af2 week two Saturday night matchups

April 6, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

LOUISVILLE FIRE (0-1) AT SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS (1-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007 - Albany Civic Center (8,034) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Louisville Fire hope to bounce back from a disappointing home loss to the Boise Burn in Week 1 when they travel to Albany, Ga. to face the South Georgia Wildcats. Longtime Fire Head Coach TOMMY JOHNSON is sure to have his team ready for this game, especially his defense, led by af2 career interceptions leader DB MATT FORBES. The Fire will also be a different team this week thanks to the return of AFL/af2 veteran QB MATT SAUK, who led Louisville to an ArenaCup berth in his last stint with the team in 2005. Sauk began the season with the AFL's Grand Rapids Rampage. South Georgia is coming off an impressive 47-31 defeat of Arkansas, and intend to continue their solid play. New addition QB D. BRYANT led the Wildcats last weekend, throwing for four touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing for 162 yards. WR SCOTT CLOMAN filled up the stat sheet as well, catching eleven balls for 104 yards and two scores. The Wildcats defense was ultimately the deciding factor in the matchup against Arkansas, however, as they held the Twisters to seven second half points. The Wildcats will be without their Head Coach Derek Stingley, who is in Chicago taking care of his family after the tragic death of his father Darryl. This should be an emotional game for South Georgia. If Sauk and Louisville come out firing, this contest will likely come down to the wire.

FIRE WILDCATS SERIES LEADER The series is tied 1-1

LAST MEETING Louisville won 48-46 on 4/15/2005

LAST FIVE GAMES 1-4 3-2

LAST GAME Lost 52-57 vs. Boise on 3/30/2007 Won 47-31 vs. Arkansas on 3/31/2007

2007 LEADERS 2007 FIRE 2007 WILDCATS PASSING Steele: 31-20-4; 233; 2 TDs Bryant: 26-18-2; 162; 4 TDs

RECEIVING Jones: 8-114; 1 TD Cloman: 11-104; 2 TDs

RUSHING Forney: 10-25; 3 TDs Resse: 4-22; 0 TDs

TACKLES Midlam: 7.5 Golden: 5.5

SACKS Jones: 1 Wangler and Woolridge: 1

INTERCEPTIONS Forbes: 1 Lloyd and Golden: 1

KICKING Hendrix: 3-5 PAT; 1-1 FG; 6 PTs Yoon: 5-6 PAT; 0-0 FG; 5 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 52.0 PPG; 274.0 YPG 47.0 PPG; 265.0 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 57.0 PPG; 224.0 YPG 31.0 PPG; 320.0 YPG

FORT WAYNE FUSION (1-0) AT BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (0-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007 - CenturyTel Center (12,500) 8:00 P.M. ET

The much anticipated debut of QB QUINCY CARTER is finally here as the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings host the upstart Fort Wayne Fusion at the CenturyTel Center on Saturday. The Battle Wings will have their hands full with the Fusion, however, as the first year team upset 2006 ArenaCup runner-up Green Bay last week in its inaugural af2 contest. AFL legend "TOUCHDOWN" EDDIE BROWN had his team firing on all cylinders against the Blizzard, marked by the efficient play of QB CORY HODGES (16-30, 127 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT). Fort Wayne's defense will be no easy test for Carter after a solid Week 1 performance that included three sacks, one fumble recovery, and a pick by DB MARLIN MAXWELL. Battle Wings Coach JON NORRIS will rely on Carter to take the helm of a team that went 3-13 last year, but Carter will not be alone on the offensive side of the ball. Bossier-Shreveport has added WR/LB MARC BACOTE (74 rec., 751 yds., 19 TD w/MAN) and WR/LB MANWELL TALBERT (68 rec., 833 yds., 13 TD in '06), which gives Carter a bevy of playmakers on his side. Defensively, the team returns one of its top defenders, WR/DB Phillip Geiggar (49.5 tackles, 4 INTs).

FUSION BATTLE WINGS SERIES LEADER First time these teams are meeting

LAST MEETING No previous meetings

LAST FIVE GAMES 1-0 1-4

LAST GAME Won 36-28 vs. Green Bay on 3/31/2007 Lost 66-72 at Oklahoma City on 7/29/2006

2006/2007 LEADERS 2007 FUSION

2006 BATTLE WINGS PASSING Hodges: 30-16-0; 127; 4 TDs Raterink: 488-282-15; 2936; 43 TDs

RECEIVING Manning: 6-63; 1 TD Chambers: 79-958; 12 TDs

RUSHING Hodges: 4-25; 1 TD Myles: 32-118; 4 TDs

TACKLES Williams: 8.5 Sutton: 56

SACKS Lindsay, Horne and Wormley: 1 Reed: 8

INTERCEPTIONS Maxwell: 1 Geiggar: 4

KICKING Weller: 3-5 PAT; 1-2 FG; 6 PTs Hazelwood:47-64 PAT; 21-46 FG; 116 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 36.0 PPG; YPG 144.0 34.6 PPG; 214.4 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 28.0 PPG; YPG 193.0 54.2 PPG; 275.4 YPG

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (0-0) AT CORPUS CHRISTI SHARKS (0-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007 - American Bank Center 8:00 P.M. ET

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados hook up with the Corpus Christi Sharks in a Southwest Division battle this Saturday night. Dorados veteran QB JOSH KELLETT is healthy, and he will look to recreate the success he had early last season when he engineered the Dorados to a 4-2 start. Kellett missed five starts, yet still threw for 52 TDs and 2,631 yards on 232-of-404 passing. Rio Grande Valley will miss leading receiver DWIGHT COUNTER (122 rec., 1,445 yds., 31 TD), but hope six-year AFL veteran WR JAMAINE "COCO" BLALOCK can fill Counter's shoes. Blalock racked up over 3,000 receiving yards and 52 total TDs in his AFL career. Corpus Christi will be given its first test in arenafootball2, and Head Coach MIKE TRIGG will have his Sharks ready to play. Trigg is an AFL veteran who is the only coach in the af2 that boasts an ArenaBowl (XXV - Grand Rapids Rampage) Championship on his resume. Trigg's roster is comprised entirely of rookies, which makes the Sharks a wild card of sorts. Expect both teams to show up ready to kick off the 2007 af2 season.

DORADOS SHARKS SERIES LEADER First time these teams are meeting

LAST MEETING No previous meeting

LAST FIVE GAMES 2-3 N/A

LAST GAME Lost 30-54 vs. Spokane on 7/29/2006 N/A

2006 LEADERS 2006 DORADOS SHARKS PASSING Kellett: 404-232-14; 2631; 52 TDs N/A

RECEIVING Counter: 122-1445; 31 TDs N/A

RUSHING Canty: 10-66; 2 TDs N/A

TACKLES Withers: 64.5 N/A

SACKS Jeter: 4.5 N/A

INTERCEPTIONS Long: 4 N/A

KICKING Bell: 68-87 PAT; 7-23 FG; 89 PTs N/A

TEAM OFFENSE 41.7 PPG; 254.2 YPG N/A

TEAM DEFENSE 49.8 PPG; 223.5 YPG N/A

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (1-0) AT SPOKANE SHOCK (1-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007 - Spokane Arena (10,187) 8:00 P.M. ET

Quad City and Spokane meet his week in Spokane in the league's marquee matchup of Week 2. Both Quad City and Spokane are coming off convincing Week 1 victories, with Quad City defeating Cincinnati, 81-22, and Spokane topping Stockton, 51-35 and both teams are ranked in the Top-3 in this week's Coaches Poll (Spokane - No. 2, Quad City - No. 3). Steamwheelers QB J.J. RATERINK was especially efficient in Week 1, completing 19-of-24 passes for 246 yards and five TDs. Raterink's favorite target was WR KRIS PETERS, who hauled in 10 catches for 155 yards and 4 touchdowns. Peters was also awarded the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game Award for his efforts. The Steamwheelers defense hopes for a repeat performance against the Shock, as it forced five turnovers in Week 1, led by DB KEVIN ADAMS (12.0 tkls, 1 INT, 1 FF). Leading the Shock offense in their Week 1 win was QB ANDRICO HINES, throwing for three scores and 168 yards on his way to the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game Award. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Hines spread the wealth to all of his receivers, as WR ANTWONE SAVAGE, WR/DB CHICO MACKEY and WR RAUL VIJIL combined for 18 catches, 162 yards and three touchdowns. The Shock defense held Stockton to 35 points, forcing three turnovers (2 INT, 1 FR) behind the leadership of veteran DB ROB KEEFE (2 INT). Both of these offenses will put points on the board, but it might come down to which team can protect the ball and limit crucial giveaways.

STEAMWHEELERS SHOCK SERIES LEADER Spokane leads 1-0

LAST MEETING Spokane won 68-63 on 5/27/2006

LAST FIVE GAMES 3-2 5-0

LAST GAME Won 81-22 at Cincinnati on 3/31/2007 Won 51-35 vs. Stockton on 3/31/2007

2007 LEADERS STEAMWHEELERS SHOCK PASSING Raternik: 24-19-0; 246; 5 TDs Hines: 29-19-1; 168; 3 TDs

RECEIVING Peters: 10-155; 4 TDs Savage: 10-66; 2 TDs

RUSHING Macrea: 1-10; 0 TDs Brown: 1-10; 1 TDs

TACKLES Adams: 12 Rogers: 7.5

SACKS Petty: 1 Ledbetter and Bethay: 1

INTERCEPTIONS Lewis: 1 Keefe: 2

KICKING Naehu: 9-12 PAT; 0-1 FG; 9 PTs Koker: 6-7 PAT; 1-2 FG; 9 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 81.0 PPG; 349.0 YPG 51.0 PPG; 208.0 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 21.0 PPG; 310.0 YPG 35.0 PPG; 253.0 YPG

EVERETT HAWKS (0-1) AT CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES (0-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007 - Selland Arena (5,487) 10:00 P.M. ET

The Everett Hawks visit the Central Valley Coyotes in a West Division matchup that pits two teams that have gone through wholesale changes from a year ago. Everett got off to a shaky start last weekend, trailing the Tulsa Talons 38-6 at halftime before regrouping to outscore Tulsa in the second half. First year Head Coach CEDRIC WALKER used a two quarterback system, dividing snaps equally between BEN BOWLING (9-24, 110 yds, 1 TD) and JASON CAMPBELL (15-25, 112 yds, 1 TD). Each quarterback threw an interception. Central Valley, led by Head Coach FRED BILETNIKOFF, JR., is coming off a 2006 campaign in which they went 12-4 en route to an ArenaCup playoff berth. This year, however, the team won't have QB SCOTT RISLOV (Arena Football record 106 TD passes) to lead the offense. What the Coyotes do have is two-way standout WR/LB WES BORBA (70 rec., 20 TD, 2 INT, 4 FR) back in the mix. Other veteran leaders returning for 2007 are OL/DL DOUG LANGENFELD (9.5 TFLs, 6.0 sacks) and OL/DL DONYELL BOOKER (8.0 TFLs, 5.0 sacks). This should be an exciting affair between two teams that are looking to start strong in the crowded West Division.

HAWKS COYOTES SERIES LEADER Central Valley leads 3-0

LAST MEETING Central Valley won 61-42 at Everett on 6/24/2006

LAST FIVE GAMES 1-4 4-1

LAST GAME Lost 30-61 at Tulsa on 3/31/2007 Lost 37-45 vs. Bakersfield on 8/4/2006 in the playoffs

2006/2007 LEADERS 2007 HAWKS 2006 COYOTES PASSING Bowling: 24-9-1; 110; 1 TD Rislov: 568-371-11; 4446; 106 TDs

RECEIVING Jones: 12-91; 1 TD Jones: 107-1419; 40 TDs

RUSHING Notoa: 6-26; 2 TDs Guardia: 33-122; 5 TDs

TACKLES Ealy: 3.0 Taylor: 57.5

SACKS Pratt: 1 Langenfeld: 6

INTERCEPTIONS Dunklin: 1 Taylor: 6

KICKING N/A Gockman: 108-124; 9-21; 135 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 30.0 PPG; 244.0 YPG 56.6 PPG; 292.5 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 61.0 PPG; 123.0 YPG 46.8 PPG; 247.1 YPG

arenafootball2 Stories from April 6, 2007

• Thunder earn win at Albany - Mahoning Valley Thunder
• af2 week two Saturday night matchups - af2
• Sharks Kickoff 2007 This Saturday Night - Corpus Christi Sharks

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