A successful inaugural season for the Wisconsin Wolfpack in the Continental Indoor Football League came to a close Saturday night as it fell to the Chicago Slaughter, 63-19, in the 2009 CIFL Western Conference Championship Game.

In a repeat of the last meeting between the Wolfpack and the Slaughter, the Wolfpack struck first, finishing a 32-yard drive to start the game with a three-yard touchdown run by Tex Brown.  The Slaughter would score the next 42 points of the game, though, to take a commanding lead.

Two Russ Michna touchdown passes put the Slaughter up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.  In the second quarter, penalties and errors began to take their toll on the Wolfpack.  After a Tom Kudyba pass to Reggie Davis set up the Wolfpack with first and goal at the Slaughter one, a miscommunication between running back Eric Donoval and center Brent Allen resulted in an early snap getting by Donoval and a loss of 12.  Delay of game penalties on two of the next three plays set the Wolfpack back further before Paul Schroeder missed a 27-yard field goal.  The Slaughter took hold of the momentum at that point as Michna threw for two more scores and Brandon Fields returned an interception 50 yards to put Chicago up, 35-7, at halftime.

Nick Cosentino scored on a three-yard run to open the third quarter and give the Slaughter a 42-7 advantage before Donoval answered back for the Wolfpack with a one-yard touchdown run.

Michna would throw two more touchdown passes before being replaced by Steve LaFalce in the fourth quarter.  He would finish the night 16-for-24, passing for 264 yards and six scores.  LaFalce would score the final touchdown of the contest on an eight-yard touchdown scramble, but not before Reggie Davis scored the Wolfpack’s final points on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Kudyba.

With the victory, the Slaughter completed a four-game season sweep of the Wolfpack and remained perfect after a 12-0 regular season.  Meanwhile, Wolfpack coach Jordan Kopac remained proud of his team and its effort.

“This team wasn’t going to lose,” Kopac said.  “They were going to have to get beat.  They just got beat tonight.”

The Slaughter will move on to host the Fort Wayne Freedom in the 2009 CIFL Championship Game next Saturday after the Freedom became the first-ever road team to win a CIFL playoff game, defeating the Marion Mayhem, 49-40, in the Eastern Conference championship.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack will now set their sights on their second outdoor season and first in the Mid-Continental Football League.  The first game for the outdoor Wolfpack, which will feature a number of players from the indoor team, will be at 6 p.m. on July 25, against the Detroit Seminoles in Livonia, Mich., while the Wolfpack will play their first outdoor home game Saturday, August 1, against the Southern Michigan Timberwolves at Schneider Stadium on the campus of Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis.  More information on the outdoor Wolfpack can be found at http://www.wiwolfpack.com/outdoor.