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Brigade Game Notes

May 28, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rochester Brigade News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Rochester Brigade (5-3) @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (1-7)
Date: Saturday, June 1, 2002
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Site: First Union Arena (8,300)
National Anthem: TBD
Coin Toss: TBD
Officials: Ed Ardito, Referee
James Czajkowski, Umpire
James DeBell, Head Linesman
Wayne Mackie, Line Judge
James Quirk, Back Judge
Radio: WYSL 1040 AM
JC DeLass, play-by-play commentator
Series Record: Rochester leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Rochester- 57, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton- 52
Streaks: Rochester- Won three
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton- Lost one
Coaches: Mark Saunders (9-15, 2nd)
Terry Karg (1-7, 1st)

THE STAKES:

The Rochester Brigade looks to maintain their early success on the road and improve that mark to 3-0. A win would keep the pressure on first place Albany Conquest, as the Brigade maintains a solid second place position in the Northeast Division. The Pioneers look to move out of the basement of the Northeast, improve their record to 2-7 and win their first-ever home game.

HEAD COACHES:

In his second season as the Brigade's Head Coach and first season as the team's General Manager, Mark Saunders has a 9-15 record. This season, Saunders looks to improve upon that record and make a mark in the newly formed Northeast Division. Prior to arenafootball2, Saunders spent eight seasons in college football with the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach Terry Karg enters his first season with the expansion Pioneers. Karg comes to the Pioneers from the Los Angeles Avengers, where he was the offensive coordinator in 2000 and was the Personnel Director in 2001. He currently has a 1-7 record.

THE IFs:

If the Brigade defeats the Pioneers, it would ...
· Give the Brigade a 2-0 series lead
· Give the Brigade a 6-3 record on the season
· Give Mark Saunders a 10-15 all-time record
· Give the Brigade a 3-0 road record in 2002
· Keep the Brigade in second place in the Division

THE SERIES:

In the first game between these two clubs, the Brigade held on to win 57-52 and take a 1-0 series lead. This is the second of three meetings between them this season, and the only meeting in Wilkes-Barre. They will meet for the final time this season on Saturday, June 29, marking the final home game of the regular season for the Brigade.

SERIES NOTABLES:

In the first meeting between these two clubs, QB Matt D'Orazio completed 23 of 32 passes for 229 yards and a season high five touchdowns. He also rushed the ball four times for 32 yards. Leading the rushing attack for the Brigade was game IRONMAN FB/LB Anthony Cleary, who set a team record for rushing attempts in a game with 16 and rushing yards in a game with 48. He also scored a touchdown. WR/DB Derek Baker returned to the Brigade for his first game of the season, catching four passes of which three were for touchdowns totaling 64 yards. He also registered 2.5 tackles and two passes defended. OS Martino Theus caught 14 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. The ADT Defensive player of the game was DS Tyrea Simmons, who had a key interception in the first half that led to a Brigade touchdown. The game MVP was kicker Charles Eger who made his return to the Brigade a good one, connecting on 6 of 7 extra points and a 19-yard field goal.

The Pioneers' leaders include FB/LB LaMonte Coleman, who rushed the ball five times for 39 yards and two scores including a 26-yard rush for a touchdown. Newcomer QB Bryan Snyder completed 14 of 30 passes for 202 yards and five scores in his first game of the season. Another newcomer to the Pioneers WR/DB Bobbie Washington caught four passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns on the night

FAMILIAR FACES:

The North Carolina A&T Connection and team Ironman WR/DB Rodney Bush will continue a second season with Head Coach Mark Saunders. The two will be joined by former North Carolina A&T teammate WR/DB Vonkeith Spencer. Brigade FB/LB Anthony Cleary will be re-united with Pioneers OL/DL Tim Argiriadi. The two played together at Penn State in 1996 and 1997 under the direction of head coach Joe Paterno

LAST SERIES MEETING:

The last time these two teams met, the Brigade edged out the Pioneers 57-52 in a back and forth offensive battle. The turning point of the game was a key interception by DS Tyrea Simmons. The interception allowed the Brigade offense a significant stop in the first half that led to a Brigade touchdown. In the first half the Brigade scored on all six of their possession to take a 38 to 24 lead into halftime. The Pioneers continued to battle, out scoring the Brigade 28 to 19 in the second half; however, didn't have enough to overcome the Brigade to capture the lead.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES:

Date Action Player
5/15 Assigned Jason Hunter
5/22 Assigned Harry Bronson

ROCHESTER BRIGADE INJURY REPORT:

Pos. Name Injury Status
FB/LB Andrew Howard Left Knee Long Term IR
DS Tyrea Simmons Right Knee Long Term IR
FB/LB Lance Ramer Right Knee Short Term IR

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Derek Baker, on last week's victory: "Perseverance... we wanted a little more than they did, at the end."

Head Coach Mark Saunders, "We're winning the close games now, and that's the sign of a good team."

Derek Baker, on sealing the victory, "The ball was moving in slow motion... I knew I could intercept it, but didn't want to take a chance on missing it and having him catch it by luck, so I just knocked it down."

MILESTONES-

· April 27,2002: Rochester Brigade won their first ever "NYS Lottery af2 Cup," defeating the Albany Conquest on the road 32-24 to give the Conquest their first loss on the season.

· April 27,2002: Rochester Brigade Quarterback Matt D'Orazio threw for the most yards in a single game with 313

· April 27,2002: Rochester Brigade took a franchise high, 17 penalties in a single game and a league record 168 yards penalized.

· April 27,2002: Rochester Brigade set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a game with 24.

· May 3, 2002: Rochester Brigade Offensive Specialist Martino Theus set a franchise record for most catches in a game with 14 and most yards receiving with 195.

· May 10, 2002: Brigade set franchise record for most rushing attempts (24) and yards rushing (86) in a single game.

· May 10, 2002: FB/LB Anthony Cleary set a franchise record for most rushing attempts in a single game (16) and most yards gained in a game (48).

· May 10, 2002: QB Matt D'Orazio set a record for longest rush from scrimmage with a 30-yard gain.

· May 17, 2002: QB Matt D'Orazio set single game record with three rushing touchdowns

· May 17, 2002: QB Matt D'Orazio set the franchise record for most yards passing in a single season with 1,554.

· May 24, 2002: Rochester Brigade won third consecutive game, longest in franchise history.

· May 24, 2002: OD Martino Theus broke reception record of 80, with 13 receptions in the game to reach 88 on the season.

DROPBACK:

Last week the Brigade won their third consecutive game of the season with a 42-37 come from behind victory over the Greensboro Prowlers, the longest in franchise history. The win allowed the Brigade to stay atop the Northeast Division and maintain second place. The Brigade trailed 23-21 at the half and were down 37 to 29 heading into the fourth quarter; nevertheless, the solid play of the defensive held one of the top rated scoring teams in the league to nothing. The force of the defense gave the Brigade's offense the opportunity to score 13 unanswered points and win the game.

FORWARD MOTION:

Next week, the Brigade will head on the road to Richmond Virginia and face the undefeated Richmond Speed for the second of three consecutive road games. The Speed currently has the edge on the Brigade with a 2-0 series lead. This is the only meeting between the two teams this season, so the Brigade looks for some revenge and a chance to knock off one of the top teams in the af2.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

Penalties, Penalties, Penalties: Last week, the Brigade showed improvement by only taking four penalties for 22 yards, a season low; nonetheless, they are still ranked 28 in the league after taking 71 penalties for 570 yards and averaging 71.2 per game. The team continues to make progress each week and will need to minimize the penalties in the weeks to come to continue their success. Rushing It In: On the season, the Brigade is ranked second in the league in rushing offense with an average of 43.6 yards per game off of 118 attempts (league high) for 335 yards and 22 touchdowns. Last week, the Brigade rushed the ball 15 times for 30 yards and three touchdown; two by WR/DB Aaron Fix and one by FB/LB Anthony Cleary.

Red Zone Defense: The Brigade continues to struggle against their opposition in the red zone, allowing teams to go 27 out of 30 deep in Brigade territory. The Brigade is currently ranked dead last in this category, allowing their opposition to tally 21 touchdowns and six field goals. Last week, they stopped the Prowlers deep in Brigade territory on four downs to take the ball over and win the game, showing they can prevail when it counts.

Sack Prevention: The Brigade is currently tied for second in the league in this category by only allowing six sacks through the first eight games of the season. Last season, the Brigade finished 27 out of 28 teams in this category to allow 53 including a league record eleven in a single game.

Fix Tops Century Mark, Theus Nears 100 catches: WR/DB Aaron Fix set a milestone last week, amassing 100 tackles in his career. With six tackles against the Prowlers, he improved his team record to 104.5 total tackles in 22 games. On the season, he currently has 27.5 (23 solo) to lead the team. OS Martino Theus set the single season reception record last week with his sixth catch of the game to pass last season's mark of 80. He now has 88 on the season at the halfway point and is only twelve shy of 100 on the season.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Pioneers DS Rodrick Prayer:
Prayer continues his success on defense, registering 38.5 tackles (32 solo) including 3.5 for a loss of 22 yards and two interceptions for 18 yards. He also has one forced fumble and eight passes defended.

Pioneers QB Bryan Snyder:
Snyder has joined the team since the last time these teams met, and in just three games played this season he has completed 51 of 92 passes for 581 yards and twelve touchdowns. He also rushed the ball four times for two touchdowns and has a 98.14 QB rating.

Brigade OS Martino Theus:
Theus, is currently ranked first in the league in receptions with 88 for 962 yards, ten touchdowns and an average of 10.9 yards per catch. He is also ranked first in the league in receiving yards per game, averaging 120.2. Last week Theus set a Brigade record for most receptions in a season with 88 to surpassing Derek Baker's mark of 80. Theus also caught 13 passes for 100 yards and tallied one touchdown.

Brigade WR/DB "Derek Baker the Touchdown Maker":
This season Derek Baker is more than just a touchdown maker he's also defending against them, playing at the two-way position. He has been named game IRONMAN for the past two games and continues to dominate the field. Last week he caught ten balls for 83 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Baker also batted away the Prowlers' last chance to score and win the game with less than a minute to go on a fourth down effort in the endzone.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:

· Saturday, April 27, The New Haven Ninjas won their first game in franchise history, defeating the Mohegan Wolves 51-38.

· Saturday, April 27, Rochester Brigade won first road game of the 2002 season defeating the Albany Conquest 32-24 and taking home the "NYS Lottery af2 Cup."

· Tuesday, May 7, Derek Baker assigned to the Brigade after being waived from the Buffalo Destroyers practice squad.

· Friday, May 10, Peoria Pirates defeat the Quad City Steamwheelers, 81-56 in Peoria to end their 17 game winning streak.

· Saturday, May 11, Tennessee Valley Vipers break the af2 mark with their eleventh consecutive road victory to defeat the Memphis Xplorers 57-46.

· Saturday, May 17, Quad City Steamwheelers won their 25th consecutive home game defeating the Wichita Stealth 68-36.

· Weekend of May 17, The most points ever scored in an af2 weekend combined with a total of 1,608.

· Saturday, May 25, Tennessee Valley Vipers end their road-winning streak, falling to the Pensacola Barracudas 51-38.

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