Fever’s 39-34 loss to Cedar Rapids on Friday grates on coach

Tri-Cities Fever head coach Ryan Lingenfelder was mad Friday night.

Mad at himself. Mad at his team. Mad at the officials.

His team, which had led its Indoor Football League contest against the visiting Cedar Rapids Titans for 50 minutes, 59 seconds of the 60-minute game, eventually lost 39-34.

The Titans took the lead, for the only time, with just 5:15 to play and hung on.

“I told the guys after the game they got out-coached and out-played tonight,” said Lingenfelder, whose team dropped to 1-3.

For a team that could just as easily be 4-0, it’s hard to swallow.

And he wasn’t happy with the officiating.

“You can put this in the paper, but the officials helped Cedar Rapids win this game,” Lingenfelder said. “Cedar Rapids is a good team, but the officials were absolutely horrible.”

Lingenfelder knows he’ll get fined, but he didn’t care.

Titans star running back Waymon James had just scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:15 to play, giving Cedar Rapids a 37-34 lead.

Backed up at their own 5, the Fever were flagged for a hold in their own end zone, resulting in a safety for a 39-34 Titans lead.

“The guy fell down,” Lingenfelder said. “He wasn’t held.”

Didn’t matter. It was called.

And now, the Fever have three long weeks before their next game, an April 1 home contest against the Colorado Crush.

Lingenfelder said there will be changes.

“We’ve got a core of about 16 guys who can play for us,” he said. “We’re gonna make some changes over the next two weeks. So look for some transactions.”

He hopes the players who go home for a few weeks during the byes stay in shape.

“We’re going to get back to work on (March 25),” he said. “The down side of being out for a few weeks is if you don’t keep working, you can lose a lot.”

Wilson: been here before

Veteran linebacker Brandon Wilson has been here before.

He’s been on the good Fever teams, the squads that made the IFL title games.

He can see this team bouncing back.

“We’ve got to get healthy these next few weeks,” said Wilson, who led the team Saturday night with nine tackles and an interception. “Not that we aren’t healthy. But we have to stay healthy and fit, stay upbeat with our bodies. We have to execute with our mindset.”

He’s quick to point out the team still has 12 games left to play. And three of the five Intense Conference teams make the playoffs.

“It’s better to get all of the mistakes and wrinkles out of the way now,” Wilson said.

QB problems

The Fever had to abandon their two-headed quarterback system when starter Hunter Wanket took a shot to the head in the first quarter.

“I asked what was wrong with Hunter, and they said he was dizzy,” Lingenfelder said.

That forced McCain to play the remaining three quarters.

The young QB out of Jacksonville University said the Fever offense could never find its rhythm.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “Really, there are no words. We just had to finish, and we didn’t. We never really could get it going.”

The season, though, is only a quarter of the way through.

“We’ll come back stronger,” said McCain. “It’s a long season.”

Notes

James had to be the player of the game. The 2015 IFL Offensive Rookie of the Year while playing for Nebraska, he rushed for 86 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. … In just his second game of the season, and without participating in training camp, Wilson led the Fever defense with nine tackles and an interception. … Fever kicker Steven Wakefield finished with four field goals and was 2-for-2 on extra points. … Strange fact of the week: Official game attendance was 3,416, the exact same number for the team’s game against Billings on March 5. … Fever WR Deejay Lester (quad) did not suit up. … Transaction: Colorado signed former Fever QB Dominique Blackmon this past week. The Crush visits the Fever on April 1.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Fever’s 39-34 loss to Cedar Rapids on Friday grates on coach."