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Battle Wings Prepare For First Road Swing

April 12, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings News Release


BOSSIER CITY - Keith Barefield's Battle Wings saw a rare victory over Tulsa slip through their fingers Saturday night. Now, they have to take to the road to earn their first victory of the 2005 season.

Bossier's af2 squad heads north for a weekend tussle with Quad City's Steamwheelers in Davenport, Iowa. The Saturday evening match kicks off at The Mark at 7:30 p.m. 'Wings fans can tune in live to KWKH-1130 AM to catch the action.

The team practices at the CTC Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6-8 p.m. before departing for Davenport.

Bruised up might be a good way to describe the 'Wings after their 61-51 loss to Tulsa at the Century Tel Center last Saturday. Holding a 51-48 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Bossier saw Tulsa march 47 yards downfield to get the game-winning touchdown with 4.5 seconds left in the contest. A fumble recovery in the Bossier end zone by the visiting Talons padded the final score.

"We just couldn't get that last defensive stop that we needed," Barefield said after the loss. "It didn't help any that we had those penalties in the last drive that kept them alive. What really didn't help was having three players - three defensive keys - unable to play in that last drive."

The Battle Wings went short-handed early in the game, losing Heard Robinson first to what likely is a season-ending knee injury. McKinley Bowie was lost later in the game when he banged up both his shoulder and quadricept muscle when hit after making a reception. Kevin Washington was sent off the field by the officials after a roughing the kicker penalty was deemed intentional.

Barefield found some welcome signs from his players' performance in the loss as well. WR/DB Reggie Perkins had eight catches for 88 yards in his first game back, adding a team-high 6.5 tackles and two break-ups on defense. Newcomer J'Sharlon Jones finished second in stops with 3.5 tackles on the night. Caleb Slover, who struggled mightily in his Battle Wings debut the previous week, was solid at quarterback with 21-of-33 passes completed for 238 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He added two more scores of his own on the ground.

"We're much better than we were the first week, but we're still not where we want to be by any means," Barefield added. "We need to get a little more time for Caleb in the pocket, and we need to play a little more aggressively in the defensive backfield. We can't give teams free first downs, either."

The Battle Wings return home next Saturday, playing host to expansion Amarillo at the Century Tel Center. Game time for the April 23 contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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