af2 arenafootball2

af2 Saturday Night Matchups

Published on May 16, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


ALBANY AT ROCHESTER - The 3-1 Albany Conquest takes on the 1-5 Rochester Brigade in an American Northeast Division battle. The Conquest sits at the top of that division hoping to extend its winning streak to three games. The Brigade, on the other hand, hopes to break the tie with the Pioneers for third place in the division. Albany averages 50.8 points per game compared to Rochester's 32.3 per contest. Albany is coming off a blowout against the Swarm in which Offensive MVP RYAN VENA had a career game, throwing for 242 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for two. ADT Defensive Player of the Week JOHN STUART is dangerous with his overall 22.5 tackles, two interceptions, and 13 pass breakups. Rochester hopes to improve to 2-1 at home and hopes that quarterback JASON VISCONTI can connect with DEREK BAKER, who has 511 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving and three interceptions on the other side of the ball. Albany has been successful on the road, being 7-1 last season and 3-1 this season. The teams meet again on July 19.

CAPE FEAR AT CHARLESTON - The Cape Fear Wildcats face the Charleston Swamp Foxes for the first time this season. Both teams come in on three-game winning streaks. Cape Fear head coach CHRIS SIEGFRIED is looking for his 20th career win (including postseason) while the Swamp Foxes hope to stay undefeated at home this season. The Wildcats are at the top of the league with their 51.8 points per game average, compared to 33.3 points for the Swamp Foxes. Quarterback BRYAN SNYDER leads Cape Fear's offense and has thrown for 1,037 yards and 20 touchdowns and only one interception. Offensive specialist LEROY MCFADDEN of the Swamp Foxes is leading the team in touchdowns (8) and is a rushing, receiving, and defensive threat. These teams battle for the second time this season on June 28.

COLUMBUS AT FLORIDA - Columbus head coach JOHN FOURCADE hopes to even out his team's record playing against his old team, the Florida Firecats. The Wardogs hope to snap their three game losing streak while the Firecats look to prevent theirs from extending to three. Florida is coming off of a tough loss at Charleston, while Columbus was blown out by Macon last week. Firecats' defensive specialist ROY STABLER leads the league in tackles with 39.5, and he also has three interceptions, 13 pass breakups, and three fumble recoveries. Wardogs quarterback MIKE GLUSKI has thrown 10 touchdown passes, including four against Charleston, and offensive specialists MICHAEL SCOTT and JAMES DICKERSON lead the team with four touchdowns each. The teams meet again on July 26.

LOUISVILLE AT MEMPHIS - The Memphis Xplorers hope to break their four-game losing streak when they face the Louisville Fire, and Memphis general manager GREG GRIIFFITH has guaranteed victory. Memphis head coach DANTON BARTO seeks for his tenth win, as quarterback ROD ROBINSON looks to add to his 1,221 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Offensive specialist KEVIN PRENTISS leads the af2 in scoring touchdowns with 17, including six vs. Tulsa on May 3rd. The Fire is coming off of a thrilling victory against Birmingham in which kicker and game MVP MARC SAMUEL hit a field goal with seconds left in the fourth quarter to earn the win. Louisville defensive specialist ARKEE THOMPSON is second in the league in interceptions with six, while DEMETRIUS FORNEY shares the same spot in sacks with five. The teams face off once again on June 21st.

GREENSBORO AT PEORIA - The Greensboro Prowlers meet the Peoria Pirates for the first time in af2 history. The Prowlers hope to snap a two game losing streak while the Pirates are heading into this game with great momentum from their last-second win at Green Bay last week. Peoria head coach BRUCE COWDREY, seeking his 19th regular season win, hopes that offensive specialist and JACK WALKER can repeat his three touchdown performance from last week and add to his 14 touchdowns overall. Quarterback CHARLIE PETERSON has tossed 31 touchdowns for the Pirates, which is the second highest total among all af2 quarterbacks. Greensboro gunslinger CALEB SLOVER has thrown 16 touchdowns this season and COREY SULLIVAN has caught seven for the Prowlers. THADDEUS BULLARD has five sacks for the Prowlers and BRYAN ARCHIBALD has 4.5 for the Pirates. The Pirates average 48.8 points per game, while the Prowlers average 39.7 per game. Greensboro is 1-2 on the road this season, whereas the Pirates have split its only two home games of he season. This is the only meeting of the season between these teams.

MACON AT TENNESSEE VALLEY - The 5-1 Macon Knights take on the undefeated Tennessee Valley Vipers in what should be an extremely competitive intra-division battle. The Knights have been largely outscoring their opponents, including a 49-17 blowout last week when they faced the Columbus Wardogs. Macon's one loss has come on the road, but head coach KEVIN PORTER hopes that offensive specialist JACQUES RUMPH can add to his three rushing and 10 receiving touchdowns. The Knights are first in the league in points allowed on defense, due to DENARIO SMALLS who is sixth in the league in tackles with 33.5 and has also pulled in four interceptions. The Vipers have been explosive on offense, led by quarterback MATT SAUK who has passed for 1,284 yards and 25 touchdowns, making him 9th in the league. WES STEPHENS is dangerous on defense for the Vipers, and has three sacks to his credit. The Vipers have started the season 6-0 each of the last two years, but have never gone 7-0 in team history. The teams will face off again on July 26th.

BOSSIER CITY AT TULSA - The Bossier City Battle Wings are looking to bust a three-game slide and tighten things up in the National Conference Central division race as they face the first-place Tulsa Talons. The Battle Wings have had no trouble scoring this season, as they come in averaging 51.2 points per game, but they allow 55.3 to their opponents. The Talons average 49.8 points per game and are ranked right below the Battle Wings in that category. Bossier City quarterback SHERARD POTEETE has thrown for 22 touchdowns and rushed for 13 more. This game is a homecoming of sorts for Poteete, who played high school ball in the Tulsa area. Tulsa quarterback CRAIG STRICKLAND has thrown for 1,450 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. Poteete and Strickland only have six interceptions between them. This is the first of two meetings between these teams this season. They split the season series last year.

ARKANSAS AT BAKERSFIELD - The Arkansas Twisters have won three of its last four games and look to make it four of five in Bakersfield when they meet the Blitz for the first time in history. Bakersfield is looking to snap a three-game slide and find the magic that carried them to a division title last season. Twisters' quarterback RICKEY HEBERT has thrown 27 touchdowns, while Bakersfield signal-caller CHAD ELLIOTT has connected for 16 scoring strikes. The Twisters went 4-1 against teams from the West last season, as Bakersfield went 1-2 against the Central last year. These teams rank 21 and 22 in points allowed, as the Blitz has given up 47.3 points per game to the Twisters' 48.0 per game. Arkansas' defense has picked off seven passes this season, while the Blitz only has one interception as a team. If Arkansas wins, they'll match their start from a season ago, which included a trip to the playoffs. This is the only time these teams play this season.

CINCINNATI AT SAN DIEGO - The expansion Cincinnati Swarm looks to its fourth win of the season when they travel to San Diego to face the Riptide, who is also looking for win No. 4 on the season. Both teams lost last week as the Swarm gave up 69 to Albany, while the Riptide allowed 65 to Tulsa. Last week's loss was only the second time in team history that the Riptide has given up more than 60 points. The Swarm is one game out of first behind the Steamwheelers in the Midwest division, while the Riptide has dropped three of its last four. The Riptide started last season 3-3 and made the playoffs. Quarterback KANE CLAUNCH has thrown 23 touchdowns for the Riptide, compared to 17 off the arm of CHRISTIAN BATCHELLER for the Swarm. Offensive specialist JAMES SCOTT has been the spark of the Swarm offense, catching 47 passes (9th best in af2) for 653 yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensively, the Swarm allows 44.3 points per game, while the Riptide give up 45.3 a game. This is the only time these teams meet this season. The Riptide went 2-3 against Midwest teams last season, including the playoffs.

Log on to www.af2.com for the latest af2 information.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



arenafootball2 Stories from May 16, 2003


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central