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af2's All-Time Sack Leader Out for Season

June 2, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


Tulsa, OK - The Tulsa Talons of the arenafootball2 League announced today that lineman Greg Taylor will miss the remainder of the 2003 season following surgery to repair a Torn Patella Tendon in his right knee. Dr. Blackmon performed the surgery at Hillcrest Medical Center on Sunday morning.

“The operation went very well,” said Talons’ medical trainer Stuart Nichols. “Greg will begin his rehabilitation and we expect a full recovery in 10 to 12 weeks time.

Taylor will be on crutches as he begins his recovery and it is anticipated that, with the proper rehabilitation, he will be able to continue his football career.

“On behalf of the Talons football team, we all want to wish Greg a speedy and healthy recovery from this devastating injury,” said head coach Skip Foster. “Losing a player of Greg’s magnitude is a huge loss to our football team. His experience in the league, and most importantly, his passion for the game of Arena Football will be sadly missed by the Talons.

Taylor suffered the injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s game with the Arkansas Twisters. At the time of the injury, the Twisters held a 28-16 lead midway through the second quarter. After Taylor left the field, the Talons rallied and outscored the Twisters 22-0 in the final 2:29 of the quarter to take a 38-28 halftime lead to the locker room. They would go on to defeat the Twisters 59-46.

“I believe it truly showed the character of this team, the way they responded as a group following Greg’s accident Saturday night against Arkansas,” said Foster. “We had many players who stepped up and took our team to a new level, and I feel that shows how they felt about Greg Taylor’s contributions to this team and the loss of a teammate.

Taylor, a four-year af2 veteran, is the af2’s all-time sack leader with 37.5 sacks, including a team-high five this season. This year, he leads all Tulsa linemen with 11.5 total tackles and nine quarterback hurries. He also caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Taylor spent the last three seasons in Arkansas, where he was a First-Team All-af2 selection in 2000 and a Second-Team All-af2 selection last season. He also was named the af2’s Ironman of the Week for Week Seven.

“You do not replace what Greg brought to our football team,” said Foster. “The rest of our team must rise up and pull together with this loss and bring our team to a new level of play.

The Talons (8-1) will continue their season this Saturday night when they host the defending Arena Cup champions, the Peoria Pirates (3-5) at the Tulsa Convention Center. The game is a re-match of the season-opening contest on March 28th in Peoria when the Talons defeated the Pirates 42-39.

“Our team will remain focused on winning the 2003 Arena Cup Championship and Greg Taylor is still a huge part of our team,” said Foster. “He now will do it from a support role, rather than doing it on the field.

Tulsa has won an af2 record 23 consecutive regular season home games and five games overall this season. They also own the National Conference’s best record at 8-1 and are in first place in the Central Division. Peoria is in second place in the Midwest Division with a 3-5 record.

Tickets for Saturday’s Talons - Pirates game are available at local Drug Marts, the Tulsa Convention Center Box Office, the Talons office, or by phone at 584-2000.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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