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May 25, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


SORRELL POISED TO REGAIN PERCH AS LEAGUE'S TOP TACKLER: Florida Firecats DS Quincy Sorrell is once again about to become the af2's all-time leading tackler. In 2004, Sorrell registered a league-high 100.5 tackles for Florida in the regular season to finish the campaign as the league's all-time top tackler with 287.5 career stops. In 2005, he opted to play outside of the af2 and was eclipsed by long-time teammate and friend Roy Stabler, who played for the Firecats from 2002-2005. Stabler owns the current all-time mark with 334.5 tackles. Sorrell, who has registered 45.5 tackles in seven games this season, needs just two more to surpass Stabler.

ANOTHER NEW NO. 1: The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz have taken over the top ranking in the weekly Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 league office announced on Wednesday. The Yard Dawgz collected 248 of a possible 264 points and 13-of-23 first place votes in securing the top position. Oklahoma City defeated the South Georgia Wildcats this past Saturday at home, 66-33, to improve to 6-1. The Yard Dawgz, winners of three straight games, are the fourth team of the 2006 season to obtain the No. 1 spot. The Florida Firecats, who entered Week 8 in the pole position, dropped to fifth this week on the heels of a 79-62 road loss to Manchester. Florida (5-2, 181 points) spent just one week at No. 1. The W-B/Scranton Pioneers (6-1, 237 points, 5 first place votes) moved up one spot from No. 3 to No. 2 on the strength of their recent road win at Macon, 38-22. Filling out the top five this week are the No. 3 Spokane Shock (6-1, 222 points, 4 first place votes) and the No. 4 Memphis Xplorers (6-2, 189 points, 1 first place vote).

STRICKLAND TAKING AIM AT ANOTHER RECORD: Oklahoma City QB CRAIG STRICKLAND has already made quite a name for himself over the course of his five-year af2 career. He's won an ArenaCup (Tulsa - 2003) and set numerous af2 passing records. This season he's on pace to break one of the few league marks that has eluded him - most touchdown passes in a season. The former UTEP signal caller has already thrown for 50 scores through seven games, averaging over seven touchdown passes per game. If he continues at his current rate, he could end up with 114 touchdown passes. That number would far surpass Matt Sauk's current league record of 99 in a season. The best single season total in Arena Football (AFL and af2) history is Clint Dolezel's 105 touchdown tosses for the Dallas Desperados in 2006.

"SPEEDY" GONZALEZ ON RECORD RECEIVING PACE: Manchester OS Steve "Speedy" Gonzalez has quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous offensive players in the af2 in just his second season. He currently leads the league in scoring (154 points), total touchdowns (25) and receiving touchdowns (24). He's also tied for first in receptions (70) with Louisville's Rob Mager. If he continues at his current pace, Gonzalez could claim a number of league records in 2006. The following is a breakdown of where Gonzalez stands.

SPEEDY'S PROJECTIONS
CATEGORY CURRENT PROJ RECORD PLAYER, TEAM YEAR
SCORING 154 352 346 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS 25 57 57 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS 24 55 54 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
RECEPTIONS 70 160 161 Corey Hill, Albany 2002, 2003

HICKS AND VENA SETTING PASSING YARDS PACE: Veteran quarterbacks Tim Hicks (Quad City) and Ryan Vena (Albany) are both on pace to break Matt Sauk's league record for most passing yards in one season. Sauk set the all-time mark of 4,489 yards last season with the Louisville Fire. The following is a breakdown of where Hicks and Vena stand.

PROJECTED PASSING YARDS
PLAYER, TEAM CURRENT PROJ RECORD PLAYER, TEAM YEAR
Tim Hicks, Quad City 2,212 5,056 4,489
Matt Sauk, Louisville 2005
Ryan Vena, Albany 2,032 4,645 700 CLUB: Arkansas WR/DB Kevin Williams entered the 2006 season as the only active player in the af2 with over 700 career points scored. Two weeks ago he was joined in this exclusive club by Florida OS MAGIC BENTON. Benton scored five touchdowns in a home win against Birmingham to eclipse the 700 points scored plateau. Williams, who scored one receiving touchdown in a home loss to Oklahoma City two weeks ago, leads the scoring list of active players with 772 career points. He currently stands alone in second place on the all-time list, just eight points behind former Tulsa star Mitch Allner, who owns the all-time top mark with 780 points. Williams could catch and pass Allner this Saturday night. Benton currently ranks fourth on the all-time list with 724 career points. Other active af2 players looking to join Williams and Benton in the 700 club are Mempis' KEVIN PRENTISS (642), Williams' teammate LENNIE JOHNSON (624) and Bakersfield's Nian Taylor (600).

MOST POINTS SCORED, NON-KICKING, CAREER
PTS PLAYER YEARS PLAYED
780 Mitch Allner 2000-04
772 Kevin Williams 2001-present
756 Cainon Lamb 2002-05
724 Magic Benton 2001-present
656 George Williams 2001, 2003-present
642 Kevin Prentiss 2003-present
638 Wayne Thomas 2000-02, 2004, 2006 TOUCHDOWN MAKERS: Arkansas WR/DB Kevin Williams also leads a familiar cast of characters in the race for the af2 career touchdown record. Williams is currently tied with Mitch Allner with 126 total touchdowns. Florida's MAGIC BENTON (119) is also on his way up the all-time list.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS SCORED, CAREER
TDS PLAYER YEARS PLAYED
126 Mitch Allner 2000-04
126 Kevin Williams 2001-present
119 Magic Benton 2001-present
118 Cainon Lamb 2002-05
108 George Williams 2001, 2003-present
107 Kevin Prentiss 2003-present
106 Wayne Thomas 2000-02, 2004, 2006

BATTLE WINGS HAVE BRIGHT SPOT IN HAZELWOOD: Bossier-Shreveport K Brian Hazelwood set a new franchise record with a 56-yard field goal made in last Saturday's loss at Memphis. The previous Bossier-Shreveport record was 50 yards. The kick, which was the longest made in the af2 this season, also tied for the seventh-longest made in league history. Hazelwood currently leads the league in field goals made (7) and attempted (19) for the 0-7 Battle Wings.

TURNIN' 40 ISN'T SO BAD: W-B/Scranton Head Coach RICH INGOLD became the newest member of the 40-career win club (includes playoffs) this past Saturday when his Pioneers scored a 38-22 road win against Macon. His career record now stands at 40-17 (.702). Ingold becomes just the eighth coach in league history to reach 40 career wins. The only active members are Spokane's Chris Siegfried (46) and Stockton's Richard Davis (44) and Memphis' Danton Barto (43). Former Rio Grande Valley and Tennessee Valley Head Coach Kevin Guy is the af2 career leader in overall coaching victories with 52 (52-19). Manchester's Ben Bennett (39) is next in line to join the exclusive club. Louisville's Tommy Johnson (32) is the only other current coach within reach of the 40-win club. Below is a list of the top coaches in league history.

TOP ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES
NAME WINS
1. Kevin Guy 52
2. Bobby Humphrey 51
3. Chris Siegfried* 46
4. Kevin Porter 45
5. Skip Foster 44
Richard Davis* 44
* denotes active coaches

FORMER WOLVES ON OPPOSITE SIDES IN AFL PLAYOFFS: Former Manchester Wolves standouts J.J. McKelvey (WR/LB) and Jake Eaton (QB) will be on the same field competing in a playoff game this weekend, but they'll look a bit different than they did a year ago. That's because this season they've both earned promotions to the AFL, albeit on different teams. Both players were a big reason why the Wolves won the af2's East Division in 2005 and earned a trip to the postseason. This Sunday, McKelvey's Phildelphia Soul (10-7) will be taking on Eaton's Orlando Predators (10-6) in the Divisional Round of the Arena Football League playoffs at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, FL. The game will be televised on NBC-TV beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. McKelvey has had a solid rookie season with the Soul, catching 34 passes for 589 yards (3rd on the team) and 12 touchdowns (T-2nd on the team) in just ten games played. He's also collected 17 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery on defense. The Clemson University graduate had a stellar 2005 season with the Wolves in which he shattered nine franchise records on his way to earning First Team honors on the American Conference All-af2 team. Eaton has had a different first season experience. This year he served as the backup behind McKelvey's cousin and former Heisman Trophy runner-up, Joe Hamilton, in Orlando. Eaton has seen spot action in seven games for the Predators this season, completing 68.5% of his passes for 434 yards, and eight touchdowns. The Rutland, VT native also had a standout 2005 season for the Wolves, throwing for 4,066 yards and a team-record 88 touchdowns (T-3rd in af2) on his way to earning Second Team honors on the American Conference All-af2 team. Other former Wolves still in the hunt for the ArenaBowl XX Championship are: Greg Krause (Orlando Predators, Wolves 2003) Rob Carey (Georgia Force, Wolves 2004), Nick Myers (Chicago Rush, Wolves 2005), Charlie Cook (Chicago Rush, Wolves 2003) and Matt D'Orazio (Chicago Rush, Wolves 2003).

AFL PLAYOFFS CONTINUE THIS WEEKEND: The postseason drive to ArenaBowl XX continues this weekend with four Divisional showdowns - two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Following are the 2006 AFL Postseason Seeds, Wild Card Round results and Divisional Round schedule:

National Conference American Conference
#1 Dallas* (13-3) #1 Colorado* (11-5)
#2 Orlando* (10-6) #2 San Jose* (10-6)
#3 New York (10-6) #3 Arizona (8-8)
#4 Austin (10-6) #4 Nashville (8-8)
#5 Philadelphia (9-7) #5 Chicago (7-9)
#6 Georgia (8-8) #6 Utah (7-9)
*Division Winner *Division Winner

WILD CARD RESULTS
#6 Georgia 72 at #3 New York 69 #6 Utah 34 at #3 Arizona 57
Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Saturday, May 20, 5 p.m. ET, OLN

#5 Philadelphia 52 at #4 Austin 35 #5 Chicago 55 at #4 Nashville 47
Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC

DIVISIONAL ROUND GAMES
Saturday, May 27
#6 Georgia Force at #1 Dallas Desperados, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
#3 Arizona Rattlers at #2 San Jose SaberCats, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Sunday, May 28
#5 Chicago Rush at #1 Colorado Crush, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
#5 Philadelphia Soul at #2 Orlando Predators, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

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