af2 first round playoff recaps
August 7, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
MANCHESTER WOLVES 55, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 47 (3,732)
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Manchester Wolves (10-7) won their franchise's first-ever home playoff game, 55-47, in a first round affair Friday night over East Division rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (9-8) on Brady Sullivan Field at Verizon Wireless Arena. The receiving duo of WR/DB Wendell Williams and OS Ari Confesor more than made up for the absence of injured star OS Steve Gonzalez, who was limited to a few plays in the first quarter before leaving the contest for good. Confesor earned the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game after hauling in seven passes for 130 yards and five touchdowns, all career highs for the af2 rookie. Williams, who earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Award, added eight catches for 125 yards and a touchdown, while collecting 2.5 total tackles and two pass deflections on defense. The Pioneers jumped out to a 13-0 lead on an 11-yard touchdown catch and a pair of Doug Davis field goals. After trading touchdowns with the Pioneers, Manchester roared back to take a 21-20 lead going into halftime behind touchdown passes from QB Steve Bellisari to Marc Bacote and Williams. For the game, Bellisari completed 19-of-34 passes for 274 yards and seven touchdowns, while being intercepted once. The Wolves took control of the game for good early in the third quarter, when DS William "Roc" Haith returned a missed Davis field goal 54 yards for a touchdown. The run was the second longest in af2 postseason history, just two yards shy of the record of 56. Haith, the ADT Defensive Player of the Game, added a pair of interceptions, 8.5 tackles and three passes defended in what was arguably his best game of the season. His two interceptions tied the af2 postseason record for interceptions in a game. OS Yardon Brantley led the Pioneers with 10 catches for 136 yards with three touchdowns. Former University of New Hampshire signal caller and current Pioneer Mike Granieri completed 25-of-44 passes for 289 yards, five touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. WR/DB Yaacov Yisrael added three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, including a leaping fourth quarter, fourth-down grab that earned him Cutters Catch of the Game honors. The Wolves win earned them a trip to Florida this week to face the No. 1 seed Firecats on Saturday night.
Bakersfield Blitz 45, CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES 37 (3,105)
FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 6 seed Bakersfield Blitz (10-7) upset the No. 3 seed Central Valley Coyotes, 42-37, Friday night in a National Conference first round playoff game at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif. The Blitz outscored the Coyotes 42-24 over the final three quarters of play after falling behind early, 13-0. Bakersfield was led by QB Bobby Pesavento, who spearheaded the Blitz turnaround. Pesavento threw three touchdown passes after coming on to replace starter Alex Neist, who struggled early. He also completed 17-of-27 pass attempts and one rushing score to earn Schutt Offensive Player of the Game. Pesavento's main targets were OS Rennard Reynolds (8 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD) and WR/LB Eric Mahanke (8 catches, 92 yards, 1 TD). WR/DB DeRonn Finley also played a big part in the big win, catching a touchdown and scoring on a 58-yard kick return. Finley earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game for his impressive two-way play. FB/LB Nick Onaindia contributed a 16-yard touchdown run. Defensively, Bakersfield's Jerry Turner got after Central Valley's record-setting signal caller Scott Rislov all night, finishing with a game-high three sacks. FB/LB Ben McCombs also tallied a sack for the Blitz. Rislov, who threw for an Arena Football (AFL & af2) record 106 touchdown passes in the regular season, had just four touchdowns on the night and 210 yards passing on 21-of-37 attempts. The Coyotes concluded their season at 12-5 overall. With the win, Bakersfield advances to play the top-seeded Spokane Shock in Spokane on Saturday night.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5
Arkansas Twisters 47, OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ 43 (4,843)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Arkansas Twisters advanced to the National Conference semifinals with a 47-43 road win against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Saturday night at Cox Arena in Oklahoma City. The victory was Arkansas' first-ever against the Yard Dawgz. The Twisters had been 0-4 against Oklahoma City prior to Saturday. It was a promising start for the Yard Dawgz as WR/DB Al Hunt picked off a pass on the opening series. Then Hunt hauled in an 18-yard pass to give the Yard Dawgz the first lead of the game. Arkansas answered right back as the teams exchanged the first six scores of the game. But in the second quarter Arkansas reeled off three straight touchdowns and a field goal to take the lead, 33-16, and never trailed again. The first half featured some intriguing kicking plays. Yard Dawg kicker A.J. Haglund hit a 57-yard field goal with 12:19 left in the second quarter to give the Yard Dawgz a 16-12 lead. That set a new af2 postseason record, besting the old mark of 51 yards (set on two occasions). Later in the quarter, Arkansas K David Carlton, who missed four extra point attempts in the half and five in the game, connected on a 33-yard field goal. The end of the half, however, was what brought about the most bizarre kicking play. With three seconds left, Haglund tried a 35-yard field goal attempt and Arkansas DS Delenell Reid grabbed the miss. Reid then zigzagged his way down the field to the Yard Dawgz' six-yard line before pitching the ball to lineman Kimani Jones who carried it the final six yards for the score. Arkansas led 27-16 at halftime. Oklahoma City retaliated in the second half, but the Twisters had too big of a cushion to overcome. Arkansas QB Walter Church completed 16-of-36 passes for 276 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. WR/DB Pierre Thomas led all players with 7.5 tackles while adding a touchdown receiving and rushing. Oklahoma City QB Craig Strickland completed 23-of-38 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns. U. S. Army Ironman of the Game Jarrail Jackson (OKC) hauled in five catches for 57 yards and accumulated 99 kick return yards. ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors went to Barrett Allen of the Yard Dawgz, who had three sacks.
MEMPHIS XPLORERS 81, Louisville Fire 63 (2,031)
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - Xplorers Offensive Specialist Kevin Prentiss caught seven touchdown passes and added a 58-yard kickoff return for a score to lead Memphis to a 83-61 first round playoff win over the Louisville Fire Saturday night at the DeSoto Civic Center. The team's 83 points broke the af2 record for most points in a postseason game and the combined total of 144 points for both teams was also an af2 postseason record. Those weren't the only records broken, however. Prentiss set new league playoff records with his seven touchdown receptions, eight total touchdowns and 48 points scored. He finished with 12 catches for 192 yards. His yardage total was 8 yards shy of the postseason record. Xplorers QB Brian Jones threw for 273 yards and nine scores to help pace Memphis to victory in what was a rematch of last season's ArenaCup. The Xplorers outscored the Fire 34-8 in the decisive fourth quarter. The first half was a seesaw of offensive momentum as Prentiss got the ball rolling right from the start, returning the opening kickoff 58 yards for a score. The Fire scored the next two touchdowns, the second of which came on a leaping interception by LB Lawrence Matthews followed by a seven-yard scamper into the end zone. Memphis came back with two scores in a row on a Jones 8-yard toss to Prentiss and a 1-yard run by Greg Golden. Golden's score was set up by a Louisville fumble on the kickoff return following the Prentiss touchdown catch. The game was tied at 21-21 after the first quarter and at 41-41 at the half. The Xplorers grabbed the advantage with a defensive stop on the Fire's opening possession of the second half. Four plays later, they took the lead for good on Jones' 7-yard pass to Deon Giddens. The Xplorers defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter, forcing three turnovers and getting a stop on fourth and short early in the quarter when the lead was just two points. Louisville's rookie QB Brett Dietz passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns. OS Rob Mager led the Fire receivers with nine grabs for 137 yards and a touchdown. With the victory, Memphis earned the right to travel to Green Bay to face the East Division champion Blizzard on Friday at the Resch Center in the American Conference semifinals.
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- af2 first round playoff recaps - af2
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