Beef win, will host Pacific Conference Championship

07/13/03 Beef Press Release

The Omaha Beef faced the Bismarck Roughriders in the first round of the National Indoor Football League Championships at the Civic Auditorium Saturday to give the North Dakota team one of the roughest rides of their season. The auditorium was the scene of a rough and tumble slaughter for the North Dakota team as the Beef defended their home field advantage and won 72-49. Coming into the game in the #1 division seed, the Omaha Beef had an 11-3 record while the Roughriders had a 9-5 record. The Beef were out for revenge remembering the only home game loss back on April 5th when the Roughriders corralled the Beef.

The Beef won the toss and elected to receive to start the game with a bang. With less than 20 seconds of playing time on the turf the Beefs' running back, LeAndre Moore put his wheels on and ran the length of the field to score and put the Beef on the board by 6. Chace Long, Beef kicker extraordinaire, put the extra point through the uprights to make it 7-0 in favor of the Beef.

Answering the call for the Roughriders, #19, Duane Monlux took up the slack and went to the wall in the end zone to sneak in and put the North Dakota team on the board making the score 7-6. #44 for the Roughriders, Jeremy Meltenbarger put the pigskin up and through the long yellow fingers of the goalpost to tie the score with 7:44 left in the game.

Fighting back, Beef Kicker, Chace Long, put the ball up from Roughriders 21 yard line to take back the lead and bring the score to 10-7 in the first championships game of the season with only 3:31 left in the 1st quarter.

The second quarter started with Roughriders #6, AJ Street scoring in less than a minute of play only to have it called back six yards for holding. It took the Roughriders another two minutes to have #48, Quentin Cradle snuck in again off the wall to bring the lead back to the North Dakota team and make the score 13-10 followed by Roughriders #44, Jeremy Meltenbargers effort to make to make the extra point pulling the score to 14-10 with the Beef trailing.

Clinton Childs saw the light at the end of the tunnel and came storming back with only 10:35 left in the second quarter to find his nirvana in the end zone and help the Beef regain the lead making the score 16-14. Teammate, Chace Long decided to follow suite and put it through the uprights to grab the extra point making the score 17-14 and further the Beefs lead.

With 1:24 left before the half, #37, Corey Roberson for the Roughriders picked off a long bomb by Beefs quarterback, Troy Travis at the goal line to try to get the North Dakota team back in the game before they visited the locker-room. Marching down the turf and taking it in with only seconds before the half, #48, Quentin Cradle found the grass and took the lead back making the score 20-17 only to have Roughriders #44, Jeremy Meltenbarger seize the extra point with less than a minute left.

The Beefs dynamic kicking machine, Chace Long came back with only 3 seconds left in half to boot a 44 yard, 3 point, bullet through the uprights and bring the score back to within one point with the Roughriders going into the locker-room leading the Beef 21-20.

With only three minutes of time on the clock in the third quarter, Beefs quarterback, Troy Travis saw his chance to hustle in from the 6-yard line and buckled down to score and bring the score to 26-21 in favor of the Beef. Taking a chance and working the field for a 2-point conversion play, the Beefs Clinton Childs pushed it past the Roughriders defense and went for the points to bring the score to 28-21 in the Beefs favor.

Working right back into the game, # 48, Quentin Cradle took it in for the Roughriders to push the score back to a tie after #44, Jeremy Meltenbarger put it up making it a tie ballgame again at 28-28.

With 7:19 left in the quarter, Beefs' running back LeAndre Moore drove the pigskin into the end zone making the score 34-28 only to have Beefs' star kicker, Chance Long again put it up for the extra point to recapture the lead by 7 making it 35-28.

The Beef started the fourth quarter leading the Roughriders in this bloodbath only to have the confrontation escalate when #2, Chris Anderson for the Roughriders march in with only three seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter to bring the score within one again at 35-34. Kicker, #44, Jeremy Meltenbarger bounced one off the uprights and miss the extra point.

#9, Jesse Von Behren, Beefs' wide receiver got the call and took the ball in to the end zone to squeeze another six points from the scoreboard bringing the score to 41-34. Chace Long decided it was time to do what he has come to be known for and put another point on the board with yet another successful extra point bringing the Beef's lead to eight making it 42-34.

Not allowing the Roughriders a chance to breath, the Beefs' own Dontae Jones snagged a shot from the North Dakota's quarterback to set the Beef up to score again. Following suite, Quarterback, Troy Travis pranced in from about the ten yard line making the score 48-34. Chace long again put it up and through the uprights adding another point to the scoreboard and making it 49-34.

Interceptions were the name of the game as the Beef proved they could play that game any day as LaMar O'Neal snagged another with 9:27 left in the game to set fellow teammate Clinton Childs up for a quick one from five yards out to bring the score to 55-34 and capture a 21 point before the Chace Long had the opportunity to put it up one more time and gain the extra point driving the score to 56-34 the Beef pushing hard to make it impossible for the Roughriders to regain their momentum.

In a valiant effort to pick up the pieces of their shattered dream the Roughriders came back one more time when #19, Duane Monlux hopped on the bandwagon and pushed it in with only 6:05 left to play in the game. North Dakota's, #44, Jeremy Meltenbarger put the extra point up to making the score 56-41 with the Beef still leading by15.

The Beef's Troy Travis had the chance to put his running shoes on once again and add to the score by hustling through the beaten and ragged Roughrider defense to drive the score to 62-41 with only 4:03 left in the game.

Adding to his bad luck in the second half, the Roughriders Quarterback was sacked behind the line with just over three minutes left to add to the Beefs score and drive the it up even further making it 65-41 with the home team fighting hard to show the Roughriders what they can do.

The Beef were unstoppable in the last quarter as #1, Herman Gordon pushed hard to drive the pigskin into the end zone and shoot the score to 71-41 Beefs favor. Following the already "well laid plan" Chace Long put it up again for the extra point making the score 72-41 with 2:00 left.

The Roughriders mustarded another hard drawn effort with 1:35 left to score a tough fought six points when #10, Sonte Wong pushed his way through the Beefs defensive wall and drag the score up another six points making it 72-47 with the Beef still in control.

Sneaking an extra two point on the board again was Roughrider, Sonte Wong, #10 again snuck by the defense to push the score to72-49 with the Beef coming out on top in this hard-driven, fast-paced championship game.

The final score of the first game of the 2003 Pacific Conference Northern Division Championship went to the Omaha Beef by a hard won score of 72-49.