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Wildcats Game Notes

May 30, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
South Georgia Wildcats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Roanoke Steam (4-4) @ Cape Fear Wildcats (5-2)
Date: June 1, 2002
Kickoff: 7:30pm
Site: Cumberland County Crown Coliseum (8,920)
TV: none
Radio: none
Series Record: Cape Fear leads 1-0
Streaks: Cape Fear guns for its fourth straight win while Roanoke tries to snap a two-game losing skid. It’s the second of two meetings in an eight-day span. Cape Fear and Roanoke met last Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center where Cape Fear won 53-32.
Coaches: CPF -- Chris Siegfried 5-2, 1st year
ROA – Steven Jerry 11-13, 2nd year

THE STAKES: A win tonight gives Cape Fear a sweep of the season series with Roanoke and control of the battle for second place in the American Conference’s Atlantic Division. The ‘Cats currently lead the Steam by 1½ games in the standings. The top two teams from each division qualify for the playoffs. The Wildcats currently trail the unbeaten Richmond Speed (7-0) by two games for first place in the Atlantic Division.

THE SERIES: It’s the second regular season meeting between Cape Fear and Roanoke. The Wildcats spanked the Steam 53-32 last week at Roanoke. The two teams met in Fayetteville for a controlled preseason scrimmage on March 23.

THE IFs:

If Cape Fear defeats Roanoke, it would …
· Give the Wildcats a four-game win streak
· Give the Wildcats a 2½ game lead over third place in the Atlantic Division
· Give the Wildcats a 4-1 division record

· HEAD COACHES: Wildcats head coach Chris Siegfried is the first former af2 player to become an af2 head coach. Siegfried played WR/DB/LB for the 2000 Augusta Stallions that went 14-4 and won the first-ever af2 American Conference regular season championship before losing to the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the playoff semifinals. Siegfried played in all 18 games and caught 72 passes. He scored 13 touchdowns and finished third on the team in tackles. He set team records (since broken) for most receptions in a game (13 vs. Jacksonville Tomcats) and longest kickoff return (45 yards @ Greensboro).

Steam head coach Steven Jerry enters his second season with the Roanoke Steam. Last year he guided the team to within a game of the playoffs and a 7-9 mark. Jerry served as the offensive coordinator for the Norfolk Nighthawks and assistant coach at William and Mary, Tight End Coach at the University of Central Florida, and quarterbacks coach at Siena College. Jerry attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on an athletic scholarship and played four years for the Tarheels as a quarterback and a receiver. After graduating from UNC, Coach Jerry was recruited by the AFL and played three years as wide receiver/defensive back for the Albany Firebirds, one year each for the Grand Rapid Rampage and the New England Sea Wolves.

FAMILIAR FACES: Wildcats OL/DL Jon Hall played 13 games with the Steam in 2001. He finished second on the team with two sacks and recorded 18 tackles and three batted passes.

CAPE FEAR WILDCATS Injury Report:
Pos. Name Injury Status
FB/LB Wilmont Perry Knee Short-term IR
FB/LB Clent Cochran Knee Short-term IR
WR/LB Troy Esprit Ankle Long-term IR
OL/DL Jim Beverly Knee Long-term IR

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES:

Wildcats head coach Chris Siegfried on the second Wildcats-Steam meeting in eight days: “This game will be tough for us to win because Roanoke knows they’ve got to have this one to stay in the playoff hunt. They don’t want to get swept, and they will play with pride on Saturday night.”

Wildcats head coach Chris Siegfried on ‘Cats DS Kenton Rickerson, who leads the team in tackles, interceptions and passes defended: “I don’t know if there’s a better defensive specialist in the league.”

DROPBACK: Last week the expansion Wildcats earned their third straight win with a 57-32 home triumph over Roanoke. The ‘Cats opened the season with back-to-back road wins over Norfolk (69-19) and New Haven (38-20) before losing at home to unbeaten Augusta (44-45) on a last-second, 44-yard field goal. The ‘Cats jumped out to a 13-0 lead at Richmond before falling to the Speed (36-28) on May 2. The following week Cape Fear earned its first-ever home win, 38-19 over the Charleston Swamp Foxes. The ‘Cats followed up with a home win over Norfolk (57-32).

Roanoke started the year with consecutive lopsided losses to Richmond before reeling off four straight wins to pass the Wildcats in the Atlantic Division standings. But the Steam have dropped their last two games to fall 1½ games behind the Wildcats in the Atlantic Division standings.

MILESTONES: A win will give the Wildcats their first-ever four-game win streak and their third consecutive home win.

Wildcats quarterback Mike Gluski needs four touchdown passes to reach 100 for his af2 career.

FORWARD MOTION: The Wildcats travel to Greensboro next Saturday night for the first of two meetings with the Greensboro Prowlers.

The Steam begin a three-game road trip tonight against the Wildcats. They play at Carolina (Greenville, SC) next week and close it out at Tennessee Valley on June 15.

NOTES/TRENDS:

The “Feline Frenzy”: The Wildcats have the top-ranked defensive unit in the league. The Wildcats lead the league in total defense, allowing opponents just 169 yards of offense per game. Cape Fear is also ranked first in the league in passing defense (150ypg allowed) second in scoring defense (29ppg) and eighth in rushing defense (19ypg allowed). The ‘Cats are ranked fourth in the league with 22 sacks.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Wildcats OL/DL E.J. Burt: Through seven games, E.J. Burt is the most valuable defensive player in the 34-team arenafootball2 league. Burt, an af2 rookie out of West Liberty State College in West Virginia, leads the league in sacks (12.5), tackles for loss (8.5) and forced fumbles (6). He recorded a sack for a safety in each of the Wildcats’ first two games. He had three sacks in the season opener at Norfolk, and he’s registered two sacks in each of the past four games.

Wildcats QB Mike Gluski: The three-year af2 veteran quarterback came to Cape Fear in a trade with the Macon Knights one month ago, and he’s now 3-0 as the Wildcats’ starter. Gluski worked with Wildcats head coach Chris Siegfried last year in Macon, where Siegfried was the Knights’ offensive coordinator.

Gluski also won three starts with the Knights before coming to Cape Fear, so he’s 6-0 as a starter this season. Gluski is 15-3 lifetime as an af2 starter. Gluski took over the Wildcats offense at the start of the second half of the Richmond game, and he’s thrown 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions in 14 quarters of work. Gluski has never lost a home start. He’s 7-0 lifetime in games played in his team’s arena.

Gluski fired a personal-best seven touchdown passes – a Wildcats’ club record -- on just 11 completions in last week’s win over Roanoke. With 96 career af2 touchdown passes, the right-hander out of Wayne State University in Michigan needs just four TD strikes to reach the century mark for his career.

KEY DATES IN WILDCATS HISTORY:

April 6, 2002 – first franchise win, 69-19 @ Norfolk

April 20, 2002 – first-ever regular season home game, a 45-44 loss to the Augusta Stallions

May 10, 2002 – first-ever home win, a 38-19 victory over the Charleston Swamp Foxes.

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