Kayne Farquharson healthy going into IFL title game against Sioux Falls

Just like the other veterans who returned from last year, Nebraska Danger wide receiver Kayne Farquharson is thrilled to have the opportunity to play once again in the Indoor Football League’s United Bowl.

His only regrets include that Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. championship game is being played in Sioux Falls, not Grand Island. Another one is that it is the Storm that is defending a championship from last season, not the Danger.

But for one scary stretch of Thursday’s Intense Conference championship game win over Colorado, returning to the United Bowl was the last thing on Farquharson’s mind.

The University of Miami product left the field on a stretcher after taking a hard hit into the dasher boards early in the third quarter.

“I bobbled the ball,” Farquharson said. “I should have caught the ball and the defender tackled me into the wall, and my neck got caught between the wall and the field. It was hurting at first.

“They took me to the hospital for precautionary reasons.”

It was a frightening moment for Farquharson.

“I was crying. I was scared,” he said. “It was one of those deals where I didn’t know what was going on. I saw the trainers whispering to each other. It terrified me.”

But after the initial scare, it quickly became apparent to Farquharson that he would be fine.

“I knew I was alright on the way to the hospital,” he said. “When I got to the van, they put IVs on me and I was moving my head. I knew I was cool.”

Farquharson was released from the hospital in time to join his teammates on the bus ride home, celebrating a 45-15 blowout win.

Now the focus is squarely on the Sioux Falls Storm, the team that edged the Danger 43-40 in last year’s United Bowl.

“That was the goal since February,” said Farquharson of winning the United Bowl. “When we saw 18 guys were coming back, we knew what time it was. It was championship or nothing.”

This year’s postseason has a different feel than last year’s breakthrough season for the Danger.

“Last year was kind of a surprise to everybody,” Farquharson said. “We didn’t know how far we were going to get. Now we know what we’ve got, so we’ll go in there with a confident mindset.”

Farquharson led Nebraska this season with 54 catches and 690 yards receiving. He was second on the team with 12 touchdowns catches.

Andre Piper-Jordan topped the Danger with 15 touchdowns among his 41 receptions for 594 yards. Troy Evans has added 38 catches for 341 yards and four scores.

Those receivers may provide the Danger with its best match-up advantage over the Storm, Nebraska coach Mike Davis said.

“I like our receivers and their secondary. I do,” he said. “I think we have a lot of guys that know their guys. They have three starters (in the secondary) that played for us in the last two years. So we know their pros and cons, what they’re good at.

“Granted, they know our defense inside and out, which is fine. You still need to execute and know where you’re going and what to do. We’ll have a good game plan offensively, and we’ll see if we can’t exploit some holes in (Sioux Falls’ defense).”

Farquharson is glad to get back on the field, this time to try and bring an IFL championship back to Grand Island.

“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “Grand Island is a great city. This is a great organization. It deserves the best.”


(theindependent.com)