AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Behind the Numbers

Published on May 15, 2002 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


WEEK 7 BY THE NUMBERS:

440 ... Net offensive yards by Tulsa against Arkansas (second-highest all-time)
195 ... Points scored by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (0-6, last place in Northeast Division)
170 ... Points scored by Albany (4-1, first place in Northeast Division)
112 ... Yards gained rushing by Fresno against Wichita (one yard shy of af2 all-time record)
42 ... Points scored by MITCH ALLNER against Arkansas
23 ... Passing yards by Jacksonville in win over Florida (af2 record low)
4 ... Interceptions thrown by TIM LESTER in first five games; interceptions by Lester in last week's game
0.5 ... Yards rushing Birmingham allows per game
0 ... Passing TDs by Roanoke in its 27-23 win over Norfolk

QUAD CITY BY THE NUMBERS: Quad City's 81-56 loss at Peoria last week brought a lot of unwelcome firsts for the Steamwheelers. The 81 points scored by Peoria were the most ever allowed by a Quad City team. The 25-point losing margin also was the largest in team history. In addition, the Steamwheelers, who fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter, had never trailed an opponent by more than 14 points (coming in their only previous loss at Tulsa 5/12/01). The game was Quad City's first-ever in which the Steamwheelers never held a lead. The Steamwheelers' five turnovers (four fumbles, one interception) also were the most in team history. The once-in-a-lifetime type statistics to come out of the Peoria loss lend even greater weight to the Steamwheelers' dominance during their back-to-back af2 championship seasons. Here are some noteworthy numbers from the Wheelers' 41-2 run in their two-plus years of existence:

24 ... Games out of 43 Quad City has never trailed
15 ... Games out of 43 Quad City has led the entire way
12 ... Games out of 43 Quad City has trailed after the first quarter
6 ... Games out of 43 Quad City has trailed after halftime
3 ... Games out of 41 wins Quad City has trailed in the fourth quarter (ArenaCup 2000 and 2001; at Louisville 4/12/02)
2580:00 ... Total game time in Quad City history
2200:16 ... Total game time Quad City has led (85 percent of the time overall)
275:19 ... Total game time Quad City has trailed (11 percent of the time overall)
104:25 ... Total game time Quad City has been tied (4 percent of the time overall)
174:08 ... Total game time Quad City has trailed in 41 wins (7 percent of the time in wins)
101:11 ... Total game time Quad City has trailed in two losses (85 percent of the time in losses)
0:46 ... Total game time Quad City has led in two losses (at Tulsa 5/12/01; never led last week at Peoria)
14 ... Largest-ever deficit prior to last week's 25-point loss at Peoria (21-7 at Tulsa 5/12/01 in 49-47 loss)
11 ... Largest-ever deficit faced in a win (trailed Tennessee Valley 52-41 in ArenaCup 2000, a 68-59 Quad City victory)
8 ... Largest-ever deficit faced in a regular-season win (vs. Bossier City 5/4/01, at Tennessee Valley 5/19/01)

AND THE AWARDS GO TO: This week's af2 award winners are: Tennessee Valley WR/DB REGGIE WORTHY (Offensive Player of the Week), Peoria WR/LB JERMAINE SHEFFIELD (ADT Defensive Player of the Week), WR/DB/KR LINCOLN DUPREE of Peoria (Ironman) and Augusta WR/LB CHRIS JOHNSON (Built Ford Tough Man).

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNTITY, PART I: OL/DL LEON HIRES became the fourth Jacksonville Tomcat to head to the NFL when he signed with a contract with the Washington Redskins last month. Hires called upon new Redskins Head Coach STEVE SPURRIER to help him get the contract. Spurrier, who coached Hires while at the University of Florida, sent a scout down to sign him. It will be Hires' second stint in the NFL, having been with Tampa Bay for a short time in 2001.

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNITY, PART II: Former af2 players continue to make a big impact in the Arena Football League. Among the highlights from Week 4 of AFL action: SHANE STAFFORD (Tallahassee '00) led Tampa Bay to a 66-53 win over Chicago, passing for 243 and six touchdowns with one rushing TD; BILLY DICKEN (Quad City '00) passed for 311 yards and seven touchdowns in Chicago' s loss; CARL BOND (Tallahassee '00) had a team-high five catches for 49 yards for the Carolina Cobras in a 40-28 win at New Jersey; JAY McDONAGH (Quad City '01) passed for 249 yards and three TDs in New Jersey's loss, with two passes - totaling 38 yards - going to JEREMY WILKINSON (Quad City ' 01), who also had a team-high 6.5 tackles; DENNISON ROBINSON (Quad City '01) scored a rushing TD for the Gladiators; JARRAIL JACKSON (Tulsa '00-01) totaled 63 receiving yards and a TD in Buffalo's 49-21 win over Detroit; DWAINE CARPENTER (Rochester '01) led the Destroyers with 7.5 tackles and an interception in that victory; JOJO POLK (Tulsa '00) led Grand Rapids with 4.0 tackles in the Rampage's 69-55 win over Orlando; New York's DONVETIS FRANKLIN (Carolina '01) had 9.0 tackles and a 25-yard interception return for TD in the Dragons' 72-61 loss to Dallas; CORNELIUS COE (Quad City '00) had 5.0 tackles and an interception in Indiana's 45-36 loss at Toronto.

THREE'S COMPANY: With Quad City's loss to Peoria, only three undefeated teams remain in af2: Augusta (5-0), Richmond (6-0) and Tennessee Valley (5-0). Augusta and Richmond go on the road in Week 8 to Carolina (2-3) and Greensboro (2-4), respectively. Tennessee Valley hosts 5-1 Birmingham in an intriguing matchup of National Conference Southern Division powers.

THREE'S A CROWD: Fresno scored 14 points in the final eight seconds to beat Wichita 61-52 on Saturday and earn the first win in team history. With the Frenzy improving to 1-5, just three teams continue their quest for that elusive first victory. In Week 8, Louisville (0-5) hosts 1-4 Columbus, Mobile (0-6) hosts 3-3 Bossier City and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (0-6) visits 2-3 New Haven.

FRESHMAN FOLLIES: The 2002 expansion class went 4-4 in Week 7, with Cape Fear (against Charleston) and Fresno (against Wichita) earning wins against "veteran teams." Week 7's other expansion victors won in wild fashion at other first-year clubs - San Diego beat Hawaii with a last-play field goal and Albany edged Mohegan on a last-second TD. Besides Hawaii and Mohegan, the other expansion losers were Mobile (at Bossier City) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (at Rochester). Bakersfield and New Haven had the week off. Albany and Bakersfield lead the expansion class with 4-1 records. Cape Fear is 3-2, San Diego is 2-3, New Haven is 2-3 and Mohegan is 2-4. Fresno and Hawaii both are 1-5 while Mobile and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are 0-6. The expansion teams' 20-36 combined record includes a 9-26 mark against "veteran" clubs.

MAY DAY: The league office won't be too shocked if teams with Quad City on the schedule lobby to play the Steamwheelers on the second weekend of May. That's when the only two losses in Q.C. team history have occurred . almost exactly one year apart. Quad City's first loss came May 12, 2001, at the hands of the Tulsa, 49-47. The second, an 81-56 loss to Peoria, came this past weekend, May 10, 2002. Steamwheeler faithful might hope for a bye week on that troublesome May weekend next season.

HOME SWEET HOME: The first few weeks of the season had folks wondering, "What homefield advantage?" Home teams went a combined 12-19 over the first three weekends, including a 4-10 mark in Week 3. But the home teams have reasserted themselves over the past month, going 41-22 in Weeks 4-7. With the turnaround, the home teams are 53-41 overall (56 percent).

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Last week's 85-42 against Arkansas began the longest homestand in Tulsa Talons' history. The Talons play five consecutive games in the friendly confines of the Tulsa Convention Center during the stretch. Tulsa owns a regular-season home record of 16-3 over the last three seasons, including 13 straight regular-season home wins dating back to the 2000 campaign.

ROAD SWEET ROAD: Tennessee Valley won its 11th straight road game (dating back to last year) at Memphis in Week 7, breaking the league record for consecutive road wins the Vipers had shared with Quad City (eight in 2000 and two in 2001). The 5-0 Vipers are home to 5-1 Birmingham this week before heading to Pensacola in Week 9. From the irresistible force/immovable rock file, Tennessee Valley visits Quad City in Week 11. The Steamwheelers never have lost at home, winning 24 games in a row entering this week's tilt with Wichita. Here's a look at Tennessee Valley's record-setting road run:

DATE ... OPPONENT ... SCORE
4/12/01 ... at Baton Rouge Blaze ... 47-27
4/28/01 ... at Birmingham Steeldogs ... 51-42
5/11/01 ... at Pensacola Barracudas ... 68-49
5/25/01 ... at Peoria Pirates ... 56-16

6/9/01 ... at Greensboro Prowlers ... 50-30
6/16/01 ... at Bossier City Battle Wings ... 74-44
6/30/01 ... at Memphis Xplorers ... 49-48
7/21/01 ... at Arkansas Twisters ... 56-55
4/6/02 ... at Arkansas Twisters ... 37-28
4/27/02 ... at Macon Knights ... 50-47
5/11/02 ... at Memphis Xplorers ... 57-46

MISSING HOME BLUES: The expansion Mobile Wizards have played five of their first six games on the road, including last week's 65-7 loss at Bossier City that dropped Mobile to 0-6. The last three games have been especially tough for the Wizards, with a 72-6 setback at Pensacola and an 80-18 home loss to Memphis leading into the Bossier City rout. The 31 total points in three weeks is the third-worst three-game span in league history (Greensboro - 19 points and 28 points in 2000). The Wizards became just the third team to score in single digits more than once in a season (Greensboro - four times in 2000; Peoria - two times in 2001) and the fifth team to go without an offensive touchdown in a game (see chart below). DAVID SIMMONS accounted for the seven points against Bossier City with a 25-yard interception return. In fact, Bossier City scored more points (65) than Mobile had total yards of offense (53). Mobile, which returns home Friday for a rematch with the Battle Wings, has been outscored 383-108 overall this year, an average of 64-18. The Wizards will have a new head coach in Week 8 - former NFL quarterback ALAN RISHER replaced CHAD LINDSEY on Tuesday.

af2 TEAMS WITHOUT AN OFFENSIVE TD IN A GAME (ALL-TIME)
DATE ... GAME ... HOW SCORED ... SCORE
3/29/01 ... Peoria at Quad City ... none ... 0-41
5/26/00 ... Greensboro at Quad City ... field goal ... 3-103
4/6/01 ... Louisville at Wichita ... 2 field goals ... 6-43
5/20/00 ... Greensboro vs. Augusta ... fumble return TD ... 7-67
5/11/02 ... Mobile at Bossier City ... interception return TD ... 7-65

SIZZLING STEAM: Since starting the season 0-2, the Roanoke Steam has won four straight games and has climbed into second place in the Atlantic Division. The latest Steam win featured an Arena Football rarity, as Roanoke defeated Norfolk 27-23 despite not having a single touchdown via the pass. Roanoke made two field goals, rushed for two TDs and recovered a fumble for its other score.

HOW'D THEY DO THAT?: The Jacksonville Tomcats also pulled off a win a un-Arena-like fashion. The 'Cats totaled just 95 yards of offense in their 43-24 victory at Florida last weekend. They tallied 72 yards on the ground and a league-record low 23 yards in the air.

ANYTHING BUT 47: The Macon Knights have lost two of its last three games, each time scoring 47 points. The lone win during this span was against Jacksonville on May 4. Want to guess how many points Jacksonville had in that game? Yep, 47.

HIGH SCORIN': The season scoring average continued to climb in Week 7, as the 30 teams in action combined for 1,380 points (an average of 92.0 per game). That's a 16 percent jump from the last time 30 teams played (Week 2). That week saw an average of 79.5 points per game (1,193 points total). Last week's increase shot the season scoring average up to 87.9 points per game.

THE BIG '5-0': In the high-scoring sport of Arena Football, reaching the 50-point mark typically serves as a good indicator of team success. League-wide this season, teams are 51-11 (83 percent) when they score 50 or more points in a game, including a 9-4 mark in Week 7. When teams score less than 50, they are 44-82 (35 percent) . 6-11 in Week 7. Here's a win-loss breakdown of the league by points scored:

2002 ... W-L ... Pct. ... All-time ... W-L ... Pct.
0-19 ... 1-14 ... .067 ... 0-19 ... 2-47 ... .041
20-29 ... 4-25 ... .138 ... 20-29 ... 10-110 ... .083
30-39 ... 13-19 ... .406 ... 30-39 ... 55-108 ... .337
40-49 ... 26-24 ... .520 ... 40-49 ... 118-113 ... .511
50-59 ... 21-10 ... .677 ... 50-59 ... 110-45 ... .710
60-69 ... 18-1 ... .947 ... 60-69 ... 94-13 ... .879
70-79 ... 8-0 ... 1.000 ... 70-79 ... 45-1 ... .978
80+ ... 4-0 ... 1.000 ... 80+ ... 18-0 ... 1.000

NOTE: The lone loss by an af2 team scoring more than 70 points came on June 2, 2000, when the Birmingham Steeldogs defeated the Tallahassee Thunder 86-74 in Birmingham. That contest remains the highest-scoring game in league history (160 combined points).

TALONS DIGGING IN: Over the last three games, the Tulsa offense has begun to click, scoring at least 70 points in its last three contests. Tulsa improved to 6-1 and took sole possession of the Central Division lead and rewrote a large portion of the team's record book in an 85-42 triumph over the Arkansas Twisters. WR/DB MITCH ALLNER, last week's af2 Offensive Player of the Week, set records with six TD receptions and seven touchdowns overall (the other coming on a kickoff return). QBs ANTHONY BUICH and JOE PHEARS combined for a team-record 384 passing yards. New team records also were set for most points (85), most TDs (13), largest victory margin (43), turnovers forced (six) and interceptions (five). A look at Tulsa's turnaround:

Tulsa Offense 2002 ... First 3 Gms ... Last 3 Gms
Record ... 2-1 ... 3-0
Points Scored ... 123 ... 203
Passing Yards ... 546 ... 841
Pass Completion % ... 57.2% ... 65.9%
Total Offense Yards ... 589 ... 919
Kickoff Return Yards ... 84 ... 460
Kickoff Return TDs ... 1 ... 4
Turnovers Made ... 9 ... 1
Interceptions ... 4 ... 9
TDs After Forcing Turnovers ... 5 ... 11

GLUSKI JUST WINS: Cape Fear Head Coach CHRIS SEIGFRIED last week made CHRIS GLUSKI his starting QB and it paid dividends for the 'Cats. Gluski, who was 11-3 as a starter in Macon, completed 16-of-28 passes for 147 yards and three scores, helping the Wildcats beat Charleston 38-19. Gluski is a perfect 4-0 as a starter this season.

SLOVER'S SOLID: Carolina QB CALEB SLOVER led his team to its second straight win with another outstanding performance. Just one week after tossing six TDs on 12 completions, Slover completed 19-of-32 passes for 207 yards and four scores with no interceptions. On top of that, the versatile QB picked up 41 yards on eight carries for three more TDs, setting Rhino season highs in carries, yards and rushing TDs in the process.

CHARLIE'S NOT SORRY: It was hard to tell Saturday marked Pensacola QB CHARLIE PETERSON's first game under center in af2. The Brigham Young University product went 21-of-40 for 272 yards and five touchdowns, all with a ferocious rush in his face. Peterson also spread the ball around - six receivers caught at least one pass in the game. Peterson was pressed into action when Barracudas' all-time leading passer BOBBY CLAYTON retired last week to focus on his high school coaching and teaching career. Despite Peterson's solid debut, Birmingham overcame a 25-7 deficit to win 48-40.

GOLSON ON THE GO: Tulsa WR/DB KEONTA GOLSON earned Ironman of the Game honors for an out-of-the-ordinary effort in the Talons' 85-42 victory over Arkansas. Golson caught six passes for 80 yards, threw a 22-yard TD pass to MITCH ALLNER on an end-around play, netted 54 kick return yards, made 2.5 tackles and intercepted a pass.

RYANS' HOPE: San Diego K RYAN GEISLER, who until two weeks ago was a substitute high school history teacher working on his masters degree, hit a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game to beat Hawaii 52-50. Though Geisler got the glory, the teamwork of all three of the Riptide Ryans contributed to the win. In addition to Geisler's two field goals, RYAN SMITH had 261 all-purpose yards, including a 32-yard kickoff return to set up Geisler's game-winner. Finally, RYAN CUTHBERT caught a 17-yard touchdown and registered 1.5 tackles.

THE SACK KING: Cape Fear's E.J. BURT is the league's leading sacker with 8.5 on the season. This weekend he hopes to add to that total as the Wildcats battle the Norfolk Nighthawks. When Cape Fear and Norfolk tangled in Week 2, Burt registered three sacks.

IN HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: That's the feeling of opposing QBs when they hear the name ALEX HOUSTON. The 6-4, 260-pound lineman has been terrorizing QBs all season. With 2.0 sacks in Albany's win over Mohegan last week, he is up to 7.0 on the season and only 1.5 shy of league leader E.J. BURT (Cape Fear).

SNELL'S PACE: Tennessee Valley DS KELLY SNELL has intercepted a pass in all five Viper games and leads the af2 with seven pickoffs. Snell and fellow DS KENNY BAILEY have combined for 44 tackles, 12 interceptions and 10-pass breakups this year. Bailey intercepted three passes in last week's 57-46 win at Memphis and is tied for second in af2 with five. The Vipers are on pace to record 45 interceptions this season with 14 through five games. The Tennessee Valley record is 29 set in 2000. The league record is 36 set by the Quad City Steamwheelers in 2001.

TOKYO CALLING: Tokyo's KENTA YAGI, a prominent quarterback for the X-League in Japan, is trying to become the first Japanese player to play in an af2 game. The Albany Conquest is taking a look at the 6-foot-1, 195-pound QB this week. Yagi has played for the Renown Rovers of the X-League, currently the highest-level football league in Japan, for the past four seasons. Yagi was also a highly regarded player in college, receiving Most Valuable Player recognition and All-Japan College Quarterback honors.

HEAD GAMES: A week after Fresno General Manager BOB MARTIN guaranteed his 0-5 Frenzy would beat Wichita, promising free tickets to all fans in attendance if his team didn't win, Louisville Team Operator WILL WOLFORD has his own "hair"-brained scheme. Wolford, the former Buffalo Bills' all-pro lineman, has vowed to shave his head should the Fire lose to visiting Columbus on Saturday and fall to 0-6. Adding to the, uh, fun . Louisville radio personality TONY VANETTI has matched Wolford's challenge by pledging to shave his own head should the Fire beat the Wardogs.

NUTT JOB: University of Arkansas head football coach HOUSTON NUTT will serve as honorary captain at the Arkansas Twisters' home game against Memphis this week. Salute the Razorbacks Night, as the game is billed, is part of an effort by the Twisters to show its support for Nutt and the University of Arkansas. The Twisters are offering the members of Arkansas' Letterman Club and all of the state Razorbacks clubs a chance to purchase game tickets, with up to $5,000 from the proceeds going to the Razorback Foundation.

POST POSITION: Admittedly, it's really early, but here's a look at this year 's playoff matchups were the season to end today: American Conference - Roanoke at Richmond, Macon at Augusta, Florida at Tallahassee, Rochester at Albany; National Conference - Birmingham at Tennessee Valley, Memphis at Tulsa, San Diego at Bakersfield, Wichita at Peoria. The first- and second-place teams from each of the eight divisions will make the playoffs, with the first-place team hosting the second-place team in each respective division in the first round. (Quad City is ineligible). In the American Conference second round, Atlantic plays Northeast and Eastern plays Southern. In the National Conference second round, Midwest plays Western and Central plays Southern. (The teams with the better records in each pairing host the second-round games). The second-round winners meet in the two conference championship games. The final two teams will play for the af2 title in ArenaCup 2002 on Aug. 15.

INTERCONFERENCE CLASH: For the first time this season, the ArenaCup is designed to pit the champions of the American Conference and National Conference. In the league's first two years, teams were seeded in the playoffs by record, regardless of conference affiliation. After no interconference games in Week 7, the conferences battle at two sites in Week 8. American Conference member Macon (4-2) hosts Pensacola (2-3) of the National Conference while American rep Columbus (1-4) travels to Louisville (0-5) of the National. Overall this season, the American Conference leads 4-3.

BYE, BYE, BYE: This is the first of six weeks this season that features all 34 teams in action, with no team on a bye. The other full slates come in Weeks 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17.

WEEK 8 SCHEDULE

Friday, May 17
Pensacola at Macon, 7:30 p.m.
Rochester at Mohegan, 7:30 p.m.
Bossier City at Mobile, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Jacksonville at Charleston, 7:00 p.m.
Columbus at Louisville, 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at New Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Florida at Tallahassee, 7:00 p.m.
Roanoke at Albany, 7:30 p.m.
Norfolk at Cape Fear, 7:30 p.m.
Augusta at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Richmond at Greensboro, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Arkansas, 8:00 p.m.
Wichita at Quad City, 8:00 p.m.
Birmingham at Tennessee Valley, 8:30 p.m.
Hawaii at Tulsa, 8:30 p.m.
Peoria at Bakersfield , 10:00 p.m.
San Diego at Fresno , 10:30 p.m.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 15, 2002


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