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af2 Week Four: Quick Hitters

April 17, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


GAMES ON - af2/NiFTy PARTNERSHIP CREATES NEW FREE ONLINE NETWORK: The arenafootball2 league (af2) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) have developed a partnership that has created a new, FREE online network to provide the league's passionate fan base an opportunity to view the af2's 2008 season live over the Internet. Thanks to the power of NFT's patented online broadcasting technology, fans across the globe are now be able to bring all the action of af2 football right to their home computer or laptop on a "Free-for-View" basis. Broadcasts began in Week 1 to rave reviews and continue in Week 4 with a 14-game slate.

MCCANN, JONES, BRUHN, HUGHLEY EARN WEEK 3 HONORS: Corpus Christi wide receiver/defensive back IVORY MCCANN, Albany wide receiver/defensive back JARED JONES and Boise fullback/linebacker CHRIS BRUHN have been named the U.S. Army Ironman, Schutt Offensive Player and ADT Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for Week 3 of the 2008 season. In addition to these three awards, the af2 is also highlighting the player who makes the best catch of the week. The Cutters Catch of the Week Award for Week 3 goes to Tulsa wide receiver JEFF HUGHLEY.

McCann (5-9, 180, Texas Tech) showcased his all-around talents for Corpus Christi in the Sharks' 61-54 upset victory on Saturday against Southwest Division foe Rio Grande Valley. The second-year player from Texas Tech was an impact player on defense with a team-high 5.5 tackles, one pass breakup and a key fourth quarter interception with the score tied at 54-54 with just over three minutes to play. Corpus Christi scored the go-ahead touchdown on the next drive. McCann was also a standout on special teams with two return touchdowns (57-yard MFG return TD, 57-yard KR TD) and on offense with a 28-yard touchdown reception. He finished with 161 all-purpose yards. This is the first af2 weekly honor of McCann's career. He currently leads the af2 in missed field goal return yards (110) and kick return yards (454) and ranks second in all-purpose yards (618). Jones (6-0, 200, Syracuse) had an outstanding individual effort on Sunday afternoon for Albany in the team's 55-54 overtime win against Peoria in the Conquest's 2008 home opener. The second-year player from Syracuse helped Albany steal the victory away from the Pirates with an af2 season-high 325 all-purpose yards (153 KR, 37 FGR, 129 Rcv, 6 Rush) and three total touchdowns. He finished with 10 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns as a wide receiver and scored on a 55-yard kick return as well. This is the first weekly league honor of Jones' career. He currently leads the Conquest in a number of categories, including receiving (21 catches, 268 yards, 4 TDs), scoring (36 points - 6 total TDs) and all-purpose yards (504). Bruhn (6-3, 225, Washington State), in his second af2 season, was a menace on defense in Week 3 for Boise in the Burn's, 51-43, come-from-behind road win at West Division foe Stockton. The victory was the first of the season for Boise. The former Washington State Cougar harassed the Lightning with 3.0 total tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack. Bruhn also had a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter that helped fuel a Burn 30-0 second half run that turned a 30-7 halftime deficit into a 37-30 fourth quarter advantage. This is the first weekly af2 award of Bruhn's career. Hughley (5-8, 175, Averett) earned the Cutters Catch of the Week Award for his leaping, 30-yard touchdown stab with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter as the Talons came back from a 23-point third quarter deficit (21-44) to win at Arkansas, 64-60. Hughley's game-winning grab capped off a strong overall showing for the former Averett standout that included six catches for 111 yards and three touchdowns and 165 all-purpose yards. This is the first Catch of the Week Award of Hughley's career. He currently leads the Talons in receptions (25), receiving yards (344) and all-purpose yards (426) and ranks second in scoring (54 points - 9 receiving TDs).

TALONS TOP WEEK 4 COACHES POLL: The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons have maintained the No. 1 ranking in the Week 4 Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced on Wednesday. Tulsa collected 437 of a possible 448 points and 23-of-29 first place votes in securing the top position for the fourth consecutive week. The Talons (3-0) continued their strong start to the 2008 season with a come-from-behind, 64-60, win on Saturday at Arkansas. The Spokane Shock (3-0, 393 points, 3 first place votes) maintained their spot at No. 2 overall for the third straight week after a 55-51 road victory on Sunday against West Division and in-state rival Tri-Cities. Florida (2-0, 377 points) improved one position this week to No. 3 on the strength of a 62-47 home-opening win over South Division rival Tennessee Valley. Quad City moved up two spots from No. 6 to No. 4. The Steamwheelers (2-0, 308 points) handed No. 3 Louisville its first loss of 2008 on Friday at Freedom Hall, 39-28. Lubbock made the biggest jump of the week, improving their plot eight spots from No. 13 to No. 5 overall. The Renegades (2-0, 3 first place votes) followed up a 75-41 road win in Week 2 at Austin with an equally impressive 63-43 home victory against Oklahoma City on Saturday.

JOHNSON ABOUT TO TURN 50: TOMMY JOHNSON, in his sixth season as head coach of the Louisville Fire, is just one victory away from joining the league's exclusive 50-career win club. Thanks to the Fire's 2-1 start, Johnson is now 49-41 overall (including playoffs). He had an opportunity to hit 50 in Week 3 but Louisville lost at home to Quad City. Johnson will get a second chance to hit the mark this Saturday when the Fire play at Tennessee Valley. DANTON BARTO, a five-year af2 head coaching veteran in his first season with Manchester, joined the league's exclusive 50-career win club in Week 2 thanks to the Wolves' 45-39 victory at Mahoning Valley. Barto is currently 50-38 overall, including playoffs. W-B/Scranton Head Coach RICH INGOLD is the league's all-time leader in career coaching wins with 62. Below is a breakdown of the leaders in career af2 coaching victories.

TOP ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

NAME

WINS

1. Rich Ingold*

62

2. Chris Siegfried*

57

3. Ben Bennett*

56

4. Kevin Guy

52

5. Bobby Humphrey

51

6. Danton Barto*

50

7. Tommy Johnson*

49

* denotes active coaches

TOP QBS BACK IN ACTION: Two of the top signal callers in league history are about to make their return to af2 duty this weekend, RYAN VENA with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and BRIAN JONES with Manchester. Vena is a four-year league veteran who helped lead the Pioneers to an American Conference Championship and an ArenaCup runner-up finish in 2007. He was named the league's Schutt Offensive Player of the Year and earned First Team All-af2 honors. Last year the 6-0, 220-pound Colgate product rewrote the Pioneers record books with 92 touchdown passes and 16 rushing touchdowns and a league-leading 124.2 passer rating. He also finished third in the league in total offense with 4,397 yards. Vena ranks among the league's all-time leaders in a host of categories, including passing yards (4th - 16,264), touchdown passes (5th - 305) and rushing touchdowns (2nd - 72). Vena played with Albany for three seasons (2002-03, 2006) before joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2007. Earlier this year Vena was with the AFL's New York Dragons. An ankle injury towards the end of camp, however, limited his role with the Dragons and he was placed on injured reserve for the first six weeks of the season. Jones returns to the af2 to reunite with his former coach DANTON BARTO. Jones was with Barto in 2007 with the AFL's Las Vegas Gladiators and in Memphis with the af2's Xplorers from 2004-06. During his time in Memphis, Jones helped guide the Xplorers to three straight postseason appearances and an ArenaCup title in 2005. Before making his return to the af2 official on Wednesday, the former Toledo standout spent part of the 2008 AFL season with the Columbus Destroyers, New Orleans VooDoo and Arizona Rattlers.

WEEK 3 RETURNS: Week 3, the first full week of games in 2008, featured an astounding 24 touchdowns via kickoff returns, missed field goal returns, interception returns or fumble recoveries over 14 games. The specific breakdown is as follows: eight kickoff return TDs, three missed field goal return TDs, nine interception return TDs and four fumble recovery TDs. Two of the most interesting outings of the week came on Saturday: Rio Grande Valley at Corpus Christi and Oklahoma City at Lubbock. The Sharks defeated the Dorados, 61-54, in a game that had two kick return touchdowns, one missed field goal return touchdown and one interception return touchdown. The Renegades got the better of the Yard Dawgz, 63-43, in a contest that featured two kick return touchdowns (one by each team), two missed field goal return touchdowns (one by each team) and two safeties (one by each team).

NO HANGOVER AFTER SIPPIN' FROM THE CUP: The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons have picked up where they left off in 2007, winning their first three games. Although they were tested in Week 3 at Arkansas, the Talons showed their toughness and poise by coming back from a 23-point third quarter deficit to take out the Twisters, 64-60. Leading the way offensively was QB JUSTIN ALLGOOD (317 passing yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 rush TD), WR/KR JEFF HUGHLEY (6-111-3, including game-winning 30-yard TD catch) and WR KELLEN ALLEN (9-155-3). JAMAR RANSOM (7.0 tackles, 1 TFL) and C.J. MCLAIN (3.5 tackles, 1 sack - to stop Arkansas on its final play) were difference makers on defense. Tulsa hosts Oklahoma City this Saturday. Below is a look at past ArenaCup winners and how they fared the year after their championship season.

Champion

First Game Next Season

Next Season Final Record

2000

Quad City Steamwheelers

2001: Won, 41-0 (5-0 first 5)

15-1

2001

Quad City Steamwheelers

2002: Won, 39-34 (4-1 first 5)

10-6

2002

Peoria Pirates

2003: Lost, 39-42 (1-4 first 5)

5-11

2003

Tulsa Talons

2004: Lost, 63-70 OT (3-2 first 5)

13-3

2004

Florida Firecats

2005: Won, 35-32 (5-0 first 5)

14-2

2005

Memphis Xplorers

2006: Won, 78-64 (4-1 first 5)

11-5

2006

Spokane Shock

2007: Won, 51-35 (3-2 first 5)

12-4

2007

Tulsa Talons

2008: Won, 69-13 (3-0 first 3)

?

NO MORE STREAKING: With a tough, 61-54, road loss in Week 3 at Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley had two of the longest winning streaks in af2 history come to an end.

The Dorados win streak of most consecutive regular season games won came to a close at 14 while their streak of most consecutive regular season road games won finished at 10. The Dorados will look to start a new win streak in Week 4 when they play at Austin on Sunday. Below is a chart detailing the most impressive win streaks in league history.

Most Consecutive Games Won, Regular Season

16 Quad City, 2000

14 Quad City, 2003

14 Tennessee Valley, 2003

14 Rio Grande Valley, 13 games in 2007, 1 in 2008

13 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2007

10 Four teams tied (MR: Manchester, 2005)

Most Consecutive Road Games Won, Regular Season

11 Tennessee Valley, 8 games in 2001; 3 games in 2002

10 Quad City, 8 games in 2000; 2 games in 2001

10 Tennessee Valley, 4 games in 2002, 6 games in 2003

10 Rio Grande Valley, 1 game in 2006, 8 games in 2007, 1 game in 2008

WHO WILL CATCH MAGIC: MAGIC BENTON, the af2's all-time leading scorer, became the first player in af2 history to record 1,000 career points in 2007. This year, with Benton likely retired, a number of veterans look poised to hit the 1,000-point plateau and surpass the former Florida standout's all-time high mark of 1,020 points. The two closest competitors to Benton's career mark are Boise WR GEORGE WILLIAMS (962 points) and Iowa WR/LB KEVIN WILLIAMS (958 points). JARRAIL JACKSON (908 points) and Oklahoma City WR/DB AL HUNT (882 points) round out the Top-5 on the all-time scoring chart.

Below is a breakdown of the leading scorers in af2 history:

MOST POINTS SCORED, NON-KICKING, CAREER

PTS

PLAYER

YEARS PLAYED

1,020

Magic Benton

2001-2007

962

George Williams*

2001, 2003-present

958

Kevin Williams*

2001-2007

908

Jarrail Jackson

2000-01, 2005-present

882

Al Hunt*

2003-present

864

Jack Walker, Jr.

2002-03, 2005-2007

780

Mitch Allner

2000-04

756

Cainon Lamb

2002-05

738

Kevin Prentiss

2003-2006

732

J.R. Thomas*

2004-present

696

Robert Garth*

2002-present

* denotes active players

af2 IN THE AFL: The af2 has had hundreds of former players move up to the AFL over the years. A number of those players, such as Dallas WR/DB WILL PETTIS or Georgia QB CHRIS GREISEN, have become bonafide AFL stars. In 2008, a new group of AFL players with af2 roots are starting to shine. This week we highlight quarterback TIM HICKS. Hicks is currently in his second AFL season with the Los Angeles Avengers. Used primarily as a backup in 2007 and to begin 2008, the former af2 standout has started the past two games for Los Angeles. The Avengers lost to Colorado in Hicks' first start, but both rebounded this past week with a 79-62 home win against Utah. Hicks earned Offensive Player of the Game honors after completing 18-of-29 passes for 294 yards and eight touchdowns without an interception. The former West Liberty State (W. Va.) standout has thrown 16 touchdowns to date in 2008 with three interceptions and passed for 739 yards. His current QB rating is 109.4. Before earning his opportunity in the AFL, Hicks played four years in the af2 (2003-06) with four different teams (Charleston 2003, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2004, Bossier-Shreveport 2005, Quad City 2006). His best season was his final one in 2006 when he passed for 4,496 yards (af2 single season record at the time) and 79 touchdowns.

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