Fever in Texas for today's IFL semifinal

For two consecutive playoff games, the Tri-Cities Fever has dug itself a hole from the outset, only to rally and win in the fourth quarter.

But if the Fever is to defeat the Allen Wranglers today -- kickoff in Texas for the Indoor Football League's Intense Conference championship is set for 4:35 p.m. -- there can be no slow starts.

"I don't think we can play the way we have the last few weeks and win," Fever coach Adam Shackleford said. "We can't start out slow. I think the game will come down to clock management at the end of the game. This is gonna be a chess match between the coaches."

Allen coach Chris MacKeown -- who gave Shackleford his first indoor football coaching job years ago, and knows him quite well -- agrees.

"I know Adam is going in ready for a gunfight, and he's not going in with a knife," MacKeown said. "He's prepared."

MacKeown believes the game will come down to one thing.

"Turnovers are going to decide this game," he said. "Who does a better job of taking care of the football, and a team can't blow a (secondary) coverage for a long touchdown."

And MacKeown also emphasized clock management.

"As for trying to get into an offensive shootout with Tri-Cities, we'll be in trouble," MacKeown said. "They were the No. 2 scoring offense in the league and it wasn't even close. There was Sioux Falls, then them, and everybody else was way back.

"We can't start off slowly or it could get ugly quick."

Allen has lived off the strength of its defensive unit this season, so the Wranglers have a tough assignment in stopping Fever quarterback Houston Lillard and his many offensive weapons.

"We've played defense all year long," MacKeown said. "We played great defense to play great offense."

And even though the Fever is on the road, the team is coming into this game on a mission -- and with confidence after the 45-42 victory at Colorado on June 27.

"I don't think we have anybody on this team who hasn't bought in to what we're doing," Shackleford said. "I think it gives our guys a feeling of legitimacy on what we're doing here. This team easily could have folded in the second quarter of both playoff games. Last year's team would have. But not this team."

By the numbers: Lillard is second among league quarterbacks this season with 2,517 passing yards. He has 68 TD passes to just 15 interceptions. ... Allen QB Kewan Dewberry is ninth in passing yards at 1,894. He has 43 TD passes to just 13 interceptions. ... The Fever has three receivers with as many or more catches than Allen's top pass catcher, Dedrick Poole, who has 58 for 529 yards. Joey Hew Len has 72 catches for 848 yards and a league-high 25 TD catches. Tre Young (59) and Steven Whitehead (58) are also among the league leaders in pass receptions. ... Robert Chase did find the end zone 17 times for Allen and is among the league leaders. ... Allen kicker Garrett Courtney has 18 field goals this season and 116 total points. Fever kicker Gary Cismesia has just 12 field goals but has 126 points -- mainly because he was 90-for-96 on point after attempts. ... DB Nick Fellows leads Allen with 78 tackles, while LB James Lancaster has added 77, with 14.5 sacks. That was why Lancaster was a first-team All-IFL choice. DB Joey Longoria, with 10 interceptions, was a second-team all-leaguer. ... Hew Len was a first-team all-leaguer at WR, while Lillard and DB Dennis Rogan (9 interceptions) were second-teamers.

Notes: KONA 610 AM will have a half hour pre-game show starting at 4:05 p.m. Michael McDonnal will be doing the play-by-play. ... Fever fans will gather at Jack-son's in Richland to watch the game. ... The winner of this game takes on the United Conference champion, either the Green Bay Blizzard or the Sioux Falls Storm, for the league title on Saturday, July 16. The championship will be held at the United Conference champion's home because those two teams have better playoff seeds than the Fever or Wranglers. ... Green Bay visits Sioux Falls today. ... Former Fever RB Tyson Thompson is listed on the Allen roster -- although he hasn't played for the Wranglers in the last month. ... Hew Len will be a game-time decision. He injured his ribs in the Colorado game.

This story was originally published July 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Fever in Texas for today's IFL semifinal."