Richmond, VA: Eight elite teams were left vying for superiority in the post season. These teams took to the field in four exciting games in the Conference Semi-Finals. Top contenders prevailed as almost all contests proved to be tight. With the smoke settled and the dust cleared, four final teams have emerged with their eyes set on becoming conference champions and ultimately, the United Bowl champions. Only four of the eight could achieve advancement and four teams were sent home after an exciting weekend of playoff football that included an amazing IFL Game of the Week.

The IFL Game of the Week started off a wonderful weekend of playoff battles. Both the Rochester Raiders (10-6) and Wichita Wild (11-5) came off huge first round victories. Both teams looked to be in tremendous form for their first meeting of the year. Raiders QB Perry Patterson kept his team in striking distance all game. Patterson went 14 for 33 with 155 yards and four touchdowns. The only knock on Patterson would be the two interceptions he gave up to Wichita's defenders. Wild QB Dixie Wooten would manage slightly better than his Rochester counterpart. Wooten went 19 for 23 on his passing attempts. He connected for three touchdown passes and 135 total yards on the day. The Wild were also able to keep control of the games' pace with the other component of their dominating offense. Running back Darius Fudge could not be contained by the Raiders. Fudge racked up 41 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against the Raiders. The combined offensive flurry on the ground and in the air sealed a 45-33 victory for the Wichita Wild. It is now the final countdown for Wichita as they head into the eye of the Storm. Wichita will travel to Sioux Falls for the United Conference Championship game.

IFL playoff action continued when then Sioux Falls Storm (13-3) hosted the Chicago Slaughter (7-9). The Slaughter had braced themselves for a severe storm, but ultimately could not hold up to the downpour of offense brought on by Sioux Falls. Chicago got struck by the Storm for a 47-33 loss. The game started off immediately in Sioux Falls favor, pulling out to an early 13-0 lead in first quarter. This would be consistent as the Storm outscored the Slaughter in every quarter of the game. Overall the game did end up being a close contest. Chicago had 223 total yards of offense for the game compared to Sioux Fall's 215 total yards of offense. The two teams' quarterbacks also proved to be similar on the stats sheet. QB Tavares Woodley went 16 for 28 on his pass attempts for 187 yards and two touchdowns passes. Woodley's downfall would be the interceptions he gave up. For the Storm, QB Terrance Bryant was able to provide a quality performance. Bryant went 15-21 on his passes for 105 yards with three TDs. While picked off once, the Sioux Falls quarterback was able to keep control for his team for the majority of the game. As the two seed, Sioux Falls will get to host the United Conference Championship game. The Storm will await the fourth seeded Wichita Wild in the final United Conference game before the United Bowl.

Timothy Brown of the Billings Outlaws (14-2) seemed to be anywhere and everywhere during Billings 68-39 derailing of the San Angelo Stampede Express (11-5). If you look to Billings' ground game, Brown was there with 68 yards and a touchdown run on eleven carries. On the Outlaws passing game, Brown was again part of the picture going 61 yards and scoring in the end zone for a touchdown on just six receptions. Brown was also in the midst of the kick return game by scoring on a kick return and also picking up 111 yards on his four returns. Not being eclipsed by his teammate, QB Chris Dixon also delivered in the Outlaw victory. Dixon went 19 for 30 on his passes for the day for 186 yards and 4 four touchdowns. While he was picked off once in the game, Dixon managed to make up for it by bringing in two rushing touchdowns to help his team. For San Angelo, they looked for another spectacular performance from their IFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Derrick Ross. The rookie running back had another impressive day picking up 55 yards and two touchdowns on eleven carries. However, San Angelo's offense couldn't ultimately keep up with Billings scoring drives as the Stampede Express were outscored every quarter by the Outlaws. Being the number one seed in the Intense Conference, Billings will travel to punch their ticket back to the United Bowl if they can win the Intense Conference championship at home against an impressive Arkansas Diamonds.

Coming into this Conference Semi-Final game, the Arkansas Diamonds (13-3) and the Amarillo Venom (12-4) met twice during the IFL regular season. The season series ended with a win a piece for both teams. The tiebreaker could not be held on any bigger a stage as the two squared off for the rights to play in the Intense Conference Championship game. While Amarillo appeared to strike earlier out of the gate, the Diamonds would end up cashing in on a victory. Arkansas scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to establish a lead they would never relinquish for a 46-31 win over the Venom. Amarillo QB Julian Reese seemed poised to take his team to the top. He went 14 for 25 with 235 yards and four touchdowns. However, Diamonds QB Brian Jones would more than match that performance. Going 15 for 26 on his passing attempts, Jones had 246 yards with five passes going in for touchdown receptions. He also had 42 yards and a touchdown on ten rushes. Arkansas will have a tough road ahead as they travel to Billings for the Intense Conference Championship game. They will need a repeat offensive outburst if they wish to shine through to the United Bowl.

The Conference Semi-Final Vidswap.com IFL Players of the Week will be announced on Wednesday. The IFL Post Season will continue with the IFL Conference Finals featuring the Wichita Wild against the Sioux Falls Storm and Arkansas Diamonds battling the Billings Outlaws both on Saturday, July 10th.

The Indoor Football League was created in 2008 from a merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football Association. It consists of 25 teams located across the United States from Alaska to Washington D.C. For more information about all things IFL log on to www.GoIFL.com or contact Jeremy Hirsch, IFL Communications Department, at the league office, (804)643-7277.

The Tri-Cities Fever ended its first season in the Indoor Football League on Sunday with a playoff loss to the Billings Outlaws.

But the loss was more of a beginning than an ending for the Fever.

The Fever, under the direction of coach Adam Shackleford, breathed some fresh air into an organization this season, and made the team competitive again.

Not only did the Fever make the playoffs, it gave the defending champion, the Billings Outlaws, a big scare as the Fever walked out with a 54-45 loss.

The loss still stings, but it served as one big lesson to Shackleford.

"In this league, if you want to win in the playoffs, you need to have home play off games," he said.

Which means, you need to win more regular-season games.

That right there is some incentive to get started for 2011, which Shackleford and his staff have already done. And to get ready for next season, the Fever has some success to stand on.

Tri-Cities finished the season with seven victories, the same amount the organization had the two previous seasons combined. The Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and brought back some excitement to the Toyota Center, winning five of its seven home games.

"This was definitely a good start," said Shackleford, who is expected to meet with team owners this week to discuss the possibility of a long-term contract. "We are trying to build a premier organization here. We're not there yet, but we are a lot closer than we were seven months ago."

Shackleford and his staff accomplished a lot in short time with the Fever. Shackleford started off with a bunch of talented players who have never played in the IFL before. Shackleford had never coached in the IFL before.

The inexperience showed at times early on, but as the season progressed so did the team. The Fever won six of its final eight regular season games to finish third in the Pacific North Division and earned the Intense Conference's No. 6 playoff seed.

The Fever finished the season with a 7-8 record, with four of those losses coming against Billings. But Shackleford tends to look at the record a little differently.

"We finished the season 7-7, and we had one playoff loss," he said.

Shackleford said he would like to bring back a huge chunk of this year's roster as he prepares for next season. But before we look too far ahead, let's take a look back at some of the milestones from the Fever's first season in the IFL.

Key Dates:

Saturday, April 10: The Fever picked up their first-ever IFL victory, beating the Fairbanks Grizzlies 44-39 at Toyota Center.

Saturday, May 8: The Fever scored a season-high 71 points in a home victory over Kent.

Friday, June 4: The Fever ends a road losing streak that lasted more than two years with a 57-50 victory at Kent.

Saturday, June 12: The Fever won its fourth game in a row, beating an Alaska Wild traveling team 64-26 at Toyota Center.

Sunday, June 27: The Fever made its return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Individual accomplishments:

Wide receiver Thyron Lewis was named to the all-IFL second-team. During the regular season, he had 50 catches, 25 of those were touchdowns. ... Defensive end Ameer Ismail was named IFL defensive player of the week after a 57-50 road win over Kent. He had 11.5 tackles, four of those were for a loss. He added an interception, a sack and a blocked field goal. ... Defensive back Montavis Pitts earned the league's defensive player of the week after the Fever's first IFL victory on April 10. Pitts had two interceptions; one returned for a touchdown and also had 9.5 tackles.

Closing numbers:

The Fever defense led the IFL in touchdowns scored with 10. ... The Fever offense was ranked third in the league in points per game at 51.3. ... Thyron Lewis ranked fourth in the league in TD catches with 25. ... Despite playing just seven games, Tyson Thompson led the team in all-purpose yards with 849. He also led the team in rushing with 189 yards and seven touchdowns. ... Brandon Copeland led the team in receptions with 60 and receiving yards with 689. ... Jo Artis Ratti led the team in tackles with 78. ... Montavis Pitts led the team with four interceptions.

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Tri-Cities Fever came within a few inches of shocking the Indoor Football League world and the Billings Outlaws.

But, in the end, a few costly penalties ended the Fever's remarkable second-half turnaround to the season with a 54-45 loss to the defending IFL champions Sunday at the Billings SportsPlex.

The Fever ends its season first IFL season with a 7-8 record after a 1-5 start -- four of those losses came against the Outlaws (13-2). Billings moves on to play with winner of West Texas/Amarillo in the second round.

Tri-Cities, which lost to the Outlaws 68-40 last Saturday, had a chance to tie the game or take the lead with four minutes left, trailing 52-45.

The Fever, however, could not take advantage. Tri-Cities was called for a hold in the end zone for a safety and gave the ball back to Billings on its next possession, down 54-45, ending a chance for a comeback.

Earlier in the second half, it was Billings that needed to comeback. It appeared the Fever was in full control after a strong close to the first half and a fast start to the third quarter.

Tri-Cities took its first lead of the game on its first possession of the third quarter. The Fever needed just two plays to go 31 yards and scored on an 11-yard run by Ray Little. Houston Lillard ran the ball in the end zone for a two-point conversion and Tri-Cities led 35-32. The Fever then appeared to have Billings stopped after four straight plays. But a roughing the kicker penalty on fourth-down-and-12 gave the ball back to the Outlaws and they would eventually score going ahead, 38-35.

The Fever had the answer, four plays later Lillard scored on a 2-yard run to give Tri-Cities the lead again at 42-38. But the Outlaws would score the next two touchdowns to take the lead for good.

The upset that almost was, was quite a feat after the Fever got off to another slow start against the Outlaws. Billings returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and led 13-0 less than 4 minutes into the game. Billings, which led 27-7 after the first quarter a week earlier, was off to a 26-7 start Sunday. Only this time, the Fever would not go away.

Tri-Cities scored on its final three possessions of the first half and trailed 32-27 at halftime, turning the second half into a game that would not be decided until the final minutes.

Lillard had a solid game for the Fever, completing 21 of 34 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for another touchdown.

Brandon Copeland had eight catches for 82 yards and one touchdown to lead the Fever receiving corps. Little and Thyron Lewis each had four catches.

Billings quarterback Chris Dixon was nearly perfect. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 162 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for 134 yards on 18 carries and another score.

Every time Thyron Lewis caught a pass this season, it seemed like he was standing in the end zone.

That's because he was half of the time he was.

Lewis caught 50 passes for the Tri-Cities Fever during the regular season, 25 of them were for touchdowns. His efficiency and reliability was recognized Thursday when he was named to the Indoor Football League second-team as a receiver.

Lewis, in his first full season with the Fever, led the team in all most every receiving category, including those 25 touchdown catches, ranking him fourth in the league.

Lewis finished the regular season with 50 catches for 675 yards, and is a big reason why the Fever is in the playoffs.

Lewis and his teammates take on the defending IFL champion Billings Outlaws (12-2) this Sunday at 2 p.m. in Billings in the first round of the IFL playoffs. It's the Fever's (7-7) first playoff appearance since 2007.

Lewis had a touchdown catch in 11 of the Fever's 13 games this season. In nine games, he had at least two touchdown catches. His best game of the season came in a 55-49 loss to Kent on March 27 when he had seven receptions for 170 yards and four TDs.

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Tri-Cities Fever finished the regular season in a disappointing way Saturday night, falling 68-40 to the defending Indoor Football League champions Billings Outlaws at MetraPark Arena.

The good news is it looks like the Fever will get chance at some redemption against the defending champs next week in the first round of the playoffs.

The Fever (7-7) and the Outlaws (12-2) are expected to open the IFL playoffs next Sunday in Billings. The Outlaws are 3-0 against the Fever this season.

The loss ends a spectacular second-half turnaround for the Fever in its first IFL season. Tri-Cities won six of its final eight games to make the playoffs. It is the first time since 2007 that the Fever organization has qualified for the playoffs. And the seven wins, matches the total wins the Fever had in 2008 and 2009 combined.

If the Fever wants to continue this great late-season surge and get a different result next week, it needs to slow down Billings quarterback Chris Dixon and be more efficient on offense.

Dixon, the two-time reigning league MVP, completed 22 of 25 passes for 259 yards and six touchdowns Saturday night. Meanwhile, Fever quarterback Houston Lillard struggled, completing just 20 of 33 passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns. He did throw three interceptions and fumbled once. One interception was returned for a touchdown and the fumble was also returned for another score.

The Fever stalled out early on offense allowing Billings to jump out to a quick 20-0 lead. The Fever would only get as close as 13 points the rest of the way.

Billings led 41-20 at halftime and lead grew to 48-20 early in the third quarter when Lillard was intercepted and his pass returned 37 yards for a score.

Brandon Copeland led the Fever with seven receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown. Johnny Walker had six catches for a team-high 75 yards and a TD.

The Fever defense that was allowing just 32 points per game in its last three wins, had given up that many points Saturday night with more than five minutes left in the first half.

The Tri-Cities Fever is back in the playoffs. It's a nice reward for coach Adam Shackleford and his players in their first year in the Indoor Football League. And it's a pretty good accomplishment considering the Fever started the season 1-5.

But while the Fever, an organization that has struggled winning only seven games in the last two seasons combined, appears to be on the road to recovery, Shackleford says there is a lot more work to do.

"We're not anywhere close to being done," he said. "This is not a done deal."

The next step starts Saturday in Billings against, the defending IFL champion, in the final regular season game for both teams. Billings is 11-2 on the season and looking for a second straight title. The Fever, which has played the Outlaws tough at times this season, has lost the two previous meetings this season.

"The first time I think we played well enough to win, we just dropped some passes," Shackleford said. "The second time, we played well for 2 ½ quarter and then let it slip away."

The Outlaws' recipe for success is rather simple. It falls on the shoulders of league MVP quarterback Chris Dixon.

"They are a solid football team with a great quarterback," Shackleford said.

The Fever is looking for a breakthrough win against the Outlaws, which could be its first opponent in the playoffs the following weekend.

After the Fever's 64-26 win over an Alaska traveling team last Saturday at Toyota Center, all the players could talk about was getting a chance to play Billings again.

"Our main focus is to go get a win at Billings," said linebacker Jo Artis Ratti.

The Fever has won six of its last seven games since losing to the Outlaws 70-49 on April 29 at Toyota Center.

"We've got to be ready," Shackleford said.

INJURY UPDATE: Defensive back Lionell Singleton (concussion) and defensive lineman Curtis Terry (flu) are both available Saturday night after missing last week's game against Alaska. Running back Antoine Rutherford is still out, but could be available for the playoffs.

STREAKING: The Fever has won its last four games, including a forfeit win against Alaska to climb above the .500-mark for the first time since 2007.

STAT SHEET: The Fever has moved up to third in the IFL in points per game, scoring 52.4. Billings is No. 1 at 55.9. ... The Fever defense ranks first in the league in touchdowns scored with 10. ... Thryon Lewis is fifth in the league in TD receptions with 23. Brandon Copeland is 11th with 16.

CATCH THE FEVER: Listen to the Fever on KONA 610 AM or watch the game on the B2 Network at Kimo's on Saturday night. Game time is set for 6 p.m. local time.