Fayetteville Guard 2005 Season Wrap-Up
July 19, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Fayetteville Guard News Release
The Fayetteville Guard put together one of the most dramatic turnarounds in professional sports history as they began the season 0-5 before winning 8 of their last 10 games including 5 in a row to finish the 2005 season at 8-8 and qualify for the playoffs.
The Guard suffered narrow early season losses at St. Louis (46-43), at Cincinnati (57-54) and against Rome (60-57). In the 2nd quarter of that Rome game, Fayetteville lost quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen from the University of Hawaii, to a broken right throwing arm. Withy-Allen had played well in his first 4 games passing for 17 scores.
With the Guard at 0-5 and their season on the ropes, two new quarterbacks entered the mix and provided solid results. Joe Davis and Brian Baker led the team to 8 victories in the last ten games and a berth in the Atlantic Conference playoffs. Davis established new league records for completion percentage in a season (70%) and pass efficiency rating in a season (112.5). Baker played great as well completing almost 65% of his throws and accounting for 20 touchdowns. The 3 Guard quarterbacks combined to account for almost 3,000 passing yards and 71 touchdowns.
The 0-5 start not only produced two new signal callers but also a new head coach. Former Oakland Raider Mike Siani was hired after former coach Terry Smith was forced to resign because of health issues in week 5. Siani, drafted in the 1st round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders and coach John Madden, brought with him a 1977 Super Bowl ring and general like field presence that instilled the Guard with momentum and confidence.
Following a Week 7 48-45 loss to Rome in Georgia that dropped the Guard's record to 1-6, they wheeled off 5 straight wins including a dramatic 60-51 victory over Conference #1 seed St. Louis.
The streak was aided by the strong defensive play of defensive end Al DuBose, safeties Kelvin Jones and Tommy Stanley as well as the leadership of middle linebackers Al Wilson and George Miller. The Guard finished the 2005 regular season with the league's 5th rated defense.
DuBose, from Virginia Union, was the only member of the Guard voted onto the 2005 NIFL All-Star team after recording a league leading 18 sacks and league leading 7 forced fumbles. Jones, a top NFL prospect from S.E. Missouri State, finished 2nd in the league with a team leading 112.5 tackles as well as intercepting a team best 7 passes.
Stanley was the team's 2nd leading tackler with 67.5 stops. Wilson and Miller combined for 96.5 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Rudy Scott and Cory Ellis (7 TFL, 5 sacks) also played strong as well as former Methodist standout Quincey Malloy who was valuable on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Cornerbacks Selwyn Scott, DeRon Donald and DeLeon Raynor were considered "lock down" players in the secondary as each recorded interceptions during the season. Scott, from Georgia Tech, finished with 11 passes defended while Donald finished with 14.
Fayetteville's receiving corps was among the best in the league in 2005 led by Brandon McDowell. The former Division 3 All-American posted a team best 73 receptions for over 800 yards and 21 touchdowns. Former All-WAC performer Tuati Wooden, from San Jose State provided the Guard with numerous big plays on special teams as well as hauling in 53 passes for 601 yards and 18 scores. Wake Forest product Jammie Deese was productive as well catching 37 passes for over 400 yards and 8 touchdowns. Former East Carolina great Mitch Galloway was hampered by injuries for most of '05 but still managed to catch 27 passes for 324 yards and 4 scores.
The Guard running backs were a force to be reckoned with in 2005. Led by Wilmont Perry and Wayne Davis, the Guard rushed for 1,298 yards and 45 touchdowns on the season. Perry, the former New Orleans Saint and Carolina Panthers running back, took over for an injured Wayne Davis in week 11 and rushed for 13 scores in the 6 games he appeared in. Wayne Davis picked up 556 combined rushing and receiving yards as well as 12 touchdowns.
Center Jonathan Byrd and guards Ken Brown and Gary Futch anchored an offensive line that allowed only 16 sacks in 16 games. They paved the way for a Guard offense that finished 8th in the league in total offense.
All-purpose back and kick returner Walter Ford, dubbed "the human highlight reel" provided Fayetteville fans with many incredible and dynamic plays throughout 2005. The former Virginia Tech Hokie amassed just under 1,600 kick return yards and 8 kicks returned for touchdowns.
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