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Birmingham Steeldogs game notes

July 12, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Alabama Steeldogs News Release


STEELDOGS READY FOR FINAL ROAD TRIP
After another disappointing defeat, the Birmingham Steeldogs are preparing for their final road game of the season. The team will make their first ever jaunt to Albany, Ga., to face Donnie Davis and the South Georgia Wildcats.

The Wildcats are the second division opponent for the Steeldogs in as many weeks. Birmingham's final four games of 2005 are all against South Division teams. Birmingham has not won a division game since a 50-31 victory over Macon on July 31, 2004.

COACHES
BOBBY HUMPHREY, BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS
YEARS IN THE AF2: 6 YEARS AT BIR: 6
OVERALL RECORD: 50-48 (.510) RECORD AT BIR: 50-48
REGULAR SEASON: 48-45 (.516)
POSTSEASON: 2-3 (.400)
RECORD VS S. GEORGIA: 0-2 (.000)

Coach Humphrey returns for his sixth season as the head coach of the Birmingham Steeldogs. He is the longest-tenured coach in af2 football, as well as the all-time winningest. In 2004, Humphrey surpassed friend and long-time rival Kevin Porter as the league's most victorious head man with his 46th win.

Bobby is a 2004 inductee into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He currently resides in Birmingham with his wife Barbara and their five children.

DONNIE DAVIS, SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS
YEARS IN THE AF2: 1 YEARS AT SGA: 1
OVERALL RECORD: 1-2 (.333) RECORD AT SGA: 1-2
REGULAR SEASON: 1-2 (.333)
POSTSEASON: 0-0 (.000)
RECORD VS STEELDOGS: 0-0 (.000)

Davis joined the Georgia Force (AFL) last season for his first coaching stint in 2004 as the Offensive Coordinator. In his first game as Offensive Coordinator, Davis guided the Force to a 72-51 victory snapping a six game losing streak. During the remaining four games the Force averaged 58.3 points per game.

Davis began his Arena Football League career with the Arizona Rattlers in 1997 and guided the Rattlers to an Arena Bowl XI Championship and earned Game MVP honors. After three seasons with the Rattlers, Davis joined the Milwaukee Mustangs and then went on to play two seasons with the Georgia Force before retiring in 2003. He finished his AFL career 701-of-1,108 passes for 8,192 yards and 138 touchdowns. He also rushed for 155 yards on 46 carries and 12 touchdowns.

2005 STEELDOGS SCHEDULE
REGULAR SEASON: 1-12
DATE OPPONENT TIME SERIES/RES.
4/9 San Diego 7:00 L, 57-58
4/14 at Macon 6:30 L, 50-67
4/23 Memphis 7:00 L, 24-60
4/30 at Louisville 6:30 L, 46-48
5/7 South Georgia 7:00 L, 49-69
5/14 at San Diego 9:00 L, 44-77
5/21 at Arkansas 7:00 L, 60-61
5/28 Green Bay 7:00 W, 55-26
6/4 at Florida 6:30 L, 40-56
6/11 Louisville 7:00 L, 61-69
6/18 at Memphis 7:00 L, 32-62
6/24 at Green Bay 7:00 L, 41-69
7/9 Macon 7:00 L, 51-68
7/16 at South Georgia 6:30 SGA Leads 2-0
7/23 Arkansas 7:00 Series Tied 4-4
7/30 Florida 7:00 Series Tied 3-3

GAME INFORMATION:
Date: Saturday, July 16
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
Arena: Albany Civic Center
Capacity: 10,200
Television: None
Steeldogs Radio Network:
Flagship: WJOX AM-690
Play-By-Play: Matt Coulter
Color: Roger Shultz
Series Records: SGA leads 2-0
Officials: Larry Mallam (R), Chris Hughes (U), Larry Neal
(HL), Andy Britton (LJ), Wayne Gualtney (BJ)

STEELDOGS-WILDCATS SERIES
The Steeldogs and Wildcats have squared off twice. South Georgia's franchise was once known as the Cape Fear Wildcats (Fayetteville, N.C.); the Steeldogs first-round opponent in the 2004 af2 playoffs.

August 7, 2004: Cape Fear 54 Birmingham 53 - The Steeldogs traveled to the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville for a first-round playoff match-up with the Wildcats. The Steeldogs had lost four of their previous six games going into the postseason, having been just one regular-season victory shy of clinching a division title weeks prior. The Steeldogs led by 13 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter in what had been a highly-competitive and close game. In the second quarter alone, the lead changed hands six times, including three times in the final 1:51.

In the end, it was Jake Eaton's 9-yard touchdown pass to Matt Burstein that clinched a 54-53 win for the Wildcats. Birmingham's Rhett Gallego missed a long field goal attempt as time expired that would have sent the Steeldogs into the second round of the playoffs. Birmingham was led offensively by QB Jeff Aaron and FB Dontae Walker. Aaron completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 144 yards and four touchdowns. Walker rushed eight times for 32 yards and a touchdown.

May 7, 2005: South Georgia 69 Birmingham 49 - At the BJCC Arena, the Wildcats picked up their first win of 2005 with a 20-point victory over the Steeldogs. QB Ray Nelson, hobbled by a knee injury, completed 16 of 22 pass attempts for 159 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. WR/DB Herman Bell had an outstanding performance, along with OS Detronn Harris. Bell caught eight passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Harris pulled down eight passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Bell's numbers earned him the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game award.

SERIES BY THE NUMBERS
Record vs. S. Georgia: 0-2
Last regular season game: Wildcats, 69-49 at BIR (5/7/05)
Steeldogs' largest margin of victory: N/A
S. Ga.'s largest margin of victory: 20 (69-49 at BIR (5/7/05))
Current streak: S. Georgia has won the last two meetings
Steeldogs' longest win streak vs. S. Ga.: N/A
S. Ga.'s longest win streak vs Steeldogs: 2 (8/7/04 to present)
Most points, Steeldogs: 53 (53-54 at SGA (8/7/04))
Most points, S. Ga.: 69 (69-49 at BIR (5/7/05))
Most points, both teams: 118 (SGA, 69-49 at BIR (5/7/05))
Fewest points, Steeldogs: 49 (49-69 at BIR (5/7/05))
Fewest points, S. Ga.: 54 (54-53 at SGA (8/7/04))
Fewest points, both teams: 107 (SGA, 54-53 at MAC (4/19/03))
STEELDOGS BESTS VS. SOUTH GEORGIA
Most rushing yards: 32, Dontae Walker (8/7/04 at SGA)
Most receiving yards: 110, Herman Bell (5/7/05 at BIR)
Most passing yards: 159, Ray Nelson (5/7/05 at BIR)


LAST SERIES GAME

5/7/2005 - Steeldogs Fall To Wildcats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Steeldogs first win of the season is still at least one week away.

Herman Bell caught eight passes for 110 yards and two scores, but the Birmingham Steeldogs, hobbled by QB Ray Nelson's gimpy knee, fell at home, 69-49, at the hands of the South Georgia Wildcats.

The Steeldogs led throughout much of the first quarter, as Nelson found a streaking Detronn Harris from 16 yards out, putting Birmingham on top 7-0. South Georgia answered late in the quarter, as Bobby Pesavento fired a 27-yard scoring pass to Matt Burstein. It was one of five touchdown passes that the OS from Arkansas hauled in on the evening.

The Wildcats forced a safety early in the second quarter, giving them an eight-point advantage. The lead never changed hands again.

Nelson was injured just before halftime after getting sacked for a one-yard loss. Reserve quarterback Tim Gallahan saw his first action of the year early in the second half. In his second series, Gallahan tossed a short out pass to Herman Bell, who took it 44 yards to the end-zone to put the Steeldogs within 14 points at 42-28.

But the combination of Pesavento and Burstein was just too much to handle, as the pair scored three additional touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Pesavento completed 24 of 33 passes for 228 yards and eight touchdowns. Burstein caught 10 passes for 141 yards and five touchdowns, good enough to earn Offensive Player of the Game honors.

Nelson completed 16 of 22 pass attempts for 159 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Aside from Bell's outstanding performance, Detronn Harris caught eight passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Bell's numbers earned him the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game award.

The Wildcats' Rob Keefe collected five and a half tackles and took home the ADT Defensive Player of the Game award.


LAST WEEK: BIRMINGHAM

7/9/2005 - Steeldogs Can't Conquer Knights
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Johnny Turman completed 24 of 37 passes for 233 yards to lead the Green Bay Blizzard to a 69-41 win over the Birmingham Steeldogs on Friday night at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.

The Blizzard never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a quick 10-0 lead before Alex Walls' 20-yard field goal and Dre Fulgham's 24-yard touchdown reception from QB Roger Linn knotted the score at 10-10. But Lance Taylor's 55-yard kickoff return for a score following the Linn-to-Fulgham connection swayed the game's momentum fully in Green Bay's direction.

Taylor's return touchdown was the first of three for the Blizzard. Green Bay's Brent Holmes raced 55 yards to paydirt with 33 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Blizzard a 31-20 lead. Then, Holmes took the opening kick of the second half 58 yards for a score, expanding the Green Bay lead to 38-20.

Linn connected with Detronn Harris from 23 yards out to pull Birmingham to within 11 points at 38-27, but Green Bay was relentless. Linn struggled against the Blizzard secondary, completing 14 of 29 pass attempts for 222 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown.

Seeing his second significant playing time in as many weeks was backup QB Thomas Ricks. Ricks completed 5 of 14 pass attempts for 43 yards, scoring on an 18-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. However, it was Ryan Bower's interception of an errant Rick's pass that capped off all scoring and put an exclamation point on the Blizzard victory.

The Steeldogs enjoy a bye this week before returning home on July 9 to face division- rival Macon. The game is set to kickoff Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the BJCC Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling 205.715.6000. For more information, call 205.458.8833 or visit Steeldogs.com!


LAST WEEK: SOUTH GEORGIA (from af2.com)

7/9/05 - Wildcats Slip Past Conquest
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Conquest came up short in the end as a pair of last second plays did not bring the club into field goal range, setting up a heartbreaking 57-58 loss to the South Georgia Wildcats.

South Georgia QB Brian Zbdyniewski opened the fourth quarter with a keeper for a touchdown, which was immediately followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Chris McKinney to pull the Wildcats within 51-43. The Conquest then fumbled the ball back to the South Georgia which resulted in a 8-yard touchdown to McKinney with the subsequent 2-pt conversion tying the game at 51. Georgia's onside kick attempt was no good and recovered by the Conquest. OS Jeremiah Pope regained the lead for Albany with his fourth touchdown of the night, opening up a 57-51 lead following a missed extra point. The Wildcats came right back to score a touchdown of their own, a 19-yard scoring strike to WR/DB Adrian Cockfield, which was the final scoring play of the game.

Albany did not look good to start the third quarter digging themselves in a hole with penalties, but they sprang back with a 33 yard touchdown pass to WR/DB Cy Butler. The Wildcats responded with a 30-yard kick return and subsequent touchdown. The Conquest answered right back with a touchdown of their own to WR/DB Quentin Ware-Bay. The Wildcats were then forced into a safety by new Conquest OL/DL Jason Reynolds before a 15-yard touchdown pass to Butler

The Conquest opened the second quarter with a drive resulting in a touchdown pass to Pope. A Wildcats fumble lead to yet another touchdown pass to Pope to put the Conquest ahead early, and then WR/LB Jeff Higgins complimented the drive by running in the two point conversion. The Conquest looked to have forced the Wildcats into a turnover on downs but a 4th down penalty kept the Wildcat drive alive leading to a 9 yard touchdown pass and two point conversion to WR/DB Antwone Savage. Albany then countered with a long touchdown pass WR/LB Manwell Talbert. The Conquest then recovered the onside kick, only to have QB D. Bryant fumbled the ball under pressure giving possession back to the Wildcats. That led to another Wildcat touchdown pass to Savage, but the extra point attempt was blocked by the Conquest's David Dean.

The first quarter saw the Georgia Wildcats came out firing with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Savage on the opening drive. The Conquest then responded with a 25 yard kick return leading to a 9-yard touchdown pass to OS Pope.


COMPARISON STATS AND AWARDS
HOOP'S STAT O' THE WEEK: Steeldogs in the Top 10...
Player Category Stat (Rank)
Detronn Harris All-purpose Yards 175.8 p/gm (3)
Detronn Harris Receptions 91 (6)
Detronn Harris Kick Return Yds. 1121 (3)
Detronn Harris Kick Return TDs 4 (t-1)
Detronn Harris Kick Returns 60-1121-4 (1)
George Williams Int. Return Yds. 83 (t-4)
George Williams Int. Return Tds. 1 (t-5)
Eldrick Hill Int. Return Tds. 1 (t-5)
Roger Linn Interceptions 16 (2)
Roger Linn Yards Per Comp. 12.8 (t-7)


TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Wildcats and Steeldogs match-up statistically...
Statistical BIRMINGHAM S. GEORGIA
Category Stat Rank Stat Rank
Scoring Offense 46.9 12th 45.2 14th
Scoring Defense 60.8 20th 51.3 14th
Total Offense 267.3 9th 279.3 6th
Total Defense 256.5 7th 191.0 1st
Pass Offense 239.7 11th 273.4 2nd
Pass Defense 240.2 9th 191.0 1st
Rushing Offense 27.6 4th 5.9 20th
Rushing Defense 16.3 5th 30.4 19th
Scoring (Kicking) 5.4 t-14th 4.5 20th
Pass Rating 78.5 20th 94.1 16th
Pass Def. Rating 112.6 17th 109.8 16th
Kickoff Returns 89-1557 16th 62-847 20th
MFG Returns 4-85 6th 6-94 12th
Turnover Margin -20 20th -12 18th
Field Goals 5-17 10th 2-11 18th
PAT Kicking 55-74 14th 53-76 18th
Sacks By 13 14th 14 12th
Sacks Against 30 20th 15 12th
First Downs 241 11th 250 t-6th
Opp. First Downs 228 7th 222 15th
Penalties 105-686 8th 111-739 12th
Opp. Penalties 118-763 7th 107-651 8th


OFFENSIVE MVP AWARD (selected by media)
Game Opp. Player
1 San Diego Anthony Buich (San Diego)
2 Macon Chris Johnson (Macon)
3 Memphis Kevin Prentiss (Memphis)
4 Louisville James Scott (Louisville)
5 South Georgia Matt Burstein (S. Georgia)
6 San Diego Kane Claunch (San Diego)
7 Arkansas Robert Kilow (Arkansas)
8 Green Bay Detronn Harris (Birmingham)
9 Florida Magic Benton (Florida)
10 Louisville Rob Mager (Louisville)
11 Memphis Kevin Prentiss (Memphis)
12 Green Bay Brent Holmes (Green Bay)
13 Macon Lionel Hayes (Macon)
14 South Georgia
15 Arkansas
16 Florida

ADT DEFENSIVE MVP AWARD (selected by media)
Game Opp. Player
1 San Diego Eldrick Hill (Birmingham)
2 Macon Anthony Collins (Macon)
3 Memphis Dahnel Singfield (Memphis)
4 Louisville Terrance Harris (Birmingham)
5 South Georgia Ron Keefe (S. Georgia)
6 San Diego George Williams (Bham)
7 Arkansas George Williams (Bham)
8 Green Bay Keon Mainor (Birmingham)
9 Florida Kelly Snell (Florida)
10 Louisville George Williams (Bham)
11 Memphis Dahnel Singfield (Memphis)
12 Green Bay David Crocker (Green Bay)
13 Macon Matt Jackson (Macon)
14 South Georgia
15 Arkansas
16 Florida

U.S. ARMY IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Game Opp. Player
1 San Diego Anthony Griffin (San Diego)
2 Macon Matt Jackson (Macon)
3 Memphis Scott Cunningham (Memphis)
4 Louisville Demetrius Forney (Louisville)
5 South Georgia Herman Bell (Birmingham)
6 San Diego Nian Taylor (San Diego)
7 Arkansas Robert Kilow (Arkansas)
8 Green Bay Herman Bell (Birmingham)
9 Florida Comone Fisher (Florida)
10 Louisville Dennis Fryzel (Louisville)
11 Memphis Deon Giddens (Memphis)
12 Green Bay Lance Taylor (Green Bay)
13 Macon Kamau Jackson (Birmingham)
14 South Georgia
15 Arkansas
16 Florida



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