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Birmingham Steeldogs game notes

April 25, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Alabama Steeldogs News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Birmingham Steeldogs (1-2)
at S. Georgia Wildcats (0-3)
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2006
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Albany Civic Center (8,034)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Rusty Wynn (Referee), Mike Cullin (Umpire),
Jeff Heaser (Head Linesman), Harold Mitchell (Line Judge), Ronnie Stewart (Back Judge)
Radio: WAPI-1070 AM (Matt Coulter and Roger Shultz)
TV: None
Series Record: SGA 2-1
Last Meeting: BIR, 23-20, July 16, 2005 @ SGA
Streaks: Birmingham L2, South Georgia L3
Coaches: Ron Selesky (20-15; 1-1 playoffs, 3rd Season
Overall; 1-2, 1st Season in Birmingham)
Donnie Davis (1-8, 0-0 playoffs, 2nd Season)

THE STAKES: This week the Steeldogs hope to end a two-game skid at Albany, Ga., against the South Georgia Wildcats. Last year's trip to Albany was a pleasant one for the 'Dogs, as Birmingham collected their one and only road victory of the year. The Wildcats are still searching for their first win of 2006 and their second in the nine game era of Head Coach Donnie Davis. Both teams desperately need a win to send their seasons in the right direction.
THE SERIES: After dropping the first game in the series, a playoff loss in 2004 when the team was located in Cape Fear, N.C., the Steeldogs split the two 2005 meetings, winning the second in thrilling fashion on the road.
THE IFs:
If Birmingham defeats South Georgia, it would...
- Even Birmingham's record against the Wildcats
- Give Ron Selesky a 2-2 record with the team, 22-16 overall
- Give the Steeldogs their first road win of the season
- Match the Steeldogs win total from the 2005 season


BIRMINGHAM (1-2, Lost 2)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/8 EVERETT 7:00 W 41-36
4/14 RIO GRANDE 7:00 L 43-44
4/21 @ Louisville 6:30 --- Tied 3-3
4/29 @ South Georgia 7:00 SGA 2-1
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
5/5 LOUISVILLE 7:00 LOU 4-3
5/13 @ Florida 6:30 FLA 4-3
5/20 @ Tennessee Valley 7:30 TV 9-2
5/27 MACON 7:00 Tied 4-4
6/3 @ Everett 9:30 BHM 1-0
6/10 SOUTH GEORGIA 7:00 SGA 2-1
6/17 @ Memphis 7:00 BHM 3-2
6/24 FLORIDA 7:00 FLA 4-3
7/8 @ Rio Grande 7:00 Tied 1-1
7/15 @ Macon 7:00 Tied 4-4
7/22 MEMPHIS 7:00 BHM 3-2
7/29 TENNESSEE VALLEY 7:00 TV 9-2

SOUTH GEORGIA (0-3, Lost 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/8 TENNESSEE VALLEY 6:30 L 50-58
4/15 TULSA 6:30 L 24-46
4/21 @ W/B Scranton 6:00 L 33-36
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/29 BIRMINGHAM 6:30
5/6 @ Macon 6:30
5/13 MEMPHIS 6:30
5/20 @ Oklahoma City 6:00
5/27 @ Florida 6:30
6/3 MACON 6:30
6/10 @ Birmingham 7:00
6/17 GREEN BAY 6:30
6/24 @ Memphis 7:00
7/8 BOSSIER CITY 6:30
7/15 @ Tennessee Valley 7:30
7/22 @ Rio Grande 7:30
7/29 FLORIDA 6:30

HEAD COACHES:
RON SELESKY, BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS
Head Coach Ron Selesky is an Arena Football League and af2 coaching veteran. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Columbus Destroyers in 2005 under Head Coach Chris Spielman. Prior to that, Selesky spent the 2004 season on the sidelines for the Carolina Cobras, beginning the year as the team's defensive coordinator before finishing the season as the head coach.

Selesky earned af2 Coach of the Year honors in 2002, guiding the expansion Albany Conquest to a regular-season mark of 13-3 and a Northeast Division title. He spent the 2001 season as the head coach of the Louisville Fire, leading the team to a 6-10 mark.

Selesky spent the 2003 season as head coach and director of football operations for the Buffalo Destroyers, prior to the team relocating to Columbus, Ohio. He also served as the director of player personnel and assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Storm from 1997 to 1999. With the Storm, his teams compiled a 31-11 regular season record and earned a berth in the 1998 ArenaBowl.

DONNIE DAVIS, SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS
Davis was named the Wildcats second head coach in the team's five-year history on June 14, 2005. Davis served as the Offensive Coordinator for the Georgia Force (AFL) during the 2004 season. 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 them to an Arena Bowl XI championship and earned MVP honors.

After three seasons with the Rattlers, Davis joined the Milwaukee Mustangs for a season 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. Davis ended his collegiate career in 1995 at Georgia Tech in fifth place on the Yellow Jackets career passing list with 3,261 yards and touchdown passes with 22. He also rushed 96 times for 390 yards and four touchdowns. Donnie and his wife Telsie and have two daughters, Chloe and Charlee

LAST SERIES MEETING: July 16, 2005: Birmingham defeated South Georgia, 23-20, at the Albany Civic Center.
SERIES NOTABLES: Birmingham's lone road victory of the 2005 season came at South Georgia in the last series meeting. Birmingham held on for a thrilling 23-20 victory in front of a packed house at the Albany Civic Center.
FAMILIAR FACES:

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
STEELDOGS
Player Rank Category Stat
Kerry Wright 2nd Scoring 20.0 ppg
Kerry Wright 1st All Purpose 199.7 p/g
Kerry Wright 2nd Scoring-TDs 20.0 ppg
Kerry Wright 3rd Yards Per Catch 19.0
Kerry Wright 2nd Receiving Yd/Gm 126.7
Kerry Wright 4th Reception Yards 380
Kerry Wright t-2nd Reception TDs 9
Kerry Wright t-4th Kick Returns 204 yds
Kerry Wright 9th Kick Return Yards 204
Kerry Wright t-2nd Kick Return TDs 1
Terrell Browden 5th Rushing Yards 15.3 ypg
Terrell Browden 5th Yards Per Rush 4.6
Theo Sanders 6th Yards Per Rush 4.4
Ryan Hawk 10th Passing Yds/Gm 258.0
Ryan Hawk 1st Pass Yards/Comp 14.3
Ryan Hawk 10th Total Offense 260.3 y/g
Ryan Hawk 8th Tot. Off Per Play 7.0 y/pp
Ryan Hawk 9th Pass Yards/Attp. 7.2
Alex Walls t-3rd Field Goals Attp 5
WILDCATS
Player Rank Category Stat
Dondrill Pinkins t-7th Rush Attempts 14
Dondrill Pinkins 8th Rush Yards 36
Dan Burnett t-3rd Field Goals 2-3
Dan Burnett t-3rd Field Goals Made 2
Ray Jackson 4th Kick Return Avg 23.8
Blake Saunders 9th Interceptions 2
Blake Saunders t-6th Interception Rtns 2-85-1 TD
Blake Saunders t-1st INT Return TDs 1
Blake Saunders 7th Tackles 20.5
James McCoy 1st Tackles 24.5

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Steeldogs and Wildcats stack up:
Statistical BIRMINGHAM S. GEORGIA
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense t-16th 41.3 22nd 35.7
Scoring Defense 14th 47.3 12th 47.0
Total Offense 8th 281.3 23rd 151.3
Total Defense 16th 283.3 5th 225.0
Pass Offense 12th 249.0 23rd 131.0
Pass Defense 16th 268.7 5th 213.7
Rushing Offense 1st 32.3 9th 20.3
Rushing Defense 9th 14.7 3rd 11.3
Pass Rating 15th 94.9 22nd 56.3
Pass Def. Rating 16th 101.4 11th 96.1
Kickoff Returns t-7th 18-246 t-7th 18-312
MFG Returns 10th 15.0 16th 8.5
Turnover Margin t-5th +2 23rd -9
Field Goals t-13th (1-5) .200 2nd (2-3) .667
PAT Kicking 20th 7-12 (.583) t-13th 5-7 (.714)
Sacks By t-14th 3-12 t-11th 4-28
Sacks Against t-13th 5-27 22nd 10-46
First Downs 20th 47 23rd 40
Opp. First Downs 16th 62 2nd 49
Penalties 13th 30-176 6th 28-137
Opp. Penalties 18th 22-134 10th 33-188

STEELDOGS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
WR/DB Donald Amaker Torn ACL Out (Season)
OL/DL Myron Powe Knee Out
OL/DL Eric Thomas Quad Strain Out
WR/LB Bradly Chavez Knee Out

DROPBACK: Rob Mager caught 15 passes for 208 yards to lead the Louisville Fire to a 62-40 victory over the Birmingham Steeldogs at Freedom Hall on Friday night.
The win was the first in three tries for the Fire this season, while the loss was the Steeldogs' second in as many weeks.
Trailing by only a single point after the first quarter, the Fire shut-out the Steeldogs in the second period, taking a 28-13 lead into the halftime break. The lead was extended to 35-13 after QB Brent Dietz connected with Mager on a 43-yard touchdown pass.
But Birmingham, as has been a characteristic of the first few weeks of the season, took advantage of a strong second half performance to steadily narrow the disadvantage. Wideouts Lawrence Story and Kerry Wright combined for four second half touchdown receptions from QB Ryan Hawk, eventually pulling within eight of the Fire at 48-40. But Louisville produced two late touchdowns to seal the victory.
Hawk finished with 355 passing yards, the second most in Steeldogs history. For the second straight week, FB/LB Terrell Browden was named the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game.
The Steeldogs continue their two-game road swing next Saturday night, traveling to Albany, Ga., to face the South Georgia Wildcats. Birmingham returns home on Friday, May 5 for a rematch with the Fire.
FORWARD MOTION: Birmingham continues their two-game road swing this weekend in Albany, Ga., against the South Georgia Wildcats. After dropping the first two games of the series, the Steeldogs defeated the Wildcats during their last jaunt to the Peach State in a nail-biter, 23-20.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
RYAN HAWK VS. THE WILDCAT "D": Steeldogs QB Ryan Hawk is on pace to throw for more than 4,000 yards this season, which would shatter the Steeldogs' record for most passing yards in a single season: 3,542 by Chris Windsor in 2001. The Wildcats own the league's fifth-stingiest pass defense. One of the two has got to give.

THE ORANGE CRUSH?: For all the steps forward the Steeldogs' defensive line made during the first two weeks of the season, the unit took just as many steps back at Louisville. This week, the impetus is on the big men to confuse the young Wildcats and their shaky quarterback rotation. South Georgia is dead last in the af2 in total offense and turnover margin and next-to-last in pass efficiency.

GEORGIA ON OUR MINDS: If history influences the present, expect a thriller anytime the Steeldogs head east to the Peach State. In eight games played in the State of Georgia, the Steeldogs are 4-4. The combined score of those games is 334-331, a three-point Steeldogs advantage.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:
APRIL 27, 2002: The Steeldogs trounced the now-defunct Columbus Wardogs 69-26 at the BJCC Arena.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Everett Kerry Wright (BIR)
2 RGV Dwight Counter (RGV)
3 Louisville Brett Deitz (LOU)

IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Everett Bradly Chavez (BIR)
2 RGV Terrell Browden (BIR)
3 Louisville Terrell Browden (BIR)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Everett Jordan Brumbaugh (BIR)
2 RGV Bobby Keyes (BIR)
3 Louisville Dwayne Lefall (LOU)

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