A lot on line tonight for Titans

CEDAR RAPIDS - The starting quarterback went down one week. The starting running back went down the next.

But the Cedar Rapids Titans can clinch their first berth in the Indoor Football League playoffs with a win tonight at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. And Coach Mark Stoute has made sure the team knows what exactly that would mean.

“There'll never be another first Titans playoff team,” he said Friday. “A lot of records get broken the year after you set them. But to be the first Titans team in the playoffs, that'll always be in the record books.

“They all understand the gravity of the situation.”

The Titans would clinch a spot by beating the last-place Green Bay Blizzard tonight. They also would clinch if the Chicago Slaughter, with an identical 8-5 record, loses to Green Bay on June 15. The Titans, who will have a bye on that last day of the regular season, own the tiebreaker with Chicago after winning the head-to-head regular season series.

They'll have to get to the postseason without most of the firepower they relied on all season. Running back Laron Council, who leads the IFL with 612 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, was placed on injured reserve last week.

A week earlier, quarterback Charles McCullum tore his ACL after passing for 1,350 yards and 30 touchdowns. McCullum also ran for 484 yards, good for fourth in the league.

But Titans reserves have stepped up in relief. Running back Anthony Silvers reached the end zone five times on May 31 in a 67-55 victory. And Colton Hansen, former Dubuque University and Olin quarterback, has taken over for McCullum. Hansen split quarterback duties earlier in the season, and came back into the lineup to throw four touchdown passes on May 31.

“We've got guys who have been able to seize the opportunity and keep things going for us,” Stoute said.

“It's tough to see a guy go down like that,” Hansen said. “But it's been a rush. I'm excited about how things are going. Making the playoffs would mean a lot, to us as a team and to the community.

“We made it our goal from the beginning of the season.”