Amarillo Dusters game notes
July 8, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Amarillo Venom News Release
THE STAKES: Playoff positioning is on the line Sunday afternoon at Toyota Field for the Dusters and Yard Dawgz. The Dusters look to build on their 2-game winning streak, while the Yard Dawgz aim to build on their upset win over Memphis. The Yard Dawgz won the first battle between these two teams on June 11th in Oklahoma City, prevailing 74-67. The Dusters are currently one game ahead of the Yard Dawgz in the National Conference playoff seeding. The Dusters enter the game with an 8-4 record, while Oklahoma City has a 7-5 record.
COACH PERDUE'S THOUGHTS ON OKLAHOMA CITY:
"We are focused on redeeming ourselves against Oklahoma City. We gave them 14 points on special teams fumbles, and we didn't stop them at all defensively. Their offense runs through Jarrail Jackson. We'll have to be physical with him. He had 15 catches for 198 yards against us in Oklahoma. That can't happen again. We have to put pressure on Craig Strickland, and force him to throw out of rhythm. We have to win the special teams battles as well. We gave our players ten days off, so I expect them to come back with fresh legs and focused minds. We are literally in a dog fight for the playoffs, and so are they. Julian Reese will be back in action for us, so we need to get him back in the flow early. I'm anxious to get back on the field and get back to business, and I'm sure they are as well. They are coming off a big upset win against Memphis, and we have won two in a row. "
DUSTERS HEAD COACH STEVE PERDUE
LEMONS HAS BREAKTHROUGH GAME:
Although it took him a few weeks to get rolling, Devin Lemons has become engrossed in the excitement of playing in af2 after spending the past four seasons in the NFL. Against Bossier on June 25th, Lemons had his breakout game. He had 1 sack, and also forced QB Tim Hicks to fumble in the back of the endzone on a wicked blind-side shot to the ribs. Lemons recovered the fumble for a touchdown.
DUSTERS INTERNET RADIO BROADCAST A HUGE SUCCESS
The Amarillo Dusters are developing a huge fan base nationwide, as the number of listeners for the game broadcast over the website has doubled since the season opener. "We have lots of players' families listening in across the country, and we've received dozens of e-mails from fans nationwide who are just interested in the Dusters and curious about us as an expansion team, " said Dusters play by play broadcaster Donny Hooper. "We have a unique broadcast for this level of football, in that we have a 15-year veteran football official as our sideline reporter (Ray Boring). He offers tremendous insight as to what is actually happening on the field. Tyler Hooper runs the parabolic field mic, so much like an NFL radio broadcast, our listeners can actually hear the quarterback bark the snap count, and try to draw the opponent offsides. Warren McCarty brings so much knowledge of the arena game to the broadcast, and helps the listener âsee' the routes and visualize the play itself. And mixed in with all of that, we have a great time and cut-up as much as we can. We have so much fun, and I think it makes our broadcast fun to listen to." The broadcast can be heard locally on 1440 AM The Score, Amarillo's ESPN Radio affiliate. Fans can also tune in via the Dusters website at www.dustersfootball.com.
KEY MATCHUP: YARD DAWGZ' OS JARRAIL JACKSON VS. DUSTERS SECONDARY
The Yard Dawgz offense runs through Jarrail Jackson. In the Yard Dawgz previous victory over the Dusters, OS Jarrail Jackson had a field day on the Dusters defensive backs, catching 15 balls for 198 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also returned 5 kickoffs for 135 yards (27 yards per return). In the Yard Dawgz most recent loss to Bossier, Jackson had only 3 catches for 29 yards and no touchdowns. In last week's game against Bossier City, the Dusters pass rush and coverage in the secondary were finally on the same page, producing a season-best 7 stops. The Dusters will have a new defensive specialist in the lineup, as Lionell Green will make his debut with the Dusters. A native Texan from Wharton, Green was recently cut by the Washington Redskins and was a 2-year starter for the North Carolina Tarheels.
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