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Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings game notes

July 6, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Bossier/Shreveport Battle Wings (3-9)
@ Amarillo Dusters (7-4)
Date: Saturday, July 9, 2005
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Century Tel Center (4,870)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: Head Referee
Officials: Referee: Fred Wiedower
Umpire: Ben Young
Head Linesman: Dick Wittenberg
Line Judge: Chris Jamison
Back Judge: Brad Freeman

Radio: KWKH 1130 AM (Charlie Chitwood)

TV: None
Series Record: Bossier/Shreveport leads all-time series, 2-0.
Last Meeting: The Battle Wings earned their first victory of the year in Hidalgo, TX, knocking off Rio Grande Valley 77-69 on May 2.
Streaks: Battle Wings, L1; Dorados, W3
Coaches: Battle Wings - Keith Barefield (8-20, 2nd season)
Dorados - Kevin Guy (47-18, career, 1st season at RGV)

THE STAKES: Bossier City/Shreveport is still alive in the af2 playoff hunt, but the local squad is going to have to get a lot of help. The Wings have to win their remaining four games and somehow see Quad City and Central Valley (both 6-6) go winless in July. On top of that, Bossier needs both Bakersfield and San Diego to go no better than 2-2 over the remaining four games...Rio Grande Valley, an expansion team in 2004, appears assured of a first-ever post-season trip. The Dorados (8-4) are tied with Tulsa atop the National Conference West Division, but presently own the tie-breaker between the two with a 65-64 victory over the Talons in South Texas. Those two teams will play again in Oklahoma next week.

THE SERIES: Last year, the expansion Dorados took the Battle Wings into overtime at the Century Tel Center before losing 66-59. Rio Grande Valley finished its inaugural campaign with a promising 6-10 mark, then recruited the highly-regarded Guy to take over as head coach. The former Tennessee Valley coach was none too happy about his team's performance at home against Bossier in May, when the Battle Wings clawed out a 77-69 victory - their first of the year. That contest also marked the debut of Bossier defensive coordinator Mike Green, who was promoted to the post after the Wings went 0-4 to start the season while allowing an average of 61.5 points per game. The Black-and-Silver Gang has taken more than a touchdown off that figure in the eight games since...

THE IFs:
If Bossier/Shreveport defeats Rio Grande Valley...
- the Wings will have three straight victories at home;
- it will be the third victory all-time against the Dorados without a loss;
- it will give the Wings their first series sweep of the year (last occurred in 2002 vs. Peoria);
- it will be Wings second victory in last three games;
- the Battle Wings will sweep a Kevin Guy-coached team for the first time;
- the Wings could knock RGV out of first place in the National Conference West Division race (co-leader Tulsa plays at Memphis);
- Brent Rawls will have won his first game as starting QB since high school.

BOSSIER/SHREVEPORT (3-9) (Lost 1)
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* W 54-46
6/25 @ Amarillo* L 38-51
7/09 RIO GRANDE VAL. 7:00
7/15 @ Bakersfield 9:00
7/23 QUAD CITY* 7:00
7/30 @ Memphis* 7:00

Rio Grande Valley Dorados (8-4)(Won 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/9 LOUISVILLE L 56-42
4/16 @ Florida L 62-30
4/22 @ Bakersfield W 40-32
5/2 BOSSIER/SHREVE L 69-77
5/7 SAN DIEGO W 51-45
5/14 @ Central Valley W 61-51
5/21 WILKES/BARRE-SCR W 52-49
5/28 @ South Georgia W 39-37
6/4 @ Oklahoma City L 35-59
6/11 TULSA W 65-64
6/18 CENTRAL VALLEY W 55-36
6/24 @ San Diego W 65-58
7/9 @ Bossier/Shreve 7:00
7/16 @ Tulsa 7:00
7/23 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:30
7/30 BAKERSFIELD 7:30


HEAD COACHES: The Battle Wings' Keith Barefield is in his second season at the helm of the ballclub and owns an 8-20 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....Kevin Guy might be with a second-year franchise, but he's no newbie to the league. Guy coached the Tennessee Valley Vipers to a 39-9 record over the last three seasons, jumping ship for Texas when the Snakes left the league. The 2003 af2 Coach of the Year has had his successes against the Battle Wings, too. Guy's Vipers went 4-0 against Bossier during the 2003-04 seasons, but with his new outfit, he's looking for a rare first-ever victory over Bossier. Guy could make a little history tonight at the Century Tel Center - should RGV earn a victory and Birmingham (1-11) loses at home to Macon, the RGV skipper will tie the Steeldogs' Bobby Humphrey as the league's all-time winningest coach (48 victories)...

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Battle Wings earned their first-ever victory over a Kevin Guy-coached team, holding on for a 77-69 win in Hidalgo on May 2. The victory was the first of the year for Bossier and also gave just-promoted defensive coordinator Mike Green a successful debut. Tim Hicks threw for 232 yards and 8 TD's, including five scoring strikes to Bo Smith. Smith had another monster night against the Dorados, plucking six passes for 116 yards and returning six KO's 162 yards, including one for 56 yards and a Bossier score. The two teams piled up a whalloping 66 points in the second quarter alone en route to the high-scoring finale. The Wings battled back from a 46-41 halftime deficit and ironically for the game, made just enough defensive stops in the second half to force a FG attempt and then halt RGV in the game's final drive. Hicks, who connected on 17 of 27 passes on the night, also scored a pair of rushing TD's to have a hand in 10 scores for Bossier...Rio Grande Valley's Josh Kellett threw for 390 yards and 8 TD's of his own, hooking up with Dwight Counter 10 times for 188 yards and 4 TD's...

SERIES NOTABLES: Bossier has yet to lose to Rio Grande Valley, an expansion team in 2004. Last year, the Wings earned their first victory over RGV in a 66-59 overtime thriller, then won in their Hidalgo, TX debut this past May. The Dorados are the only team on the 2005 slate that Bossier has a winning record against all-time...

KEY MATCH-UPS: The Battle Wings are going to have to contend with the strong arm of RGV milker Josh Kellett again and hold him perhaps to a bit less than the 390 passing yards he heaped together in the team's last match-up. Three dangerous receivers - Travis Mcalpine, Dwight Counter and Marquis Floyd - have teamed to post more than 2,200 receiving yards and score 42 TD's. Bossier's secondary will need help up front from a re-constructed defensive line to slow down the Dorados, who average nearly 260 yards offense per game...The Battle Wings may be without Bo Smith, but two-way standout Reggie Perkins will give new starting QB Brent Rawls a frequent target. "Bunkie" had taken over the team lead in receiving with 68 grabs for 776 yards and 16 TD's, moving within three receiving scores of Bo Smith (19)...Chris Highshaw hasn't had a lot of catches since joining the team, but he's making the most of them - all three have been for TD's...

TOP PERFORMERS:
BATTLE WINGS
Player Rank Category Stat
B. Hazelwood, K 125 Kick ScoringField GoalsPAT Kick % 89 pts.10.839
Tim Hicks, QB 4 Rushing TD's 11
DORADOS
Player Rank Category Stat



TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how BOSSIER and RIO GRANDE VALLEY stack up so far in 2005:
Statistical 'WINGS DORADOS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 19 42.6 ppg 9 50.3 ppg
Scoring Defense 19 57.2 ppg 14 52.2 ppg
Total Offense 19 231.8 ypg 11 257.8 ypg
Total Defense 20 295.8 ypg 11 264.8 ypg
Pass Offense 17 214.9 ypg 10 237.0 ypg
Pass Defense 20 278.1 ypg 10 245.6 ypg
Rushing Offense 13 16.9 ypg 10 20.8 ypg
Rushing Defense 7 17.8 ypg T10 19.2 ypg
Scoring (TD's) 19 69 TD's T12 80 TD's
Scoring (Kicking) 7 86 pts. 1 98 pts.
Pass Rating 17 85.1 14 95.4
Pass Def. Rating 18 117.7 8 97.8
Kickoff Returns 10 19.5 ypr 14 18.4 ypr
MFG Returns 18 4/43 yds. 6 8/145 yds.
Turnover Margin 17 -10 T7 +3
Field Goals 2 10 FG's 1 15 FG
PAT Kicking 4 .824 2 .855
Sacks By T16 11 T4 19
Sacks Against 17 20 T5 12
First Downs 19 185 6 232
Opp. First Downs 19 240 5 207
Penalties 13 63.9 ypg 17 68.6 ypg
Opp. Penalties T18 45.4 ypg 9 56.1 ypg

BATTLE WINGS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
DS Robinson Right Knee LT-IR
OL/DL Phillips Left Knee LT-IR
FB/LB Clark ACL Sprain ST-IR
DS Johnson Broken hand

BAREFIELD BITES:

Battle Wings head coach Keith Barefield on the loss at Amarillo: "That was a tough game and a tough loss. W thought we had an opportunity to go in there and do something with them (Amarillo) having to start their backup, but their defense really stepped up and probably played their best game of the year."

Barefield on the impending start of Brent Rawls at QB instead of Tim Hicks: "Our record makes this change a little easier to make at this point of the season. Nothing against Tim at all - he's a fine quarterback - but we do have to look forward a bit more than the four games we have left. Brent Rawls has worked hard all season and done everything we've asked of him. It's been some time since he's started a game, but that's not much of a concern knowing what he can do with a football."

Barefield on the Reggie Perkins' effort against Amarillo: "He didn't leave an ounce of energy on that field. For him to play as much as he did, as long as he did and to have such a good game, it's no wonder he received the league's Ironman award. We were a little worried about him after the game (when he was taken to a local hospital to receive intravenous fluids), but he's a tough kid and he's alright."

Barefield on the rematch with Rio Grande Valley: "It would be nice to get another win over them. Kevin Guy is a good coach and they're on a little bit of a roll. We had to pull out every stop to beat them in Texas and I don't imagine any less effort would be rewarded with a victory here in our own arena."

FORWARD MOTION: The Battle Wings head west to the streets of Bakersfield next week in the 2005 rematch against the Blitz. Bossier dropped the first-ever game played between the two franchises 75-40, one week after earning the season's first win at Rio Grande Valley. Bakersfield has struggled for victories since that night as well and has lost four of its last five games. The Blitz only plays three non-division opponents this year, with two of those four games against the Battle Wings. Bakersfield plays rivals Central Valley and San Diego four times each...

HOW ABOUT A DOZEN, COUSIN? Five Battle Wings have played all 12 games to date - FB/LB Joe Wesley, OL/DL Quincy Myles and Darrick Sanders and K Brian Hazelwood.

DROP THIS! Battle Wing place-kicker Brian Hazelwood is second all-time in af2 history for converting drop-kick two-point conversions, having made eight-of-eleven entering Saturday's game against Rio Grande Valley. At Amarillo, Hazelwood has his roughest night of the year, missing three FG's (two blocked) and having two of this three drop-kick PAT's blocked. 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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