By MIKE ZIMMER

Gazette Sports Editor

A long, painful night for the Wichita Wild on Saturday could be summed up in one play.



As if the 33-6 beatdown the Billings Outlaws put on them in the first half wasn't enough, the Wild's first offensive play of the third quarter told the story of Billings' 55-13 United Indoor Football win.



On first-and-10 from the Wichita 22-yard line, Wild quarterback Efi Eyo unloaded a long pass just seconds before Outlaws linebacker John Winchester leveled him with a vicious hit.



Some 40 yards downfield, Outlaws safety Travis Salter delivered an equally vicious hit on intended receiver Carlos Cavanaugh as the ball sailed over their heads and over the end zone boards.

One play. Two huge hits. So it went for the new-look Billings defense in front of 4,371 fans at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark.



Salter - a five-year star at linebacker for the Outlaws after an All-American career at Rocky Mountain College - made the switch to safety to make room for Winchester, a two-time UIF all-star linebacker who was making his Billings debut.



"I'd say it went pretty well," grinned Salter, who was credited with four tackles but made dozens of bone-jarring hits in the game. "I got more and more comfortable (with playing safety) as the game went on. It's the first time I've played it since my junior year at Rocky (in 2001). "It's a lot of fun to get a 10- or 15-yard run at a guy before you hit him.



"It's a lot easier on my body, too. You're out in open space and you don't have to deal with O-linemen blocking you on every play. John's a younger, faster guy and he can take the pounding at linebacker better than me. I think it's going to work great."



Winchester, an all-star with the UIF's Evansville BlueCats in 2006 and '07, joined the Outlaws this week after starting the season with the Florida Firecats of the arenafootball2 league. He made a huge impact in his Billings debut, finishing with a game-high 71/2 tackles - including one for a safety - and also blocked a field goal.



"It felt great out there," said Winchester. "This is a fast, aggressive defense and they like to hit you all night long. I think I fit in pretty well, and Salter had a great game at safety. He's a phenomenal player."



Outlaws coach Heron O'Neal agreed that his defense stole the show.



"Salter played well back there ... I thought he would because he had a great week of practice learning all his assignments and responsibilities," said O'Neal. "And Winchester played like we thought he would. That's why we tried to get him in here at the beginning of the season ... but better late than never.



"The whole defense brought it tonight. (Defensive ends) Eugene Phillips and Mike Bazemore played great. (Cornerback) Travonti Johnson was all over the place with an interception and a field goal return (for a touchdown). Their quarterback (Eyo) took so many hits ... he was on the run and on his back all night. He showed me a lot just by the fact that he was still standing at the end."



Eyo completed just 6 of 27 passes for 84 yards, and was knocked to the ground on nearly all of those 27 attempts.



The Billings offense was equally dominant against the struggling Wild, now 1-6 on the season. Quarterback Chris Dixon completed 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards and five touchdowns - four to Robert Reed, who caught eight balls for 97 yards.



Dixon's other TD pass was a 43-yard bomb to Willie Austin. Ryan Grosulak rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown, and Jason Peters ran for 39 yards.



The Outlaws, now 5-2 on the season, dominated Wichita 260-105 in total yards.



"We had a few mistakes here and there, but overall we played solid," said O'Neal. "We took care of business after last week's loss (at Sioux Falls)."



The Outlaws travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face the Colorado Ice on Friday. Billings escaped with a win at Colorado four weeks ago on a field goal by Aaron Galvan as time expired.



Wichita 0 6 0 7 - 13



Billings 20 13 15 7 - 55



First quarter



B - Robert Reed 22 pass from Chris Dixon (Aaron Galvan kick)



B - Willie Austin 43 pass from Dixon (Galvan kick)



B - Ryan Grosulak 5 run (kick failed)



Second quarter



W - Carlos Cavanaugh 35 pass from Efi Eyo (Ziya Gunay kick)



B - Reed 12 pass from Dixon (Galvan kick)



B - Travonti Johnson 49 field goal return (kick failed)



Third quarter



B - Reed 7 pass from Dixon (Galvan kick)



B - Safety, Mike Bazemore tackled running back in end zone



B - Reed 26 pass from Dixon (kick failed)



Fourth quarter



W - Cliff Edwards 1 run (Gunay kick)



B - Mark Burr 1 run (Galvan kick)



Rushing - Wichita: Efi Eyo 3-21, Cliff Edwards 11-8. Billings: Jason Peters 8-39, Ryan Grosulak 8-31, Mark Burr 2-4, Chris Dixon 3-(-1).



Passing - Wichita: Efi Eyo 6-27-1, 84 yards. Billings: Chris Dixon 15-20-0, 193 yards.



Receiving - Wichita: Carlos Cavanaugh 3-42, Jameel Harris 1-31, Donald Payne 1-7, Cliff Edwards 1-4. Billings: Robert Reed 8-97, Mark Burr 3-27, Willie Austin 2-55, Charles Anthony 1-7, Jason Peters 1-7.



Leading tacklers - Wichita: J.R. Webber 51/2, Eric Washington 5. Billings: John Winchester 71/2, Travis Salter 4.



Attendance - 4,371.



Read more about the Outlaws at  www.billingsgazette.net/sports/

By The Gazette Staff

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Quarterback Terrance Bryant scored on a 1-yard sneak with 1:22 to play Saturday night and the Sioux Falls Storm held on to beat the Billings Outlaws 54-43 in a back-and-forth United Indoor Football league tussle at the Sioux Falls Arena.

Following Bryant's touchdown, the Storm made a goal-line stand against the Outlaws, who had a first-and-goal at the 1 with 45 seconds to play but were kept out of the end zone.

Sioux Falls, which won its 25th consecutive home game dating back to July 2005, and Billings are now both 4-2 on the season. Billings, which was trying to win its first game in Sioux Falls since 2004, defeated the Storm 38-31 on April 5 in Billings and the final regular-season meeting between the two will take place May 24 in Billings.

The Storm, which outscored Billings 42-27 in the second half, built a 47-36 lead with 6:20 left in the game when Shannon Poppinga intercepted a Chris Dixon pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.

Billings bounced right back with a 19-yard scoring strike from Dixon to Anthony Candler to close within 47-43 with 4:28 remaining.

But Sioux Falls turned around on its next possession and drove the ball 32 yards on six plays to gain some much-needed breathing room on Bryant's TD on a fourth-and-goal play. The big play on the drive was a 25-yard pass from Bryant to Leon Hall down to the Outlaw 9.

Sean Treasure rushed for 49 yards and four TDs for the three-time defending UIF champions, while Bryant threw for two scores and ran for another. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards.

Dixon passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns for the Outlaws. Running back Jason Peters had two TD receptions and also scored on a short run.

Peters rushed for 43 yards and also caught four passes for 70 yards.

Billings finished with 295 yards on offense, while Sioux Falls wound up with 273.

Travonti Johnson of the Outlaws intercepted a pass and ran it back 34 yards for a TD to put Billings in command 29-19 with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.

But Aaron Galvan's point-after kick was blocked and returned by Andre Fields for a two-point defensive PAT and that seemed to fuel the Storm comeback.

Billings led 16-12 at halftime, with Ryan Grosulak scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with two seconds left before intermission.

The Storm missed on a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

Dixon passed for 121 yards and one touchdown in the first half, but the Outlaws' defense also made a clutch goal-line stand early in the second quarter. Billings stopped the Storm on three straight plays from the 1-yard line.

The Outlaws' kicking troubles continued in the first half with Galvan missing on two field-goal attempts (23, 52 yards) and one point-after kick. He did connect on a 22-yard field goal.

Sioux Falls kicker Adam Hicks missed fields goals from 19, 51, 39 yards in the first half and two PAT attempts.

The Outlaws will be back on their home turf Saturday night for a game against the Wichita Wild. Wichita, 1-5, won its first game of the season on Saturday night, 22-15 over River City.

Kick off for the Billings-Wichita game is set for 7:05 p.m.

- Apr, 11 2008

Chris Dixon and the Billings Outlaws are proud to announce the first Outlaws Skills Camp held at the Sports Plex, 5000 Southgate Dr., Billings, Montana.  The Outlaws Skills Camp will give our young athletes the opportunity to learn from professional athletes and coaches to develop the techniques and skills that will give them a competitive advantage over their competition.   

This football skills camp, developed by the Outlaws’ own Chris Dixon, is designed to teach and develop the young athlete’s potential by offering one on one instruction, confidence development and skills repetition.  “Our goal is to teach fundamentals and pro-techniques for each specific football skill position,” says Chris Dixon.  By the end of the camp, each young athlete will have a better understanding of their position and have the tools to gain a competitive advantage. 

The Skills Camp will be held at the Sports Plex, located at 5000 Southgate Drive in Billings, Montana.  Quarterbacks will be offered a two (2) day camp, April 21^st starting at 6pm and April 25^th starting @ 6pm for $60.  Wide Receivers, Defensive Backs, Linebackers, and Running Backs will have a one (1) day camp on April 25^th starting at 5:30pm for $45.  The Camp is open to all athletes ages 7 to 17.  The entry deadline is April 19^th for Quarterbacks and April 23^rdfor all other positions.  Late registration fees will apply. 

For more information, please contact Chris Dixon (406) 698-8704 or the Sports Plex (406) 839-9080.