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Three weeks ago, the Miami Valley Silverbacks brought back George Murray, their leading receiver from last season. They didn't know he would do more throwing than catching.

The former University of Cincinnati wideout stepped in for injured quarterback Jim Oliver last week and led the Silverbacks (2-5) to their first victory in six games. Penciled in as the starter — Oliver underwent surgery on his broken left wrist Thursday, May 1 — Murray will again be under center when the Silverbacks host the Fort Wayne Freedom at 7:30 p.m. today at Troy's Hobart Arena.

Silverbacks coach Carl Allen said Murray's athleticism fits the indoor game, in which teams often pass on 95 percent of the plays and a "running team" rushes 10 times per game.

"The quarterback has to have an extremely quick release," Allen said. "In the outdoor game, you have more time, but here these are split-second decisions."

Murray led the Silverbacks to a big lead last week before the Milwaukee Bonecrushers scored the game's final 28 points in Miami Valley's 43-42 win. But it wasn't that big of a change for Murray, who caught 46 passes for 628 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for the Silverbacks.

"He was recruited to UC as a quarterback," Allen said. "But he was on the depth chart behind a guy named Gino Guidugli."

• JaRell Smith, a 2000 graduate of Trotwood-Madison High School, is a 5-foot-9, 175-pound defensive back for Fort Wayne.

Today's game

Who: Fort Wayne

Freedom (3-3)

at Miami Valley Silverbacks (2-5)

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Hobart Arena, Troy

Tickets: $12 adults, $6 children 12 and younger

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