Combines Twist the Twirps

Pittman continues to star for the Combines...

(Lind, WA) - Following a week of boastful predictions by the Twisp Twirps the Inland Empire Fightin' Combines entered the game with quiet confidence choosing to let their actions speak for themselves. And boy did they ever. The Combines posted their highest score of the season defeating the Twirps 117-98 in front of 50,000 rabid Inland Empire fans at the Lion's Club Arena in Lind.

"This is an incredible win for us," said coach Brandon Sparks on the field after the game amidst a group of fans who stormed the field. "It's always great to beat our rivals but to do it in such an amazing way playing our best game against their best game, it makes it even more special."

RB Michael Pittman led the way for the Combines scoring 33 points while QB Jake Plummer in his second start scored 25. Plummer has scored 57 points in his two games as a starter while Pittman has scored 53 in his last two games. Plummer has a bye in week 10 and Michael Vick will start in his place.

"Both of these guys have been incredible over the last few weeks and have become the backbone of this team," said Sparks. "It isn't a coincidence that we've won two straight with Jake at the helm."

Fans swarmed the field as soon as the game ended and tore down the South goalposts during the celebration. The goalposts were last seen in Lind being loaded into a pickup truck on Main Street after being paraded through town. There were reports that the goalposts were deposited 178 miles away at the Twirps headquarters in Twisp.

This weekend the Combines welcome the OTHG to the Lion's Club Arena. The OTHG has won five straight games and is tied for the CFFL's best record at 7-2. It's Odessa Community Day at the game. Odessa residents get in for free and receive a Combine logo Beer Stein courtesy of the Odessa Deutschesfest.

Week Nine Preview - Twirps at Combines

The Inland Empire Fightin' Combines (3-5) host the the Twisp Twirps (2-6) this weekend at the Lind Lion's Club Arena and FightinCombines.blogspot.com takes a look at the matchups

Quarterback: Trent Green (Twirps) vs. Jake Plummer (Inland Empire) - With RB Priest Holmes battering opponents Green has been playing against teams looking solely to stop the running game and he has taken advantage throwing for 398 yards and three TD's last week. Plummer trumped those numbers however throwing for 499 yards and nine TD's in his first start for the Combines. Green takes on the league's best passing defense, Tampa Bay, while Plummer faces Houston. Advantage: Combines

Running back 1: Jamal Lewis (T) vs. Rudi Johnson (IE) - Lewis returns from a two game suspension against a decent rushing defense in Cleveland. However Lewis usually torches the Browns and he most definitely will have a chip on his shoulder this weekend. Johnson continues to be fair-to-middling this season. You never really know what your going to get out of him and shouldn't be a number one running back. Only on the Combines. He does however face a weak rushing defense in Dallas. Advantage: Twirps

Running back 2: Lee Suggs (CT) vs. Kevan Barlow (IE) - Suggs has been pretty useful despite splitting time with William Green in the Brown's backfield. Has his work cut out for him against Baltimore this weekend though. Barlow has been a massive letdown this season and should continue to struggle against Seattle. He is capable of big games and one of his main backfield rivals Kamal Robertson was released this week meaning Barlow will continue to get a majority of the carries. Advantage: Even

Flex: Santana Moss (T) vs. Michael Pittman (IE) - Moss only has six receptions in his last four games. QB Chad Pennington seems to favor their other receivers despite the obvious talent of Moss. Pittman exploded in week seven for 20 points. He actually scored a touchdown, a rarity for him. With Mike Alstott out, Pittman figures to get even more carries especially down near the goal-line. Advantage: Combines

Wide Receiver 1: Keenan McCardell (T) vs. Andre Johnson (IE) - McCardell caught a touchdown last week in his second game as a Charger. If his ego would let him, he would be an outstanding receiver. Should continue to get more throws unless he pisses someone off. After scoring 29 points in week five Johnson has only scored 12 points in his last two games. Defenses are focusing on him and not allowing him to get into the endzone like he was. Look for him to adjust soon and continue to grow into a great receiver. Advantage: Combines

Wide Receiver 2: David Patten (T) vs. Nate Burleson (IE) - Patten has been very up and down this season. The glut of interchangeable receivers in New England is the main reason. Which one will get the throws this week? Burleson has does an excellent job of playing number two to Randy Moss, however Moss continues to struggle with his health and Burleson should see a ton of passes. They take on Indianapolis so expect another shootout. Advantage: Combines

Tight End: L.J. Smith (T) vs. Eric Johnson (IE) - Smith is a servicable tight end who manages to score some touchdowns. Johnson on the other hand, despite only one catch last week, is one of the top three tight ends in football. Advantage: Combines

Kicker: Nate Kaeding (T) vs. Kris Brown (IE) - Kaeding is 10-for-11 in field goals and has 27 extra points. The Chargers take on the Saints so they should score plenty of points. Brown is 13-for-14 with 15 extra points. He takes on Denver. Advantage: Even

Defense: Eagles (T) vs. Steelers (IE) - These two defenses face each other this week. Philadelphia is holding teams to only 14.9 points per game, second in the NFL, however they give up 338 yards of offense per game. The Steelers held the previously undefeated New England team at bay last week. They are fifth in the NFL in total defense giving up only 282 yards per game. Advantage: Even

Overall: This game will come down to one player. Jamal Lewis. If Lewis comes back from suspension and can run wild like he normally does against the Browns then the Combines are going to be hard pressed to make up those points elsewhere. However, the Twirps only have a clear advantage over the Combines in that one position. If he has just an average day and the Combines get average production out of the rest of their team the Combines should win.

Combines Explode To Beat Ramblers

Jake Plummer led the Combines with 32 points

(Lind, WA) - The Inland Empire Fightin' Combines (3-5) exploded for a season high 104 points this weekend beating the Ramblers (2-6) by 19 points. QB Jake Plummer got his first start and posted a huge game throwing for almost 500 yards and four touchdowns for 32 points. The Steelers defense chipped in another 26 points to lead the Combines to victory.

"I can't say how excited I am to get a win in front of these great fans this week," said coach Brandon Sparks in his weekly radio show. "They stood by us despite our poor play and they were rewarded with a great win."

Backup quarterback Michael Vick also had a huge game posting 29 points. When asked about a budding quarterback controversy, Sparks didn't rule out a competition.

"Jake is our man now," said Sparks. "His play lifted up everybody this week. However you can't ignore what Mike did and what he can bring to a game. He has a bye this week but he'll be our starter in week 10 since Jake is off and we'll see what happens."

The Combines continue their three game homestand this weekend when the Twisp Twirps (2-6) come to town. The Twirps started the season as the Olympia Slugs after moving from Seattle. The move forced the Capitol Mall Rats to move to Lind and become the Fightin' Combines. Since then the Olympia City Council evicted the Slugs from Banana Republic Field in Olympia and they relocated to Twisp for the remainder of the season.

"We can't look past the Twirps," continued Sparks. "Despite all of their problems they have some solid players. On the other hand, if we don't beat them, we'll have to seriously look at our team and figure out what went wrong."

The Combines had planned on a "beat the Slugs" promotion but have cancelled that promotion. It is still Inland Empire Pride featuring free tickets for Eastern Washington residents. Western Washington residents twice the price. Twisp residents also pay double. Inland Empire Pride day is sponsored by the Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Western Montana separatists.