2007 ArenaCup Preview: Wikes-Barre/Scranton Vs. Tulsa

August 24, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

BOSSIER CITY, LA - This Saturday, August 25, the American Conference Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers will battle the National Conference Champion Tulsa Talons in the 2007 ArenaCup, the championship game of arenafootball2 (af2). Tomorrow night's title game kicks off at 7:00 PM CT at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La.

The following is a quick game preview that features a profile of the head coaches as well as a breakdown of important position players that will be making an impact in Saturday night's showdown.

HEAD COACHES

Rich Ingold (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Ingold's second season with the Pioneers has been his most successful season as a head coach to date. His team fired off 13 consecutive wins to start the regular season en route to a 14-2 record and an American Conference East Division title. A First Round victory over the Tri-Cities Fever gave Ingold the 58th win of his af2 coaching career, the most in league history. The previous record of 57 was held by Chris Siegfried who coached most recently in the af2 with the 2006 ArenaCup champion Spokane Shock. Ironically, Ingold's record-breaking win was only his first in postseason play. His all-time record currently stands at 60-26. Ingold was named the Sportexe af2 Coach of the Year on August 17.

Mitch Allner (Tulsa) - Allner, in just his first season as an af2 head coach, has guided the Talons to a 14-2 regular season record, three playoff wins and the second ArenaCup berth in team history. The only team to beat the Talons in 2007 was the Arkansas Twisters, who did so twice in Weeks 9 and 14. Saturday will be an historic day for Allner as he will become the first man ever to play and coach in an ArenaCup. Allner won an ArenaCup title with the Talons as wide receiver/defensive back in 2003 when his team knocked off Macon, 58-40.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Vena (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Vena was named the Schutt Offensive Player of the Year this week after an outstanding season under center for the Pioneers in 2007. Vena, who started all 16 games for the Pioneers, finished the regular season by completing 347-of-519 passes (66.9%) for 4,241 yards and 92 touchdowns. He finished the year second in the af2 in touchdowns, completion percentage and total offensive touchdowns (108). Vena, in his first season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton led the league in passing efficiency (124.2%) and finished third in total offensive yards (4,397) and rushing touchdowns (16). Vena was also named All-af2 First Team. In the playoffs, Vena has tossed 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He has also been a proven rusher, scoring four times on the ground in the postseason.

Justin Allgood (Tulsa) - Allgood enjoyed a productive season, despite not being the full-time starter for Head Coach Mitch Allner. Allgood was 111-173 for 1,342 yards and 30 touchdowns in 13 games during the regular season. He was intercepted just six times throughout the year. Allgood was named Schutt Offensive Player of the Game in consecutive wins over Lubbock and Oklahoma City during the regular season (Weeks 15 and 16) Allgood has continued to produce during the Talons' storm through the playoffs. In three games, the second-year player from Central Oklahoma has thrown 14 touchdowns while completing 66% of his passes.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Jim Jones, Buchie Ibeh, Tyreak Saviour (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Jones was the favorite target for QB Ryan Vena this season, leading the team in receptions with 86 and in yards with 1,044. He also tied for the team lead in touchdowns (21) with Tyreak Saviour. Buchie Ibeh was not far behind, grabbing 20 touchdown passes of his own. Ibeh, the second-year player from Temple leads all Pioneers' receivers with eight postseason touchdowns. WR/DB Larry Kendrick has also been chipping in, catching four touchdowns in three playoff games thus far. The numbers don't lie. The wide receiving corps for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is extremely deep and obviously talented.

Jeff Hughley, Andre Forde, Jermaine Landrum (Tulsa) - Hughley has arguably been the most valuable player during the 2007 ArenaCup playoffs and the Talons hope he isn't planning to slow down yet. Hughley has won an af2 weekly award the last four consecutive weeks, dating back to the final weekend of the regular season. The rookie from Averett leads all postseason participants with 10 touchdowns in three games. He is currently averaging 135 yards per game in the playoffs. Hughley had 26 touchdowns during the regular season and was named to the All-af2 Second Team. Not to be overlooked, Forde scored 20 touchdowns during the regular season and has found the end zone four times in the postseason. Landrum hasn't scored through the air in the playoffs yet, but he collected 52 receptions and nine touchdowns while playing in just eight regular season games.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Chris Royal, William "TuTu" Ferguson, DeOnte Taylor (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Royal, though just a rookie, is the leader of the Pioneers backfield. He was named the Spalding Rookie of the Year and selected to the All-af2 First Team while establishing himself as one of the top DBs in the league. Royal finished tied for the league lead in interceptions with 14 and finished third in the league with 117.0 tackles (111 solo). Ferguson, the team's third leading tackler with 62.5, also grabbed seven interceptions in 2007. Taylor recovered three fumbles and made six pass breakups in 14 games for the Pioneers.

Delenell Reid, Jermaine Hope, Don McGee (Tulsa) - These three Talons combined for 26 interceptions and 181.5 tackles in 2007 and along with Arkansas, is the only defensive backfield to boast two All-af2 performers. Reid, the First Team selection, was the team leader in tackles with 73.5 and pass breakups with 34. He tied with Hope with nine interceptions. Hope added 59.5 tackles and 22 pass breakups of his own for the Talons this season. McGee, meanwhile, had eight interceptions to go along with 48.5 tackles. These Talons have raised their game and made it difficult for opposing quarterbacks to find the open man all season long.

RUNNING THREATS

Ryan Vena (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - The biggest running threat the Pioneers utilize is QB Ryan Vena. Vena leads the team in rushing touchdowns with 16 in 2007. He was used primarily near the goal line, averaging 3.1 yards per rush and 9.8 yards per game this season.

Odie Armstrong (Tulsa) - Armstrong was the Talons leading rusher in 2007, despite only playing in seven games. The rookie from Northwest Oklahoma State rumbled for 21.9 yards per game and six touchdowns for Tulsa this year. Jeff Hughley also ran the ball on occasion, accounting for three rushing touchdowns and 40 yards on the season.

STRONG LINEMEN

Beau Elliott, Zack Love, David Dean (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Perhaps one of the best matchups of the night will happen in the trenches when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has the ball. This trio has an average height of close to 6'5" and 321 pounds. Elliott and Love are both All-af2 First Team standouts in charge of protecting a First Team quarterback in Ryan Vena.

C.J. McClain, Terrance Carter, Chad Ruffin, Joe Johnson (Tulsa) - This talented trio combined to bring opposing quarterbacks to the ground 18 times in 2007. McClain, a 6'4", 260-pound product of Arkansas, led the Talons with nine sacks in 2007. Linebacker Jamar Ransom can also get after the quarterback, which he did 2.5 times this year. Carter led the team in QB hurries with 19 this season. Johnson, the team's top offensive lineman, earned First Team All-af2 honors this year.

KICKERS

David Davis (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) - Davis is one of the most consistent performers in the league, knocking home 92.7% of his extra point attempts in 2007, which was tops in the league. Davis, a USC alum, was recognized for his consistency and named the 2007 Havoc Kicker of the Year. His longest field goal of the season came on April 21, 2007 when he drilled a 50-yard kick against the Florida Firecats in 58-36 win. Davis totaled 144 points this season for the Pioneers.

Luke Phillips (Tulsa) - Phillips may not have won the kicker of the year honor that Davis did, but he is no slouch. Phillips was 13-of-25 on field goal attempts this season, with a long of 52 yards coming against the South Georgia Wildcats in the season finale on July 28, 2007. He also converted 101-of-116 extra points (.871). Phillips, the former Oklahoma State kicker, had 140 points this season for the Talons.

ARENACUP8 ON TV AND B2 NETWORKS

The 2007 ArenaCup, the championship game of arenafootball2 (af2), will be televised nationally on the Comcast SportsNet family of networks for the second year in a row. The ArenaCup will be played this Saturday, August 25 at 8:00 PM ET at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La. The American Conference Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (17-2) tackle the National Conference Champion Tulsa Talons (17-2) for the honor of being called the 2007 af2 Champions. The game will be shown on the following Comcast SportsNet channels, including live broadcasts where indicated: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet West (live), SportsNet New York, FSN New England (live), CSS, and Comcast Local in Detroit (live). Viewers should check local listings for broadcast times in their area. The game is being produced by CSS. The af2 is also pleased to announce that ArenaCup8 will be televised live in Northeastern Pennsylvania Saturday night on My Network TV! My Network TV WQMY is the My Network TV affiliate in Northeastern & Central PA market, which serves over 500,000 households in the 53rd largest television market in the country. WQMY is available over the air on channel 53 and on digital channel 56.3. All cable companies in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania can pick up WQMY for FREE.

Fans can also view the ArenaCup8 Championship online via B2 Networks. To watch the game online, all that's needed is a high-speed Internet connection and a current version of Windows Media Player. The live event, which will be available for purchase for $6 (US), can be accessed through af2's website http://www.af2.com/.

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