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Iowa pulls past Mid-Missouri

By Tony BoonePublished: Sunday, July 3, 2011 12:13 AM CDT

Iowa made good on Chuck Wright’s guarantee. And now it will play for a three-peat.

The Blackhawks backed their retiring quarterback’s vow to return to the American Professional Football League title game by topping Mid-Missouri 57-45 Saturday’s semifinal at the Mid-America Center.

The victory puts Iowa (7-5), the reigning two-time APFL champion, into next Saturday’s final against the winner of Sunday’s game between unbeaten Sioux City and six-time league champion Kansas. The Bandits (12-0) are in their first season in the APFL and are the top seed in the playoffs.

Wright, who guaranteed a Blackhawk win early in the week, threw for four touchdowns in what could be his final home game at the MAC. His team was helped Saturday by five Outlaw turnovers.

“I’m obviously excited to get back and go to battle with Sioux City or Kansas,” Wright said. “We’re peaking right now, and we’re excited to defend the title.”

Iowa earned its way to back to the championship game by playing opportunistic defense. It intercepted Kyle Middleton four times, six if you count the two picks he threw on two-point conversion tries.

Four of those passes ended up in the hands of Blackhawk safety Chris Moore, who returned the final one the length of the field for two points to cap the scoring.

The Council Bluffs native, who said after the game that this will also be his final season, said it was nice to get to Middleton. The Outlaw quarterback has led Mid-Missouri to three come-from-behind victories over Iowa in the past three seasons, including once this year.

He’s a playmaker, and he tries to make things happen,” Moore said. “But a lot of times he just throws the ball up. We just tried to get to the ball and be ballhawks.”

The Blackhawks scored 19 points off turnovers in the rematch of last year’s title game.

Andrew Seymour caught a pair of first-quarter TD pass from Wright as Iowa went up 14-0. The Blackhawks, who also got two scores each from Steve Rush and Brunow Augustine, never trailed.

And unlike in some previous games against the Outlaws (5-7), they put the game away with two fourth-quarter TDs. Earlier this season, Iowa blew a three-score lead in Sedalia, Mo., in the final period.

“We were targeting July 9,” Blackhawk coach Mike Wolff said. “That’s what our focus was all year long. We were going to get better each week and were going to peak at the right time.

“All in all, I think we’re ready to go.”

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"The Iowa Blackhawks are a member of the American Professional Football League (APFL). The American Professional Football League (APFL), a member of the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL), and its member teams are not affiliated, sponsored, or associated with the Arena Football League (AFL) or any of its member teams."