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Stockton defeats Rio Grande Valley

May 17, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - QB Chad Cavender's 10 touchdown passes and WR Justin Taplin's 7 touchdown receptions broke individual single-game records for the Stockton Lightning (2-5), who upset the Southwest Division's first place Rio Grande Valley Dorados in an 83-56 blowout victory before a crowd of 3,476 at Stockton Arena on Saturday in Week 8 of arenafootball2 play.

The 83 points scored by Stockton, who broke a five-game losing streak, broke the franchise single-game record of 82 (vs. Bakersfield, 2007). Cavender's 10 scoring tosses finished two shy of the af2 single-game record (Brett Dietz of Louisville, 2006) and Taplin's seven touchdown catches finished one shy of the af2 single-game record (Antwone Savage of Spokane and Chavis McCollister of South Georgia, 2007).

Highlighting the first lifetime meeting between both teams, the Lightning found the end zone on their first five possessions and began the game on a 28-0 run, opening the scoring with Cavender finding Taplin on a 20-yard snare with 11:44 left in the opening quarter to put the Lightning ahead 7-0. The touchdown started a string of seven consecutive point-after kicks converted by Stephen Irvine.

Following FB Peter Tuialuuluu's one-yard blast up the middle with 5:02 left, Cavender found Taplin for two consecutive strikes from 13 and 32 yards to put the Lightning up 28-0 with 12:05 left in the second quarter. QB Nick Hill, who entered the game second in the af2 for total offense, put the Dorados on the board with a 3-yard touchdown bullet to Bret Smith with 9:50 to play in the half, cutting the deficit to 28-7.

The Lightning answered with two more touchdown passes by Cavander, finding rookie receiver Brandon Horace on a 19-yard strike down the left sideline with eight minutes left and a 26-yard missile to Taplin in the right corner of the end zone with 4:37 remaining, hiking the Lightning lead to 42-7.

Rio Grande Valley followed with a bid to get back in the game with a 21-7 run, which included a back-to-back touchdown snares by WR Travis McAlpine with 14:08 left in the third quarter of 48 yards and a three-yard floater with 10:35 left in the third frame, eventually closing the gap to 49-28.

For the entire third quarter and lasting until the 8:40 mark of the fourth quarter, both teams exchanged touchdowns on 10 consecutive possessions with the Lightning keeping pace at a 76-48 lead.

In the midst of the run, Taplin hauled in the Lightning record-breaking sixth touchdown reception with 4:29 left in the third when he took a rocket of a pass by Cavender at midfield, deflected the loose ball away from a defending Tyrone Sanders and raced the distance for a 43-yard score to put the Lightning ahead 63-34.

WR Troy McBroom capped the run by both teams with a 35-yard touchdown bomb from Cavender on a critical fourth-and-10 play, hauling in the catch in the left corner of the end zone to put the Lightning up 76-48.

WR Rod Windsor hauled in the final four touchdowns of Rio Grande Valley's side, including a 8-yard lob by Hill in the right corner of the end zone with 4:18 left in the game, cutting the Lightning lead to 76-56.

Yet, Stockton held league's 5th leading offense at bay for the rest of the game and punched in the team's record setting score when Cavender found a wide-open Taplin in the left corner of the end zone with 3:12 to play, putting the Lightning up by 27 points following Irvine's 11th converted PAT of the game, also a Lightning record.

The 83 points surrendered by Rio Grande Valley was their second-highest mark in team history. McBroom posted a career-high 156 yards on eight catches and two touchdowns, while Windsor led Rio Grande Valley with 12 catches, 169 yards and four TD catches.



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