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af2 week 18 Friday night matchups

July 27, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (7-8) AT MANCHESTER WOLVES (8-7) FRIDAY, July 28, 2006 - Verizon Wireless Arena (9,650) 7:30 P.M. ET A playoff berth hangs in the balance Friday night as Quad City and Manchester face off for a battle at Verizon Wireless Arena. A Wolves win almost assures them of a spot in the postseason. The Steamwheelers need a win and some help from their foes around the league. Manchester has won three games in a row, but have yet to beat Quad City in their four previous all-time affairs. Last time these two teams squared off, the Steamwheelers won a close one at home, 62-59, in Week 11. The Steamwheelers picked up the victory on WR/DB TIM DODGE's 1-yd touch run with :20 remaining in the fourth quarter. QB TIM HICKS threw three touchdown passes and ran in two more, while backup QB MATT PIKE relieved him, going 6-of-8 for 104 yards and two touchdowns and a rushing score of his own. Dodge finished with 10 catches for 143 yards and four touchdowns. OS KRIS PETERS caught a touchdown and totaled 238 all-purpose yards. Manchester's offense was solid in the loss. QB D. BRYANT threw for 393 yards and seven touchdowns. WR/DB DAVID BAILEY (9 receptions 149 yards and 1 TD), OS STEVE GONZALEZ (8 catches, 102 yards, 2 TDs), and WR/DB WENDELL WILLIAMS (6 receptions for 83 yards and 3 scores) also stood out. FB/LB MARK KIMENER helped the offense with 36 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Quad City DS TROY GRAHAM (9.5 tackles, 2 pass break ups) and Manchester DS BRIAN MANCE (8.5 tackles) led their respective defenses. Last week, Manchester defeated Albany, 51-50. Williams, replacing the injured Gonzalez, returned a kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown. He was all over the field as he also caught a touchdown, picked off a pass and recorded 6.5 tackles. QB STEVE BELLISARI only threw for 142 yards, but threw four timely touchdown passes. WR/LB MARC BACOTE grabbed two touchdown passes. Brian Mance had nine tackles and a tackle for loss. Manchester continues to lead the league in sacks allowed with five, and are in the Top 10 in both offensive and defensive yards per game. Quad City picked up a much-needed win against W-B/Scranton, 55-34. Tim Hicks was on target most of the game, throwing for 320 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Peters grabbed 10 passes for 156 yards and five touchdowns. The trio of Peters (102 receptions), Dodge (100) and WR/LB JACK WALKER (110) are all currently in the Top 10 in receptions. They, along with Hicks, lead the #1 passing offense in the af2 (302.3 ypg). OL/DL JERMAINE PETTY recorded six tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble against the Pioneers. The worst total defense (297.5 ypg) will need to slow down the Wolves to keep things close. This one should be a high-scoring, high-energy affair.

STEAMWHEELERS WOLVES
SERIES LEADER Quad City leads 4-0
LAST MEETING Quad City Won 62-59 on 6/10/2006
LAST FIVE GAMES 3-2 4-1
LAST GAME Won vs. WBS 55-34 on 7/22/2006 Won at ALB 51-50 on 7/22/2006
2006 LEADERS STEAMWHEELERS WOLVES
PASSING Hicks: 527-338-15; 4289; 76 TDs Bryant: 339-221-7; 2424; 59 TDs
RECEIVING Walker: 110-1245; 20 TDs Gonzalez: 118-1355; 44 TDs
RUSHING Hicks: 33-67; 8 TDs Kimener: 57-262; 7 TDs
TACKLES Graham: 71.5 Haith: 65.5
SACKS Petty: 5 Forney: 4
INTERCEPTIONS Graham: 4 Haith: 6
KICKING Naehu: 77-100 PAT; 6-16 FG 95 PTS Pohlman: 30-32 PAT; 2-5 FG 36 PTS
TEAM OFFENSE 56.6 PPG; 318.5 51.9 PPG; 277.2
TEAM DEFENSE 55.8 PPG; 297.5 47.8 PPG; 255.7

LOUISVILLE FIRE (9-6) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (9-6)
FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2006 - The Resch Center (7,995) 9:00 P.M. ET
The Louisville Fire and Green Bay Blizzard square off Friday night at The Resch Center with the East Division crown on the line. Currently tied at 9-6, the winner walks away with a first round playoff bye as well. Louisville lost last week, 62-56, at Florida. After leading 29-28 at the half, the Fire defense was unable to slow Florida down in the second half. QB BRETT DIETZ threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters. Backup QB JOEL STEELE tried to lead the second ranked scoring offense to a comeback in the fourth quarter, throwing for 78 yards and three scores. OS ROB MAGER (#1 in the league in receptions, receiving yards, receiving TDs) was slowed down by Florida's defense, but still managed to be a factor in the 4th quarter. He caught six passes for 51 yards and three scores (two of which came in the 4th). Green Bay is coming off a bye week. Two weeks ago they earned a 55-52 comeback win at Everett to put themselves in prime position for their first-ever division championship. QB JAMES MACPHERSON threw for 316 yards and six touchdowns. WR/LB GERALD HARRIS caught two touchdowns, while WR/DB LUKE LEVERSON had three receptions for 70 yards and two scores. The defense played a large part in the win against Everett, as it has all season. Leverson recorded two tackles and a pass break up, OL/DL ASA FRANCIS was credited with two sacks and DS RANDEE DREW and DS RONNIE KAYMORE combined for 13 tackles. Green Bay is tied for the af2 lead in fewest turnovers allowed with 18. The Blizzad also rank second in rushing yards (578) and rushing touchdowns (41). Defensively, Green Bay is the second stingiest team in the league, allowing only 44.4 points per contest. That's in stark contrast to the Fire, who give up 53.3 ppg but also average 58.1 ppg (2nd in af2), These two teams have squared off one time early in the season in Week 5. That contest was a low-scoring affair that resulted in a 45-39 win for Louisville at home at Freedom Hall. Green Bay QB RONNIE GORDON rushed for two touchdowns during the game in April, and Leverson had 144 kick return yards. Blizzard K WADE TALACHKA also kicked two field goals. Mager, however, stole the game for Louisville as he caught five of Dietz' six touchdown passes. Green Bay DS DAVID CROCKER had 10.5 tackles, including one for loss, and Louisville OL/DL SHELTON CONNOR recorded 1.5 sacks, as they picked off Green Bay three times. A low-scoring affair tends to favor the Blizzard, especially at home, but Louisville's potent offense has been tough to stop all season. With so much at stake, this game will be an intense affair from start to finish.

FIRE BLIZZARD
SERIES LEADER Louisville leads 4-3
LAST MEETING Louisville Won 45-39 on 4/29/2006
LAST FIVE GAMES 4-1 4-1
LAST GAME Lost at FLA 56-62 on 7/22/2006 Won at EVE 55-52 on 7/22/2006
2006 LEADERS FIRE BLIZZARD
PASSING Dietz: 491-352-10; 3982; 87 TDs MacPherson: 211-139-8; 1965; 34 TDs
RECEIVING Mager: 137-1832; 52 TDs Holmes: 52-902; 12 TDs
RUSHING Power: 24-72; 7 TDs Lazare: 62-251; 17 TDs
TACKLES Siykala: 78 Crocker: 86
SACKS Connor: 5.5 Boss: 4.5, Francis: 4.5
INTERCEPTIONS Siykala: 6, Chandler: 6 Jackson: 3, Kaymore: 3
KICKING Hendrix: 97-119 PAT; 6-10 FG 115 PTS Pelz: 40-47 PAT; 6-13 FG 58 PTS
TEAM OFFENSE 58.1 PPG; 285.6 48.8 PPG; 274.3
TEAM DEFENSE 53.3 PPG; 277.8 44.4 PPG; 275.5



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