Buffalo Destroyers Game Notes

Published on March 11, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Buffalo Destroyers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
TV: Empire Sports Network Jim Brinson and Bob Trimble
Radio: WNSA 107.7 FM
Web: www.buffalodestroyers.com/warzone.html Live Stats and Scores
Officials: Riley Johnson (Referee), Rick DiBernado (Umpire), Neil Brunner (Head Linesman), Paul Engelberts (Line Judge), Bud McCleskey (Back Judge)
Series Record: San Jose leads 4-0
Coaches: Buffalo, Ron Selesky (3-3, 1st season) San Jose Darren Arbet (45-17, 5th season)

THE SERIES:

San Jose 63 Buffalo 35, June 1, 2002 HSBC Arena
San Jose 61 Buffalo 35, May 19, 2000 HSBC Arena
San Jose 83 Buffalo 54, July 22, 2000 Compaq Center
San Jose 52 Buffalo 46, July 9, 1999 Compaq Center

HEAD COACH: Ron Selesky earned 2002 af2 Coach of the Year honors guiding the expansion Albany Conquest to a regular season mark of 13-3 and the Northeast Division championship. The Conquest also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 Arena Cup playoffs. Selesky compiled an overall record of 19-13 in two seasons in the af2 during the regular season with a 1-1 playoff mark.

Selesky joined the Conquest after leading the expansion Louisville Fire to a 6-10 mark in 2001. Prior to his stint in Louisville, Selesky spent one season as the director of player personnel and assistant coach for the Carolina Cobras. He was the director of player personnel and assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Storm from 1997 to 1999. While Selesky was in Tampa Bay, the Storm compiled a 31-11 regular-season record and earned a berth in ArenaBowl XII in 1998.

Selesky played college football at North Central College (Division III) in Naperville, Illinois, where he was a four-year starter at left offensive tackle. Following his college career, he played in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings in 1987 and attended NFL camps in San Diego (1988), Miami (1990) and Detroit (1992).

GAME PREVIEW: Buffalo travels to the West Coast for the first time this season to take on the defending ArenaBowl Champion San Jose SaberCats. Something has to give on Friday, the Destroyers bring the league's number one scoring defense (41.7 points per game) to face the number one scoring offense in the Sabercats (65.5). Cheektowaga native OL/DL Mark Valvo will make his Destroyers debut.

DESTROYERS NEXT WEEK: Buffalo returns home for its first division game as the Destroyers host the Las Vegas Gladiators next Sunday, March 23 at noon at the HSBC Arena.

DESTROYERS RADIO NETWORK: The Buffalo Destroyers will have 13 of 16 games broadcast on radio this season. WNSA 107.7 FM in Buffalo will serve as the flagship station for the second consecutive season. WJTN 1240 AM in Jamestown, NY and WSPQ 1330 AM in Springville, NY will pick up all 13 games this season as well.

Buffalodestroyers.com: For all the latest news on the Destroyers, log on to www.buffalodestroyers.com. During games, click on the Warzone for live scoring and stats.

LAST WEEK: Tampa Bay 52 Buffalo 27

The Destroyers outscored the Tampa Bay Storm 21-13 in the second half but it was not enough as the Storm defeated Buffalo 52-27 in front of 15,848 fans Saturday night at the St. Petersburg Times Forum.

Tampa jumped out to a 14 point lead in the first quarter on two touchdown passes from QB John Kaleo. The first Buffalo drive was stalled on a missed field goal of 41 yards and the second drive was stopped after Buffalo could not convert on a fourth down.

Buffalo came up with a big stop as Storm K Ian Howfield missed a 40 yard field goal attempt but on the next offensive play for Buffalo, QB Jeff Loots was sacked in the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing free kick, Solomon returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to extend the Storm lead to 26-0. Buffalo got on the board with 4:11 remaining in the first half on a FB/LB Juan Long 10 yard run, the extra point was blocked, Buffalo was down 20. The Storm closed the fist half when OL/DL BJ Cohen intercepted a Loots pass and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown to give Tampa a 39-6 lead at halftime.

Buffalo scored on their first drive of the second half on a FB/LB Anthony Hicks one yard touchdown run. Tampa missed a 52 yard field goal on their first possession of the second half but the Destroyers could not capitalize as they went four plays and out. Tampa scored on a fourth down from the two yard line as Kaleo hit WR/DB Alvin Ashley. Tampa led after three periods, 45-13.

Hicks was denied at the goal line on fourth and goal from the one to start the fourth quarter. Hicks got some redemption on the next drive, picking off Kaleo and pitching it back to WR/DB Chuck Wesley who returned it 19 yards for a touchdown. Loots threw his first touchdown of the game to OS Gunnard Twyner. Loots then hit WR/DB Jarrail Jackson on the two point conversion to close out the game.

Loots, in his first game back from a separated shoulder, was 21 of 34 for 190 yards one touchdown and one interception. WR/LB Sir Mawn Wilson led the Destroyers with eight receptions for 78 yards. Twyner had six catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.

DS Dwaine Carpenter led the defense with a game high 7.5 tackles and two pass breakups. DS JoJo Polk added five tackles and one pass defense.

LAST SERIES MEETING: San Jose 63 Buffalo 35 June 1, 2002, HSBC Arena The Destroyers fell at home for the first time in 2002 as the San Jose Sabercats remained the lone undefeated team in the AFL with a 63-35 win over Buffalo.

The Destroyers held the Sabercats high powered offense to only seven points in the first quarter, a Mark Grieb 12 yard pass to Jerry Reese, as the Sabercats led 7-0 after the first period.

In the second quarter, after a Grieb touchdown pass to Barry Wagner, the Destroyers got on the board. QB Jeff Loots, starting for the injured Fred McNair, hit OS Lamont Cooper on a 35 yard strike with 9:10 remaining before halftime, San Jose led 14-7. Loots tossed another touchdown to Bret Cooper, but Grieb did Loots two better and the Sabercats went into halftime leading 28-14.

Grieb tossed two more touchdowns in the third, his fifth and sixth of the game as San Jose pulled ahead 42-21 after three periods.

The Destroyers scored twice in the fourth, a Lamont Cooper one yard run and a Derrick Chachere eight yard run (his second of the night) but they could not close the gap to less than 14.

Loots was 23 of 38 for 271 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions. WR/DB Carlos James led the Destroyers in receiving catching seven passes for 54 yards. DS Dwaine Carpenter led the team with seven tackles.

FAMILIAR FACES:

San Jose QB Mark Grieb, the 2002 AFL offensive player of the year, was traded to San Jose from Buffalo March 11, 1999 for FB/LB Tony Burse and WR/LB Melvin Phillips. Grieb was selected by Buffalo 10th overall in the 1998 Expansion Draft (Nov. 2, 1998).

TEAM NOTES:

Gimme Some Loots: QB Jeff Loots returned to the lineup last week after missing two weeks with a separated shoulder. Against Tampa Bay, Loots was 21 of 34 (62%) for 190 yards one touchdown and one interception. Loots got the start last year vs. San Jose, for an injured Fred McNair, passing 23 of 38 (61%) for 271 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Hometown: Cheektowaga native and Buffalo State alum OL/DL Mark Valvo will make his debut for his hometown team this week. He signed to the active roster from the practice squad this week and will play against the Sabercats. Valvo originally signed with Buffalo as a free agent in the off-season while he recovered from partial quadriceps tendon tears in both of his knees, an injury he suffered with the Indiana Firebirds last season. Destroyers team doctor Marc Fineberg examined Valvo and cleared Valvo to practice last month as Valvo was signed to practice squad on February 27.

Otis, My Man: OL/DL Otis Moore, who signed with the Destroyers this week, currently is tied for sixth place all-time in the AFL with 11 forced fumbles. Ironically, Moore is tied with current Destroyers FB/LB coach Chad Lindsey. Moore is also 10th all-time with 14.5 tackles for loss.

That A Boy, Rook: WR/DB Chuck Wesley made his pro football debut week four @ Georgia posting one tackle and one interception. Last week, Wesley scored his first career touchdown after FB/LB Anthony Hicks intercepted a pass and pitched it to Wesley who ran it in from 19 yards out. He also had 2.5 tackles and a pass breakup.

They Can Play "D": The Destroyers forced a franchise record five turnovers week four @ Georgia. WR/DB Jarrail Jackson and WR/DB Chuck Wesley both notched their first career interceptions in the first quarter. WR/LB Cornelius White picked off a pass in the third quarter returning it 31 yards for a touchdown. Buffalo also forced two fumbles. They are second in the AFL with a +7 turnover margin.

1-2 Punch: The Destroyers DS tandem of Dwaine Carpenter and JoJo Polk rank among the league leaders in tackles, interceptions and pass defenses.

Right On Side: Buffalo returned two onside kicks for touchdowns in the fourth quarter week four @ Georgia. With 3:05 left in the game and Buffalo holding a 49-37 lead, OL/DL Ken Bouie picked the ball out of the air returning it nine yards for the touchdown. After another Georgia touchdown, DS JoJo Polk took the onside kick back 11 yards for another Buffalo touchdown.

Not In My House: The Destroyers allowed only 16 points week two against Carolina. That is the fewest points by an opponent in team history. The previous record was set last season (May 11, 2002) when the Destroyers held the Detroit Fury to 21 points.

Getting Defensive: Destroyers DS Dwaine Carpenter was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in week two's 44-16 victory over the Carolina Cobras. This is the second time in his career that he was won this award. Carpenter was named Game MVP finishing with 3.5 tackles, an interception and four pass breakups. His total of five passes defensed ties his own Destroyers single game record, which he set last season vs. Toronto.

Dialing Long Distance: Buffalo QB Jeff Loots hit OS Gunnard Twyner on a 49 yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half against Carolina week two. That touchdown is the longest pass play in team history. The previous mark was 46 yards, which was done twice (Jim Kubiak to Kevin Mason vs. Carolina on May 18, 2001 and Browning Nagle to Chris Perry vs. Los Angeles on July 14, 2000).

Ironman: Buffalo WR/LB Cornelius White was selected Ironman of the Game week two vs. Carolina and week three vs. Arizona. White missed the season opener with a pulled hamstring. In his first two games with the Destroyers, White caught seven passes for 146 yards and four touchdowns. He added eight tackles on defense including 1.5 for loss.

Long and Short: FB/LB Juan Long has rushed for four touchdowns this season. In his previous four seasons in the AFL, Long had two rushing touchdowns.

JJ is Dy-No-Mite: OS Jarrail Jackson is eighth in the AFL in kick return average at 22.8 yards per return. He has returned one for a touchdown week two vs. Carolina and took another down to the one yard line week three vs. Arizona. Both returns were 55 yards.

Don't Call It a Comeback: On July 15, 2000, DS JoJo Polk, playing cornerback for the af2 Tulsa Talons against the Charleston SwampFoxes, deflected a pass and crashed headfirst into the padded wall that surrounded the 50-yard field. He blacked out. When he came to, doctors told him he would never walk again. Polk had a broken bone in his neck, and doctors said he would probably be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Polk returned to the field the very next season and led the Grand Rapids Rampage in tackles helping them win the ArenaBowl Championship.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 11, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central