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af2 week five Friday night matchups

Published on April 26, 2007 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (2-1) AT AMARILLO DUSTERS (1-2)

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007 - Amarillo Civic Center (4,870) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Dorados look to bounce back from their first loss as they hit the road to tackle the Dusters in Amarillo. Rio Grande Valley (No. 9 in latest Coaches Poll) is coming off a 52-48 home loss to the improved Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings last Saturday. The Dorados main weapons on offense are QB JOSH KELLETT (16 TDs, 3 INTs) and WR GEORGE WILLIAMS. Williams is currently tied for the af2 lead in scoring with 78 points (13 TDs - 12 receiving, 1 rushing). Last week he caught eight passes for 56 yards and four TDs. The Rio Grande offense also has other formidable weapons in WR/KR COCO BLAYLOCK (563 all-purpose yards, 17 catches, 166 yards, 2 TDs) and WR/LB MEL LONG (14 catches, 199 yards, 3 TDs). Defensively, DBs ANDRE BURNS (team-high 18.0 tackles, 1 sack) and TORRY JOUBERT (9.5 tackles, 1 INT) and DL QUINTON STATEN (3.0 TFLs, 2.0 sacks) are impact players who will look to harass the Dusters. Amarillo is at home again in Week 5 after losing a closely-contested 63-55 matchup against Arkansas last Friday. QB STEVE PANELLA had four rushing TDs and one passing TD in the losing effort. He has nine touchdown passes and seven touchdown rushes on the season. Panella's favorite target thus far has been rookie WR STEVE BERGESKI (22 catches, 326 yards, 6 TDs). The Dusters are led defensively by DBs TERRELL MINGO (team-high 13.0 tackles, 1 INT, 6 PBUs) and JAHMAL FENNER (11.5 tackles, 1 INT). The Dorados are hungry to get back in the win column, but playing in the unique confines of Cal Farley Coliseum is always interesting. This could be a tighter game than some might expect.

DORADOS DUSTERS SERIES LEADER Tied 1-1

LAST MEETING Rio Grande Valley won 49-45 on 6/10/2006

LAST FIVE GAMES 3-2 1-4

LAST GAME Lost 48-52 vs. Bossier-Shreveport on 4/21 Lost 55-63 vs. Arkansas on 4/20

2007 LEADERS DORADOS DUSTERS PASSING Kellett: 93-54-3; 682; 16 TDs Panella: 106-54-2; 692; 9 TDs

RECEIVING Williams: 24-329; 12 TDs Bergeski: 22-326; 6 TDs

RUSHING Gatlin: 12-70; 2 TDs Panella: 17-56; 7 TDs

TACKLES Burns: 18.0 Mingo: 13.0

SACKS Staton: 2.0 N/A

INTERCEPTIONS Joubert and Williams: 1 Williams: 2

KICKING Broadwell: 17-26 PAT; 1-1 FG; 20 PTs Felton: 19-22 PAT; 3-4 FG; 28 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 62.0 PPG; 272.3 YPG 53.3 PPG; 245.7 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 43.0 PPG; 243.0 YPG 55.3 PPG; 267.0 YPG

LAREDO LOBOS (0-3) AT BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (3-0)

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007 - CenturyTel Center (12,500) 8:30 P.M. ET The Laredo Lobos travel to Bossier-Shreveport to take on the Battle Wings for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The expansion Lobos look for their first 'W' after a rough start to their season with three straight losses. It doesn't get any easier for Laredo, however, as the team takes on a highly-ranked opponent for the fourth straight week. QB DANIEL FORREST (12 TD passes) leads Laredo's offense. Rookie WR MIKE MCCULLUM leads the team with 15 catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns. DB WILLIAM OLIVER leads the squad in tackles with 12.5. The No. 3-ranked Battle Wings return home after a 52-48 road win last week against Rio Grande Valley. QB QUINCY CARTER has performed well so far in 2007, throwing 18 TDs with just one interception. He ranks third in the league with a passing rating of 124.3. Last week Carter led Bossier-Shreveport with a stellar performance which included 344 yards passing and seven touchdowns. His main target on offense has been veteran WR JAMAAL PERRY (26 catches, 287 yards, 6 TDs). K BRIAN HAZELWOOD ranks fifth in the league with 21-23 PATs and 2-3 FGs for a total of 27 points. KENDRICK "BOSS" WALKER and KENNETH WILLIAMS anchor the Battle Wings secondary with 17.5 tackles apiece. The Lobos will need to be on their toes protecting Forrest as DE ELEX REED leads the league in sacks with 7.5. Laredo is better than its record would indicate, but the Lobos will have a hard time breaking into the win column this week against a confident bunch of Battle Wings.

LOBOS BATTLE WINGS SERIES LEADER First meeting

LAST MEETING No previous meeting

LAST FIVE GAMES 0-3 4-1

LAST GAME Lost 45-68 vs. Tulsa on 4/21 Won 52-48 at Rio Grande Valley on 4/21

2007 LEADERS LOBOS BATTLE WINGS PASSING Forrest: 86-44-5; 524; 12 TDs Carter: 101-65-1; 803; 18 TDs

RECEIVING McCullum: 15-170; 3 TDs Perry: 26-287; 6 TDs

RUSHING Chilsom: 4-24; 0 TD Schule: 12-100; 3 TDs

TACKLES Oliver: 12.5 Walker and Williams: 17.5

SACKS Bentz: 2.0 Reed: 7.5

INTERCEPTIONS Ragsdale and Giddings: 1 Walker and Williams: 3

KICKING Scifres: 5-5 PAT; 1-3 FG; 8 PTs Hazelwood: 21-23 PAT; 2-3 FG; 27 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 48.7 PPG; 208.3 YPG 57.0 PPG; 312.0 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 66.0 PPG; 298.7 YPG 50.0 PPG; 218.0 YPG

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (3-1) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (1-2)

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007 - Resch Center (7,695) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Steamwheelers are on the road for the second straight week, but are hoping for a different result at Green Bay on Friday night. Quad City, currently ranked No. 7 in the Coaches Poll, fell for the first time in 2007 last week at Oklahoma City, 63-41. The Steamwheelers were not pleased with their effort, and plan on turning things around this week. QB J.J. RATERINK leads the offense. Raterink has had an efficient season with 17 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. WR KRIS PETERS has been his favorite target. Peters leads the af2 in receiving yards with 460 and also ranks among the league leaders in receiving touchdowns (9) and receptions (32). FB/LB JERMAINE PETTY has also been a presence on both sides of the ball for Quad City. On offense, Petty is tied for the af2 lead with seven rushing touchdowns and ranks among the league leaders in sacks with three. Defensively, DB KEVIN ADAMS leads the league in interceptions with five and is tied for the af2 lead in passes defended with 11. Green Bay returns home this week after suffering a humbling 75-27 road loss at Albany. The Blizzard have struggled on offense this year, averaging just 30.0 points per game through three contests. That's the second lowest average in the league. Last week the team was also hurt by fumbles. Green Bay put the ball on the ground seven times in all, five of which were recovered by the Conquest. Albany took advantage of the extra possessions by converting them into scores. Green Bay has yet to settle on a starting signal caller, rotating between ZEKE DIXON and RYAN HAWK. WRs SCOTT BURNOSKI and DANNY DONALDSON are the team's top targets on offense. Burnoski has a team-high 20 catches for 238 yards and four scores. Donaldson has 17 catches for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, DBs RONNIE AMADI (15.0 tackles, 1 INT) and STEPHEN CASON (14.5 tackles, 1 INT) lead the Blizzard. Green Bay needs to find some offense in a hurry, but they face an improved Quad City defense this week. Despite Green Bay's caring home crowd looking to spur the team on, expect the Steamwheelers to be the ones getting back on the winning track this week.

STEAMWHEELERS BLIZZARD SERIES LEADER Quad City leads 5-3

LAST MEETING Green Bay won 40-35 at 5/19

LAST FIVE GAMES 3-2 2-3

LAST GAME Lost 41-63 at Oklahoma City on 4/21 Lost 27-75 at Albany on 4/21

2007 LEADERS STEAMWHEELERS BLIZZARD PASSING Raterink: 119-78-2; 918; 17 TDs Dixon: 50-28-1; 347; 5 TDs

RECEIVING Peters: 32-460; 9 TDs Burnoski: 20-238; 4 TDs

RUSHING Petty: 19-53; 7 TDs Ficklin: 12-29; 1 TD

TACKLES Adams: 26.0 Amadi: 15.0

SACKS Petty: 3.0 Hardee: 1.5

INTERCEPTIONS Adams: 5 Cason and Amadi: 1

KICKING Naehu: 25-33 PAT; 0-3 FG; 25 PTs Forstrom: 3-7 PAT; 1-3 FG; 6 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 61.8 PPG; 298.5 YPG 30.0 PPG; 209.3 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 41.8 PPG; 290.8 YPG 47.7 PPG; 205.0 YPG

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