Wild beats Beef, earns spot in CPIFL title game

The Wichita Wild defeated the Omaha Beef 31-25 on Saturday night in Omaha to earn a spot in next Saturday’s CPIFL championship game against the Salina Bombers at Hartman Arena in Park City.

Chris Hemphill was the star on defense for the Wild with three interceptions as the game swung back and forth. Joe Kassanavoid led Wichita’s offense with six catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Omaha led 9-7 at halftime, but a Hemphill interception with Omaha driving on its first drive of the second half set up a 29-yard touchdown run by Wichita’s Travis Ribbing for a 14-9 lead. Omaha took the lead back at 18-14, but Wichita rallied for a 30-yard field goal from Alex Fambrough to make the score 18-17.

Another Hemphill interception on Omaha’s next possessesion set up a Rocky Hinds-to-Jarrel Kelley touchdown pass for a 24-18 lead headed to the fourth quarter. A 19-yard touchdown pass from Hinds to Kassanavoid made the score 31-18.

Saturday’s championship game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff, with tickets going on sale Monday.

Scoring summary

W—Kassanavoid 8 pass from Hinds (Fambrough kick)

O—Tomlinson 34 FG

O—Stephens 45 pass from McNear (kick failed)

W—Ribbing 29 run (Fambrough kick)

O—Walton safety

O—McNear 16 run (Tomlinson kick)

W—Fambrough 30 FG

W—Kelley 24 pass from Hinds (Fambrough kick)

W—Kassanavoid 19 pass from Hinds (Fambrough kick)

O—Jones 5 pass from McNear (Tomlinson kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing—Wichita, Hinds 5-30, Ribbing 6-24, Hubbard 7-9. Omaha, McNear 8-92, Rollins 3-5, Banks 1-0.

Passing—Wichita, Hinds 12-23-141-1. Omaha, McNear 13-24-136-3.

Receiving—Wichita, Kassanavoid 6-75, Simmons 3-25, Kelley 1-24, Murph 1-13, Hubbard 1-4. Omaha, Harrold 4-36, Rollins 2-15, Stephens 2-53, Jones 2-14, Banks 1-15, Kildow 1-3.

This story was originally published June 15, 2013 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Wild beats Beef, earns spot in CPIFL title game."