Sports stats

Battle Wings shock Yard Dawgz

June 19, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings News Release


BOSSIER CITY, LA - The Bossier/Shreveport Battle Wings got one big defensive stand after another and scored touchdowns on five consecutive second-half possessions in earning a 54-46 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. Bossier held the Dawgz (6-5) to just seven points during the decisive second and third quarters, taking the lead 26-19 on a four-yard Tim Hicks-to-Reggie Perkins pass with 10:05 left in the third. The Battle Wings never lost their only lead of the night the rest of the way.

The victory by the Wings (3-8) snapped a three-game losing skid - all those losses on the road - and started a modest two-game winning streak at the Century Cel Center. Bossier's last game at home was against Florida on May 14, a 28-22 win over the defending ArenaCup champions. The win also kept Bossier's playoff hopes alive with five games left in the season.

"I told the guys afterward how proud I was of their effort tonight," said Bossier head coach Keith Barefield. "We had a couple of news guys in there (OL/DL Antwan Lawrence and OS Kenneth Johnson) that really helped out. We didn't make any stupid mistakes and we put some consistent pressure on them (OKC) up front when they had the ball."

Oklahoma City drew first blood on the game's first offensive play. After Jarrail Jackson returned the opening kickoff to the Yard Dawgz 17, Craig Strickland hooked up with a wide-open Al Hunt on a 33-yarder over the middle. Jason Ball missed the PAT though and OKC led 6-0.

Bossier responded on its first possession with a 43-yard Brian Hazelwood field goal at the 9:40 mark to make it 6-3 OKC, then the Dawgz padded their advantage by driving 44 yards for another touchdown. Eric Butler, the bruising 317-pound Yard Dawg fullback, finished off the eight-play drive with a two-yard scoring plunge that set up a 13-3 Oklahoma City lead.

The Battle Wings trimmed the visitor's lead to three points again with 1:46 remaining in the opening period on Hicks' 22-yard scoring strike to first-game rookie Kenneth Johnson. Hazelwood missed on the extra point to keep the score 13-9, then on the ensuing kickoff, watched Oklahoma's Jackson make every other Battle Wing miss on his way to a 55-yard return, giving the Yard Dawgz a 19-9 lead.

Jackson's kick return would be the high-water mark for Oklahoma City.

Hazelwood missed a long field goal to start the Wings' second quarter, then the Bossier defense came up with the first big play of the night. On OKC's fourth-and-one at the Bossier 24, Quincy Myles knocked the ball free from Al Hunt, and after a mad scramble back across mid-field, Aaron Frazier scooped it up to advance four yards to the Yard Dawg 12. Tim Hicks immediately found Perkins, bringing the 'Wings within 19-16 following Hazelwood's kick.

Bossier stopped the Dawgz on downs in the next two OKC possessions, halting drives at the Battle Wing three and seven. (Ironically, Bossier made back-to-back goal-line stands to open the 52-17 loss at Oklahoma on May 21.) The 'Wings couldn't take advantage of the first opportunity, but had enough time to drive downfield for a 23-yard Hazelwood field goal that tied the game 19-19 as first-half time expired.

Bossier shut out Oklahoma City in the second quarter, then the 'Wings went immediately to work in the third, scoring on the first possession of the second half with a 38-yard drive culminated by Perkins' four-yard sliding grab of Tim Hicks' pass in the OKC end zone. Up 26-19 after Hazelwood's PAT, Bossier forced another fumble and expanded its lead to 33-19 on another Hicks-to-Perkins hook-up, this one from 21 yards out and again only two plays after the turnover. Oklahoma City pulled within a touchdown on B.J. Barre's nine-yard rumble, but Bossier struck again with 3:30 remaining in the third on Adrian Burnette's 33-yard grab-and-run for a 40-26 Battle Wing lead.

The Bossier defense stopped another Yard Dawg drive to start the fourth quarter, then Hicks and Company paid the dividend. Perkins hauled in his fourth and final TD pass of the night from eight yards out to give the 'Wings a 47-26 lead that ended up being too much for OKC to overcome.

The Yard Dawgz made it close in the game's final minutes, scoring on their final three possessions, but Hicks' two-yard plunge with 5:19 proved to be the back-breaker.

Oklahoma City had the advantage in total yardage, 299-235, but the combination of three defensive stops and two fumbles was the visitors' undoing. Bossier lost the ball just once, but the fumble came late and only permitted the Dawgz to score their final TD with 00:19 seconds left.

Perkins led all receivers with 10 catches for 119 yards, earning Offensive Player of the Game honors that were further augmented by his four kick returns for 56 more yards. Burnette (70 yards) and Johnson (46 steps) each pulled down four receptions with a TD apiece. Hicks threw for 235 yards on the night and six TD's, completing 18-of-34 without an interception.

Bossier DS Gana Joseph led the 'Wings in tackles with 6.5 (5 solo) with fellow specialist Ray Johnson finishing with five stops (4 solo). The Battle Wings' defensive unit produced 10 pass break-ups - four coming at the line of scrimmage. Myles and Canary Knight each batted a pass away while Joe Wesley slapped down two Strickland heaves.

Wesley was named the game's ADT Defensive Player of the Game while Burnette earned U.S. Army Ironman honors.

Oklahoma City's Strickland also completed 18 passes but out of 40 attempts, racking up 258 yards and a pair of touchdown tosses. Barre also threw for a score on a flea-flicker to Carlos Johnson late in the fourth.

Brandon Daniels led all Yard Dawgz receivers with six catches for 86 yards, followed closely by Barre's five grabs for 83 steps. OS Jarrail Jackson had a fine night returning kick-offs, bring back eight for 201 yards and the lone TD. He also had three receptions for 29 yards on the night to finish as the game's leading all-purpose gainer.

OKC's Rickie Davis led all defenders with seven tackles (all solo).

Bossier travels to Amarillo next week while the Yard Dawgz head home for a Saturday date with the Midwest Division-leading Memphis Xplorers.



arenafootball2 Stories from June 19, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central