Discounts available for Outlawz games


The Lehigh Valley Outlawz have four home games remaining at Stabler Arena this season, and discount tickets are available for Lehigh University faculty, staff, and students.
The $2.50 discount is only available on tickets purchased at the Stabler box office, not for tickets purchased online.
The Outlawz, a new professional minor-league football franchise competing in the first-year Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), are out to a 3-2 start. The league is comprised of six teams: Lehigh Valley; New York/New Jersey; Battle Creek and Port Huron in Michigan; Marion, Ohio; and Rochester, N.Y. The plan is for the league to expand to 16 teams (with two division of eight teams apiece) in 2007.
The remaining home games for the team, owned by Jim DePaul, are: May 27 vs. Battle Creek; June 3 vs. Rochester; June 17 vs. Marion; and June 24 vs. Port Huron. All games are on Saturdays at 7:05 p.m.
The GLIFL is a 7-on-7 league comprised of six teams playing a 10-game regular-season schedule followed by playoffs and a championship game—dubbed the “Great Lakes Bowl.” The rules are similar to Arena Football I and II, with receivers allowed to get running starts from behind the line of scrimmage.
While the rules plus the fact that there are four less guys on the field per team than in high school, college football and NFL football might take some getting use to, Lehigh football fans have three familiar faces to cheer for in Outlawz quarterback Chad Schwenk, Outlawz wide receiver/defensive back Karrie Ford, and Outlawz defensive back Andrew Nelson. All three are former Lehigh players.
Schwenk began his college career at Rutgers before transferring to Lehigh. In his two seasons at Lehigh (2002 and 2003), Schwenk threw for 2,713 yards, 21 TDs and 17 interceptions. In Lehigh Valley’s 41-26 season-opening win over Marion (Ohio), Schwenk completed 11 of 16 throws for 136 yards and two TDs.
Ford, a senior captain on the 2004 Mountain Hawks, registered 151 career tackles and two career interceptions at Lehigh. Ford had four tackles in the Outlawz season-opening win earlier this month.
Nelson was a senior on this past season’s eight-win Mountain Hawks team, notching 34 tackles and one interception for Lehigh in 2005. He finished with 97 career stops and three career interceptions at Lehigh. Nelson had a pair of tackles in the opener for the Outlawz.
Ticket prices are $25, $15 and $8.50. Tickets are available at the Stabler Arena Box Office and other Ticketmaster outlets. For additional information, please contact the Stabler Arena Box Office at (610) 758-6611 or go online to the Lehigh Valley Outlawz.com.
--Bill Doherty