Titans swept away by Storm, 69-29

By Matt Zimmer, Special Correspondent

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Sioux Falls Storm showed the Titans why they're the undefeated and defending Indoor Football League champions Sunday afternoon, roaring past Cedar Rapids 69-29 at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Titans (2-2) fought with Sioux Falls early, and executed their share of big plays on offense. Stopping the Storm offense was another story. MVP quarterback Chris Dixon threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns on a 23-for-31 effort, and ran for 36 yards and two more scores, as the Storm clearly wore the Titans down in the second half. Dixon, as is usually the case, was the catalyst, as the Titans had no answer for him even with former Storm players TJ Simmons and Jovan Jackson in their secondary.

“Being an offensive player you're always going against those guys in practice -- not playing with them,” Dixon said. “It was good to see them, though, and they played well. Jovan flipped me over pretty good one time. They're veterans, I expected them to compete. We just had a nice rhythm going for us.”

Cedar Rapids was competitive in the first half, still within striking distance at 34-17 at the break, thanks in part to a 20-yard strike from Wille Copeland to Everett Roberts on a fourth and long that made it 27-17. But the Storm (4-0) answered immediately, and were just too strong from there.

Titans coach Kyle Moore-Brown said it was a positive learning experience for his team, and was pleased with the effort.

“I thought we played all right,” he said. “A lot of teams kind of tuck tail against the defending champs and just wait to see what they do. We tried to attack them, and I thought we did a decent job. But this is a very good football team. Kudos to their coaching staff, they do everything well and they take advantage of your mistakes.”

Roberts was a bright spot for the Titans, with three touchdowns among four catches for 56 yards. Copeland completed 13 of 29 throws for 109 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but was replaced late by Kenneth Black. Black was 3-for-5 for 34 yards and a score. The Titans were outrushed 86-20 and outgained 361-157 overall. Elijah Fields led Cedar Rapids with 10 tackles. Jackson and Jamil Abdullah had eight stops each.

“We just wore them down,” said Storm coach Kurtiss Riggs. “We took away any sense of a running game and made them pretty one-dimensional. We won consistently in the trenches.”

If there was any consolation for the Titans defensive effort, it's that they forced Dixon to throw almost as many incompletions (eight) as he had in the Storm's first three games (10). Lorenzo Brown had nine catches for 80 yards for Sioux Falls, while Carl Sims had seven for 90 and Clinton Solomon five for 90, three for touchdowns.

“You look for a weak spot and it's just not there,” said Moore-Brown. “You try to keep Dixon in the pocket; try to box him in with inside pressure, but then they adjust with the quarterback draw. They're just a really good team.”

Riggs said he believes the Titans have “a good nucleus”, and liked the playmaking ability of both their quarterbacks. Moore-Brown said the Storm give his team a blueprint to strive toward.

“It was a pleasure playing them,” he said. “One day my team will be like that. I hope.”