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With an Adam Hicks kick, the Storm continued their habit of reaching championship games.
The sixth field goal of the night by the six-year veteran, a straightaway shot from 25 yards out as time expired, gave Sioux Falls a 46-44 victory against Billings and a fifth consecutive conference title before a crowd of 4,387.
It also saved the Storm from a bitter defeat - they led by 20 with the ball late in the third quarter - and clinched another game at the Arena, where they have won 30 games in a row.
Sioux Falls (12-3), aiming for a fourth consecutive United Indoor Football championship, will host the River City Rage or the Bloomington Extreme on July 12 in United Bowl IV.
"It was a huge win," Storm coach Kurtiss Riggs said, "and we're deserving of being in the championship again."
That seemed a mere formality for much of the contest.
Sioux Falls allowed just 51 yards in the first half against an Outlaws squad that had been averaging a league-best 51 points per game. The Storm led 30-10 and had the ball inside of three minutes remaining in the third.
But in less than four minutes, Billings (11-4) came up with a defensive stop, scored a touchdown, forced a turnover and scored another touchdown to get within 30-24 still with more than 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
What's more, Sioux Falls veteran quarterback Terrance Bryant had been dinged on his throwing shoulder. He didn't respond well to a shot administered by team doctors and spent the last quarter and a half on the sideline, although Riggs said after the game that the early indication is he should be OK for United Bowl.
The chase was on.
The Outlaws took a 44-43 lead with 52 seconds remaining on an extra point that followed a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chris Dixon, the league MVP.
"Nothing really changed," Sioux Falls defensive back Justin Landis said of the difference between the first half and the second. "We just started making mistakes, missed tackles, had blown coverages. We just made mistakes. When we needed to make a play, we didn't."
Yet they made several in the final minute.
It started with Bryan Alberty - who fumbled earlier - returning the kickoff into Billings territory and ended with Hicks making good from 25 yards out as time expired. Riggs said he never thought about shooting for the end zone because Hicks, who played at the University of South Dakota, had been "money." He finished the night 6 of 8, hitting from 46, 40, 18, 45, 38 and 25 yards.
"I missed my first one and then later on I missed a long one, but all night I felt pretty good," said Hicks, who recalled hitting six field goals and a game-winner against Billings early in his pro career. "I was pretty mad about my kickoffs, but other than that I felt pretty good all night."
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