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af2 playoffs conference semifinals on Saturday

August 7, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


MANCHESTER, NH-- The Manchester Wolves, arguably the hottest team in the arenafootball2 league playoffs, hope to ice the Blizzard in Green Bay on Saturday night in the American Conference semi-finals round.

The seventh-seeded Wolves (10-7) advanced to the second round by upsetting the second-seeded and South Division champion Wildcats in South Georgia last weekend with their high-powered offense and a tenacious defense which caused a critical turnover with under a minute on the clock and then knocked away what would have been the Wildcats game-winning touchdown as time expired. If the Wolves are to advance to the championship round, they know they'll have to bring their best against the third-seeded and Midwest Division champion Blizzard (12-5) in Green Bay's home arena.

"This Bob Lansee team, and any team he has coached, is one of the best teams in the af2 and one of the most fundamentally sound teams out there," Wolves Head Coach Danton Barto said of his counterpart. "They have by far the best pass rush I've seen in this league since 2005. We're really going to have our work cut out for us and need to play our best football if we want to continue on and come out of Green Bay with a win."

Green Bay placed a league-best eight players on the All-af2 First and Second teams and also lead the af2 with six players on the First Team. All three of their offensive linemen, center Raymond McNeil plus linemen Stephenol Santos and Aqua Etefia, made it as did defensive lineman Joe Sykes.

When Sykes tees off on opposing quarterbacks for the Blizzard, he is like an avalanche coming down the mountain. He led the af2 in sacks (19.5), tackles (22), and forced fumbles during the regular season and then set a league record in the first round of the playoffs with five sacks, five solo tackles, and two forced fumbles. Overall, the Blizzard had 10 sacks in that one game.

Nonetheless, the Wolves big three up front of center Darnerius Watson, guard Daniel Oliphant, and tight end Rich Ranglin have played superbly as well in protecting quarterback James Pinkney. Oliphant, who has been called by Barto 'the undeniable presence on the offensive line" this season by Barto, was named to the All-af2 second team.

In a classic case of the immoveable object meeting the irresistible force, every time the Wolves and Blizzard face off on the line of scrimmage there will be an all-out war in the trenches as the Wolves defensive linemen are playing their best football as well.

The Wolves offense, featuring All-af2 First Team wide receiver/linebacker Bradly Chavez, has been almost impossible to stop during Manchester's steak which has seen them win nine of their last 10 games and five straight. The trifecta of starting receivers, who also include Emery Sammons and Steven Savoy, has three players who have each surpassed over 1,000 receiving yards this season for a Wolves record.

The Wolves receivers are smart, sure-handed, and very tough to tackle after they catch the ball, but Green Bay's defensive backs are excellent as well. Both Donnie Amadi and Nate Green made the All-af2 Second Team and Rusty Midlam is always around the ball, so the match-ups in the secondary will also be a key to which team advances to the American Conference championship round next week.

The game in the Resch Center in Green Bay is slated to kick off at 8:30 PM (ET) and can be viewed on NIFTYtv.com or heard on WFEA AM 1370 in Manchester. The winner will move on to match up against the victor of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (No. 1 seed) vs. Tennessee Valley Vipers (no. 4 seed) contest on Saturday, August 16.

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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.


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