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af2 week 18 game recaps

July 31, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FRIDAY, JULY 28

MANCHESTER WOLVES 79, Quad City Steamwheelers 48 (8,001)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Manchester Wolves (9-7) rode a balanced attack that included a 48-point second half explosion to defeat the Quad City Steamwheelers (7-9), 79-48, Friday night on Brady Sullivan Field at Verizon Wireless Arena. The exciting win clinched a playoff berth for the Wolves for the second consecutive season under Head Coach Ben Bennett. The 79 points scored by the Wolves tied a franchise record for highest offensive output, equaling the mark set by Manchester earlier this season at home against Florida. QB Steve Bellisari led the attack as he improved to 4-0 as a starter, completing 19-of-21 passes for 245 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. Bellisari also added one rushing touchdown. Schutt Offensive Player of the Game WR/LB Wendell Williams came up huge for the Wolves once again, catching eight passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns along with one score on the ground. OS Ari Confesor, who started in place of injured star OS Steve Gonzalez, caught three passes for 63 yards and a pair of scores. ADT Defensive Player of the Game DS William "Roc" Haith led a defensive corps that held Quad City to seven third-quarter points and harassed star Steamwheelers QB Tim Hicks all night long. Hicks completed only 19-of-42 passes for 207 yards and three scores. WR/LB Jack Walker led the Steamwheelers receivers with nine catches for 108 yards and one touchdown. Wolves OL/DL Jimmy Williams earned the Cutters Catch of the Game award for his second quarter touchdown catch and rumble, while FB/LB Mark Kimener took home U.S. Army Ironman honors with 31 rushing yards and a touchdown on offense and strong play on defense. WR/DB Tony Stallings impressed in his limited Wolves debut, breaking a number of tackles on a 56-yard kick return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD 54, Louisville Fire 53 (7,184)

GREEN BAY, Wisc. - Green Bay was down but not out as it turned out. After trailing nearly the entire game and down 16 entering the final quarter (46-30), the Blizzard outscored the Fire 24-7 in the fourth to earn a 54-53 win. The victory clinched Green Bay's first-ever East Division title. Louisville looked sharp early and scored often. The Fire scored on all five of their first-half possessions and forced two turnovers on defense to take a commanding 32-10 lead into halftime. The only negative of the first 30 minutes was three missed extra points by K Dave Hendrix. Louisville's rookie QB Brett Dietz ran for two scores in the half and connected with OS Rob Mager on one touchdown. WR/DB Lance Taylor also scored for the Fire on a 2-yard touchdown run. To open the third quarter, Blizzard QB James MacPherson matched Dietz on the ground as he rushed his way into the end zone to cut the Fire lead to 15. Green Bay then looked to catch the Fire special teams off guard as K Dallas Pelz attempted an onside kick. The Blizzard played it well but the Fire were quick to react as DS Kabote Sikyala fielded the bouncing kick at the 14-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, giving Louisville a 39-17 lead. Both teams then traded scores one more time before the end of the third quarter, and going into the final quarter, Louisville led by 16, 46-30. The Fire opened the fourth quarter as Dietz hooked up with WR/LB Dennis Fryzel to put the Fire out in front again by three scores, 53-30. Then the Blizzard came to life. QB James MacPherson found WR/LB Robert Garth for a 3-yard touchdown pass. The two hooked up again for a 2-point conversion as Garth took the handoff from MacPherson and ran it in to cut the deficit to 53-38. After a failed onside kick, Louisville got the ball back, but couldn't convert the great field position into points as Hendrix missed a 28-yard field goal. With the ball back in hand, Green Bay finally scored on the ninth play of the drive as WR/DB Luke Leverson scored on a 3-yard run. The Blizzard converted a second consecutive 2-point conversion on a MacPherson-to-Gerald Harris pass to put the Blizzard within seven, 53-46. Green Bay then attempted another onside kick and recovered it. The Blizzard hit pay dirt one more time as MacPherson delivered a 7-yard strike to Garth with just 34 seconds left in the contest. Needing only an extra point to tie the game at 53-53, the Blizzard special teams pulled a gutsy call to take advantage of a reeling Fire defense. MacPherson settled down to one knee to accept the snap, and instead of placing down the hold, took it himself around the end and dove from three yards out, stretching across the goal line to convert the two-point try and put the Blizzard ahead for the first time in the game, 54-53. Louisville got the ball back with plenty of time to move downfield, but penalties and solid Green Bay defense stalled the drive and forced the Fire into a field goal. With two seconds to play, Hendrix's 34-yard attempt sailed wide left as time expired to seal the miraculous Blizzard comeback win.

SATURDAY, JULY 29

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS 54, Albany Conquest 27 (7,757)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - In a must-win situation, the W-B/Scranton Pioneers did just that, handling the Albany Conquest, 54-27, Saturday night at Wachovia Arena to earn a spot in the af2 playoffs. The victory also snapped the Pioneers' four-game losing streak. An interception in the final minutes of the 4th quarter followed by a touchdown pass from QB Mike Granieri ensured the win for W-B/Scranton. Albany QB Thomas Ricks attempted to throw a shovel pass but it was deflected and ended up in the hands of DS Matt Forbes. Forbes finished with two interceptions on the night. The Pioneers offense then took their time, eating the clock away for almost four minutes. Granieri completed the drive when he found WR/DB Yaacov Yisreal for a 20-yard touchdown reception, giving W-B/Scranton a 54-20 lead. Yisrael slipped on the play, but was able to regain his balance just in time to nab the toss. The key to the win was 28-0 Pioneers run that lasted from 4:25 left in the 2nd quarter until 38 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Ricks finally broke the Albany drought with a 6-yard rushing touchdown. During the scoring run, Joe Hollister, Terrence Glover and Granieri scored on touchdown runs. The other score came on a 28-yard pass to WR/DB Yardon Brantley. The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Two minutes into the game, Albany starter Ryan Vena unloaded a 28-yard bomb to WR/DB Thomas Anthony. On the next possession, Granieri connected with WR/LB Leroy McFadden for a quick six. Minutes later, Glover ran in his first touchdown of the evening. On the following kickoff, WR/DB Kenneth Williams ran the ball the length of the field to tie it up. It stayed this way until Wilkes-Barre/Scranton eventually took control. Despite the loss, Albany did have one bright spot. Although he only played in a small portion of the contest, Vena passed for 90 yards to set a new af2 record for passing yards in a single season with 4,590. W-B/Scranton WR/DB William "Tutu" Ferguson led all defensive players with eight total tackles. OL/DL Ed Greene, OL/DL Keith Glover and FB/LB Doug Harding also each recorded sacks for the Pioneers. Williams was tops for Albany in two different facets. He had 5.5 total tackles and 164 all-purpose yards. W-B/Scranton finished the regular season at 9-7, while Albany slipped to 5-11.

Florida Firecats 46, SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS 40 (5,182)

ALBANY, Ga. - The Florida Firecats finished the regular season at 13-3 after a 46-40 road win against South Georgia Saturday night on Cooper Tire Field at the Albany Civic Center. The Firecats were led by QB Chris Wallace, who finished the night 20-of-29 for 297 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Wallace finished the 2006 regular season with 100 passing touchdowns, both a career and team high. Wallace was named the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game for his performance against the Wildcats. WR/DB Brent Burnside led the Firecats receivers with 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Wallace and Burnside connected for a 48-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the game. OS Magic Benton added six catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns and WR/DB Brittany Tellis caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. OL/DL Alfred Petterson guided the Firecats defense with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two sacks. Petterson earned the ADT Defensive Player of the Game. DS Levy Brown and Cory Bailey each had 9.5 tackles on the evening. Wildcats QB Julian Reese was 32-of-44 for 298 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 20 yards on seven attempts. WR/LB Chris McKinney was named the U.S Army Ironman of the Game as he led all receivers with 15 receptions for 150 yards with two touchdowns and registered four tackles and one sack. OS Jamaal Perry finished with nine receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns and FB/LB James Harris totaled two touchdowns.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS 53, Macon Knights 33 (6,120)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Twisters (10-6) finished their season strong with a 53-33 home win against Macon Saturday night at Alltel Arena. The Arkansas win officially knocked Macon (8-8) out of the American Conference playoff picture. The Twisters fell behind in the first quarter when Macon's D.J. Humphries caught an 18-yard pass from QB Chad Elliott and the extra point put the Knights up 7-0. After Arkansas K David Carlton connected on a field goal, Macon scored again when WR/DB James Hickenbotham caught a 28-yard pass from Elliott to put the Knights up 10, 13-3. Macon didn't score again in the first half. Twisters WR/LB Jon Schoonover caught an 18-yard pass from QB Walter Church and the extra point pulled the Twisters within three, 13-10. Pierre Thomas (Schutt Offensive Player of the Game) scored on the next drive on a 35-yard catch and run from Church and the extra point gave Arkansas its first lead of the game at 17-13. Macon threatened to retake the lead with a first-and-goal inside the Arkansas 5-yard line, but U. S. Army Ironman of the Game Kevin Williams intercepted Elliott in the endzone and returned it 51 yards for the touchdown. After that play, Macon never got any closer than six points. The Knights tried to get back into the game after Chavis McCollister intercepted Church to start the third quarter followed by a Derek Lloyd 1-yard touchdown run. Arkansas answered when Robert Kilow made a terrific one-handed grab in the endzone to put Arkansas up, 32-19. Church only completed 8-of-24 pass attempts for 202 yards, five of which went for touchdowns. He also had two interceptions. He finishes the regular season with 81 touchdown passes to become the third quarterback in history to pass for more than 80 scores in a season. Thomas led the team with four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Williams, Schoonover, and Robert Kilow had one touchdown catch apiece. DS Delenell Reid led the defense with eight tackles to become the first Twisters player to finish with 100 tackles in a season. He also had an interception return for a touchdown. Elliott finished 21-of-44 passes for 204 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. McCollister, who came into the game with 11 touchdown catches in his last two games, was held to seven catches for 61 yards and no scores. He didn't catch his first pass until the third quarter and was held without a touchdown for the first time in a Knights uniform. Hickenbotham had five catches for 68 yards and one touchdown, while Humphries and Jamaal Garman had three catches and one score each. The Twisters

TULSA TALONS 67, Amarillo Dusters 33 (6,647)

TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa Talons (11-5) claimed the Midwest Division title Saturday night with a convincing 67-33 victory against the Amarillo Dusters (4-12) on Dodge Field at the Tulsa Convention Center. The Talons scored first on a 6-yard pass from QB Ben Bowling to Don McGee. Amarillo K Jacob Felton ended the quarter with a 43-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. The second quarter started with another Felton field goal to make the score 7-6 Tulsa. The Talons answered once again when Bowling found McGee all alone for a 47-yard touchdown pass to increase their lead to eight, 14-6. The Dusters put together a long drive that ended in a Jarrod Rouanzoin quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line. Cesare Manning snagged a 39-yard scoring strike from Bowling and Luke Phillips booted a 28-yard field goal with eight seconds left to put the Talons up 24-13 at intermission. The second half began with Bowling again connecting with McGee, this time from 30 yards out. Amarillo then put together another long drive that ended once again in a Rouanzoin 1-yard quarterback sneak. Tulsa OS Ricky Ross scored on a 14-yard pass from Bowling and James Sadler returned a Rouanzoin interception 16 yards for a touchdown to end the third quarter, putting the Talons up comfortably, 45-19. Amarillo struck first in the fourth when Rouanzoin found Richard Bellina for a touchdown, but the Talons quickly answered with a strike from Bowling to Manning, making the score 51-26. On the ensuing possession, a tough Talons defense sacked Rouanzoin in the end zone for a safety. Tulsa then scored on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bowling to Manning. The game ended with the two teams trading punches with a 2-yard Corky Martin run and 2-yard Gathan McGinnis run, making the final score, 67-33. Bowling, playing in place of the injured Mark Radlinski, threw for 266 yards and seven touchdowns in his first start to earn Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honors. Manning and McGee finished with three touchdowns each. McGee was also awarded the U.S. Ironman of the Game honor for his strong two-way play, which included 2.5 tackles and 41 return yards. Sadler earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors (4.5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU). Rouanzoin rushed for two scores to pace Amarillo.

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ 72, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 66 (9,640)

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - It was a record-setting night for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in their 72-66 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings Saturday at the Ford Center. The victory gives the Yard Dawgz (11-5) a new team record for most wins in a season. It came in front of the largest crowd of the season (9,640) and gave Oklahoma City a measure of revenge against the Battle Wings (3-13) who had beaten the Yard Dawgz earlier in the season. Veteran signal caller Craig Strickland paced Oklahoma City in the win. Strickland, who had eight touchdown passes on the night, ran his season total to 98 for the season, a new team record. Strickland's strong night included five first half scoring strikes. He spread the wealth as well. Anthony Dingle led the Yard Dawgz with three touchdown catches, Al Hunt and Jarrail Jackson each caught two, and Fred Shaw pulled in one. Jackson also electrified the crowd with a 52-yard kickoff return in the third quarter. Bossier-Shreveport was paced on offense by QB J.J. Raterink with 308 passing yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Five different Battle Wings caught touchdowns. Vernard Abrams scored on two of his three total catches. Anthony Chambers led the team in receiving with eight catches for 87 yards (1 TD). Charlie Myles (2 TD runs) and Jason Schule (1 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD). Jon Holland (team-best 6.0 tackles), Claude Davis (3.0 tackles, 2 TFL) and Barrett Allen (2 tackles, 2 sacks) led the Oklahoma City defense. Robert Mason had a game-high 8.5 tackles and three pass breakups for Bossier-Shreveport.

Spokane Shock 54, RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS 30 (5,201)

HIDALGO, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Dorados closed out the 2006 af2 season with a 54-30 loss to the Spokane Shock Saturday night at Obra Homes Field inside Dodge Arena. Spokane, which entered the game third in the af2 in rushing touchdowns, showed their ground game early with Charles Frederick's 2-yard scoring run at 5:46 of the first quarter. In all, the Shock scored six rushing touchdowns on the night, led by Katon Bethay's three scores and Moa Peaua's two touchdowns. Kyle Rowley finished an efficient 17-for-22 for 152 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Rio Grande Valley QB Josh Kellett was 23-for-42 with scores, but was picked off twice. Dorados OS Dwight Counter made 14 catches and 123 yards and two touchdowns. He fell seven yards shy of tying a franchise record 1,452 receiving yards in a season. Counter, who earned last week's Cutters Catch of the Week, duplicated the effort with a 17-yard grab off the rebound net with 5:27 remaining in the third. The Dorados never led in the contest and were down 27-10 at the half to the af2-leading Shock. Defensively, the Shock DS tandem of Leo Fenceroy (7.0 tackles, 1 INT) and Rob Keefe (6.5 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBUs) helped shut down the Dorados. Levi Madarieta was also impressive with 4.5 tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack. Chris Canty 7.0 tackles) and Donte Wells (2.0 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 INT) paced Rio Grande Valley (7-9). Spokane (14-2) heads to the playoffs riding a six-game win streak.

Tennessee Valley Vipers 55, BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS 40 (9,089)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Tennessee Valley QB Chris Gunn completed 16-of-34 pass attempts for 196 yards and two touchdowns as the Vipers finished their lowly first season back in the af2 on a high note, defeating Birmingham, 55-40, in front of a season-high crowd of 9,089 at the BJCC Arena. Tennessee Valley never trailed after taking a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Steeldogs pulled within seven, 21-14, midway through the second period, until Henry Freeman returned a short Steven Lee field goal attempt 13 yards for a score to put the Vipers ahead by 14. The Steeldogs never recovered momentum. Gunn's favorite target was Travis Blanchard, who reeled in six passes for 74 yards and two scores. Freeman (Schutt Offensive Player of the Game) caught three passes for 66 yards. Steeldogs starting QB Robert Kent completed 8-of-17 pass attempts for 124 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, but struggled to move the offense in the first half. He was spelled in the third quarter by rookie signal caller Marquel Blackwell, who completed 8-of-18 passes for 108 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first action of the season. Steeldogs OS Allyn Sheffield caught 11 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns. The Vipers swept the game awards as U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors went to Deonte Bolden (1 INT) and ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors went to Andre Letren (game-high 11.0 tackles, 1 INT, 5 PBUs).

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ 47, Everett Hawks 42 (4,724)

Bakersfield, Calif. - The Bakersfield Blitz finished their regular season and last home game with a victory over the Everett Hawks, 47-42. The game opened with a penalty on the Blitz allowing the Hawks to get a first down and a 33-yard touchdown by WR/LB Deontrae Johnson. The Blitz responded with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by WR/DB DeRonn Finley. The Hawks scored on their next possession on a Brian Baker connected to Johnson 30-yard scoring strike. Bakersfield concluded the quarter with a Nathan Munson 5-yard rushing touchdown. Everett led 14-13 after one period of play. The Hawks expanded their lead to eight points by scoring first in the second quarter with a 33-yard pass to OS J.R. Thomas. Not long after, Blitz QB Neist connected with OS Rennard Reynolds for a 24-yard touchdown. Then Bakersfield's defense came through on an Alex Wallace interception, stealing a touchdown pass from Baker. The second turnover of the game was WR/DB Shawndel Tucker's interception directly followed by a 25-yard touchdown by Reynolds. The second quarter ended with the Blitz in front, 27-21. The third quarter started slow for both teams. After almost ten minutes of no scoring, the Hawks were first to gather points on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Thomas. The Blitz responded with Neist scoring a 1-yard touchdown. After three quarters, the Blitz maintained their six-point lead, 34-28. Thomas began the fourth quarter with a bang, scoring on a 45-yard touchdown catch. The Blitz were up next when Neist connected with Munson in the end zone for a 6-yard score. Bakersfield then failed on a two-point conversion attempt. The Blitz then came up with another big defensive play, thanks to OL/DL Jerry Turner. Turner tipped a Baker pass, which then landed into the hands of Wallace for his second interception of the game. The game was secured for Bakersfield when WR/LB Eric Mahanke caught a pass in the end zone, which was actually intended for Reynolds. At that point, with less than two minutes to play, the Blitz opened up a 12-point lead, 47-35. The Hawks closed out the scoring on a Johnson 37-yard touchdown catch on the last play of the game. The Blitz swept the game awards, with Munson claiming the U.S. Army of the Game, Reynolds earning Schutt Offensive Player of the Game and Wallace winning ADT Defensive Player of the Game.

Central Valley Coyotes 62, STOCKTON LIGHTNING 49 (8,366)

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Central Valley Coyotes (12-4), led by the record-setting performance by QB Scott Rislov, closed out their regular season with a 62-49 road win Saturday night against the Stockton Lightning (5-11) at Stockton Arena. Rislov made Arena Football history by throwing for 341 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished his rookie season with an Arena Football record (AFL & af2) with 106 touchdown passes. On his second strike of the night, he hit the century mark to claim the af2 record (passing Matt Sauk's record of 99). The play was a 2-yard connection with OL/DL Donyell Booker at the 6:02 mark of the first quarter. After Stockton responded with a 25-yard touchdown by WR/DB Kenyatte Morgan from QB Josh Blankenship. Both teams exchanged touchdowns to end the first quarter with the Coyotes leading 21-14. Stockton ended the first half on a 13-7 run due to two excellent alert plays. The first occurred when WR/LB James Newson recovered a fumble by Maeko in the end zone for a touchdown with 3:02 left in the second frame. On the ensuing Central Valley offensive possession, the Lightning defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball to regain possession. Stockton took advantage of the turnover in the form of a 19-yard touchdown grab by Maeko to bring the score to 34-27 Central Valley late in the second quarter. Rislov answered with his fifth touchdown pass of the half to up the Coyotes lead to 14 at the half, 41-27. Fueled by Morgan's long second half touchdown return deep in Coyotes territory, the Lightning quickly got on the board when Blankenship found Newson in the end zone for a 8-yard score to reduce the Stockton deficit to 41-33. Stockton's defense stepped up the defensive pressure holding Central Valley to only seven points in the third period and ending the third quarter behind by just five, 48-43. The Lightning put on a furious rally in the fourth period, but could only manage one more touchdown on a 4-yard bullet caught by Newson. The Coyotes scored twice more to pull away for the 62-49 finish. Rislov completed 30-of-37 passes and earned Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honors. Morgan had another excellent game for the Lightning with 171 kick return yards, 214 all-purpose yards and two receiving scores. He earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Award for his effort. Central Valley DS Kenny Haslip earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors with 3.5 tackles and one interception.

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