Arkansas Twisters game notes
June 26, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Arkansas Diamonds News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (10-1)
Vs. Arkansas Twisters (8-3)
Date: Saturday, June 30
Kickoff: 7:05pm Central Time
Site: Alltel Arena
Radio: KABZ 103.7 The BUZZ
Pre-Game show starts @ 6:45pm
(Jake Hatley, Dick McDonald)
Internet: www.1037thebuzz.com
Ticket Prices: $38, $23, $21, $17, $12, $10
Series Record: 8-8
Last Meeting: 5-26-07 - AR Won 36-19
(Tulsa, OK) - The longest running rivalry in af2 lived up to billing as Arkansas and Tulsa faced off in a low scoring affair that saw the Twisters win their fifth straight game over their arch rivals in front of 5200 fans at the Tulsa Convention Center. The win snapped Tulsa's seven game win streak.
The Twisters defense played its best game of the season by limiting Tulsa to a franchise low at home 19 points and forced seven turnovers, six coming by way of interceptions.
Arkansas' defense intercepted Tulsa quarterback Josh Blankenship on the Talon's opening drive. The Twisters converted it into points when David Carlton booted a team record 55 yard field goal to put Arkansas up 3-0. Arkansas intercepted Blankenship again on the next drive and that led to Davon Vinson connecting with Robert Kilow on a 15 yard score to give the Twisters a 9-0 lead at the end of one.
Blankenship was intercepted again on Tulsa's next drive and Arkansas turned it into points when Carlton broke his own team record by netting a 58 field goal to give the Twisters a 12-0 lead. Blankenship threw two more interceptions in the half and Arkansas led 19-7 at the break.
The Twisters opened the second half with a long drive that took up over half the third quarter and capped it with Carlton's third field goal of the night, a 24 yarder that extended Arkansas' lead to 23-7.
Tulsa closed to within 29-19 when Blankenship found Jermaine Landrum for a two yard score. The Talons recovered the ensuing on-side kick with :45 seconds left in the game. Blankenship's pass off the net was tipped by Jason Simpson and intercepted by Tanner Varner and returned 53 yards for the final score of the game.
Arkansas improves to 6-2 on the season while Tulsa had their seven game win streak snapped with their first loss of the season.
Vinson finished the game by completing 11 of his 27 pass attempts for 125 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 53 yards on eight carries. Jon Schoonover led the team with five catches for 68 yards and two scores while Kilow finished with 4 catches for 35 yards and one touchdown.
Arkansas' trio of defensive backs known as "The Land Sharks" led the way for the Twisters. Varner finished with a game high 10.0 tackles, four pass breakups, two interceptions
and a touchdown. Simpson added eight tackles, a pass breakup and one interception and Pierre Thomas had 4.5 tackles and an interception.
Blankenship finished the game by completing 22 of 50 passes for 203 yards, three touchdowns and a career high six interceptions. Landrum led the team with eight catches for 68 yards and one touchdown.
Streaks: Arkansas is riding a two game win streak and has won three of its last four games. The Twisters have also won five straight against Tulsa, the longest steak in series history. Tulsa has won 10 of its 11 games, the only loss to Arkansas on 5-26. The Talons have won three straight.
Coaches:
Twisters - John Gregory: 8-3 (23-17, 3rd Year)
Talons - Mitch Allner: 10-1, 1st Year
THE STAKES: Arkansas can pull within one game of Tulsa in the Central Division standings by defeating Tulsa. A win will also give the Twisters the tie breaker if both teams finished with identical records at the end of the season. The Talons will all but secure the division title by beating Arkansas. A win would mean a three game lead with four games to play. Tulsa is also trying for its 100th win as a franchise.
THE IFs:
If Arkansas defeats Tulsa, it would...
- be the ninth win of the '07 season
- be the sixth straight win over Tulsa
- give Coach Gregory his 24rd win as Twisters coach, sixth against Tulsa
- pull the Twisters within one games of Tulsa in the standings
TWISTERS HEAD COACH:
John Gregory has seen just about everything a coach can see in one sport. His first job in football was back when Lyndon B. Johnson was President of the United States. Since then he has consistently taken over football programs that have struggled before his arrival and led them to success.
The former 2-time AFL Coach of the Year built the Twisters into a playoff contender in 2006. Gregory led Arkansas to its best start ever by winning his first three games. The Twisters won 10 regular season games for just the second time in franchise history and advanced to the National Conference Championship game. He coached the team to its first victories over Oklahoma City and Macon while beating rival Tulsa three times, the final time coming in the playoffs. The team set a franchise record for most total wins in a season with 12 and the 10 regular wins was the second most in franchise history.
The '06 Twisters also featured one of the best defenses in af2, tying a league record for sacks in a season with two Twisters players being named to the All-af2 first team for the first time ever.
Gregory started his coaching career as an assistant head coach and athletic director at Iowa Central Community College where he was charged with building a football program from the ground up. In just three years, the program had a 24-3-1 record and won the Wool Bowl in '69. Gregory's success at Iowa Central CC went on after he left. John Matusak was a Gregory recruit, and he went on to become the number one pick in the 1974 NFL Draft.
Gregory got his first college head coaching job at South Dakota State in 1971 and stayed for 10 years. To this day, Gregory is still second in school history in coaching victories and he led the team to a single season best of 9-2 in '79. SDSU didn't have a winning record the previous 11 seasons before Gregory's arrival.
After a one year stop as offensive coordinator at his alma mater of Northern Iowa, Gregory went further north to Canada and the Canadian Football League.
While in the CFL, Gregory won a CFL championship in '84 as the offensive line coach for Winnipeg. Gregory's offensive line helped the team set a CFL rushing record in '84 and Gregory was named CFL Outstanding Offensive Line Coach.
Saskatchewan noticed what Winnipeg had, and gave Gregory his first professional head coaching job and he didn't disappoint. Saskatchewan didn't have a winning season in the 11 years prior to Gregory's arrival, and they didn't win a Grey Cup (CFL Title) in 22 years. In 1989, Gregory led a Saskatchewan team that no one gave much of a chance of winning, and won the Grey Cup championship. In the process, Gregory was named CFL Coach of the Year, and he was elected to the Saskatchewan Hall of Fame in 1996.
Gregory went on to coach for Hamilton of the CFL in '91, making the postseason four of the five years he was with the team before the founder of a new football league came calling.
Jim Foster invented Arena Football and needed a coach for a team he was starting in Des Moines, IA. Foster interviewed and hired Gregory to build the Iowa team from scratch. Gregory looked high and low for players; even recruiting a little known quarterback he heard was working at a local grocery store. Gregory gave Kurt Warner a tryout, and the rest is, as they say, history. Gregory coached the Barnstormers to five division titles in six years, led the team to two Arena Bowl title games, and the offense was the one of the most innovative offenses the sport had ever seen. Warner and his processor, Aaron Garcia were recently named as two of the greatest AFL players ever. Gregory earned AFL Coach of the Year honors in '95 and '96, the only coach in AFL history to do so, and nearly made it three in a row when he finished second '97.
The Barnstormers relocated to New York in 2000 and Gregory left the team in '03. After a brief stop at Carolina, Gregory decided to call it a career in coaching.
Then Gregory got another call from Jim Foster.
Foster told Gregory of a team that is the "Jewel of the af2" and needed his help. The team was successful early on, but had won just 4 of its last 20 games. Along with af2 President Jerry Kurz, and Jack Lankford, Gregory was convinced staying in retirement was the thing to do.
Gregory took over the Arkansas Twisters four games into the 2005 season, going 5-7. The final four losses were by a combined score of 19 points, with two games being decided in the last minute of play.
WEEK 13 RE-CAP: 6-23-07
Twisters Outlast Everett
(Everett, WA) - The Everett Hawks fell to the Arkansas Twisters in a back and forth game, 64-60, that wasn't decided until the final seconds.
QB Jason Campbell and WR Josh Richey both had big nights to lead the hawks. Campbell completed 27 of 40 passes for 334 yards and seven touchdowns. Richey, the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game, hauled in 12 passes for 217 yards and five scores. It was his second 200 yard game of the season and his seventh straight with over 100 yards, one game shy of the af2 record. The Hawks were matched however by the seven touchdown passes of Davon Vinson. He found Robert Kilow for three touchdowns and U.S. Army Ironman Kevin Williams for two, both in the fourth quarter. Vinson finished 22 of 30 for 220 yards and seven touchdowns.
The game was finally decided when an onside kick attempt by the Hawks went out of bounds with 00:12 remaining. Kilow's fourth quarter touchdown in the final minute gave the Twisters a 10 point advantage before Everett marched down the field and scored on a Jason Campbell three yard touchdown run for the games final margin.
LaMonte Jones made his return from injured reserve in a big way returning a third quarter interception for a touchdown. DB Aaron Dunklin led the Hawks defense with 8.5 tackles and Johnny Jackson recorded the Hawks lone sack.
The Hawks hit the road next week to take on Stockton on Saturday, June 30. They are looking to avenge a last second loss to the Lightning earlier this season.
Box Score:
Arkansas Twisters vs Everett Hawks
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Arkansas Twisters... 13 14 15 22 - 64 Record: (8-3)
Everett Hawks....... 13 14 14 19 - 60 Record: (3-8)
Schutt Offensive Player of the Game: Josh Richey, Everett
ADT Defensive Player Of the Game:
Mike Matthes, AR
U.S Army Ironman of the Game:
Kevin Williams, AR
Cutters Catch of the Game:
Jon Schoonover, AR
Scoring Summary:
1st 13:00 EVE - RICHEY, Josh 30 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick), 3-45 2:00, ARK 0 - EVE 7
10:53 ARK - FREENEY, Terran 7 yd run (CARLTON, David kick blockd), 3-32 1:32, ARK 6 - EVE 7
06:00 EVE - RICHEY, Josh 14 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick failed), 6-48 4:00, ARK 6 - EVE 13
04:19 ARK - SCHOONOVER, Jon 7 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (CARLTON, David kick), 2-43 0:56, ARK 13 - EVE 13
2nd 13:40 ARK - KILOW, Robert 13 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (CARLTON, David kick), 4-27 2:20, ARK 20 - EVE 13
06:22 EVE - GOODMAN, Philli 5 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick), 10-48 6:32, ARK 20 - EVE 20
03:45 ARK - SCHOONOVER, Jon 11 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (CARLTON, David kick), 3-36 1:49, ARK 27 - EVE 20
00:02 EVE - GOODMAN, Philli 2 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick), 7-37 2:59, ARK 27 - EVE 27
3rd 11:09 ARK - VINSON, Davon 1 yd run (SCHOONOVER, Jon pass from VINSON, Davon), 6-30 3:37, ARK 35 - EVE 27
08:01 EVE - RICHEY, Josh 34 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick), 4-38 2:12, ARK 35 - EVE 34
05:30 EVE - JONES, LaMonte 38 yd interception return (AZORR, Eric kick), , ARK 35 - EVE 41
00:15 ARK - KILOW, Robert 5 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (CARLTON, David kick), 6-44 4:30, ARK 42 - EVE 41
4th 12:35 EVE - RICHEY, Josh 27 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (AZORR, Eric kick), 3-38 2:17, ARK 42 - EVE 48
10:00 ARK - WILLIAMS, Kevin 9 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (CARLTON, David kick failed), 3-29 1:30, ARK 48 - EVE 48
05:23 ARK - WILLIAMS, Kevin 2 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (SCHOONOVER, Jon pass from VINSON, Davon), 4-4 3:13, ARK 56 - EVE 48
01:47 EVE - RICHEY, Josh 33 yd pass from CAMPBELL, Jason (CAMPBELL, Jason pass failed), 3-48 2:38, ARK 56 - EVE 54
00:45 ARK - KILOW, Robert 4 yd pass from VINSON, Davon (SCHOONOVER, Jon pass from VINSON, Davon), 3-6 0:15, ARK 64 - EVE 54
00:15 EVE - CAMPBELL, Jason 3 yd run (CAMPBELL, Jason pass failed), 5-38 0:27, ARK 64 - EVE 60
ARK EVE
FIRST DOWNS................... 23 22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 9-35 4-6
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 218 341
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 30-22-1 40-27-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 40-253 45-347
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-119 9-133
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-8 1-38
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 7-50 8-49
Possession Time............... 42:29 32:31
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 4 4 of 6
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 9-10 4-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-3 1-2
RUSHING: Arkansas Twisters-FREENEY, Terran 2-23; VINSON, Davon 6-10;
WILLIAMS, Kevin 1-2. Everett Hawks-CAMPBELL, Jason 1-3; NOTOA, Vai 2-2; ATOE,Talifaia 1-1.
PASSING: Arkansas Twisters-VINSON, Davon 22-30-1-220; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 2.
Everett Hawks-CAMPBELL, Jason 27-40-1-344; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 3.
RECEIVING: Arkansas Twisters-KILOW, Robert 9-115; WILLIAMS, Kevin 7-48;
SCHOONOVER, Jon 6-57. Everett Hawks-RICHEY, Josh 12-217; GOODMAN, Philli 10-83;
HOLLOWAY, Warre 3-20; BURLEY, Larue 1-12; NOTOA, Vai 1-12.
INTERCEPTIONS: Arkansas Twisters-WILLIAMS, Kevin 1-8. Everett
Hawks-JONES, LaMonte 1-38.
FUMBLES: Arkansas Twisters-None. Everett Hawks-TEAM 1-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Arkansas Twisters-MATTHES, Mike 1-0. Everett Hawks-JACKSON,
Johnny 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Arkansas Twisters-VARNER, Tanner 7-1; THOMAS, Pierre 6-2;
SIMPSON, Jason 5-2; WILLIAMS, Kevin 2-3; MATTHES, Mike 2-2; DALLMEYER, Barr 2-0;DANSBY, Michael 1-1; CARLTON, David 1-1; DESISSO, Travis 0-1; CLARK, Colby 0-1.Everett Hawks-DUNKLIN, Aaron 7-3; BURLEY, Larue 5-1; GOODMAN, Philli 3-3; NOTOA,Vai 2-1; JONES, LaMonte 2-0; HOLLOWAY, Warre 1-2; MEDLOCK, Orland 1-1; JONES,Chuck 1-1; ZEIGLER, Kai 1-0; PRATT, Markus 1-0; JACKSON, Johnny 1-0; LITTLE,Raymond 0-2.
GIVING BACK: Twisters to Host Free Football Camp
(North Little Rock, AR) - The Arkansas Twisters will host a free football camp for any youngster between the ages of 8 and 18 at Alltel Arena on Friday, June 29th from 9am to 11am.
The Alltel Wireless Community football camp is completely free to attend and participate. Legendary AFL and current Twisters coach John Gregory will run the camp along with former NFL All-Pro and Twisters' Defensive Coordinator J. T. Smith and several Twisters players.
Registration begins at 8am the morning of the camp and each camper will receive a t-shirt and ticket to the June 30th game to watch the af2's biggest rivalry, Arkansas-Tulsa.
Parents can call 975-KICK to sign their child up for the camp.
Health: Twisters Giving Free Blood Pressure Checks at Game
(North Little Rock, AR) - The Arkansas Twisters are teaming up with The Woodland International Research Group to offer free blood pressure checks at the Twisters game on Saturday, June 30th at Alltel Arena.
Anyone can have their blood pressure checked during the Twisters tailgate party from 4:30pm to 6:45pm in front of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, but young fans between the ages of six and 16 are eligible to enter for cash prizes. Three names will be drawn for cash prizes of $500, $300, and $200. Fans must be present to win.
Woodland will also pay two lucky youngsters' registration fees to participate in Life Champ Football.
Former University of Arkansas and Twisters player Anthony Eubanks will be available for autographs along with former Razorback basketball star Sunday Adebayo and former Twisters Ted Alford, A. D. Abston and Clay Arnold.
The Twisters are playing Tulsa that day and kickoff is scheduled at 7:05pm. Fans can call 975-KICK for ticket information or log onto www.arkansastwisters.com.
FORWARD MOTION: The Twisters are back on the road to face yet another rival, Bossier-Shreveport. This game will be very important because the Battle Wings have a one game better record than Arkansas. If the Twisters win this game, it would shake the playoff seedings up.
2007 ARKANSAS TWISTERS SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Result Score Record
3-31 @ South Georgia L 31-47 0-1
4-15 @ Lubbock W 51-48 1-1
4-20 @ Amarillo W 63-55 2-1
4-28 CORPUS CHRISTI W 93-19 3-1
5-5 @ Laredo W 55-33 4-1
5-12 BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT W 64-50 5-1
5-20 SOUTH GEORGIA L 37-40 5-2
5-26 @ Tulsa W 36-19 6-2
6-2 LUBBOCK L 49-51 6-3
6-16 OKLAHOMA CITY W 51-39 7-3
6-23 @ Everett W 64-60 8-3
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6-30 TULSA 7:05 W4 8-8
7-7 @ Bossier-Shreveport 7:05 W7 8-2
7-14 LAREDO 7:05 L1 0-1
7-21 @ Oklahoma City 7:05 W1 1-4
7-28 AMARILLO 7:05 L1 2-1
TWISTERS' INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
QB Brian Villanueva Broken Foot questionable
OL/DL James Cardenas MCL IR
K David Carlton Contusion questionable
WR Errick McCown Turf Toe questionable
IR- Injured Reserve, min 4 games missed
RECENT ROSTER MOVES:
Date Action Player
5-25 Retirement Reggie Swinton
5-25 Assigned Mike Matthes
SERIES FACTS:
16 games played between both teams, most in af2
Eight games decided by 8 points or less
Three games played in Playoffs
Tulsa longest win streak vs. AR is 4 games
Arkansas' longest win streak vs. Tulsa is 5 games
Series is tied at 8
SERIES HISTORY:
af2's Longest Running Rivalry
ARKANSAS 59 Tulsa 56 7/1/00
TULSA 55 Arkansas 41 7/8/00
Tulsa 56 ARKANSAS 53* 4/7/01
TULSA 60 Arkansas 22 6/15/01
TULSA 85 Arkansas 42 5/11/02
ARKANSAS 102 Tulsa 63 6/22/02
TULSA 34 Arkansas 32 8/3/02
TULSA 59 Arkansas 46 5/31/03
ARKANSAS 45 Tulsa 29 6/28/03
TULSA 63 Arkansas 52 8/16/03
Tulsa 61 ARKANSAS 53 5/22/04
Arkansas 54 TULSA 48 6/25/05
Arkansas 45 TULSA 42 5/27/06
ARKANSAS 61 Tulsa 40 7/22/06
Arkansas 53 TULSA 51 8/12/06
Arkansas 36 TULSA 19 5/26/07
* Denotes Overtime
Bold denotes playoff game
2007 AWARDS
Cutters Catch of the Week:
Week 5: Kevin Williams, AR
ADT Defensive Player of the Week:
Week 12: Pierre Thomas, AR
US Army Ironman of the Week:
Week 13: Kevin Williams, AR
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
1 SGA Brian Villanueva, QB
2 Bye
3 LUB Jon Schoonover, WR
4 AMR Jon Schoonover, WR
5 CC Brian Villanueva, QB
6 LAL Jon Schoonover, WR
7 BOS Brian Villanueva, QB
8 SGA Chavis McColister, South Georgia
9 TUL Davon Vinson, QB
10 LUB Robert Kent, Lubbock
11 Bye
12 OKC Davon Vinson, QB
13 EVE Josh Richey, EVE
IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
1 SGA Kevin Williams, LB/WR
2 Bye
3 LUB Kevin Williams, LB/WR
4 AMR Kevin Williams, LB/WR
5 CC Robert Kilow, WR/KR
6 LAL Michael Dansby, OL/DL
7 BOS Robert Kilow, WR/KR
8 SGA Kevin Williams, WR/LB
9 TUL Jon Schoonover, WR/KR
10 LUB John King, Lubbock
11 Bye
12 OKC Kevin Williams, LB/WR
13 EVE Kevin Williams, LB/WR
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
1 SGA Jason Simpson, DB
2 Bye
3 LUB Pierre Thomas, DB
4 AMR Tanner Varner, DB
5 CC Reggie Cooley, LB
6 LAL Colby Clark, DL
7 BOS Jason Simpson, DB
8 SGA Joe Woolridge, South Georgia
9 TUL Tanner Varner, DB
10 LUB Jason Simpon, DB
11 Bye
12 OKC Pierre Thomas, DB
13 EVE Mike Matthes, DL
CUTTERS CATCH OF THE WEEK
Week Opp. Player
1 SGA Tavaris Capers, SGA
2 BYE
3 LUB Alvance Robinson, Lubbock
4 AMR Jonah Russell, Amarillo
5 CC Kevin Williams, WR
6 LAL Robert Kilow, WR
7 BOS Kevin Williams, WR
8 SGA Chavis McCollister, South Georgia
9 TUL Jeff Hughley, Tulsa
10 LUB Robert Kilow, WR
11 Bye
12 OKC Dawon Gentry, OKC
13 EVE Jon Schoonover, WR
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