af2 arenafootball2

af2 Nation

by Walter L. Johnson II
Published on March 30, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2)


Welcome to the debut of "af2 Nation", a weekly look at the happenings around arenafootball2. Each week, af2 Nation will preview each week's af2 action, as well as point out a few interesting tidbits here and there.

We'll start things off by quickly mentioning the six franchises that won't return to the af2 for 2005. The Tennessee Valley Vipers (now Raptors) of Huntsville, Ala., long one of the premier franchises of the league, joined the United Indoor Football Association in time for the inaugural season, as did the Peoria (Ill.) Pirates. Additionally, at least four franchises, the Columbus (Ga.) Wardogs, the Hawaiian Islanders, the Laredo (Tex.) Law, and the Wichita Stealth, all ceased operations at the end of the 2004 season.

Oh, and one more thing, the af2 will kick off its sixth season Friday, April 1, with three games to be played that night, as well as two on Sunday, April 3.

Having said that, let's preview the 2005 arenafootball2 season.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Albany Conquest—The Conquest return with a new head coach for the 2005 season in Richard Davis. Albany will look to improve upon last season's 6-10 record. D Bryant will lead the way at QB for the Conquest.

Green Bay Blizzard—The Blizzard (6-10) also have a new head coach in Bob Landsee. However, Green Bay must deal with the loss of QB Chris Greisen, who now plays for the Dallas Desperadoes of the Arena Football League. Johnny Turman takes over as the leading signal caller for the Blizzard, while Asa Francis comes over from the Quad City Steamwheelers.

Louisville Fire—After finishing last season at 9-7, and losing in the National Conference Semifinals, the Fire hope to take the next step, and advance to the Arena Cup this season. Defensive specialist Rob Green comes to Louisville from Albany to boost the Fire defense.

Manchester Wolves—The Wolves begin their second season in New Hampshire looking to improve upon last year's 5-11 mark. And they hope to do just that with the hiring of Ben Bennett as their new head coach. Bennett helped the Florida Firecats to the Arena Cup title in 2004.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers—The Pioneers fell one game short of the Arena Cup despite sharing the af2's best overall record at 13-3 a year ago. But with J.R. Thomas and head coach Les Moss coming back for the season, expectations will be very high in Northeast Pennsylvania this season.

SOUTH DIVISION

Arkansas Twisters—Despite struggling to a 4-12 record last season, the Twisters did well at the gate, averaging almost 8,700 fans per home game in 2004. Now it'll be interesting to see if Arkansas can do just as well on the field as they've done at the ticket office.

Birmingham Steeldogs—Bobby Humphrey begins his sixth season in Birmingham, as the Steeldogs (10-6) hope to erase memories of last year's first round playoff loss to Cape Fear. Leading receiver Carlos McNeary and George Williams return for Birmingham, but will be without Jeff Aaron and Kenton Evans. But Andrew Zow, a former quarterback at the University of Alabama, will take the snaps for the Steeldogs this season.

Florida Firecats—The Firecats downed former af2 member Peoria 39-26 to win their first-ever Arena Cup last year. If Florida wants to hoist the trophy this year, they must do it with a new head coach in Kevin Bouis. Also, former quarterback Ken Mastrole moves into his new role as offensive coordinator.

Macon Knights—After reaching the Arena Cup finals in 2003, the Knights stumbled to a dismal 3-13 mark in 2004. Larry Casher, who played for the AFL Carolina Cobras in 2003, joins Macon as a defensive specialist.

South Georgia Wildcats—Despite posting a third straight 10-win season (12-4), as well as a trip to the American Conference semifinals, the Cape Fear Wildcats struggled attendance-wise last year, thus prompting the move to Albany, Ga. during the off-season. Chris Siegfried begins his fourth year as the Wildcats head coach looking to improve on his 35-13-career record. One of the af2's leading receivers, Adrian Cockfield, joins South Georgia after playing for Columbus a year ago.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIVISION

Amarillo Dusters—The Dusters join the af2 as an expansion team this season after playing in the now-defunct Intense Football League last season. Don Carthel will be the Dusters new head coach, while former AFL quarterback Rickey Foggie will serve as the offensive coordinator. Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings—The Battle Wings look to regroup after struggling to a 5-11 record last season by bringing in several new faces. Keith Barefield begins his second year as Bossier-Shreveport's head coach. Meanwhile, Brent Rawls and Caleb Slover will battle for playing time at QB.

Memphis Xplorers—The Xplorers made their first-ever playoff appearance after a 10-6 regular season last year, but fell to eventual Arena Cup champion Florida, 35-33, in the first round of the playoffs. Defensive specialist Dahnel Singfield and offensive/defensive lineman Joe Crear look to lead Memphis back to postseason play in 2005.

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz—Despite a 10-6 record in their inaugural season a year ago, the Yard Dawgz fell short of postseason play. Now they hope to play their way into the playoffs in 2005 thanks to the return of 2003 Arena Cup MVP Craig Strickland at QB, while Al Hunt is back at wide receiver/linebacker.

Quad City Steamwheelers—One of the premier franchises in the af2, the Steamwheelers look to return to the playoffs under new head coach Rick Frazier. Quad City went 10-6 last year, but lost 53-48 to Louisville in the first round of the playoffs. The Steamwheelers defense gave up only 38.6 points a game in 2004.

WEST DIVISION

Bakersfield Blitz—The Blitz compiled an 11-5 regular season record en route to the winning the West Division title last season. Now Bakersfield fans hope the combination of Chad Elliott to Eric Mahanke will lead the way to another division crown this season. A third of Elliott's passes last season fell in Mahanke's hands a year ago.

Central Valley Coyotes—Despite a miserable 3-13 mark a year ago, the Coyotes finished strong, winning their last two games, and knocking off the San Diego Riptide to keep that aforementioned squad out of the postseason. DeRonn Finley joins comes to the West Coast from Green Bay as a wide receiver/defensive back, while Anthony Arceneaux will join Finley in Fresno, Calif.

Rio Grande Valley Dorados—The Dorados will look to improve on last year's 6-10 record in only their second season of action. Key returnees for Rio Grande Valley are kicker Eric Houle and offensive/defensive lineman Kenny McClain. Josh Kellett comes to the Dorados, while wide receiver/defensive back Travis McAlpine, and fullback/linebacker Ben McCombs will join him.

San Diego Riptide—A season ending upset loss to Central Valley cost the Riptide a playoff berth, thus leaving the team with a final 8-8 record for 2004. Now San Diego will look to advance to postseason play with newcomer Nian Taylor coming to the West Coast at wide receiver/linebacker, while Anthony Griffin and Nakoa McElrath return to complete the receiving corps. Tulsa Talons—The Talons look to win their second af2 title in the last three years after going 13-3 in the regular season, only to lose to Peoria in the National Conference title game. Leading receiver Robert Reed comes back along with Mike Duncan and Shan Jordan. Tulsa also has a new head coach in David Alexander.

QUICK PICKS

Florida over Macon

Wilkes Barre-Scranton over Oklahoma City

Tulsa over Amarillo

Bakersfield over Central Valley

Memphis over Bossier-Shreveport

UNDER THE ROOF—Remember to catch "Under The Roof—This Week in Indoor and Arena Football" every Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time, on Our Sports Central Radio. If you've missed any of the previous shows, you can listen to them on demand at http://www.oursportscentral.com.

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arenafootball2 Stories from March 30, 2005


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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