Norfolk Nighthawks Game Notes
June 3, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Norfolk Nighthawks News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Norfolk Nighthawks (5-3) at Charleston Swamp Foxes (3-5)
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EST
Site: N. Charleston Coliseum (10,400)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Flemon Williams (Referee), Jack McElwee (Umpire), Lynn Latham (Head Linesman), Avery Fields (Line Judge), Art Williams (Back Judge)
Series Record: Norfolk leads 5-1
Last Meeting: NORFOLK 39, Mohegan 30
Streaks: Nighthawks L1, Charleston L2
Coaches: Rick Frazier (5-3; First season) Rik Richards (3-4; First season)
THE STAKES: The Norfolk Nighthawks were handily defeated. Their offense sputtered and the defense was man handled. Even Kicker Stephen Scaldaferri had a bad night against the Mohegan Wolves on May 31. He made a field goal but booted the ball into the stands on kickoffsâ twice. Not a great way to start the defense off after the offense scored. The Nighthawks as a team needed to regroup and go back to the drawing board after the devastating home loss. The stakes are that the Nighthawks offense (lead by QB Aaron Sparrow and OS Travis Burns) needs to get back on that scoring path which they had been on (at the peak, Sparrow had back-to-back 6 touchdown games versus the Pioneers of Wilkes-Barre Scarnton). And the Nighthawks defense needs to get back their steam. The D was able to bottle up the potent Mohegan offense at the Wolves' home stadium in Connecticut, but was devastated at home by the same team â and a vastly different strategy. THE SERIES: This is one of the most competitive rivalries in af2 ... Norfolk leads the all-time series 5-1, the most victories by a single team in the Swamp Foxes' four-year history ... Four of the six games in the series have been decided by six points or less, including two overtime tilts ... Charleston picked up its first win in the series last year in Charleston, 40-37 (June 8, 2002)
THE IFs:
If NORFOLK defeats the WOLVES, it would ...
- Give NORFOLK 3-1 all-time lead versus the Wolves
- Give NORFOLK a 4-0 win streak in the last four games
- Give NORFOLK even more steam as they chug towared the af2 playoffs
HEAD COACHES: Rick Fraizer brings more than a quarter century worth of coaching experience to the Norfolk Nighthawks in his new capacity as the team's Head Coach. Frazier comes to Norfolk after spending the 2002 season with the Toronto Phantoms of the AFL. Frazier served the Phantoms as their Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.
Swamp Foxes' head coach Rik Richards will take the field Saturday night as the youngest head coach in arenafootball2. Promoted from his defensive coordinator position over the off-season, Richards' seceded three-year head coach Jimmy Dunn. Prior to coming to Charleston in 2001, Richards spent time coaching in the Indoor Football League in 2000, where he was named to the Pro Bowl coaching staff, and at the collegiate level at NAIA member, the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.
LAST SERIES MEETING: The Norfolk Nighthawks may have exercised a curse, by breaking their streak of opening night losses as they handily defeated the Charleston Swamp Foxes at Norfolk Scope 31-21 in front of a raucous 3,500-plus fans. The victory, while hard fought on both sides, showed the defensive might of the new Nighthawks. Norfolk (1-0) came into the game with a new head coach, Rick Frazier, and a new Quarterbackâlocal hero Aaron Sparrow. Frazier, who guided the defenses of the AFL Toronto Phantoms and the Milwaukee Mustangs, saw his Nighthawk defenders perform admirably. Each time the Swamp Foxes seemed they were going to gain the momentum back to their favor, the Nighthawks defense delivered. Pressure by the defensive line-up of Ron Wiafe, Ken McDaniel and Chris Stahl kept the Swamp Foxes quarterbacks under constant threat of sack or batted ball. The Nighthawks even tested the limits of Arena Football defense, as they actually shut out the Swamp Foxes during the first half. "I thought it was a pretty good effort," said Frazier. "We gave up 14 and both of those were on busted plays. We came about as close as you could to a first half shut-out ... there aren't too many of those in Arena Football."
FORWARD MOTION: Next week, the Nighthawks travel to Albany New York to face the Albany Conquest, a team who has lost only one game thus far. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
NIGHTHAWKS: OS Travis Burns: Leads the Nighthawks offensive attack ... Ranks in several af2 statistical categories, including second in all-purpose yards (1,699), sixth in receptions (7.5 per game), and tied for ninth in scoring (114 total points) ... In two games in 2002 versus the Swamp Foxes, Burns caught eight passes for 180 yards and five receiving TDs and two rushing scores ... In the first meeting of 2003, Burns caught five passes for 50 yards and a receiving TD.
QB Aaron Sparrow: A hometown hero and an af2 veteran who ranks second all-time in the af2 in QB rating (122.9), third all-time in passes completed (335), third in completion percentage (65.3) (Numbers from the 2000 season when he was named af2 Offensive Player of the Year with the Augusta Stallions) ... Currently ranks eighth in af2 in passing yards and ninth in total offense ... In the first meeting in 2003, Sparrow completed 16-of-29 passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
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