Fever stomps Arizona

Tri-Cities Fever coach Adam Shackleford was nervous about his team playing on the road Saturday at winless Arizona.

He needn't have fretted.

The Fever pounded the Adrenaline 90-31 at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott, Ariz., to raise its Indoor Football League record to 5-1.

"I just hate these games because you never know if your guys are gonna show up," Shackleford said.

The Fever now heads into a showdown next Saturday against the Colorado Ice (6-0) at Toyota Center.

"That's got to be our biggest game since I've been here," said Shackleford of the upcoming matchup. "To be a premier team in this league, you have to win those games at home."

Arizona (0-7) was never in the game, as the Fever scored two defensive touchdowns and Dennis Rogan returned a missed field goal back for another score.

Fever linebacker Jason Beauchamp also blocked a field goal attempt, caught the ball in mid-air, and rolled into the end zone for a touchdown.

"Our defense played solid," Shackleford said. "Our defensive line played great. We had great field position all night."

Statistics from the game site were unavailable because of computer problems, but Shackleford said Fever quarterback Houston Lillard tossed eight touchdown passes.

"Hey, we've got to get stats," Shackleford said. "Houston could be up for some awards."

Despite the big win, Shackleford was far from happy with his team's performance.

"We didn't play a perfect game," he said. "We left 35 points on the board out there."

Even Lillard didn't escape some criticism: "He threw two ill-advised passes trying to make something happen and they turned into interceptions," Shackleford said.

This story was originally published April 17, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Fever stomps Arizona ."