Terry Hersom, Sioux City Journal (Jul. 11, 2009)
The way this inaugural Indoor Football League schedule was drawn up, you'd have thought arch-rivals Sioux City and Sioux Falls might anticipate a drama-filled regular season finale.

It hasn't turned out that way, of course.

The Sioux City Bandits, despite rebounding considerably from a 0-5 start to boost their record to 4-9, have had two weeks to prepare for yet another clash with the Storm, champions the last four seasons in the old United Indoor Football circuit.

Sioux Falls, meanwhile, has had two consecutive "bye'' weeks since a 58-18 rout of the Fairbanks Grizzlies on June 20.

And, even though the Storm has scored more points than the opposition in 10 of 13 games, losing only their three encounters with the Billings Outlaws, they're in the same boat as Sioux City -- locked out of the playoffs because of five league-mandated forfeits that were handed down April 28, after they'd started the season with a 6-0 mark.

For both teams, no doubt, it's all about pride in tonight's 7 o'clock matchup at Sioux Falls Arena.

"It would be easy to sit around and not focus on a game like this, but luckily we're playing Sioux Falls,'' said Bandits Coach Jarrod DeGeorgia. "It's a rival game and we're going to try and go out and win the football game.''

The Bandits need no more incentive than a frustrating 13-game losing streak against the Storm, which started it all in the league championship game of 2005, avenging three regular season losses to a Sioux City team featuring Fred Jackson, now with the Buffalo Bills.

Former Oregon State quarterback Terrance Bryant has been around to orchestrate all 13 Sioux Falls wins and ex-Kansas State standout James Terry, his favorite receiver, has helped the cause for the last four seasons -- all but the 40-38 win in the 2005 title game at the Tyson Events Center.

"It's not going to be hard for our guys to get up for this game,'' said DeGeorgia. "For Sioux Falls, I think they're playing with a chip on their shoulder. They still want to prove they're the best team in the league.''

Five forfeits or none, "best'' may be a stretch, considering the Storm has lost 42-41, 70-35 and 34-22 in their three meetings with Billings.

Against Sioux City, though, Sioux Falls has maintained its supremacy with two more wins that just happened to fall in back-to-back weeks on April 11 and April 18.

The Storm one the first encounter 46-13 in Sioux City, then won a much closer game 53-32 the following weekend in Sioux Falls.

"I think we've progressed throughout the season,'' said DeGeorgia. "Coming out of the chute 0-5 is tough, but I think we've got the right guys in here. I just hope I see a lot of the same faces next year. I think we have a good core group. I'm happy they have an opportunity to come back to Sioux City and Sioux City has treated them well.''

The Bandits had posted their first back-to-back wins of the season, defeating Fairbanks and Saginaw, before a 58-43 loss to the Omaha Beef on June 27. Omaha (10-3, Central Division) hosts Billings (12-1, Pacific Division) tonight in a clash between two of the 19-team IFL's four division leaders.

"We came out and gave Omaha a 20-0 lead before we fought hard and got back in the game,'' said DeGeorgia.

The Bandits' coach said his team will play tonight without two starters in the secondary, brothers Buddy and Ernest Williams. Buddy, a Clemson University product, and Ernest, who played at Florida A&M, will both be involved in tryouts for United Football League. In their absence, DeGeorgia will start Rudy Jones (Northern State) and Austin Janssen (Northwestern College), both listed on the roster at linebacker.

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