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af2 Nation

by Walter L. Johnson II
April 25, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)


Fans in northeast Pennsylvania got their money's worth last Friday, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers played host to the Louisville Fire in a battle of undefeated teams. Speaking of undefeated teams, the Florida Firecats and Memphis Xplorers continued to roll, as both teams ran their records to 4-0. The Xplorers kept the Birmingham Steeldogs winless on the 2005 season, as they cruised to an easy 60-24 win, while the Firecats had to hold off a scrappy pack of South Georgia Wildcats 42-37. Those losses left both the Steeldogs and Wildcats sitting at 0-3 on the season.

That brings us back to the recapping the biggest action in the week that was: Week 4.

EAST DIVISION SHOWDOWN: The Louisville Fire and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers battled Friday night not only to stay undefeated, but also take over first place in the East Division in the process. More than 4,300 fans turned out at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes Barre, Pa. to see the visiting Fire hand the hometown Pioneers their first loss of the season, 58-50. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Kyle Rowley threw for 251 yards for five touchdowns and no interceptions. But that impressive effort wouldn't be enough, as the Pioneers fell to 3-1 on the season, while the Fire improved to 4-0.

KNIGHTS BURIED IN "BLIZZARD": The Green Bay Blizzard took advantage of four interceptions, four sacks, and a fumble recovery to down the Macon Knights 28-18 in Green Bay, Wis. Saturday night. The offense did its part in the win, despite having the lowest scoring game in franchise history, as Johnny Turman completed 21-of-34 passes 219 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. On the other hand, Matt Jackson recorded six tackles and a forced fumble in a losing cause for Macon. Ironically, despite the loss, the Knights are the only other team in the South Division with at least a .500 or better record, as Arkansas, Birmingham, and South Georgia all have 0-3 records.

STEAMWHEELERS STOMP YARD DAWGZ! After their embarrassing opening game loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton two weeks earlier, the Quad City Steamwheelers have now won back-to-back games. On Saturday, Quad City improved to 2-1 after downing the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 61-43 at Oklahoma City. Matt Forbes had two interceptions in the victory, with one of them returned 53 yards for what was the eventual game-winning touchdown with eight seconds left in the contest. Sam Clemons also put together a superb performance, as completed 28-of-39 passes for 327 yards and seven touchdowns in the win.

ELSEWHERE: Here's a quick recap of scores from other games in the af2 from Week 4.

Rio Grande Valley 40, Bakersfield 32 (Friday): The Dorados overcame an early 14-0 deficit to win their first game of the season, while the Blitz lost for the second time in as many home games.

In other Saturday games:

Amarillo 86, Bossier-Shreveport 66: Julian Reese passed for more than 400 yards and nine touchdowns in a record-setting performance, as the Dusters (2-1) won their first-ever road game. Meanwhile, the Battle Wings remained winless on the season, as they fell to 0-4.

Tulsa 55, San Diego 37: Josh Blankenship threw for seven touchdowns, and scored another rushing, as the Talons moved into a first place tie with the Central Valley Coyotes in the West Division at 2-1.

Central Valley 71, Arkansas 41: A 30 point fourth quarter sealed the deal for the Coyotes, as they won their home opener to improve to 2-1. As for the Twisters, they're still looking for their first win of 2005 after dropping to 0-3.

A LOOK AHEAD: Let's take a look at the top games for Week 5.

Manchester (2-1) at Macon (2-2): The Wolves head south to Macon, Ga. for a critical Friday night match-up against the Knights. The Wolves held off a late rally on the road against the Albany (N.Y.) Conquest for a 56-49 win Saturday night. As for the Knights, head coach Mike Hold and Co. hope to bounce back after an error-plagued night in Green Bay last weekend.

Green Bay (2-1) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3-1): The Blizzard head east into Pennsylvania to face the Pioneers in this Saturday night East Division showdown. Green Bay hopes to notch its second straight win, while the Pioneers hope to re-group after losing a heartbreaker to Louisville at home last Friday.

Oklahoma City (2-2) at Tulsa (2-1): It's the "Battle of Oklahoma" on Saturday night, as the Talons host the Yard Dawgz in this big intra-divisional contest. Tulsa can keep at least a share of first place in the West Division with a win, while Oklahoma City needs a win to keep pace with Memphis, Amarillo, and Quad City in the Midwest Division.

Memphis (4-0) at Quad City (2-1): It's the big showdown at "The Mark" this Saturday, as the Steamwheelers play host to the Xplorers. The Xplorers hope to run their record to 5-0, while the Steamwheelers look to extend their winning streak to three games in a row should they win.

QUICK PICKS:

Last Week: 7-3 (.700)

Year-To-Date 22-10 (.688)

Manchester over Macon

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over Green Bay

South Georgia over Albany

Louisville over Birmingham

Florida over Arkansas

Tulsa over Oklahoma City

Quad City over Memphis

Amarillo over San Diego

Bakersfield over Central Valley

Rio Grande Valley over Bossier-Shreveport (Monday)

UNDER THE ROOF: For all your indoor and arena football needs, remember to tune in for "Under The Roof", every Thursday night at 8 p.m., Eastern Time, on Our Sports Central Radio. Just simply log on to http://www.oursportscentral.com, and click on the "OSC Radio" link to listen to current and past shows. Plus, you can listen to all of the shows anytime, even at 2 a.m. in the morning. That's "Under The Roof", Thursday nights starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, only on OSC Radio.

CONTACT US: What's your take on the af2 scene? Are there any interesting things we should know about? Tell us what you think at af2nation@hotmail.com. That's af2nation@hotmail.com.



arenafootball2 Stories from April 25, 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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