Omaha take down Bandits, 53-47
By Jerry Giese Journal Sports Writer | Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2008
James McNear learned his lesson the first time he touched the football Saturday night.
The quarterback of the Omaha Beef found himself the victim of a pass rush when he floated in the end zone, harassed by Sioux City Bandit defensive linemen Brandon Johnson and the newly-acquired Fred Weinke.
The result? McNear threw an interception to Alex Ardley inside the Omaha 5-yard line and three plays later, running back John Bentley scored from one yard out.
McNear successfully bounced back, passing for 158 yards and six touchdowns. He also recorded ground gains of 24 yards in the first half, 29 yards in the second half and had a combined 210 total yards as the Beef posted their seventh straight victory, 53-47 over the Bandits in front of a crowd of 4,939 at the Tyson Events Center.
McNear has been nothing but excitement for the West Division-leading Beef, who won for the fourth time in the last five games in the series against the Bandits. He hiked his season passing total to 1,384 yards, and is also Omaha's rushing leader with 379 yards.
Sioux City (3-6) lost its fifth straight game, but the last three have been especially painful. Coach Jarrod DeGeorgia's Bandits have lost their last three games by a total of 15 points in a stretch that started with a 53-49 loss at home to the Bloomington Extreme on April 26 and 51-46 last Saturday to the three-time UIF defending champion Sioux Falls Storm.
Playing in front of a crowd that included former Bandit Fred Jackson, who became the seventh player in team history to have his jersey retired on the team's wall of fame, Sioux City put up enough points to win the game.
In fact, for the fourth straight game, the Bandits had an advantage in total yards, outgaining the Beef 280-239. Quarterback Chad Kapanui passed for 227 yards and five touchdowns, three to O.J. Simpson, who recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season with 10 catches for 137 yards.
However, the 6-2, 250-pounder from the University fumbled into the end zone late in the first quarter as he stretched his arm with ball in an attempt to score. Omaha, which entered the game with 27 takeaways (21 interceptions, six fumble recoveries), took advantage, as McNear threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Javon Bell, part of the action that saw the teams exchange leads six times in the first half.
The Bandits even made a pair of defensive stops in the second half. Two plays after linebacker Spetlar Tonga sacked McNear for a four-yard loss midway through the third quarter, Omaha kicker Ricky Lebeda, who booted a 50-yard field goal in the first quarter, missed a 54-yarder.
With his team trailing 30-27, Bentley caught a 20-yard pass at midfield, losing his helmet when he was tackled. Bentley, who rushed for a season-high 92 yards last Saturday against the Storm, followed with a run to the 16, but Damon Mothershead and Simpson dropped passes from Kapanui, Simpson's coming on fourth down. A chance to take the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter when Kapanui scored on a one-yard run for a 20-16 advantage was wasted.
Two plays into Omaha's ensuing possession, Blake Fuchtman scored uncontested on a 29-yard touchdown catch for a 37-27 lead. Mothershead caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 13-yarder that pulled Sioux City within 37-34 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
A fourth-quarter sack by Andy Poulosky was a key stop as the Bandits limited Omaha to a 40-yard field goal by Lebeda on the following possession. However, former University of South Dakota kicker Frank Leibfarth missed a 44-yard field goal and Sioux City, for the second time in the second half, was unable to take the lead.
Omaha took advantage with a 10-play, 45-yard drive that concluded with McNear's three-yard touchdown pass to R.J. Rollins for a 47-34 lead with 2:01 left in the game. Simpson caught a 25-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds remaining, but the Bandits were unable to recover an onside kick and Omaha got an five-yard touchdown run from Rollins with 41 seconds left to clinch the victory.
The Bandits will continue UIF play next Saturday at Bloomington, Ill., against the Bloomington Extreme. Sioux City will then start a three-game homestand May 24 against the Colorado Ice.
The quarterback of the Omaha Beef found himself the victim of a pass rush when he floated in the end zone, harassed by Sioux City Bandit defensive linemen Brandon Johnson and the newly-acquired Fred Weinke.
The result? McNear threw an interception to Alex Ardley inside the Omaha 5-yard line and three plays later, running back John Bentley scored from one yard out.
McNear successfully bounced back, passing for 158 yards and six touchdowns. He also recorded ground gains of 24 yards in the first half, 29 yards in the second half and had a combined 210 total yards as the Beef posted their seventh straight victory, 53-47 over the Bandits in front of a crowd of 4,939 at the Tyson Events Center.
McNear has been nothing but excitement for the West Division-leading Beef, who won for the fourth time in the last five games in the series against the Bandits. He hiked his season passing total to 1,384 yards, and is also Omaha's rushing leader with 379 yards.
Sioux City (3-6) lost its fifth straight game, but the last three have been especially painful. Coach Jarrod DeGeorgia's Bandits have lost their last three games by a total of 15 points in a stretch that started with a 53-49 loss at home to the Bloomington Extreme on April 26 and 51-46 last Saturday to the three-time UIF defending champion Sioux Falls Storm.
Playing in front of a crowd that included former Bandit Fred Jackson, who became the seventh player in team history to have his jersey retired on the team's wall of fame, Sioux City put up enough points to win the game.
In fact, for the fourth straight game, the Bandits had an advantage in total yards, outgaining the Beef 280-239. Quarterback Chad Kapanui passed for 227 yards and five touchdowns, three to O.J. Simpson, who recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season with 10 catches for 137 yards.
However, the 6-2, 250-pounder from the University fumbled into the end zone late in the first quarter as he stretched his arm with ball in an attempt to score. Omaha, which entered the game with 27 takeaways (21 interceptions, six fumble recoveries), took advantage, as McNear threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Javon Bell, part of the action that saw the teams exchange leads six times in the first half.
The Bandits even made a pair of defensive stops in the second half. Two plays after linebacker Spetlar Tonga sacked McNear for a four-yard loss midway through the third quarter, Omaha kicker Ricky Lebeda, who booted a 50-yard field goal in the first quarter, missed a 54-yarder.
With his team trailing 30-27, Bentley caught a 20-yard pass at midfield, losing his helmet when he was tackled. Bentley, who rushed for a season-high 92 yards last Saturday against the Storm, followed with a run to the 16, but Damon Mothershead and Simpson dropped passes from Kapanui, Simpson's coming on fourth down. A chance to take the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter when Kapanui scored on a one-yard run for a 20-16 advantage was wasted.
Two plays into Omaha's ensuing possession, Blake Fuchtman scored uncontested on a 29-yard touchdown catch for a 37-27 lead. Mothershead caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 13-yarder that pulled Sioux City within 37-34 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
A fourth-quarter sack by Andy Poulosky was a key stop as the Bandits limited Omaha to a 40-yard field goal by Lebeda on the following possession. However, former University of South Dakota kicker Frank Leibfarth missed a 44-yard field goal and Sioux City, for the second time in the second half, was unable to take the lead.
Omaha took advantage with a 10-play, 45-yard drive that concluded with McNear's three-yard touchdown pass to R.J. Rollins for a 47-34 lead with 2:01 left in the game. Simpson caught a 25-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds remaining, but the Bandits were unable to recover an onside kick and Omaha got an five-yard touchdown run from Rollins with 41 seconds left to clinch the victory.
The Bandits will continue UIF play next Saturday at Bloomington, Ill., against the Bloomington Extreme. Sioux City will then start a three-game homestand May 24 against the Colorado Ice.
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