af2 Friday Night Matchups

May 1, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

The Louisville Fire meet the Cincinnati Swarm for the second time this season in a battle for a share of first place. Both teams come in 2-2 atop the Midwest division along with Quad City. The Fire took the first game between these two teams by a 36-25 count on March 29. Coach TOMMY JOHNSON has started to see some improvement on offense, evidenced by a 54-50 win over the defending ArenaCup champions last week. Coach CHIRS MACKEOWN'S Swarm has also found sound offensive magic behind the arm of CHRISTIAN BATCHELLER, who threw for eight touchdowns last week and was named af2 Offensive Player of the Week. Both teams have averaged less than 40 points and around 200 yards per game, but the Fire put up 353 yards of total offense last week, and Cincinnati scored 69 against Green Bay. Defensive specialist ARKEE THOMPSON has six interceptions for the Fire and is two shy of breaking the career record of 25 set by TYRONE LASTER (Richmond). JAMES SCOTT has caught six of the Swarm's 15 touchdowns and has accounted for 334 of the team's 856 receiving yards. NORMAN MASON caught nine passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Fire last week. In the first meeting against Cincinnati, Mason caught four passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns and he intercepted one pass for a touchdown. This is the final meeting of the regular season for these clubs.

RICHMOND SPEED (1-2) AT GREENSBORO PROWLERS (3-1)
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2003 - GREENSBORO COLISEUM (8,350) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Richmond Speed heads to Greensboro for an Atlantic division showdown with the first-place Prowlers. After starting the season 0-2, the Speed rebounded last week against Norfolk, handing the Nighthawks its first loss of the season. The Prowlers topped Mohegan last week and have already matched their win total from a season ago. The Speed swept the season series with the Prowlers 2-0 last year. Greensboro, behind the arm of KENTON EVANS, is averaging 37.8 points per game, compared to 31.3 points per game by the Speed. The Speed has thrown eight touchdowns this season and four have gone to DAMON THOMPSON. CLIFTON SHAVERS has three touchdown receptions to lead the Prowlers. Speed head coach RICHARD DAVIS is going for career win 35 (including postseason) and Greensboro's STEVEN JERRY is looking for win No. 16 of his career. Richmond went 5-3 on the road last season, while the Prowlers went 2-6 at home. WR/DB BOBBY SIPPIO earned af2 Ironman of the Week for his three-touchdown effort last Saturday against the Wolves. This is the first of two regular season meetings between the teams. They meet again on July 18.

PEORIA PIRATES (1-3) AT QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (2-2)
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2003 - THE MARK (9,200) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Peoria Pirates meet the arch rival Quad City Steamwheelers Friday night at The Mark. Meeting for the fifth time in af2 history, these teams have become bitter rivals and the series has been dubbed the "Ruler of the River", with the winner taking home the Ruler of the River trophy. Quad City owned the series in 2001 with wins of 41-0 and 45-7, but the Pirates got even last year, winning 81-56 and 67-43. The only two teams in league history to win an ArenaCup game, they both are trying to rebound from 0-2 starts to the season. Quad City has the leagues third best scoring average (53.5 PPG), while the Pirates are fifth (50.0 PPG). Quarterbacks CHARLIE PETERSON and TONY ZIMMERMAN are No. 1 and 2 in the league with 21 and 20 passing touchdowns, respectively. Zimmerman rushed for four touchdowns last week at Bakersfield. The Pirates' BRYAN ARCHIBALD leads the league with 4.0 sacks. The Steamwheelers have never been 2-2 and the Pirates have never been 1-3. The Pirates are 0-2 on the road this season, while Quad City is 1-1 at home. These teams meet again on July 26.

arenafootball2 Stories from May 1, 2003

• af2 Friday Night Matchups - af2
• Grillin' with Tim Bobbleheads on May 10 - Cincinnati Swarm
• Wolves Seek Franchise High Win Total This Saturday at Rochester - Mohegan Wolves

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.