Austin Wranglers game night

Published on April 14, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Austin Wranglers News Release


AUSTIN WRANGLERS (6-3) vs. TAMPA BAY STORM (3-7)

SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2004, 2 P.M. CENTRAL, ST. PETE TIMES FORUM

WRANGLERS RADIO


All Austin Wranglers football games can be heard on Z102, 102.3 FM, with veteran sports radio announcer Craig Way calling the play-by-play and Wranglers assistant general manager and NFL veteran Glyn Milburn handling the color announcing.

Head Coach Skip Foster will analyze Sunday's game and take phone calls on The Zone 1300 AM with Bucky Godbolt Monday night, 7-8 p.m.

HEAD COACHES

Skip Foster
Austin Wranglers
Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator

Skip Foster is making his AFL head coaching debut with the Austin Wranglers this season. Foster, deemed the second most winning coach in arenafootball2 history, will also act as the Wranglers offensive coordinator.

Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2 Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster lead the team to a 13-3 regular season record while accumulating 3,995 yards in total offense, 3,679 yards passing and 316 yards rushing. This offensive effort also concluded with Tulsa outscoring their opponents 823-690 in regular season play. The Talons totaled 745 yards in offense and outscored their postseason opponents 179-130 on their way to winning the 2003 ArenaCup. During his three years with Tulsa, Foster made history when he led his team to the National Conference Central Division Championship for two straight seasons and won the ArenaCup in 2003. Foster was the only af2 coach to go undefeated at home over three consecutive regular seasons.

Foster compiled a record of 82-39-2 at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before moving to the Talons. Foster played for six Conference Championships during his 12 seasons as the head coach of the Red Ravens. In 1990, Foster led Coffeyville to a National Championship and an undefeated season. He was selected as Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year in both 1990 and 1991.

After serving as an assistant to his father, Dick Foster, for four seasons at Coffeyville, Skip took over the head coaching duties where Dick won a National Championship in 1983. They are the only father/son pair in the National Junior College Athletic Association to win a national championship at the same school. Skip played football for his father from 1979-1980 at Coffeyville. A graduate of Missouri Western State College, Foster earned a Bachelor of Science in Education.


Tim Marcum
Tampa Bay Storm
Head Coach / General Manager / Director of Football Operations

It's only fitting that the Arena Football League's top coach lead the league's most storied franchise. Legendary AFL head coach Tim Marcum coached in his ninth season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm in 2003 and his 15th overall as an AFL head coach.

A charter member of the Arena Football League Hall of Fame, Marcum is the winningest head coach in Arena Football history. He enters the 2004 season having won seven ArenaBowl championships and has coached in ten of the league's 17 ArenaBowls. Marcum is the only coach in Arena Football history to lead three different teams to ArenaBowl championships (Denver, Detroit, and Tampa Bay), and is the AFL career coaching leader in victories (158), winning percentage (.742), games coached (213), and postseason victories (25).

A two-time recipient of the AFL Coach of the Year Award (1987 and 1998), Marcum has overseen the Tampa Bay Storm's development into the league's flagship franchise while accumulating a 103-43 overall record in Tampa Bay. His Tampa Bay teams have earned nine straight playoff berths, winning three championships.

Marcum honed his football skills while playing quarterback at McMurry University under head coach Grant Teaff. A starting quarterback for the Indians in 1965 and 1966, Marcum held for many years the school record for yards in a game with 328. Marcum, who transferred to McMurry in the fall of 1963 from Texas A&M, was a 2001 inductee into the McMurry University Athletic Hall of Honor.

LAST WEEK

Austin, TX—On Easter Sunday, the crowd at the Frank Erwin Center was ever present as they motivated a stingy defense that led to Austin's lowest point total allowed all season, beating the Georgia Force 42-26.

In the opening quarter, neither team put any points on the board. Both Austin and Georgia each turned the ball over on downs. Wranglers QB John Kaleo threw for 247 yards, eclipsing the 2,500 yard passing mark on the season. Defensive player of the game OL/DL Tom Briggs had two pass breakups as well as a sack in the game. In the second quarter, the games scoring finally opened up after a defensive struggle. Force quarterback Leon Murray connected with wide receiver Morris Anderson for two of their touchdowns. Austin held Georgia to a season low 190 total offensive yards as they moved to 6-3 on the season. Austin travels to Tampa Bay next Sunday, a team they beat earlier this season. Georgia drops to 4-6 on the year as they make their way to Orlando.

Box Score 1 2 3 4 Final
Austin- 0 21 7 14 42
Georgia- 0 13 13 0 26

THE WRANGLERS ARE...
Record
4 -1 At home
2-2 On the road

2-0 Against Eastern Division
1-2 Against Central Division
3-0 Against Southern Division
0-1 Against Western Division

3-2 With a spread of seven or more points
3-1 With a spread of six or fewer points

6-1 When Kaleo throws one or fewer INTs
0-2 When Kaleo throws two or more INTs

WRANGLERS TO WATCH

OL/DL TOM BRIGGS – After eight years of AFL play, this power-blocker has no intention of slowing down. In an amazing Week Ten, he registered 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for loss for six yards with one sack. Briggs is only two sacks away from 35 for his career. He also knocked down three passes, continuously shutting down the opponent's offense. Briggs is now tied for most sacks in the AFL with five. On the season, he has accumulated 14.5 total tackles, 11 solo, five passes defensed and five sacks. His outstanding presence on both sides of the line is one to watch for this week.

WR/LB DARRIN CHIAVERINI – As an offensive threat for the Wranglers, this AFL rookie continues to step up his numbers. Not only is he learning the game quickly, his execution of the game is impressive. In Week Ten, the grabbed six passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns putting him second on the team for most all-purpose yards. On the season, he has caught 25 passes for 290 yards and eight touchdowns averaging 58 receiving yards per game in his five games played. On defense, in Week Ten, he made 3.5 total tackles, 3 solo. On season he now registers nine total tackles, five solo.

FB/LB DANE KRAGER – As an AFL rookie and Austin native, this two-way player has been making an impact on both sides of the ball this season. In Week Ten on offense, he led the Wranglers in rushing with six for a gain of 25 yards and one touchdown. He is now tied for eighth in the league for leading rushers with 23 attempts for 95 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, in Week Ten, he assisted on two tackles and forced one fumble. In 2004, he has registered 12 total tackles, seven solo, and two forced fumbles.

STORM TO WATCH

WR/LB LAWRENCE SAMUELS – This two-way player has impacted the Storm offense immensely. He has had three 100-receiving games in 2004, which ties at number eight for leaders in receptions for the league with 62 catches for 738 yards and seven touchdowns. In Week Ten, he grabbed five passes for 68 yards and one touchdown. Samuels has made great contributions on defense as well this season, tying for fourth place in fumble recoveries with three total and registering an interception for eight yards to boot. In Week Ten, he was always on the play, making six assisted tackles and one solo, totaling four tackles for the game.

OS FREDDIE SOLOMON – In only his second year in the AFL, this offensive powerhouse has made an immense impact on Tampa's offense. However, in Week Ten, Chicago's backfield had their eye on his number and controlled him well, holding him to only one carry for no gain and five receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns. That doesn't diminish his ranking of fourth in the league for leading scorers, nonkickers, with 23 touchdowns. He is also tied for sixteenth for leaders in receptions with 53 catches for 634 yards.

QB SHANE STAFFORD – The fourteenth ranked leading passer in the AFL, he has had an up and down season. With only two seasons under his belt, he has posted three 300-yard passing games in 2004. However, in all three games he threw for over 300 yards, the Storm lost. He has also not been able to lead his team to victory at home. In Week Ten, he completed 22 out of 33 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns, and he only allowed one interception. On the season he has made 155 completions of 261 attempts for 1,905 yards and 35 touchdowns.

ATTAINABLE MILESTONES
* Denotes Rookie

OL/DL TOM BRIGGS
 2 sacks from 35 total career
 6 tackles from 160 total career

WR/LB DARRIN CHIAVERINI*
 10 receptions from 35 career receptions
 10 yards from 300 career receiving yards
 2 touchdowns from 10 career touchdowns
 1 tackles from 10 career tackles

WR/DB CHARLIE DAVIDSON
 34 receptions from 400 career receptions
 14 receiving touchdowns from 100 career receiving touchdowns
 8.5 tackles from 310 career tackles
 1 interception from 20 career interceptions

WR/DB TACOMA FONTAINE*
 3 touchdowns from 20 career receiving touchdowns
 23 yards from 800 career receiving yards
 6 catches from 50 career receptions


QB JOHN KALEO
 412 passing yards from 25,000 career yards
 18 completions from 2,050 career completions
 3 touchdown passes from 400 career touchdowns
 8 touchdowns from 60 touchdown passes this season
 39 completions from 250 completions on the season
 269 yards from 2,800 passing yards this season

WR/LB DARRYL HAMMOND
 399 yards from 8,000 career receiving yards
 10 receiving touchdowns from 120 career receiving touchdowns
 26 tackles from 600 career tackles
 1 receptions from 30 receptions on the season
 1 touchdowns from 10 touchdowns on the season

DS CEDRIC WALKER
 4 games from 100th regular-season career AFL contest
 6 pass breakups from 80 career breakups
 3 interceptions from 25 career interceptions

WRANGLERS ROSTER NOTES

FAR FROM FADING— The Wranglers defense turned it up against the Georgia Force, only allowing their offense to post 26 points in the game, their best performance of 2004. Holding their opponents scoreless on an average of 3.6 drives per game so far this season, the Wranglers defense managed post six stops in Week 10, their most in a game. In that effort, the Wranglers defense held Georgia scoreless in the first and fourth quarters.

COMING THROUGH— Austin's defensive line penetrated past the Force front, posting five tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and hurrying the quarterback once. With Wranglers charging at the quarterback from every angle, the Force netted only 180 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air. The line and mack linebacker also accounted for six of the nine passes defensed during the game.

SKILLS IN THE SECONDARY— In the defensive backfield against Georgia, Wranglers specialists DeRon Jenkins and Cedric Walker led the team in tackles with a combined total of 8.5 and together accounted for a forced fumble and one broken pass. The two will work together in the secondary with the Wranglers WR/DB Charlie Davidson, the team's consistent all-around threat, to shut down Tampa's OS Freddie Solomon for a second consecutive week.

STILL STELLAR— Offensive production was not at a loss in the Wranglers Week 10 performance. After a slow start in the first quarter, the Wranglers offense put three touchdowns on the board in the final ten minutes of the second quarter and kept the momentum throughout the second half. After Week 10, Austin is second in the league in total offense and net yards passing per game, posting an average of 305.6 total yards per game, 284.8 passing. The Wranglers rank fourth in the AFL in scoring offense with 484 points, 69 touchdowns, 52 extra points, six 2-point conversions and two field goals.

THIRD-FOR-SEVEN— For the seventh week, John Kaleo leads the AFL with his third-down passing performance. Completing 41 of 59 third-down attempts, Kaleo has maintained a 125.2 rating on third down in 2004. As a team, the Wranglers have converted on 53 percent of their third down conversions and is ranked fourth in the AFL in third-down efficiency.

SPECIAL TEAMS—The Wranglers special teams units made a significant impact on the outcome of the game, adding to Austin's momentum and preventing the Force from a score on a blocked PAT and field goal. The kickoff coverage unit kept Georgia to a 10-yard return average on three attempts and Austin's kicker Tony Dodson accounted for four touchbacks on the remainder of the kickoffs.

LAST TIME—The Wranglers played their first home game in Austin against the Tampa Bay Storm. Austin defeated the Storm 56-48, after strong defensive stand at the goal line in the final seconds of the game.

AUSTIN WRANGLERS SINGLE-GAME AND SEASON TICKETS

The Austin Wranglers have released single-game tickets for the team's 2004 inaugural season. Tickets are available for as little as $8 through Texas Box Office by calling 477.6060, logging on to www.texasboxoffice.com, visiting the Frank Erwin Center's Red River box office Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or visiting any HEB grocery store.

Season tickets and group tickets are still available through the Wranglers ticket office by calling 233.7800. All fans that purchased a season ticket package after that date can pick their tickets up at the Erwin Center Red River box office with photo identification.

2004 AUSTIN WRANGLERS SCHEDULE

Week Date Opponent Time/Results
1 BYE
2 Friday, February 13 @ Orlando Predators W 49-48
3 Sunday, February 22 TAMPA BAY STORM W 56-48
4 Friday, February 27 @ Colorado Crush L 37-35
5 Sunday, March 7 CAROLINA COBRAS W 56-55
6 Sunday, March 14 INDIANA FIREBIRDS L 64-41
7 Thursday, March 18 @ Detroit Fury W 70-58
8 Sunday, March 28 PHILADELPHIA SOUL W 65-60
9 Saturday, April 3 @ Los Angeles Avengers L 81-70
10 Sunday, April 11 GEORGIA FORCE W 42-26
11 Sunday, April 18 @ Tampa Bay Storm 2:00 p.m.
12 Sunday, April 25 NEW ORLEANS VOODOO 2:00 p.m.
13 Saturday, May 1 @ Grand Rapids Rampage 6:30 p.m.
14 Sunday, May 9 DALLAS DESPERADOS 2:00 p.m.
15 Sunday, May 16 ORLANDO PREDATORS 2:00 p.m.
16 Sunday, May 23 @ Georgia Force 2:00 p.m.
17 Sunday, May 30 @ New Orleans Voodoo 3:00 p.m.

GAMES IN ALL CAPS ARE HOME GAMES PLAYED
AT THE FRANK ERWIN CENTER
All game times and locations are subject to change

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 14, 2004


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