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af2 Saturday Preview

April 5, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


ARKANSAS HOPES TO AVOID ANOTHER TENNESSEE VALLEY ‘TWIST' OF FATE
Vipers/Twisters rematch highlights 13-game Saturday slate

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Come Saturday night, if the Arkansas Twisters lead Tennessee Valley by close to five touchdowns with less than a quarter to play, don't be surprised if the ALLTEL Arena crowd is a tad more subdued than you'd expect.

Why? Because they've been there before ... and things didn't turn out so well. Tennessee Valley visits Arkansas (8 p.m. ET) knowing full well the Twisters have had more than eight months to stew over the Vipers' 56-55 win last July 21. The Vipers rallied from a 55-21 deficit with 13:46 left in the game, scoring the last 35 points to steal the final game of the regular season. The Twisters finished with a 6-10 record while Tennessee Valley took a 14-2 mark into the playoffs, eventually advancing to the league semifinals.

Several key players from that 56-55 thriller are back for the teams' 2002 debut. OL/DL ANDY FULLER, whose two TD catches included the game-winner with :11 left, and OS KELLY FIELDS, af2's all-time leading receiver, return for the Vipers. The big question mark for the 2000 ArenaCup finalists is at quarterback. WES COUNTS tries to fill the big shoes left by 2001 triggerman MATT SAUK, now a member of the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers. Counts led the nation in completion percentage last season at Middle Tennessee State University.

On the Twisters' side of the ball, most of the skill position players are back ... with one notable exception. Despite the loss to the Vipers, QB RICKY HEBERT finished the season strong, throwing 31 touchdown passes in Arkansas' final five games against just one interception (a pick that came during Tennessee Valley's rally). FB/LB DARNELL SMALL, OS JOHN DOLLAR and WR/DB LENNIE JOHNSON also return to give the Twisters uncommon experience on the offensive side of the ball.

But ... the Twisters must cope with the loss of REGGIE SWINTON, who parlayed his af2 exploits into a roster spot with the Dallas Cowboys. Swinton, who ranked among the NFL leaders in kickoff and punt returns in 2001, scored five touchdowns for the Twisters against the Vipers last July. While the only position player to jump from af2 to the NFL won't be in an Arkansas uniform Saturday night, he will be in the arena to provide inspiration to his former teammates. The Twisters will retire his No. 5 jersey at halftime of the game.

"It is a great honor for me to have my jersey retired by the Twisters," Swinton said. "This is the team that helped me get recognition to be noticed by the Cowboys and, being from Little Rock, my family will be able to share this moment with me."

Another current NFL player, CHRIS REDMAN, will be part of the pregame festivities in Louisville when the Fire hosts the Memphis Xplorers (7 p.m. ET). The Baltimore Ravens' QB and University of Louisville alum will toss the coin to get this National Conference tilt underway. The Fire no longer has the services of all-purpose wonder BRIAN McDONALD (who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year), but it does return QB MATT PIKE, who threw 45 touchdown passes in 2001. Memphis led the league in rushing last season (53.4 ypg), but looks to work the passing game more in 2002 with QB TIM LESTER (37 TDs in 10 games last year), WR/DB JOHNNY LOPER and new addition RUSSELL COPELAND, the former Buffalo Bill.

Norfolk Scope Arena is the site of a season-opening Atlantic Division tilt between the first-year Cape Fear Wildcats and the Norfolk Nighthawks (7 p.m. ET). Norfolk, a charter member of af2, will try to continue its winning ways at home, where the Nighthawks are 14-3 all-time. Nighthawks Head Coach TONY MISSICK begins his first season as an af2 head coach after working the past two seasons as Norfolk's defensive coordinator. The Wildcats are led by Head Coach CHRIS SIEGFRIED, the first former af2 player to become an af2 head coach. The Wildcats will look to WR/DB TROY ESPRIT to be the go to guy on offense. Esprit, a third-year af2 veteran, could be poised for a breakout year. The WR/LB out of Grambling caught 79 passes for 1,072 yards and 25 touchdowns last year in Macon. Norfolk will rely on the arm of QB WILL BURCH, who needs five TD passes to give him 100 for his af2 career. He has 5,129 passing yards in two seasons.

MIKE BUCK's Barracudas head to Tallahassee on Saturday for an interconference battle with the Thunder at Leon County Civic Center (7 p.m. ET). The two teams split last season's series, but a win by Tallahassee in 2000 gives them the 2-1 all-time edge. Tallahassee comes off an impressive run in 2001, having gone 11-5 and making it to the playoffs. Pensacola is looking to turn things around after a disappointing 5-11 mark last season. QB BOBBY CLAYTON should help Pensacola right the ship. After sitting out the 2001 season, Clayton comes back to the Barracudas as their all-time leader in passing yards (3,223) and passing touchdowns (50).

The expansion Mobile Wizards will play their first game in Florida, as they hook up with the Firecats Saturday night at TECO Arena (7:30 p.m. ET). The Firecats, 7-9 a year ago, won four out of their last five games in 2001, and they hope to carry that success with them into 2002. Mobile Head Coach CHAD LINDSEY has put together a solid squad for Mobile, including the 6-foot, 195-pound KELVIN SIMMONS at QB. Mobile heads into to this one a bit bruised up after a hard-hitting scrimmage against Macon last week.

The Jacksonville Tomcats host the Augusta Stallions on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET) at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Both teams finished 7-9 a year ago, but Jacksonville holds a 3-1 all-time edge in this series, including a 70-44 win to wrap up the 2001 regular season. Augusta is pinning their offensive hopes on WR/DB TIM DUMAS, who led the club with 117 receptions last season. Jacksonville hopes its passing game can equal last year; the Tomcats ranked third in the league with 4,090 yards through the air.

Carolina heads to the Macon Coliseum Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) for an Eastern Division matchup against the Knights. The Rhinos (12-4 last season) were one game away from ArenaCup, losing to eventual champion Quad City in the semifinals. Even though the Rhinos lost some players to the AFL in the offseason, Head Coach ROD MILLER feels he has a good mix of speed and size this season. Macon, last year's af2 Expansion Team of the Year, also made a trip to the postseason in 2001. This year's club returns a familiar face in QB MIKE GLUSKI, who tossed 43 TDs last year.

After a Week 1 clash in Richmond, the Speed and Steam tee it up again Saturday night, this time at the Roanoke Civic Center (7:30 p.m. ET). Richmond continued to dominate the Steam last weekend, posting a 50-21 win and improving to 5-0 all-time against the Steam. Roanoke will have to do a better job of challenging the Speed defense this week. Last week, the Speed defense tallied four blocked kicks and two sacks, and they provided constant pressure on Roanoke QB AL CLARK.

The New Haven Ninjas will tangle with the Brigade on Saturday at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester (7:30 p.m.). The first-year Ninjas are led by Head Coach RICK BUFFINGTON, who has 13 years of Arena Football experience. The Ninjas also have experience on the field. QB PHIL STAMBAUGH joined the Ninjas after spending the final 10 weeks of the 2001 NFL season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was the starting quarterback for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe prior to joining the Jaguars. DS ANDRE DIXON spent the 1999 season with the Detroit Lions. Rochester, the only non-expansion team in the Northeast Division, brought QB MATT D'ORAZIO from Roanoke to lead the offense this season. Last season D'Orazio ranked seventh in the league with a 101.7 pass rating. He played in 10 games for the Steam, completing 94 of 153 passes for 1,198 yards and 18 touchdowns.

NFL Hall of Famer and co-operator of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, JOHNNY UNITAS, will flip the coin in First Union Arena on Saturday night as the expansion Pioneers play host to the Greensboro Prowlers (7:30 p.m.). Pioneers QB JOHN KNUST emerged from training camp as the No. 1 QB. He fine-tuned his skills last season with the Pensacola Barracudas, for whom he was 5-2 as a starter. Greensboro comes to Pennsylvania in search of the club's first-ever road win. The third-year team is 0-16 all-time away from the Greensboro Coliseum. Greensboro will look to WR ANTOINE CALLOWAY to spark the Prowler offense. Last season Calloway led the Charleston Swamp Foxes in receiving, finishing in the af2 top 10 along with being an eight-time game MVP.

Bossier City won three of its final four games last year, but starting 2002 the way the Battle Wings finished 2001 will be a chore. The Wings' opening opponent is Quad City (8 p.m. ET). All the Steamwheelers have done over the past two seasons is go 37-1, win two league championships and forge a perfect 22-0 record at home, the site of Saturday's tilt. But don't sell Bossier City short. The Battle Wings return 17 players from a team that, despite going 7-9, gave Quad City its toughest home test of the 2001 regular season (a 55-43 Steamwheeler victory). None of the Wheelers who scored in that game are back in Quad City this year. Duquesne product TONY ZIMMERMAN is charged with keeping Quad City's QB tradition alive. Previous signal-callers BILLY DICKEN and JAY McDONAGH combined for 7,266 yards, 146 touchdowns and 11 interceptions the past two years.

Tulsa handed Quad City its lone loss last year, but bowed out in the first round of the playoffs after a 13-3 regular season. The Talons host fellow heavyweight Birmingham (12-4 in 2001) Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET) in a possible playoff preview. The Steeldogs' three-headed receiving monster is back – WAYNE THOMAS, CEDRICK BUCHANNON and ANTHONY JORDAN have accounted for 5,952 of the Dogs' 7,653 receiving yards (78 percent) in the team's two year history. Tulsa, which is 2-0 in season-opening games, is buoyed by the addition of QB ANTHONY BUICH (af2's second-highest pass rating last season as an Iowa Barnstormer) and OS WES CASWELL, one of the leading receivers in University of Tulsa history and a former playoff hero with the AFL's old Oklahoma Wranglers.

Hawaii and Fresno made their af2 debuts last week. The other half of the all-expansion Western Division kicks off this weekend when Bakersfield visits the homestanding Riptide at San Diego Sports Arena (10 p.m. ET). San Diego QB KANE CLAUNCH won both starts with the Rochester Brigade after sitting out most of last season due to injury. The Blitz counters with the af2 experience of WR/DB GERRICK BIVINS and WR/DB RYAN SLOTH. Both played in Iowa last year, with Sloth making a team-high 69 tackles with four interceptions and 17 pass deflections.



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