Fever gets ready for postseason

It has been a strange season for Tri-Cities Fever coach Adam Shackleford and his players.

The team has had six quarterbacks and eight defensive linemen on its roster.

The top starting quarterback, Houston Lillard, was lost for the season after breaking his leg in an April 10 game at Bemidji.

But the Fever persevered, finishing 8-6 and clinching an Indoor Football League playoff berth in the process.

Tri-Cities plays on the road Friday, taking on the Nebraska Danger for the Intense Conference championship. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

“It was a tough year, but it was a fun year,” Shackleford said at the team’s season-ending party Tuesday night at the Toyota Center. “I like this group immensely. When Houston was laying on the field in Minnesota, the whole league wrote us off.”

At the time, the Fever was 3-2. Tri-Cities went 5-4 the rest of the way, clinching the playoff berth May 23 with three games remaining in the regular season.

The good news for Shackleford this week is that for the first time in months, almost the entire roster is healthy.

Defensive linemen Darian Barnes and Jake Killeen were activated Monday from the short-term injured reserve list.

Quarterback Patrick McCain, who was signed a few weeks ago and played well at Sioux Falls in a loss, was put on season-ending IR.

“He tore his knee,” Shackleford said.

Dominique Blackman, who has looked better each week, will start again at quarterback against Nebraska. For added insurance, Shackleford signed Dante Perez as a backup QB on Tuesday. Perez played for Bemidji this season.

“He went to play in the AFL for a while, and he has experience in this league,” Shackleford said.

This story was originally published June 23, 2015 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Fever gets ready for postseason."