Alaska is lone winless team in IFL

72-31: Extreme hand the Wild their most lopsided loss of their 0-5 season.

Published: May 4th, 2009 10:59 PM
Last Modified: May 4th, 2009 10:59 PM

If Dan Sullivan and Eric Croft were looking to earn some last-minute votes before today's election for Anchorage mayor by campaigning at Monday night's Alaska Wild game, they chose the wrong week.

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An estimated season-low 1,500 fans showed up to Sullivan Arena and saw the Wild get pounded 72-31 by the Bloomington Extreme.

The Wild remained winless in five games with first-year coach Floyd Johnson after suffering their most lopsided loss of the season.

The Wild are the Intense Football League's only winless team, according to the IFL's Web site. They sit last place team in the Pacific Division.

But that didn't stop Sullivan and Croft from making an election-eve showdown before the game. The mayoral candidates walked to midfield together for the coin toss.

Sullivan flipped the coin while Croft stood next to his 8-year-old son, Burke, who was trying his best to get a player to sign his football. Burke got the ball last season when he and his dad saw their first Wild game.

"He never lets that ball out of his sight," Croft said. "He sleeps with that ball."

The candidates then relinquished center stage to the teams, and it was all Bloomington after that.

The Extreme scored on their first play from scrimmage - a six-play, 37-yard drive that ended on Keith Brooks' four-yard touchdown run.

Brooks added another rushing touchdown and two receiving touchdowns to help quarterback Mitch Tanney torch Alaska with seven touchdown passes.

The Wild did little to respond to Bloomington's strong opening drive. They were scoreless on their first three possessions.

Life on the artificial turf improved after a switch at quarterback with 9:00 left in the second quarter. Starter Damion Ward was replaced by Earl Mason, who made his presence known from the start.

The Alabama native tossed a 25-yard touchdown strike to Solomon Jones on his first pass play to cut the Wild's deficit to 28-7.

But the Wild couldn't keep the momentum going. Alaska suffered its worse first-half defensive effort of the season, giving up 31 points.

Trailing 31-7, the Wild were headed for their second straight seven-point half before DeMarcus James returned a kickoff 50 yards for the touchdown. It was James' fourth TD return of the season, the most in the IFL.

As for Sullivan and Croft, Sullivan headed for the door after the Wild gave up their first touchdown - four minutes and two seconds into the game. Croft stayed through halftime and left sometime during the third quarter.

"Burke wants to stay the entire game, but that's not going to happen," he said.

Croft didn't promise to figure out the Wild's troubles if elected mayor, but he made one predcition: "I have a better chance of being the mayor than the Wild have with turning their season around."

Find Daily News sports reporter Kevin Klott at adn.com/sports/kklott or 257-4335.

Bloomington 14 24 14 20 -- 72

Wild 0 14 11 6 -- 31

First Quarter

Bloomington -- Brooks 4 run (Christofilakos kick), 10:58.

Bloomington -- Johnson 15 pass from Tanney (Christofilakos kick), 4:52.

Second Quarter

Bloomington -- Warrick 9 pass from Tanney (Christofilakos kick), 13:56.

Bloomington -- Tanney 3 run (Christofilakos kick), 9:07.

Wild -- Jones 25 pass from Mason (Tongate kick), 8:13.

Bloomington -- Christofilakos 21 FG, 2:56.

Wild -- James 50 kickoff return (Tongate kick), 2:48.