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Bossier/Shreveport Battle Wing game notes

June 14, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Bossier/Shreveport Battle Wings (2-8)
@ Macon Knights (6-4)
Date: Saturday, June 18, 2005
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Century Tel Center (12,500)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: Head Referee
Officials: Referee: Ken Antee
Umpire: Rico Orsot
Head Linesman: Britt Choate
Line Judge: Will McDonald
Back Judge: Christopher Cockrell

Radio: KWKH 1130 AM (Charlie Chitwood)

TV: None
Series Record: 0-1 vs. Macon
Last Meeting: Oklahoma City blasted Bossier/Shreveport 52-17 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
Streaks: Battle Wings, L3; Yard Dawgz, W4
Coaches: Battle Wings - Keith Barefield (7-17, 2nd season)
Yard Dawgz - Jeff Jarnigan (6-4, 1st season)

THE STAKES: Bossier HAS to win to have any kind of chance at the 2005 playoffs. The Battle Wings are coming off an 0-3 road swing that saw them lose at Oklahoma City, at Albany and at Macon. The Yard Dawgz used their victory over the Wings to start a four-game winning streak, improving from 2-4 to 6-4 and fully in control of their playoff destiny.

THE SERIES: This will be the second meeting ever between the two Midwest Division rivals. The Yard Dawgz intercepted four Bossier passes and returned three for touchdowns en route to a 52-17 whalloping of the Wings. Bossier never got untracked at the Ford Center, racking up 164 penalty yards on 14 flags while Oklahoma was whistled three times for 19 yards.

THE IFs:
If Bossier/Shreveport defeats Oklahoma City...
· it will stop a three-game losing streak;
· it will give the 'Wings a two-game home winning streak;
· it will be the first-ever victory over the Yard Dawgz;
· the Battle Wings will be 1-1 all-time against Oklahoma City;
· the 'Wings will have a chance to finish at .500 for the season.

BOSSIER/SHREVEPORT (2-8) (Lost 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/03 MEMPHIS* L 24-63
4/09 TULSA L 51-61
4/16 @ Quad City* L 29-36
4/23 AMARILLO* L 66-86
5/02 @ Rio Grande Val. W 77-69
5/07 BAKERSFIELD L 40-75
5/14 FLORIDA W 28-22
5/21 @ Oklahoma City* L 17-52
6/04 @ Albany L 53-68
6/11 @ Macon L 36-57
6/18 OKLAHOMA CITY* 7:00
6/25 @ Amarillo* 7:00
7/09 RIO GRANDE VAL. 7:00
7/15 @ Bakersfield 9:00
7/23 QUAD CITY* 7:00
7/30 @ Memphis* 7:00

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (6-4)(Won 4)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/1 @ W-B/Scranton L 47-59
4/9 @ Arkansas W 71-48
4/16 CENTRAL VALLEY W 48-41
4/23 QUAD CITY L 43-61
4/30 @ Tulsa L 34-47
5/7 @ Memphis L 38-43
5/21 BOSSIER/SHV W 52-17
5/28 @ Quad City W 56-49
6/4 RIO GRANDE VAL. W 59-35
6/11 AMARILLO W 74-67
6/18 @ Bossier/SHV 7:00
6/25 MEMPHIS 7:30
7/10 @ Amarillo 3:00
7/16 LOUISVILLE 7:30
7/23 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30
7/30 TULSA 7:30
Date Opponent Result Score


HEAD COACHES: The Battle Wings' Keith Barefield is in his second season at the helm of the ballclub and owns a 7-19 record (5-11 in 2004). His impressive resume includes 19 seasons, ten as head coach, at Evangel (Mo.) University where he build a perennial NAIA powerhouse. The Crusaders were nationally ranked each year of his head coaching tenure and qualified for the playoffs four times from 1993-97. Barefield was named the Heart of America Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 1996 and 1997 and during his time at the Springfield, MO, school, he earned himself the title of winningest coach in the state at any level in the 1990's. His record at Evangel was 66-33-2, the best in school history. From Evangel, Barefield moved to the prep ranks at Cornerstone Christian School in San Antonio, TX as the school's varsity coach. In three seasons, the Warriors compiled a 29-7 record and advanced to the state playoffs, including wining the TAPPS 3A Texas state title in 2001 and 2003....The Yard Dawgz ' Jeff Jarnigan served as the Defensive Coordinator in 2004 with the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League. The Wranglers were one of three expansion teams for the AFL and they finished their inaugural season at 8-8. Defensively, the Wranglers tallied 4.1 stops per game and finished 3rd in the AFL in sacks, 3rd in third downs allowed, 8th in turnover margin and 12th in total defense. After a slow start, the Wrangler pass defense held their opponents to an average of 210 passing yards over the final eight games of the season. Jarnigan spent the 2001 –2003 seasons as the defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Tulsa Talons of af2. While with Tulsa, Jarnigan's defense was known for its hard-hitting, high-pressure defense that traditionally finished in the top third of the league in several defensive categories. During Jarnigan's three seasons with the Talons, they accumulated a 44-10 record, won two National Conference Central Division championships and won the ArenaCup in 2003.

LAST SERIES MEETING: Oklahoma City intercepted four Bossier passes and returned three of them for touchdowns in a 52-17 route of the 'Wings on May 21 in Oklahoma.

SERIES NOTABLES: This will be the second-ever meeting between the two ballclubs and the first-ever contest with OKC in the Century Tel Center. Bossier scrimmaged the Yard Dawgz in Oklahoma prior to the start of last season and in May, played the first-ever regular season matchup featuring the two clubs.

FAMILIAR FACES: OKC's Jason Ball was an all-af2 kicker for the Battle Wings in 2004, playing in 15 of Bossier's 16 games...Bossier's Gana Joseph was on the Yard Dawg roster at the start of the year before being reassigned to the 'Wings...

TOP PERFORMERS:
BATTLE WINGS
Player Rank Category Stat


CONQUEST
Player Rank Category Stat



TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how BOSSIER and OKLAHOMA CITY stack up so far in 2005:
Statistical 'WINGS YARD DAWGZ
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 18 42.1 ppg 5 52.2 ppg
Scoring Defense 19 58.9 ppg 7 46.7 ppg
Total Offense 18 232.6 ypg 4 283.5 ypg
Total Defense 20 298.9 ypg 9 268.2 ypg
Pass Offense 18 211.4 ypg 3 271.9 ypg
Pass Defense 20 281.3 ypg 13 255.2 ypg
Rushing Offense 11 21.2 ypg 16 11.6 ypg
Rushing Defense 7 17.6 ypg 2 13.0 ypg
Scoring (TD's) 18 57 TD's T5 74 TD's
Scoring (Kicking) 7 68 pts. T2 78 pts.
Pass Rating 19 80.0 8 109.8
Pass Def. Rating 20 121.8 14 108.9
Kickoff Returns 9 19.5 ypr 4 22.1 ypr
MFG Returns 16 10.8 ypr T11 15.8 ypr
Turnover Margin 19 -13 4 +7
Field Goals T4 8 FG's T4 8 FG's
PAT Kicking 2 .830 12 .794
Sacks By T13 9 8 13
Sacks Against T15 16 T15 16
First Downs 18 156 T9 189
Opp. First Downs 20 205 6 175
Penalties 15 68.0 ypg 18 73.6 ypg
Opp. Penalties 19 45.1 ypg 3 73.1 ypg

BATTLE WINGS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
DS Robinson Right Knee LT-IR
OL/DL Phillips Left Knee LT-IR


BAREFIELD BITES:

Battle Wings head coach Keith Barefield on the loss at Macon: "I think that was a game that was highlighted by special teams play. You definitely have to give them credit for what they did on the missed FG's. That was the big difference. We had one kick return for a touchdown, but had another called back on a penalty. That hurt us."

Barefield on Brian Hazelwood's drop-kicks: "It's definitely a special team advantage for us when we have someone as accurate as him (Hazelwood) for the drop-kick conversions. We haven't used him for a four-point field goal yet, but that could happen any time. with his ability to convert those drop-kics, it gives us the advantage over a team that has to line up and run a play to get two."

Barefield on the Battle Wings' offense: "One of the things about our offense is that it has been efficient. We seem to score more points with fewer yards, and fewer points when we earn more yardage. It was definitely disappointing and somewhat frustrating to lose like we did to Macon. That game boiled down to special teams play and that on two consecutive drives, we threw it away on fourth down and threw an interception on the other. Both of those situations were deep in their end of the field, where we normally score 75-80 per cent of the time."

Barefield on the rematch with OKC: "They definitely took it to us up there. They're special teams got things rolling for them, then their defense was very aggressive, especially in the second half, and forced us into a bunch of mistakes. Our game plan is to be better prepared for what they're going to throw at us...."

HOME SWEET HOME? The Battle Wings return to the Century Tel Center for the first time since mid-May when they shocked Florida 28-22. Bossier is just 1-4 in the confines of the CTC this season, but can make a two-game winning streak there if it can knock off Oklahoma City.

SOMEBODY'S GONNA HAVE A BIG NIGHT: It has become inevitable. Someone from either team involved in a Battle Wings' game has won one of the af2's weekly "Player of the Week" honors in nine of the 10 Bossier games played this season. Memphis' Khreem Smith, Tulsa's Ahmad Willis and Matt Forbes took ADT Defensive Player of the Week honors from their efforts against the 'Wings in the first three games of the year, then Amarillo's Julian Reese was named the Offensive Player of the Week in Game 4. Bo Smith won the offensive honors for his performance against Rio Grande Valley, then it was Bakersfield's Nathan Munson who took the U.S. Army Ironman of the Week accolades for his performance against Bossier in Game 6. Batte Wing FB/LB Joe Wesley was named the league's top two-way player (Ironman Award) following the victory over Florida. In Week 10, Albany QB D Bryant earned the Offensive award while Macon's Matt jackson was named the Ironman Award winner for last week. Only in Week 8, when the Battle Wings lost at Oklahoma City and in Week 9 when the 'Wings were off did players involved in some other contest sweep the trio of weekly awards.

SOME HOLIDAY: While the rest of America celebrated Flag Day on June 14, the Battle Wings might be forgiven if they thought the holiday was celebrated on May 21 when they last visited Oklahoma City. Bossier/Shreveport was flagged 14 times for 164 yards in penalties when they last played the Yard Dawgz while Oklahoma City was whistled just three times for 19 yards in penalties. Two of the Yard Dawg fouls were called in the final three minutes of a 52-17 Oklahoma City win.

FORWARD MOTION: It's yo-yo time for the 'Wings the rest of the season. After the home game against OKC, Bossier heads to Amarillo for a rematch with the Dusters on June 25. They'll return home to face Rio Grande Valley on July 9 following the league-wide off-week, then head to Bakersfield for a Friday, July 15 date with the Blitz. Bossier wraps up the home schedule on July 23 against Quad City, then finishes out the regular season at Memphis July 30.

PERFECT 10'S: A total of five Battle Wings have played in each othe team's 10 games this season - kicker Brian Hazelwood, WR/DB Adrian Burnette, OL/DL Quincy Myles, FB/LB Joe Wesley and OL/DL Darrick Sanders.

HOWDY FOLKS: The Battle Wings will introduce six new players to Century Cel Center fans when they take the field Saturday night. Chris Highshaw, Ty Ardoin, Markus Pratt, Jodie Cantu, Steven Izevbizua and Ederick Coleman will be wearing the home whites for the first time this season. Pratt won't be such a stranger, however, having played for the Battle Wings during the entirety of the 2004 season.

DROP THIS! Battle Wing place-kicker Brian Hazelwood is second all-time in af2 history for converting drop-kick two-point conversions, having made seven-of-eight entering Saturday's game against Oklahoma City. He missed on his first attempt at Macon last week, but got a reprieve with a Macon penalty and nailed the kick in his second attempt. He then converted another two-pointer before hitting an upright on his third and final attempt against the Knights. Hazelwood's teammates will have to go on a scoring explosion for the remainder of the season for him to have a chance at the league record - Tallahassee's Phil Setterquist set the mark in 2001, converting 60 of the two-point drop-kicks in 86 attempts.



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