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April 25, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (1-3) AT DAYTONA BEACH THUNDERBIRDS (0-4)

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008 - Ocean Center (8,000) 7:00 P.M. ET

The Tennessee Valley Vipers make their first trip to the beach to take on the first-year ThunderBirds, a new South Division foe. The Vipers are coming into this week's contest with added confidence after winning their first game of 2008 last Saturday against Louisville, 41-30. QB Brent Dearmon, in his second start under center, was 24-of-41 for 249 yards, four touchdowns and one interception for Tennessee Valley. His favorite target was WR MAURICE BROWN, who finished with a game-high 11 catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Leading the charge defensively for the Vipers was DB Demetrius Derico with 8.0 tackles and two pass breakups. Desmond Foster also impressed with 1.0 tackle, one interception (40-yard return) and one pass breakup. Derico leads the team in tackles (29) and interceptions (3). Despite their record, many consider Tennessee Valley one of the more talented teams in the league. The Vipers losses have come to teams with a combined record of 8-3. Two of the team's three losses have come by four points or less. Daytona Beach enters Week 5 still searching for a first win. The ThunderBirds' last time out came on Sunday against Florida. Daytona Beach fell to the Firecats, 55-26, thanks to a slow start that saw the ThunderBirds trail at the half, 35-6. WR Toris Rutledge caught a game-high 11 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown for Daytona Beach (0-4). The ThunderBirds' loss was their fourth game in a row. Rookie QB Steven Moffett came in for Scott Jefferies and passed for a season high 111 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort. Turnovers have hurt Daytona Beach in the early season. The ThunderBirds had five in their most recent defeat and currently has a league-high 16 (nine interceptions and seven lost fumbles) overall. If Daytona Beach can protect the football, the ThunderBirds will be in a much better position to challenge the Vipers.

VIPERS THUNDERBIRDS SERIES LEADER First time these teams are meeting

LAST MEETING No previous meeting

LAST FIVE GAMES 1-4 0-4

LAST GAME Won 41-30 vs. Louisville on 4/19/08 Lost 26-55 vs. Florida on 4/20/08

LEADERS VIPERS THUNDERBIRDS PASSING Dearman: 51-89-3; 621; 11 TDs Jeffries: 56-119-5; 556; 5 TDs

RECEIVING Shabaj: 27-285; 3 TDs Rutledge: 30-265; 3 TDs

RUSHING Blanchard: 7-15; 3 TDs Jackson: 20-45; 3 TDs

TACKLES Derico: 29 Richardson: 12

SACKS Scott: 2 Mills and Wilson: 2

INTERCEPTIONS Derico: 3 Thompson: 2

KICKING Hayes: 19-23 PAT; 5-10 FG; 34 PTs Adams: 6-8 PAT; 6-13 FG; 24 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 44.5 PPG; 256.2 YPG 21.0 PPG; 202.0 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 47.0 PPG; 282.5 YPG 53.0 PPG; 218.0 YPG

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (2-1) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (2-2)

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008 - The Resch Center (7,695) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Quad City Steamwheelers travel to Green Bay to take on the Blizzard Friday night in a Midwest Division affair. These two teams have met 11 times overall with the Steamwheelers holding a 6-5 advantage. Last season the Blizzard took two of three from Quad City, including a 39-34 first round playoff win in Moline, Ill. The Steamwheelers, ranked No. 9 in the latest league coaches poll, lost their first contest of the 2008 season last week against Iowa. A pair of former Quad City players helped take out their former team, Tim Dodge and Jack Walker. Steamwheelers QB J.J. Raterink didn't look his best by far with 267 yards passing and four touchdowns with five interceptions on 17 completions. Jesse Schmidt caught three of the touchdowns and had 156 yards on eight catches. Defensively, Tyus Jackson tallied four tackles for a loss and three sacks. He currently leads the squad with 4.5 sacks on the season. Schmidt has been Raterink's top target to date with 22 catches for 339 yards and eight TDs. LB MALIK JACKSON has also been a major contributor in the early season with a team-high 23.5 tackles. Quad City's defense has been strong, allowing just 40.7 points per game. On the other side, however, Steamwheeler fans expect more than 41.7 points per game from their offense. Green Bay enters Week 5 ranked No. 12 in latest league coaches poll. The Blizzard's most recent result was a 55-48 road loss at South Georgia. Green Bay couldn't have been pleased with its performance against the Wildcats, especially considering the Blizzard scored the first 17 points of the game and led at the half by 18, 31-13. Green Bay, normally known as one of the best defensive teams in the af2, watched South Georgia go on a 34-7 run that began at the start of the second quarter and lasted until the 7:39 mark of the fourth quarter. QB Shane Adler struggled in the final three quarters against a tough Wildcats defense to finish the night 12-of-28 passing for 229 yards, three TDs and two INTs. Scott Burnoski led all Blizzard receivers with five catches for 94 yards and one touchdown. Burnoski leads the team in receiving with 24 catches for 414 yards and eight TDs. DB NATE GREEN, who scored on a 50-yard missed field goal return against the Wildcats, leads Green Bay in tackles with 20 and is tied for the team-high in interceptions (2) with fellow DB RUSTY MIDLAM. The Blizzard are always tough at home, winning 12 of their last 13 at the Resch Center. They've also won their last three home head-to-head matchups against the Steamwheelers. Raterink and the Quad City offense will need to get off to a strong start on Friday night to avoid getting snowed in by the Blizzard on their home turf.

STEAMWHEELERS BLIZZARD SERIES LEADER Quad City leads series 6-5

LAST MEETING Green Bay won 39-34 on 8/3/07

LAST FIVE GAMES 3-2 2-3

LAST GAME Lost 38-53 vs. Iowa on 4/19/08 Lost 48-55 at S. Georgia on 4/19/08

LEADERS STEAMWHEELERS BLIZZARD PASSING Raterink: 53-102-7; 693; 16 TDs Adler: 48-96-5; 691; 11 TDs

RECEIVING Schmidt: 22-339; 8 TDs Burnoski: 24-414; 8 TDs

RUSHING Monk: 5-10; 1 TD Birkley: 8-37; 0 TDs

TACKLES Jackson, M.: 23.5 Green: 20

SACKS Jackson, T.: 4.5 Sykes: 3.5

INTERCEPTIONS Jackson, Beverly, Vogel: 1 Green and Midlam: 2

KICKING Pearson: 11-14 PAT; 0-1 FG; 11 PTs Forstrom: 20-25 PAT; 5-11 FG; 35 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 41.7 PPG; 231.0 YPG 51.2 PPG; 245.8 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 40.7 PPG; 239.0 YPG 46.2 PPG; 189.5 YPG



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