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Story Archives: Harrison steps up for Swashbucklers


Harrison steps up for Swashbucklers
by Joey Martin - posted Thursday, August 7th, 2008 @ 7:45 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Freddie Harrison preaches to his Ferriday High football team to always be ready for any opportunity to help the team.

Harrison practiced what he preached last month when he came off the bench to help his Louisiana Swashbuckler arena football team to a thrilling 59-57 win over Odessa in the Intense Football League playoffs to advance to the IFL title game, won by the Swashbucklers.

Harrison, who has seen limited his time with the team this year because of his coaching duties at Ferriday High, was called on in the semifinal contest after Swashbuckler quarterback Artie Bartie suffered a concussion in the second quarter and was forced to leave the game.

"I wasn't expecting to play," Harrison said. "You never know when you are going to get the call. It was kind of hard because we had also had a three-week layoff before that game."

Harrison, who was MVP of Intense Bowl III last year after leading the Swashbucklers to a 46-27 win over Corpus Christi, opted to stay on the roster in a limited role this year because of his commitment to his Ferriday High team. He has not been able to attend any practices.

Harrison completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Piper with 33 seconds remaining to give the Swashbucklers the win before their home crowd.

Harrison played the majority of the Odessa game. For most of the season Harrison practiced sparingly. He is head coach at Ferriday High and had to commute three hours each time he came to Lake Charles.

After a slow start, Harrison ran for one touchdown and threw for four more, including the winner to Shawn Piper in the final minute.

Harrison overcame a slow start and threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

"I can't practice much because it is a three-and-a-half hour drive (from Ferriday), so it took me a while to find a rhythm," said Harrison. "But I started feeling better as the game went along. I was getting banged up some but I feel great now. I am happy that (head coach) Darnell Lee showed faith in me to stick with me in such a big game."

Harrison misfired of nine of his first 10 attempts before finding his rhythm late in the half. The final three Swashbucklers possessions of the half ended in touchdowns, with Harrison scoring on 1-yard sneak and firing a laser in to Marcus Wilridge, who split two defenders and raced untouched into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown.

"It's kind of like riding a bike," Harrison said. "I know the offense and know what to do.

Bartie completed 4-of-6 passes for 37 yards and scored on a 9-yard run before leaving the game.

In the second half, the Swashbucklers twice reached the Odessa 3-yard line, but got only three points after a pair of bad shotgun snaps resulted in big losses. Odessa stretched its lead to 42-31 in the third period before Harrison found Sammy Knight down the right sideline for a 33-yard score.

A two-point run by Harrison cut the Odessa lead to three at 42-39 before the final heroics by the Swashbucklers.

"We found a way to win the football game," Harrison said. "That's what it's all about. I give a lot of credit to the team for stepping up and hanging in there."

Barite returned as a starter in the IFL championship game as the Swashbucklers became the only team in the four-year history of the IFL to finish unbeaten, going 16-0 after beating Corpus Christi

It was the second straight IFL title for the Swashbucklers.

The Swashbucklers fell to Sioux Falls 54-42 in a meeting of the IFL and United Indoor Football League champions on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bartie injured his ankle in the contest and Harrison once again was called off the sideline.

Louisiana recovered from an eleven point deficit to lead at half time before falling in the second half to the four time UIF Champion Storm 54-42. Playing with pure UIF rules the Swashbucklers battled and seemed to be the more athletic team on the field. It came down to the Storm using their own UIF rules and eventually wore down the Swashbucklers on confusing plays. The stats show a pretty even ball game where the Swashbucklers lead in passing yards and first down efficiency.

From the opening kickoff the Storm looked at home, marching down the field with a version of the new "spin" offense with a misdirection running game, something the IFL and AFL do not see. Their passing game was set up with screens with both motion receivers, something else the IFL does not have, setting the blocks for the third receiver. "It is totally different," Harrison said. "They were dropping linebackers and backs, which is something we don't see."

The United Indoor Football League and the Intense Football League announced their plans to merge, creating a partnership that will insure the long-term growth of the sport.

Sioux Falls has won all four UIF Championships and won 40 consecutive games from 2005 before losing a regular season game early this year.

Harrison now is concentrating fully on getting his Ferriday team ready for the 2008 season. And he doesn't want to hear any complaints from players who talk about being sore from working out.

"I took a beating against Odessa," he said. "I was pretty worn out."
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