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Bandits Ride North to Visit Freeze in Battle of the Unbeatens

April 19, 2005 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Richmond Bandits News Release


Richmond, Va. - After the first week of Atlantic Indoor Football League play, three teams moved forward unscathed. After Week Two, one team is guaranteed to be perfect, with a maximum of two teams carrying unblemished records into the third week of the inaugural AIFL season.

The unbeaten Richmond Bandits visit the undefeated Erie Freeze this Saturday, April 23, at the Erie Civic Center in Erie, Pa. Kickoff is slated for just after 7:15 pm and can be heard live online www.RadioRichmond.com.

Richmond (1-0) is riding high after the opening 66-13 thrashing of the Ghostriders on Saturday night. The win, which went down in the AIFL record books as the first victory in league history, was never in question as the Bandits rode out to a 34-0 halftime lead, which grew to as many as 46-0 before the Ghostriders found the end zone.

Led by the four touchdown performance of rookie Bryan Still (Virginia Tech) and the three score night by af2 veteran Redd Thompson (Virginia State), the Bandits galloped over the ‘Riders defensive secondary. Another rookie, DeAndre Green (Auburn), torched the visitors for 78 yards on just six receptions, an average of 13 yards per reception.

Both Bandit quarterbacks saw two quarters of action, apiece, last Saturday. Arenafootball2 journey man Will Burch (East Stroudsburg), who earned the starting nod out of pre-season training camp, completed 13 of his 18 attempts for 184 yards and five touchdowns. His replacement, Robbie Jenkins, was 8-of-11 for 123 yards and three scoring strikes.

Defensively, the Bandits recorded eight stops in the decisive first half (13 overall), including a goal line stand to help sustain the shutout. The Richards-led defensive unit also tallied two scores in the win. Chris Segaar (Virginia Tech) returned a fumble for six and Richard Rogers (North Carolina Central) picked off his second Travis Pender pass in the end zone and raced 50 yards for the score. Nate Daniels added two INTs in the win.

Fullback/linebacker Mike Davis (Virginia Tech) tallied seven total tackles, including four solo stops, two for loss, and one and half a sacks. He also recovered a pair of fumbles in the win. All told, the Bandits thieved four interceptions and three fumbles for a +4 mark in the takeaway/giveaway category.

The Freeze (1-0) was also victorious in its first match-up of the season, sliding past the Johnstown Riverhawks, 48-27, on the road. The intrastate rivals battled to a 17-14 halftime mark before the Freeze posted 21 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Erie's success starts with their signal caller, quarterback David Dinkins. The Morehead State Univ., product tossed three touchdown passes and ran for a trio in the win over Johnstown.

"(David) Dinkins is a good quarterback, and that's what it takes for an offense to be successful," said Richards. "We'll break down what he was able to do on film versus Johnstown and try to scheme to where our talented secondary can give him fits. But it really all starts up front with our down linemen, who did a good job in the opener of limiting the time in the pocket."

All three of Dinkins' scoring passes went to wide-out, Donte Pimpleton. The 6-2, 210 receiver out of Western Kentucky scored on receptions of 27, 30, and 35 yards, respectively.

"It's a situation where you've got to be wary of Dinkins' ability to run the football, but you really can't pull help off their receivers -- especially Pimpleton to help keep Dinkins in check ‚¬" or they'll throw the ball over your head. But, again, we'll break it down on film and see where our talent matches up the best," said Richards.

Erie's Micah Riley recorded an interception in the game at Johnstown for a defensive highlight for the Freeze.

Just as Saturday night was the home opener for the Bandits, this Saturday evening will be the opener for the Freeze. The heightened anticipation of the early-season showdown between unbeatens should make for an exciting ticket in the northern Pennsylvania town.

"Coach (Rik) Richards is a hell of a coach with a hell of a group of great players there in Richmond," said the colorful Freeze head coach Mike Esposito. "We will work as had as we can this week to play with these guys."

Although they never played each other head-to-head, Esposito and Richards are familiar with each other as both careers include stints in the arenafootball2 league. Esposito spent time in Rochester and with the Cincinnati Swarm franchise, both of which are now defunct, while Richards was in Charleston with the Swamp Foxes and with the Manchester (NH) Wolves.

Kick off between the Freeze and Bandits is slated for just after 7:15 pm on Saturday, April 23. And, again, fans can follow all of the action live on www.RadioRichmond.com. Tim Hurley and Travis Sparrow will have the call on Saturday night.

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