 14:42

AMA — Moore 38 run (McCaleb kick), 14:00

AMA — Moore 1 run (kick failed), 11:01

ABI — Howze 28 pass from Kent (kick failed), 1:26

MIDLAND, TX. : Nine games have passed since the Roughnecks & Ruff Riders faced each other back in week one of the regular season. Things have certainly changed for both organizations since their first meeting as the Roughnecks stand at 3-7 sitting a half-game back of the final playoff spot in the Intense Conference. Following an 0-5 start, the Ruff Riders made a change at the Head Coaching position by releasing Gerald Dockery and bringing in Rodney Blackshear. Blackshear has led the Ruff Riders to a 2-3 record since taking over as Head Coach. This game marks the second of three meetings between both clubs and it is the final road game of the 2010 regular season for the Roughnecks.

The Roughnecks are coming off a 41-29 loss to the Arkansas Diamonds back on May 15. The Roughnecks came back from being down 24-6 to the Diamonds to make a 27-23 ball game. The Roughnecks had a chance to complete the come-from-behind win but the offense was unable to convert a fourth down and three situation in the fourth quarter, which eventually sealed the win for the Diamonds. The Roughnecks have three of their final four games of the regular season at home and each game is becoming a make or break situation. The Roughnecks will look to use the passing attack against the Ruff Riders defense and attempt to utilize the rushing game inside the red-zone. QB Tommy Jones has thrown for nearly 1,700 yards this season and he has done so by spreading the ball around to his targets in Ryan Bugg, Steve Bergeski and Josh Floyd. Floyd has posted 17 receptions for 244 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games. The Roughnecks will additionally have center Dustin Washburn back on the offensive line to help the offensive unit.

The Ruff Riders are coming off a 47-20 win over the Austin Turfcats back on May 15. The Ruff Riders defense was able to produce four turnovers as the offensive unit posted 263 total yards with 51 yards coming on the ground from RB Carlos Alsup. The Ruff Riders have had several changes at the quarterback position over the course of the season, recently, Robert Kent has been productive from the position and look for him to use short-yardage passing schemes against the Roughnecks defense on Saturday.

Abilene will be looking to avenge a 36-33 loss to the Roughnecks in their previous meeting back on March 6. In that game, Roughnecks LB Johnny Anderson blocked a late Abilene field goal attempt as Eric Henri recovered the loose ball in the end-zone for the go-ahead score. Tommy Jones was intercepted four times in that game and the Roughnecks had issues with the snap transitions. The Ruff Riders will look to blitz and pressure Jones throughout the course of the ball game and DB Darvin Peterson will be a factor in the secondary against the strong Roughnecks passing attack.

The Roughnecks defense has been playing solid and the defensive line has been the key with Jermaine Blakely & James Vess up front. The defensive line will be the key to containing the Ruff Riders running game. Look for the Roughnecks to switch Eric Henri around at linebacker as the Roughnecks added former Georgia rover back Antonio Sims this week to bring depth to the secondary. This game could be decided based upon the turnover battle and the efficiency of the Roughnecks passing game, but the play of both defensive units will set the tone of this rivalry match-up.

Game Time / Location: 7:00 p.m. Kickoff - Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene, TX

Broadcast: 95.1 BOB FM (6:40 start)

Online: BOB FM - www.boblivesintexas.com / B2 Networks - www.b2livetv.com

Next Week: West Texas Roughnecks vs. Corpus Christi Hammerheads (Saturday, May 29, 2010) - Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, TX

Abilene Ruff Riders vs. Amarillo Venom (Saturday, May 29, 2010) - Taylor County Expo Center, Abilene, TX

Ruff Riders 37, Stampede Express 46

Abilene 13 12 6 7 37

Stampede 7 13 10 16 46

1st Quarter

ABI — Cory White 42 pass from Robert Kent (Derek Hughes kick), 10:45

ABI — Trae Ivory 3 run (kick failed), 3:12

SAN — Mike Malone 3 run (Tommy Staples kick), 0:25

2nd Quarter

ABI — Kent 4 run (pass failed), 10:54

DAN — Chris McKinney 3 pass from Dustin Almond (Staples kick), 6:36

ABI — Kent 2 yard run (kick blocked), 0:39

SAN — Derrick Ross 4 run (kick failed), 0:21

3rd Quarter

ABI — Ivory 12 run (pass failed), 15:52

SAN — Staples 34 FG, 8:43

SAN — Ross 13 run (Staples kick), 1:17

4Q

ABI — Fred Howze 7 pass from Kent (pass failed), 12:39

SAN — Malone 3 yard pass from Almond (Staples kick), 7:32

SAN — Safety, 7:26

SAN — Jeremiah Turner 12 fumble return (Staples kick), 0:59

Abilene San Angelo

First Downs 11 11

Rushes-Yards 19-54 23-104

Passing 75 153

Comp-Att-Int 12-26-1 11-26-0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-3

Penalties-Yards 11-57 17-122

Riders give unbeaten Venom a run before losing, 58-50

AMARILLO — The Amarillo Venom stayed upbeaten but it wasn’t easy as the Abilene Ruff Riders hit 50 points for only the second time in 23 games in a 58-50 loss Saturday night at Cal Farley Coliseum.

The Ruff Riders lost their fourth road game of the season to slip to 1-7 overall. Amarillo is 7-0 and leads the Lone Star West Division.

In his second start, Robert Kent threw for 165 yards and five touchdowns against three interceptions. He went 4 yards to Fred Howze with 29 seconds to play for a score, then for two points to make it an eight-point game.

The Riders were unable to score again to miss the upset.

It was a game of alternating quarters of offense as the teams combined for 44 points in both the second and fourth periods but totaled 20 points the other two quarters.

Veteran Amarillo quarterback Julian Reese was 13-of-23 for 122 yards. He threw just one touchdown pass — that on his team’s first possession — but ran four times for scores.

A key blow to the Ruff Riders came when the Venom scored with six seconds left in the first half on a 1-yard keeper by Reese to erase a 27-24 Abilene lead.

Amarillo then scored the only TD of the third quarter to go up 37-27 to leave Abilene scrambling from behind in the final period.

A 48-yard kickoff return by former West Texas A&M standout Cashmin Thomas boosted Amarillo in furious fourth quarter finish that saw four TDs scored in final 1:23.

Down 51-34, Abilene got a 45-yard TD strike from Kent to Howze and two-point conversion to get back in the game with 1:12 to go. But Reese’s final rushing touchdown gave his team an insurmountable 16-point lead.

Abilene outgained Amarillo 252-189 in total yards and rushed for a season-best 98 yards, with Trae Ivory getting 63 on seven carries and a score.

Robert Gill had five catches for 56 yards and TD while Cory White had four catches, three going for scores.

Venom 58, Ruff Riders 50

Abilene 7 20 0 23—50

Amarillo 7 24 6 21—58

1st quarter

AM — Anthony Clark 5 pass from Julian Reese (Darren McCaleb kick), 11:02

ABI — Cory White 26 pass from Robert Kent (Nich Pertuit kick), 1:12

2nd quarter

AM — McCaleb 24 FG, 12:40

ABI — Trae Ivory 40 run (kick failed), 11:45

AM — Reese 3 run (McCaleb kick), 8:43

ABI — Robert Gill 22 pass from Kent (Pertuit kick), 8:20

AM — Alex Watson 1 run (McCaleb kick), 4:16

ABI — White 39 pass from Kent (Pertuit kick), 0:24

AM — Reese 1 run (McCaleb kick), 0:06

3rd quarter

AM — Reese 7 run (kick failed), 4:59

4th quarter

ABI — Gill 3 run (Nich Pertuit kick) 9:14

AM — Cashmin Thomas 48 kickoff return (McCaleb kick), 8:31

AM — Ron Edwards 48 run (McCaleb kick), 1:23

ABI — White 45 pass from Kent (Fred Howze pass from Kent), 1:12

AM — Reese 7 run (McCaleb kick), 1:08

ABI — Howze 4 pass from Kent (Howze pass from Kent), 0:29

A — 2,826

Abilene Amarillo

First downs 14 17

Rushes-yards 16-98 25-75

Passing 154 114

Total yards 252 189

Comp-Att-Int 13-29-3 13-23-1

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-64 6-51

Sacks-Yard lost 2-8 4-11

A Ruff End to a Exciting Game

“Can’t blame the defense,” Abilene coach Rodney Blackshear said. “Obviously, our offense is still a work in progress. We dropped too many balls. Their pass rush, to be honest, was the difference in the game. I knew it would be. At the same time, our pass rush was good, too. We just have to correct some protection problems and get better as a team.”

The Ruff Riders (1-6), who scored a season-high points in a 48-31 victory over Corpus Christi in Blackshear’s debut last week, had a chance to ice their second-straight win when Nich Pertuit tried a 36-yard field goal with less than a minute to play. But Pertuit’s kick missed the mark, and the Diamonds got the ball at their own 5 with 36 seconds left.

Jones answered quickly, throwing a 40-yard pass to Ricardo Lenhart down to the Abilene 5. After losing two yards on a keeper, Jones scrambled on a second-and-goal play and ambled into the end zone.

The Riders had a chance to send the game into overtime but Pertuit missed a 47-yard field goal as time expired.

The loss spoiled the debut of Robert Kent, a former Jackson State quarterback who Abilene signed earlier in the week. Kent got the start over Bart Gloyd. After throwing two interceptions on Abilene’s first two possessions, Kent threw two touchdowns passes, both to Robert Gill.

He engineered two drives to start the second half that produced touchdowns, giving the Riders a 23-12 lead.

“He knows my offense,” Blackshear said. “He made a bunch of throws, and guys dropped some balls when we needed the catches.”

Blackshear said he made the decision to start Kent, since he played two seasons for Blackshear with Lubbock in the af2.

The Abilene defense provided an early spark when it sacked Jones in the end zone on the game’s opening drive.

The Riders had three sacks for a loss of 24 yards on that opening drive — the last when Jones was called for intentional grounding in the end zone under heavy pressure.

The Riders had a chance to jump on the Diamonds quickly, too, when they started the ensuing drive after the free kick at the Arkansas 10. But on fourth-and-goal from the 4, Kenneth Fontenette picked off Kent in the end zone and raced the distance of the field for the touchdown.

On the next play from scrimmage, Steven Savoy picked off a Kent pass at his own 16 and returned the ball to the Abilene 7. The Diamonds had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Brian Umstead for a 10-2 lead with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

Kent came back to throw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gill with 4:10 remaining in the quarter. Pertuit’s PAT made it a one-point game (10-9).

There would be no more scoring in the half, until the Diamonds got a safety — blocking Pertuit’s 50-yard field goal attempt in the end zone 1:03 before halftime for a 12-10 lead.

Kent got off to a better start in the second half, throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Gill on the opening possession of the half.

The Riders pushed their lead to 23-12, when Trae Ivory capped a seven-play, 30-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run on Abilene’s next possession. Pertuit’s PAT gave Abilene a 23-12 lead.

Arkansas got field goals of 34 and 27 yards for Umstead to get within five.

Diamonds 26, Ruff Riders 23

Arkansas 10 2 0 14—26

Abilene 9 0 14 0—23

First quarter

Abi — Safety. Brian Jones sacked in end zone, 12:49

Ark — Kenneth Fontenette 50 interception return (Brian Umstead kick), 10:05

Ark — Umstead 22 FG, 7:26

Abi — Robert Gill 33 pass from Robert Kent (Nich Pertuit kick), 4:10

Second quarter

Ark — Safety. Blocked field goal in end zone, 1:03

Third quarter

Abi — Gill 30 pass from Kent (Pertuit kick), 11:16

Abi — Trae Ivory 7 run (Pertuit kick), 2:23

Fourth quarter

Ark — Umstead 34 FG, 9:15

Ark — Umstead 27 FG, 4:09

Ark — Jones 7 run (A.J. Harris run), 0:16