Hillsdale Alum Skelton Gets Win in 1st United Indoor Football League Start

By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
Sunday, June 26, 2005

PEORIA, Ill. – Despite not starting at quarterback in his professional career, Bill Skelton said he didn’t have any jitters after being named Fort Wayne’s starter this week.

Despite an interception and a couple off-target throws, Skelton didn’t show many nerves either.

Skelton completed 13-of-23 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns to help the Freedom snap a two-game losing streak with a 56-35 victory over Peoria in front of a sparse crowd Saturday at Carver Arena.

Fort Wayne (11-2) beat the Rough Riders (4-9) three times this season, and this was perhaps the most important. After starting the season with 10 consecutive victories, Fort Wayne had lost two straight.

“It was definitely a huge win for us, a morale booster for sure,” Skelton said. “We’ve been down the last two games, and we needed this win. It was on the road, good opponent. This team has never been beaten by the same team three times, so we knew that was going to be a tough challenge coming into it.

“We finally started playing Freedom football. We play with emotion. That’s what we talked about all week, playing with emotion and pride and getting back to the basics.”

Full Story from Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 06/26/2005 | First-time starter at QB gives Freedom needed lift