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Austin Wranglers game notes

February 2, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Austin Wranglers News Release


AUSTIN WRANGLERS (0-1) at TAMPA BAY STORM (1-0)
February 6, 2005, 11 a.m. CT., St. Pete Times Forum

AUSTIN WRANGLERS BROADCASTS

Radio:
Austin Wranglers football games can be heard on AM 1300 The Zone. The Austin Wrangers-Tampa Bay Storm coverage will be provided by veteran radio sportscaster Kent Koen calling play-by-play and Austin Wranglers General Manager and former NFL player 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. The player's perspective can be heard with Aaron Humphrey on "Hump Day" with Bucky and Erin at 6:40 a.m. every Wednesday morning on the Buck on Sports on AM 1300 The Zone.

AustinWranglers.com coverage:
The site includes breaking news, practice schedules, press releases, historical information, statistics and rosters as well as unprecedented access to coach's film, Wranglers game preparation and action.

2005 AUSTIN WRANGLERS SCHEDULE

Week Date Opponent Time/Results
1 Sunday, Jan. 30 PHILADELPHIA SOUL L 35-66
2 Sunday, Feb. 6 @ Tampa Bay Storm 11:00 a.m.
3 Friday, Feb 11 LOS ANGELES AVENGERS 7:30 p.m.
4 Saturday , Feb. 19 @ Grand Rapids 6:30 p.m.
5 Friday, Feb. 25 GEORGIA FORCE 7:30 p.m.
6 Friday, March 4 @ Las Vegas 9:00 p.m.
7 Sunday, March 13 DALLAS DESPERADOS 3:00 p.m.
8 Saturday, March 19 NEW YORK DRAGONS 7:30 p.m.
9 Friday March 25 @ Orlando Predators 6:30 p.m.
10 Friday, April 1 NEW ORLEANS VOODOO 7:30 p.m.
11 Friday, April 8 @ Georgia Force 6:30 p.m.
12 Sunday, April 17 TAMPA BAY STORM 12:00 p.m.
13 Friday, April 22 @ Arizona Rattlers 9:00 p.m.
14 Saturday, April 30 @ Columbus Destroyers 6:00 p.m.
15 Saturday, May 7 ORLANDO PREDATORS 7:30 p.m.
16 Saturday, May 14 @ New Orleans Voodoo 7:30 p.m.
17 BYE

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

AFL WEEK TWO SCHEDULE

Thursday, February 3
8:00 pm- Orlando Predators @ Arizona Rattlers

Friday, February 4
7:30 pm- New Orleans VooDoo @ Nashville Kats
9:30 pm- Georgia Force @ Los Angeles Avengers

Saturday, February 5
1:00 pm- Grand Rapids Rampage @ Colorado
8:00 pm- Las Vegas Gladiators @ San Jose SaberCats

Sunday, February 6
11:00 am- Austin Wranglers @ Tampa Bay Storm
12:00 pm- Dallas Desperados @ New York Dragons
12:00 pm- Philadelphia Soul @ Chicago Rush
Times are CT

Wranglers Defensive stops

Stops on 4th down 0
Stops in Red Zone 1
Interceptions 3
Fumble Recoveries 1
Field Goals 1
MFG 0
End of Half Stops 0
Safeties 0
Total Stops on the Season 5
Average Stops/Game 5.0

LAST WEEK

AUSTIN (January 30, 2005)—The Austin Wranglers will do a little soul searching after an opening game loss. Philadelphia Soul quarterback Tony Graziani threw eight touchdown passes on the day while throwing three interceptions in route to a 66-35 victory. The game started ugly for the Wranglers as they squandered sixteen quick points to the Soul without having run an offensive play. "Down early like that, it's a tough time tryin' to come back," said WR/LB Darrin Chiaverini. Soul WR/DB Steve Smith caught 5 touchdown tosses. Wrangler QB Bobby Pesavento had an encouraging day in his first start finishing 27-43 with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. In the third quarter, the Wranglers had made it a game by intercepting Graziani three times on three consecutive possessions, but in the end, it was Austin's inability to capitalize that made all the difference.

LAST TIME AGAINST TAMPA BAY

TAMPA (April 18, 2004)—The Austin Wranglers lost their rematch against the Tampa Bay Storm. Wranglers QB John Kaleo received Offensive Player of the Game honors, finishing with 24 completions of 42 attempts for five touchdowns and rushing for one of his own. The usually dominating offense of the Wranglers was overshadowed by a strong defensive effort in the first quarter that held the Tampa Bay Storm to only one touchdown in the first 20 minutes of regulation. The Wranglers received the ball on the first drive in the second half and started a stretch of five scoring drives, the first of which was highlighted by a 43-yard pass to OS Tacoma Fontaine who snagged a two-yard pass two plays later for a Wranglers touchdown that put the team in the lead 24-21 after K Tony Dodson's PAT. The Wranglers held on to the ball for more than 22 minutes in the second half, but lost the lead in the last 10 seconds when Tampa Bay tied the game with a 36-yard field goal sending the game into overtime. As the Wranglers made their way down the field, a Kaleo fumble was picked up by WR/LB Lawrence Samuels and taken back for a Storm touchdown to capture the win from the Wranglers, 58-52.

2005 AUSTIN WRANGLERS MILESTONES


OL/DL TOM BRIGGS
CAREER
· 39.0 total sacks
· 169.5 total tackles

WR/LB DARRIN CHIAVERINI
CAREER
· 67 receptions
· 722 receiving yards

WR/DB CHARLIE DAVIDSON
CAREER
· 407 receptions
· 92 receiving touchdowns
· 6,906 all-purpose yards
· 21 interceptions
· 317 tackles

OS TACOMA FONTAINE
CAREER
· 21 receiving touchdowns
· 1,167 receiving yards
· 78 receptions
· 1,596 all-purpose yards

OL/DL BRYAN HENDERSON
CAREER
· 3.0 total sacks
· 5.0 total tackles for loss
· 4 forced fumbles
· 19.5 total tackles

OL/DL AARON HUMPHREY
CAREER
· 3.0 total sacks
· 5.0 total tackles for loss
· 4 forced fumbles
· 19.5 total tackles

DS KELVIN HUNTER
CAREER
· 120 tackles
· 3 interceptions
· 24 breakups

DS CEDRIC WALKER
CAREER
· 541.5 total career tackles
· 462 solo tackles
· 81 breakups

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin Wranglers

Kelvin Hunter
In his first game as a Wrangler, Hunter accumulated seven solo tackles, including one tackle for a loss of four yards, one interception for seven yards and two passes defensed.

Kevin Nickerson
In his first AFL debut, Nickerson caught three passes for 23 yards and a touchdown and added one kickoff return for 14 yards. Defensively he racked up three solo tackles.

Bobby Pesavento
In his debut as the Wranglers starting quarterback, Pesavento completed 27 of 43 pass attempts for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns. He completed passes to eight different players in over 30 minutes of possession. He averaged 9.3 yards per completion and threw for 15 first downs.

Tampa Bay Storm

Lawrence Samuels
He ranked second on the team in all-purpose yards after catching nine passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns and returning one kickoff for three yards. On defense he pulled down two interceptions for 17 yards and had one tackle.

Freddie Solomon
As Stafford favorite target in their season opener, Solomon caught 10 passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns. He added one kickoff return for 16 yards to lead Tampa in points and all-purpose yards.

Shane Stafford
In his season premier, Stafford completed 28 of 45 touchdowns for 273 yards and eight touchdowns. He converted on three of seven third downs and the only fourth down attempt. He connected with seven players and four of those players had at least one touchdown.

WRANGLERS HEAD COACH
SKIP FOSTER

Head Coach Skip Foster is entering his second AFL season with the Austin Wranglers. Foster, deemed the second most winning coach in arenafootball2 history with a 44-10 record including an ArenaCup Championship, will again act as the Wranglers offensive coordinator in addition to carrying the head coaching duties. After finishing the team's 2004 debut season with a commendable 8-8 record, Foster has built a 2005 team that will take the Wranglers to an ArenaBowl championship. In the team's inaugural season performance, Foster's offense scored 104 touchdowns, an average of 47.8 points per game, led the AFL in total offense for five weeks and remained one of the League's top three total offenses for a total of fifteen weeks in 2004. The Wranglers offensive unit gained more than 300 yards in five different performances and had two 200+ receiving-yard games for AFL All-Rookie Tacoma Fontaine. Quarterback John Kaleo posted career-highs in attempts with 565 and completions with 352. Kaleo passed for more than 4,000 yards for his second consecutive season bringing his career total to 26,077 passing yards. Fontaine and veteran WR/DB Charlie Davidson led the Wranglers receivers combining for 1,959 of the teams 4,045 yards receiving and 37 of the team's 82 receiving touchdowns. Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2-Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster led 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. Foster made history in Tulsa as he became 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 arena football. Foster coached the Red Ravens to six conference championships during his 12 seasons as the head coach. 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.

TAMPA BAY HEAD COACH
TIM MARCUM

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 was the first coach in AFL history to win more than 100 games and has missed out in playing for the league championship only five times in his career. Incredibly, Marcum's AFL clubs have advanced to the postseason in every year he has coached. After Storm owner Woody Kern purchased the team prior to the 1995 season, Kern brought four-time ArenaBowl champion Marcum aboard as his head coach. The Storm proceeded to put together a record-breaking two-year stretch, winning back-to-back ArenaBowls in 1995 and 1996. The Storm combined for a 28-4 mark during that stretch, and put together an AFL record 17-game winning streak from July 1, 1995, to June 29, 1996. Marcum, who also won the 2003 ArenaBowl in Tampa and led the Storm to the 1998 championship game, owns a 103-43 overall record in Tampa Bay. Marcum began his Arena Football career in 1987 as head coach of the Denver Dynamite during the league's inaugural season. Marcum's five-year tenure in Detroit resulted in three ArenaBowl championships and a 50-10 overall record. Like his father, the Snyder, TX, native began his coaching career in the high schools of West Texas. He landed his first collegiate job at Ranger College, and, in 1979, guided the school to the Junior College National Championship with an 11-0 record. As a prelude to his arrival in the explosive Arena League, Marcum's junior college champions averaged nearly 35 points per game. In 1980 Marcum left Ranger and joined the coaching staff at Rice University as an assistant coach. From there he made his entrance into the professional coaching ranks, joining the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL as linebackers coach in 1984 and later being named the defensive coordinator. Marcum was then hired as the assistant head coach of the New York Knights of the World League of American Football. In between stints as head coach of the Detroit Drive, Marcum coached linebackers for Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida in 1990. He then spent the 1994 season as a defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League before Storm owner Woody Kern lured him to Tampa.

WRANGLERS ROSTER NOTES


Key of the game
The Wranglers offensive production was offset by the unit's performance on third and fourth-down conversions. The Wranglers will look to improve on 1-of-7 third-down conversions and 2-of-5 fourth-down conversions this week against Tampa. The Wranglers were able to move the ball well in the middle of the field, but were limited inside the red zone scoring only 50 percent of the time once they got inside the 10-yard line. Head Coach Skip Foster will ensure that his team will capitalize on all opportunities in the red zone and install a solid strategy to convert on critical third and fourth-down situations.

Up and coming
At that Wranglers home-opener there was a new face in the endzone as WR/DB Kevin Nickerson caught his first-career AFL touchdown from QB Bobby Pesavento. Nickerson, who played in as the teams reserve WR/DB behind Charlie Davidson managed to catch two other passes during the game and wrap-up three solo tackles on defense. His encouraging Arena Football debut is an example of the depth of talent on this year's Wranglers football team. Reserve OL/DL Aaron Humphrey also had an outstanding game after coming into the game behind Bryan Henderson. Humphrey was able to land several hits on Philadelphia Soul QB Tony Graziani and ended the game with 1.5 tackles, one pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.

Turning it on
The Wranglers offensive production in the third quarter was highlighted by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Pesavento to OS Tacoma Fontaine. Pesavento moved the ball well completing 7-of-12 passes for 69 yards, but was limited inside the red zone. However, the defense turned up the heat on Graziani, shutting the Philadelphia offense out after a 45-point first half. Two Wranglers defensive backs, Charlie Davidson and Kelvin Hunter, and one jack linebacker, Darrin Chiaverini picked-off Graziani on three consecutive Philadelphia drives.

Short-game success
The Wranglers offense proved most effective on short passes and gadget plays, dinking their way down the field. Bobby Pesavento threw two 22-yard passes, one to OS Tacoma Fontaine and the other to WR/DB Charlie Davidson and averaged about 10-yards per completion throughout the contest. The Wranglers put up consistent numbers in the short-game against Philadelphia whose defense allowed for huge game underneath.

Triple Threat
The three-receiver group of WR/LB Darrin Chiaverini, WR/DB Charlie Davidson, and OS Tacoma Fontaine proved to be a productive combination in the Wranglers first outing of 2005. Combined, the three receivers account for 70 percent of all Wranglers receptions and 184 of the team's 287 offensive yards and three of the four Wranglers touchdowns this season.

On the money
Wranglers kicker Tony Dodson put up impressive numbers in the Wranglers home opener. After Week One, Dodson leads the AFL in touchbacks with five on the season. Dodson also kicked all five of his extra point attempts, making him only one of five kickers in the AFL who posted perfect numbers on PAT attempts in Week One.

2005 AUSTIN WRANGLERS SINGLE GAME HIGHS

Rushing Attempts 4 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
Yards Rushing 17 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
Rushing Average (Min. 3 attempts) 4.2 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
Longest Rush 8 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
8 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Richard McCleskey
Rushing Touchdowns 1, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
Pass Attempts 43, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Pass Completions 27, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Passing Yards 271 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Longest Pass 22 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Touchdown Passes 4, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Passes Intercepted 2, vs. PHI, January 30, Bobby Pesavento
Receptions 7, vs. PHI, January 30, Darrin Chiaverini
Receiving Yards 91, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Receiving Average (Min. 3) 15.6, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Longest Reception 22 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Charlie Davidson
vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Receiving Touchdowns 2, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Kickoff Returns 3, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Kickoff Return Yards 60 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Longest Kickoff Return 22 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Kickoff Return for TD
Total Yards from Scrimmage 91, vs. PHI, January 30, Tacoma Fontaine
Tackles 7, vs. PHI, January 30, Kelvin Nickerson
Sacks
Interceptions 1, vs. PHI, January 30, Darrin Chiaverini
vs. PHI, January 30, Charlie Davidson
vs. PHI, January 30, Kelvin Hunter
Int. Return Yards 9 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Darrin Chiaverini
Longest Interception Return 9 yards, vs. PHI, January 30, Darrin Chiaverini
Interception returned for TD
Passes Defensed 2, vs. PHI, January 30, Kelvin Hunter
Forced Fumbles 1, vs. PHI, January 30, Jeremy Beutler
Fumble Recoveries 1, vs. PHI, January 30, Darrin Chiaverini
Longest Fumble Return
Safeties
Field Goals Made
Field Goals Attempted
Longest Field Goal Made
Longest Field Goal Attempt
PAT's Attempted 5, vs. PHI, January 30, Tony Dodson
PAT's Made 5, vs. PHI, January 30, Tony Dodson
Blocked PAT's by team
Blocked Field Goals by team

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