af2 arenafootball2

af2 Conference Finals Saturday night matchups

Published on August 18, 2006 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


#2 GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (11-6) AT #1 FLORIDA FIRECATS (14-3)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2006 - Germain Arena (7,128) 7:30 P.M. ET
The American Conference Championship will be decided Saturday in Florida at Germain Arena. The Green Bay Blizzard are coming off a 67-50 victory over Memphis last Friday night in a conference semifinal contest. Schutt Offensive Player of the Week OS BRENT HOLMES made a number of big plays in the win. His 58-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter broke the game wide open. Holmes totaled 10 receptions for 161 yards and two scores. QB JAMES MACPHERSON (21-of-27 passing) threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a rushing score. The team rushed for four total touchdowns. WR/DB GERALD HARRIS also made an impact, catching five passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The defense forced three turnovers and recorded three sacks. DS DAVID CROCKER led the way with 10 tackles and a forced fumble, but had lots of help from WR/LB ROBERT GARTH (12-yd FR TD) and WR/DB LUKE LEVERSON (2 tackles, INT). Leverson and Crocker join FB/LB PETER LAZARE and OL/DL BRETT HUYSER as Blizzard All-af2 Second Team performers. Florida is coming off a tough home win against Manchester, 40-39. WR/DB BRENT BURNSIDE ended the Wolves' chance at a comeback with an interception with :31 seconds remaining. The interception was Burnside's second of the day, and combined with his 4.0 tackles, he was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week. FB/LB CLENTON CROSSLEY (All-af2 First Team) also made an impact on defense with a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery on a crucial drive early in the final quarter. QB CHRIS WALLACE (All-af2 Second Team) wasn't at his best, but was just good enough, finishing 26-of-47 for 256 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. OS MAGIC BENTON (All-af2 Second Team) caught 10 passes for 89 yards, but was kept out of the end zone. WR/DB BRITTNEY TELLIS, who scored the go-ahead touchdown with under a minute left, caught six passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns. These two teams are familiar with each other thanks to a previous head-to-head battle on July 1. Green Bay squeezed by Florida, 48-47, on a failed Firecats two-point conversion in the final seconds. Leverson had a kickoff return for a score that was huge for the Blizzard, as they were the only team to beat Florida at home this season. Both QBs played well as MacPherson threw for 287 yards and four scores and Wallace threw for 256 and six touchdowns. Holmes led Green Bay with eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown, and Garth hauled in two touchdowns of his own. DS RANDEE DREW had six tackles and four pass break ups. Florida's offensive attack was paced by Benton (8 catches, 106 yards, 2 TDs) and WR/DB ETHENIC SANDS (2 receiving TDs, rushing TD). DS CORY BAILEY (All-af2 First Team) had a game-high 10 tackles. This should be a tight battle featuring the two best teams in the American Conference.

BLIZZARD FIRECATS
SERIES LEADER Series tied 1-1
LAST MEETING Green Bay Won 48-47 on 7/1/2006
LAST FIVE GAMES 4-1 5-0
LAST GAME Won vs. MEM 67-50 on 8/11/2006 Won vs. MAN 40-39 on 8/12/2006
2006 LEADERS BLIZZARD FIRECATS
PASSING MacPherson: 243-163-9; 2241; 36 TDs Wallace: 491-299-14; 3918; 100 TDs
RECEIVING Holmes: 59-983; 12 TDs Benton: 111-1612; 40 TDs
RUSHING Lazare: 62-251; 17 TDs Crossley: 96-380; 18 TDs
TACKLES Crocker: 92 Bailey: 117.5
SACKS Boss: 4.5, Francis: 4.5 Fisher: 5
INTERCEPTIONS Jackson: 3, Kaymore: 3 Brown: 8
KICKING Pelz: 43-51 PAT; 7-14 FG 64 PTS Kornblue: 80-114 PAT; 3-7 FG 89 PTS
TEAM OFFENSE 49.1 PPG (11); 275.8 (8) 59.2 PPG (1); 274.1 (11)
TEAM DEFENSE 44.9 PPG (4); 273.6 (15) 47.0 PPG (10); 268.1 (10)


#5 ARKANSAS TWISTERS (12-6) AT #1 SPOKANE SHOCK (15-2)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2006 - Spokane Arena (10,187) 10:00 P.M. ET
Arkansas, fresh off two consecutive road victories, comes to Spokane this Saturday looking for three in a row in the National Conference Championship. The Twisters, however, certainly have their work cut out for them against the Shock, who have been the af2's top team in 2006. These two teams are familiar with each other. They met once during the regular season on July 1st in Little Rock. Spokane handled the Twisters in that contest, winning 46-23. QB KYLE ROWLEY threw for 243 yards and six touchdowns. WR/LB CHARLES FREDERICK (All-af2 First Team) went on a tear, catching 15 passes for 144 yards and five touchdowns. Arkansas QB WALTER CHURCH struggled in the contest, completing 16-of-31 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Church also threw two interceptions, both of which were claimed by DS ROB KEEFE (All-af2 First Team). Arkansas DS DELENELL REID recorded eight solo tackles and DLS C.J. MCCLAIN (All-af2 First Team) and FB/LB STEVE WATSON both had a sack. McClain, however, will not be competing for the Twisters this week due to an incident in Tulsa last week. The defense will need to step up in his absence. McClain led the af2 with 19.5 tackles for loss in 2006. He was also third in sacks with 14.5. Watson was tied for the af2 sack lead with 16. Arkansas advanced to the conference title game thanks to a 53-51 win at Tulsa last week. Church had one of his best games of the year against the Talons, throwing for 319 yards and seven touchdowns. Eleven of his passes went to OS ROBERT KILOW, who finished with 160 receiving yards and four scores. Kilow racked up 246 all-purpose yards. WR/DB KEVIN WILLIAMS caught seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns. It was the Twisters third straight win against Tulsa in 2006. Williams added five tackles on defense, while DS JIM HOLDEN picked up six tackles. Reid recorded seven solo tackles and three pass break ups. Spokane advanced to this week's title game on the strength of a narrow 50-47 home win against Bakersfield. Frederick, named af2 U.S. Army Ironman of the Week, started the game with a bang by returning the opening kickoff 57 yards for a touchdown. Rowley threw for 241 yards and six scores, three of which landed in Frederick's hands. The most important touchdown came with :02 remaining when Rowley connected with Frederick on a 20-yard strike for the win. OS ANTWONE SAVAGE caught seven passes for 60 yards and two scores. DS LEO FENCEROY led the Spokane defense with 7.5 tackles. This game features two great coaches on each sideline. On one side it's Spokane's Chris Siegfried, the af2's all-time leader in coaching victories with 55, four of which have come in the postseason. The Twisters head man is AFL coaching legend John Gregory. Gregory owns 73 career AFL coaching wins, including six in the postseason. He led the Iowa Barnstormers to back-to-back ArenaBowl appearances in 1996 and 1997. He currently has 17 wins with Arkansas, including two playoff wins. The Twisters also believe they have a chance with Church under center. Church is the only quarterback of the four remaining teams to have won an ArenaCup. He helped lead the Peoria Pirates through the 2002 National Conference title game and to a 65-47 victory over the American Conference's Florida Firecats in the ArenaCup. This should be another exciting contest featuring two strong defenses, excellent playmakers on offense and great coaching staffs. Spokane will be tough to beat, however, especially at home, where the Shock are 8-1 overall on the year.

TWISTERS SHOCK
SERIES LEADER Spokane leads 1-0
LAST MEETING Spokane Won 46-23 on 7/1/2006
LAST FIVE GAMES 4-1 5-0
LAST GAME Won at TUL 53-51 on 8/12/2006 Won vs. BAK 50-47 on 8/12/2006
2006 LEADERS TWISTERS SHOCK
PASSING Church: 550-294-25; 3623; 81 TDs Neist: 344-214-8; 2550; 44 TDs
RECEIVING Kilow: 82-927; 23 TDs Frederick: 85-973; 22 TDs
RUSHING Watson: 18-40; 6 TDs Vijil: 30-68; 10 TDs
TACKLES Reid: 100.5 Keefe: 86.5
SACKS Watson: 16 Purvis: 3
INTERCEPTIONS Reid: 7, Williams: 7 Keefe: 10
KICKING Carlton: 67-87 PAT; 9-33 FG 94 PTS Koker: 89-114 PAT; 4-9 FG 101 PTS
TEAM OFFENSE 47.8 PPG (14); 228.9 (20) 55.8 PPG (7); 260.2 (15)
TEAM DEFENSE 44.6 PPG (3); 238.8 (4) 47.4 PPG (11); 258.6 (9)

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