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SIOUX FALLS — The Storm are 0-2 under new coach Andre Fields, having lost a pair of one-score games to begin the first season of the post-Kurtiss Riggs era.
A team’s collective response to those results could go two different ways — frustration and angst over coming up empty in two winnable games, or positivity and confidence from playing well enough to win twice despite having not played a home game yet.
When asked, Fields didn’t hesitate to declare which direction his team is looking as they prepare for Sunday’s Indoor Football League home opener (3:05 p.m, Denny Sanford Premier Center).
“We’re upbeat and we’re positive,” said the longtime Storm defensive back, assistant coach, and now, head coach. “We know we’re young and the first game you’re always just trying to see what you’ve got. You think you know but you have to see it in action. We’re still figuring out what we’re good at. There’s areas we’re solid and areas we could potentially upgrade but there’s also a sense that we’ll be fine once we get more reps. We knew there would be some growing pains but I think we all feel good about knowing we had a chance to win both games.”
While Riggs is gone, most of the coaching staff has been with the team for a long time. That, Fields said, means the locker room and team culture are very coach-driven. That’s not typically been the vibe with this franchise, but it’s a necessity for the moment.
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Veterans and/or returners like defensive linemen Claude Davis, Isaiah Blackmon and former Augustana Viking Logan Swanson, linebacker Undraez Lilly, running backs Isaiah Jackson and Bryson Denley, defensive back LaRonji Vason-McCoy and wide receiver Draysean Hudson will be leaned on for leadership, which can be especially important in the 8-man indoor version of the sport. Fields points out several players who took the field in Sioux Falls’ 38-32 overtime loss to Quad City in the season opener were making their indoor debut.
Wide receiver Kentrez Bell was the team’s big offseason acquisition, and the IFL all-star has eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns already. The Storm are set at running back and receiver, but after years of the offense operating under Lorenzo Brown (who, at 36, is still slinging, for the rival Arizona Rattlers), it’s now Billy Hall’s show.
The Reinhardt (NAIA) alum has spent time with the Vegas Knight Hawks of the IFL and Canada’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and he’s thrown four touchdown passes and rushed for four more so far.
“We see a lot of upside with Billy Hall,” Fields said. “He’s very athletic, very smart and very positive. He has some experience from being a backup in Vegas, so we feel the more reps he gets he can eventually blossom into a star in this league. It’s just a matter of protection.”
That won’t be easy with a whole new offensive line, but the coaches see promise in 6-foot-8, 340-pound tackle Mclean Djouha, center Daizion Carrol and former Bemidji State star Ty Cobb.
On defense, Fields still calls the plays, and not surprisingly sounds unsatisfied with how that unit has played so far. In their last game, a 49-41 loss to Massachussets, they allowed the Pirates to complete 15-of-16 passes for five touchdowns.
“We have some areas we could improve,” Fields said. “We’re solid on the edge and in really good shape at linebacker. But we’re just OK everywhere else.”
Jalen James and especially Villanova alum Amin Black have looked good at linebacker, while Kendricks Gladney, a Coastal Carolina alum, has also played well. Former USD Coyote Elijah Reed will also be a key contributor in the secondary.
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The early schedule does Sioux Falls no favors. After Sunday’s home opener they’re back on the road for two more, meaning they’ll head into the month of May having played five games with just one at home. That makes Sunday’s game against the Tulsa Oilers a big one.
“This will be the first experience of a Storm home game for a lot of our guys,” Fields said. ‘With the crowd and the attention and everything I know they’ll be extra fired up, and when you throw in that we’ve been this close in our first two games you can bet they’re hungry to get a win. If we play like we can people will see the team we really are.”
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