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af2 Conference Semifinals quick hitters

August 10, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FIFTH TIME IS A CHARM FOR TWISTERS: The Arkansas Twisters picked the right time to get their first win ever over Oklahoma City. The Twisters advanced to the National Conference semifinals with a 47-43 road win against Oklahoma City Saturday night at Cox Convention Center. The victory was Arkansas' first-ever against the Yard Dawgz. Arkansas had been 0-4 against Oklahoma City prior to Saturday.

MEMPHIS WINS ARENACUP REMATCH: The Memphis Xplorers faced a familiar playoff opponent on Saturday, only this time it was in the first round as opposed to the 2005 ArenaCup. This unlikely first round affair was made possible due to Memphis' move to the American Conference in the offseason. The outcome was the same as in 2005, however, as the Xplorers won by 22 points, 83-61. Memphis defeated Louisville by 22 points last year as well, 63-41.

PRENTISS EXPLODES FOR XPLORERS IN FIRST ROUND WIN: Memphis OS/KR KEVIN PRENTISS had a historic night in leading the Memphis Xplorers to an 83-61 home win against Louisville in the first round of the af2 playoffs. The three-year veteran from Mississippi State put on an amazing one-man show against the Fire, setting a plethora of af2 postseason records in the process. Prentiss made his mark on the record book with eight total touchdowns, seven receiving touchdowns, and 48 points scored. He caught 12 passes for 192 yards (both game-highs) and accumulated 298 all-purpose yards (192 receiving, 106 kick return). In addition to his seven receiving scores, Prentiss got the game off to an explosive start by taking the opening kick back 58 yards for a touchdown. His return touchdown also tied for the longest postseason return in af2 history.

COACHES WHO WIN WHEN IT COUNTS: Spokane head coach CHRIS SIEGFRIED owns the overall lead in all-time coaching victories with 54. Of his 54 wins, three have come in postseason play. Siegfried's most successful playoff run came in 2002 as a rookie af2 coach with Cape Fear, winning two games to reach the American Conference Championship game before losing to Florida. Former Peoria head coach and current Chicago Rush assistant Bruce Cowdrey owns the most postseason wins in league history with seven. The next closest active coach is Manchester's BEN BENNETT with five wins (5-2 overall).

TOP ALL-TIME PLAYOFF COACHES - RANKED BY WINS
NAME RECORD (PCT.)
1. Bruce Cowdrey 7-1 (.875)
2. Frank Haege 6-0 (1.00)
3. Ben Bennett* 5-2 (.714)
4. Danton Barto* 4-1 (.800)
Skip Foster 4-2 (.667)
Tommy Johnson* 4-3 (.571)
Kevin Porter 4-4 (.500)
* denotes active coaches

KICKIN' IT UP A NOTCH: Oklahoma City kicker A.J. HAGLUND, noted mainly this season for his accuracy (.935 on extra points - 116-124), showed off his strength last weekend with a 57-yard field goal in a first round loss to Arkansas. Haglund's big boot set a new af2 postseason record for distance. The previous af2 playoff high for longest field goal made was 51 yards, set on two separate occasions, most recently by Memphis kicker STEVEN AZAR last season in a National Conference semifinal win against Amarillo.

WELL ISN'T THAT SPECIAL: Louisville WR/DB LANCE TAYLOR had an impressive individual effort for Louisville in the team's 83-61 first round playoff loss at Memphis. Despite the outcome, Taylor fueled the Fire attack with a record-breaking performance. The Alabama alum was special on special teams with an af2 postseason record 289 yards on 10 kick returns. He also finished with an af2 all-time postseason high of 362 all-purpose yards (4 rushing, 69 receiving, 289 kick return). Taylor scored three total touchdowns (2 receiving, 1 rushing).

WOLVES-FIRECATS RIVALRY SPILLS INTO POSTSEASON: The moment BEN BENNETT became the head coach of the Manchester Wolves, a rivalry was born between the Wolves and his former team, the Florida Firecats. Bennett was hired by Manchester in the summer of 2004, fresh off his ArenaCup championship season with the Firecats. Before his arrival, the Wolves had never played Florida. Entering this week's semifinal affair, the two teams have squared off three times. Manchester lost in the first meeting in the team's 2005 season opener, but has since responded with two straight wins and currently leads the all-time series, 2-1. As a result, the No. 1-seeded Firecats are not likely to take the Wolves for granted this week. In May, Manchester snapped Florida's five-game winning streak with a 79-62 home victory. The Wolves 79 points scored set a team record. It was also the most points the Firecats have allowed to an opponent in team history.

HOME FIELD DISADVANTAGE: The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz might want to book the Ford Center for the first two weekends of August now for the 2007 postseason. For the third straight season, the Yard Dawgz lost a first round home playoff game at nearby Cox Convention Center. The team had to play at Cox due to a scheduling conflict at the Ford Center, their normal home. The latest result was a 47-43 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. The Yard Dawgz also fell to Amarillo in 2005 and to Peoria in 2004.

ARENACUP PLAYOFFS = CLOSE GAMES: For the fourth straight season, three of four First Round games were decided by one possession (eight points or less). This year Bakersfield and Manchester won by eight points and Arkansas won by four points. In 2005, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won by seven points, Amarillo won by three and Louisville won by one. In 2004, Louisville won by five, Florida won by two and Cape Fear won by one point. In 2003, Arkansas won by eight, Macon won by seven and Mohegan won by three points.

SEMIFINALS HIGHLIGHTED BY FAMILIAR MATCHUPS: Aside from the Memphis at Green Bay game, two teams which have only played each other one time (2003), the other three contests feature familiar foes. Manchester and Florida have played three times, once in 2006. Arkansas and Tulsa have played each other 14 times, twice in 2006. Bakersfield and the expansion Spokane Shock have played each other twice this season. Below is a quick head-to-head history of each matchup.

MATCHUP SERIES 2006 RESULTS
Memphis/Green Bay Memphis leads 1-0 None
Manchester/Florida Manchester leads 2-1 MAN 79-62 (5/20)
Arkansas/Tulsa Tulsa leads 8-6 Ark 45-42 (5/27), ARK 61-40 (7/22)
Bakersfield/Spokane Tied 1-1 Spk 49-45 (4/9), Bak 52-20 (5/6)

HAMMOND COMING BACK FOR DORADOS: The Rio Grande Valley Dorados (af2) announced that the club has renewed the contract of Head Coach Marty Hammond for the 2007 season. Hammond led the Dorados to a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs in 2006, his first season as a head coach. A mid-season injury to starting quarterback Josh Kellett proved insurmountable for the team. Dorados General Manager Grant Buckborough said stability was a determining factor in Hammond's contract renewal. Hammond, 32, took over the Dorados after serving as the Offensive Coordinator/Receivers Coach for Tennessee Valley from 2003-04 and receivers coach in 2002 under former Dorados coach Kevin Guy. His familiarity with the Dorados began in the 2005 preseason, when he assisted Guy as a training camp coach for the team.

2006 af2 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE & RESULTS: The champion of the American Conference will meet the champion of the National Conference in The 2006 ArenaCup on Saturday, August 26 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Conference champions will be determined in a three-round playoff format. In each conference, the two division champions and the four teams with the next best overall records qualified (6 teams per conference). The two division champions in each conference earned a bye for the First Round. The first seeded Wild Card team (No. 3 overall) hosts the last seeded Wild Card team (No. 6 overall). The second seeded Wild Card team hosts the second to last seeded Wild Card team (No. 5 overall). The lowest remaining seed from the First Round plays at the top seeded division champion in the Conference Semifinals. The other First Round winner plays at the second seeded division champion. The winners of the Conference Semifinals meet for the Conference Finals and the Conference Champions meet for The 2006 ArenaCup. In both the Conference Championships and the ArenaCup, the team with the best overall record is the host.


AMERICAN CONFERENCE

First Round (All times Eastern)
Friday, August 4
MANCHESTER 55, W-B/Scranton 47 (3,732)
Saturday, August 5
MEMPHIS 83, Louisville 61 (2,031)
BYE: Florida, Green Bay

Conference Semifinals
Friday, August 11
No. 3 Memphis (12-5) at No. 2 Green Bay (10-6) 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 12
No. 4 Manchester (10-7) at No. 1 Florida (13-3) 7:30 p.m.

Conference Finals
Friday, August 18
Manchester at Green Bay 8:30 p.m.
Manchester at Memphis 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 19
MEM/GBB at Florida 7:30 p.m.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

First Round (All times Eastern)
Friday, August 4
Bakersfield 45, CENTRAL VALLEY 37 (3,105)
Saturday, August 5
Arkansas 47, OKLAHOMA CITY 43 (4,843)
BYE: Spokane, Tulsa

Conference Semifinals
Saturday, August 12
No. 5 Arkansas (11-6) at No. 2 Tulsa (11-5) 8:00 p.m.
No. 6 Bakersfield (10-7) at No. 1 Spokane (14-2) 10:00 p.m.

Conference Finals
Saturday, August 19
TUL/ARK at Spokane 10:00 p.m.
Bakersfield at Tulsa 8:00 p.m.
Bakersfield at Arkansas 8:00 p.m.

* All dates and times subject to change

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