Arkansas Diamonds Enjoy Their Bye With Division Lead
April 5, 2010 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Arkansas Diamonds News Release
The Arkansas Diamonds arena football team enter their bye week with a 4-1 record and the division lead.
The Arkansas Diamonds entered their bye week with a 4-1 record and the Eastern Division lead in the Intense Conference of the Indoor Football League. The Diamonds, formerly known as the Arkansas Twisters, will return to action on April 17 at the San Angelo Stampede Express. The team's lone hiccup along the way was a 29-21 loss to the Austin Turfcats on March 20.
The Diamonds have been led by a stifling defense which has amassed seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles and 16 sacks. The Diamond defense has limited their opponent to 2.2 yards rushing per game.
Leading the way for the Diamonds on defense are Arizona State's Luis Vasquez, Little Rock McClellan's Tyler "Superman" Knight, former Arkansas Razorback Vickiel Vaughn and Hawaii's Frances Maka.
Vasquez has been terrorizing opponent quarterbacks all season. He was named IFL Defensive Player of the Week the week of April 1st for his performance against the Abilene Ruff Riders. Vasquez leads the league with 5.5 sacks.
Knight has been all over the field for the Diamonds. The former McClellan Lion has a total of 40 tackles, two forced fumbles, an interception for a touchdown and three sacks as the Diamonds middle linebacker.
Vaughn, the former Arkansas Razorback and Dallas Cowboy, is tied for third in the IFL for pass-break-us (4) and interceptions (3). Vaughn also has a kick return for a touchdown. Frances Maka, a defensive end from the University of Hawaii, is tied for sixth in sacks with 3.5.
The Diamonds offense has its share of impact players as well. Several Diamonds are among the top of their statistical categories including Western Illinois' Coco Blaylock, Valdosta State's Willie Copeland, and Utah's Steven Savoy.
Blaylock has provided sparks in every game he has played including a game-opening kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Corpus Christi Hammerheads on April 3rd. He is third in the league in all-purpose yards with 567 and three touchdowns. Quarterback Willie Copeland has used his feet to his advantage rushing for 35 yards on the season which is ninth on the league. Copeland also has five touchdown rushes and eight touchdown passes.
Steven Savoy has become the top receiver for Copeland and the Diamond quarterbacks. The former Utah Ute has 263 yards receiving, sixth in the league and 7 touchdown catches.
The next Arkansas Diamonds football game will be March 1, 2010 when the Diamonds return home to host the Odessa Roughnecks. Fans can keep up with information about the Diamonds via www.ARDiamonds.com.
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