Central Valley Coyotes game notes

April 28, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


(Fresno, CA) – Central Valley returns back home after their Week 4 loss to the San Diego Riptide 34-59. The Coyotes will host the Peoria Pirates (1-3) at Selland Arena Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. Peoria currently leads the all-time series, 2-1, but the Coyotes defeated the Pirates, 45-35 last year at home.

The Coyotes defense played tremendously, allowing only 253 yards of total offense including an interception and a goaline stance. The Coyotes offense put up 194 yards of total offense, but 5 turnovers seemed to be the downfall for Central Valley.

Offensive specialist Kenyatte Morgan returned his second kickoff for a touchdown in just as many weeks. He tallied 7 returns for 197 yards, and hauled in 7 receptions for 71 yards in the loss to San Diego. Morgan is currently ranked third in the af2 in all-purpose yards and 4th in kickoff return average.

The Coyotes are surrounded by a lot of new faces on the field as well as in the front office. After current Operator and CEO George Chung along with the Tachi Yokut Tribe moved the Bakersfield franchise to Fresno, CA, their first move was to hire former San Diego Riptide Head Coach Cree Morris. Morris will lead the 2004 Coyotes into the season on the quest for the 2004 ArenaCup.

Date: Saturday, May 1, 2004

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PST

Site: Selland Arena (artificial turf)

Capacity: 8,300

THIS WEEK'S PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Monday, April 26 6:00 p.m. Open Practice at Selland Arena

8:00 p.m. Coach Morris available to media

Player's available coming off the field

Tuesday, April 27 6:00 p.m. Open Practice at Selland Arena

8:00 p.m. Coach Morris available to media

Player's available coming off the field

Wednesday, April 28 6:00 p.m. Open Practice at Selland Arena

8:00 p.m. Coach Morris available to media

Player's available coming off the field

Thursday, April 29 6:00 p.m. Open Practice at Selland Arena

8:00 p.m. Coach Morris available to media

Player's available coming off the field

Friday, April 30 6:00 p.m. Open Practice at Selland Arena

Coach Morris available to media

Player's available coming off the field

Saturday, May 1 7:30 p.m. Central Valley Coyotes vs. Peoria Pirates

Sunday, May 2 --closed meeting no availability--

Monday, May 3 3:00 p.m. Coach Morris Press Conference

HEAD COACHES

Cree Morris takes over at the helm of the Central Valley Coyotes franchise, after spending the past two seasons with the San Diego Riptide. Morris will have the tasks of leading the Coyotes back to the West Division title, and getting the franchise past the first round of the playoffs. Morris has surrounded himself with an incredible coaching staff in assistant head coach, Fred Biletnikoff Jr., defensive coordinator Doug Murray and line coach Sean Kelly.

As the Riptide's first head coach and former Orange Glen High School quarterback Cree Morris, has playing

experience with the NFL, Arena Football League and the World League. Morris also played collegiate football with San Diego State and St. Mary's College.

Morris, 32, led Orange Glen to a 12-1 record his senior year in 1988, finishing second in the state in passing with over 3,000 yards and 30 TDs. He was named Palomar League Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-CIF and Honorable Mention All-State.

He spent three years at San Diego State, where he had the rare distinction of throwing Darnay Scott his first collegiate touchdown and handing Marshall Faulk his first collegiate carry in the same game — a 49-13 win over Cal State Long Beach on 9/8/1991.

In 1992, Morris transferred to Division II St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, where he earned a B.A. in Health, Fitness and Recreation with an emphasis on teaching. In two seasons with the Gaels, he threw for 3,451 yards and 24 TDs, as well as six rushing scores. He is listed 16 times in the school's all-time record books after leading them to consecutive winning seasons in just 15 starts.

He participated in the training camp of the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994. In April of 1995, Morris signed with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League, however, the St. Louis Rams invited him to their training camp. In 1996, Morris spent a season in the World League of American Football with the London Monarchs.

The following year, Morris began his two-year Arena career spending a year and half with the Arena League's San Jose SaberCats (1997-98) and finishing his career with the Iowa

Barnstormers (1998).

Following his playing career, Morris focused on bringing Arena football to the San Diego area.

He has served as an assistant coach at John Swett High in the Bay Area (1994), his alma mater Orange Glen (1997-98) and Castle Park High (2000-01).

He's married to Stephanie, who he has been dating since they were 12. On December 8, they had their first child, Noah Trey.

Bruce Cowdrey returns for his 5th season as Head Coach of the Peoria Pirates. Coach Cowdrey, a familiar and popular fixture in Peoria, led the Peoria Pirates to the af2 ArenaCup Championship in 2002. During his coaching stint in Peoria, Bruce has established an incredible 49-18 record including three league championship appearances. In 2000, Coach Cowdrey's Peoria Pirates tied an all-time professional football record by completing a perfect 17-0 record enroute to the IFL Gold Cup Championship. Known for his on-field intensity, discipline and ability to recruit talented players, coach Cowdrey brings over the 25 years of coaching and recruiting experience to the Peoria Pirates organization. Bruce's indoor experience other than with the Peoria Pirates includes a brief stint with the af2 Pensacola Barracudas and the Madison Mad Dogs of the Indoor Football League. Coach Cowdrey was the offensive line coach for the Grey Cup Champion Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1991. Prior to coaching in the CFL, Cowdrey was an assistant coach at Indiana State, Fort Hays State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Northwestern, South Carolina and Missouri. Bruce is very active in community events in the Peoria area and is involved with local fundraising and charity events. A Missouri native, Coach Cowdrey and his wife Melody reside in Dunlap.

CENTRAL VALLEY VS. PEORIA – SERIES HISTORY

When the Coyotes and Pirates square off this weekend it will be the 4th meeting between these two organizations. Peoria currently leads the all-time series 2-1, but the Coyotes won the last meeting between the two 45-35 during last season.

2002 – Pirates, 60-54 (BAK)* 2003 – Blitz, 45-35 (BAK)

Pirates, 59-46 (PEO)

*Overtime

At A Glance:

- Coyotes quarterback Wes Phillips has completed 56 percent of his passes and has thrown for 5 touchdowns this season. Pirates quarterback Michael Souza has thrown for 11 touchdowns and completed 44.5 percent of his passes thus far.

- Peoria's receiving corps is led by the combination of Lawrence Matthews and Xavier Patterson, together the two have combined for 314 yards and 6 touchdowns on 30 receptions this season. Central Valley receivers Kenyatte Morgan and LaMonte Jones have tallied 465 yards and 6 touchdowns on 34 receptions thus far.

- The Coyotes have gained 68 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground off of 21 carries this season, while the Pirates have carried the ball 36 times for 107 yards and four touchdowns.

- Lawrence Matthews and Robert Kilow split the kickoff return duties for the Pirates, Matthews has returned 6 kickoffs for 123 yards and Kilow has returned 4 kickoffs for 93 yards. The Coyotes return duties are held by offensive specialist Kenyatte Morgan who has racked up 536 yards on 20 returns this season, including 2 touchdowns.

- Peoria's defense is currently ranked 11th in the league allowing 229.5 yards per game, while Central Valley's defense is allowing 290 yards per game and checks in at 21st in the af2.

- Defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer leads the Coyotes in interceptions (2) and pass deflections (6) to go along with his 7.5 tackles, while Peoria defensive back Frank West leads his team in interceptions (2) and pass deflections (2) to go along with his 21.5 tackles.

LAST WEEK: PEORIA AT TULSA

PIRATES 47, TALONS 66 – APRIL 23, 2004 – TULSA CONVENTION CENTER

For 30 minutes, the Peoria Pirates were like an old-fashioned wagon train rumbling through the Oklahoma Prairie.

Then a couple of spokes broke, and the wheels started to come off.

The Pirates led the Tulsa Talons at the half Friday night, but a return of second-half misfortune left Peoria with its second straight loss, 66-47.

"I don't think it's so much the second half, but it's just one mistake and then things build," Pirates assistant head coach Tony Johnson said. "That's when they start thinking in a skeptical manner."

The Pirates managed two second-half touchdowns, matching their highest final 30-minute output of the season in the opener at Wichita.

But quarterback Mike Souza threw three interceptions, all of which led to Tulsa touchdowns, which just happened to be the margin of victory.

"We had trouble getting pressure on them in the first half," Tulsa coach Ken Matous said. "We started getting pressure on them and then our conditioning took over."

The Pirates second-half downfall was previewed on the final play of the first half when Mitch Allner, the af2's all-time scoring leader, scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Michael Wall as time expired.

"That was a kick in the gut," Johnson said. "With two seconds left you can't leave a guy behind you."

The late tally almost never happened, but a would-be Milton Bowen interception was brought back because of an illegal-defense penalty giving Tulsa another chance.

After an incompletion, Wall found Allner for the touchdown as time expired. The PAT cut the Pirates lead to six points at the intermission.

"They took the corner away and gave Mitch the post," Wall said. "We read each other pretty well."

The Pirates offense was completely opposite in the first half when the Pirates scored on four of its five possessions.

Xavier Patterson, acquired from Tennessee Valley two weeks ago, posted season highs in the first half alone with six receptions for 66 yards and the first two Peoria touchdowns. He finished with eight catches for 81 yards.

Patterson found space on the right sideline, caught a 15-yard pass from Souza and then went another 15 untouched.

After Matt Robillard forced a fumble that was recovered by Bowen, Souza found Patterson again, this time for a 12-yard touchdown and a 13-0 Pirates lead after the extra point.

With a 13-7 lead after a Tulsa touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Wall to Bjorn Barre, the Talons were driving after Peoria's only non-productive possession.

Wall tried to thread a pass through the defense to Allner, but Bowen stepped in front for the interception.

Peoria drove to the Tulsa 10, but faced with third and 7. Souza eluded Tulsa's pursuit long enough to find Lawrence Matthews uncovered in the end zone for a 20-7 lead with 3:50 to play in the first half.

With the Pirates leading 20-13 and with the ball at the Tulsa 17, it was time for some dipsy-doodle.

Robillard took a toss from Souza, but pulled up and found tight end Sameer Hamood behind the Talon defense. The missed PAT still doubled Peoria's lead, but 35.9 seconds was just enough for Tulsa to score again.

"I think the players underestimated Peoria a little bit coming in," Matous said. "They saw they were struggling offensively coming in. We made some adjustments in the second half and took care of things."

LAST WEEK: CENTRAL VALLEY AT SAN DIEGO

COYOTES 34, RIPTIDE 59 – APRIL 23, 2004 – SAN DIEGO SPORTS ARENA

Central Valley was unable to rally after three first half turnovers Friday night against the San Diego Riptide suffering a 59-34 divisional loss in front of 3,607 fans at the Sports Arena.

The Coyotes surrendered five total turnovers on a night where the ball just didn't seem to bounce in Central Valley's direction. The loss drops the Coyotes to 0-3 on the season with the team returning back home to take on the Peoria Pirates (1-2) on May 1st.

The Riptide amassed an early 20-7 lead as they scored on their first three drives of the game. The Coyotes defense could not slow down the passing attack of Kane Claunch and the short field position due to the turnovers.

"There is no way you are going to be able to win a game when you give up five turnovers," said Head Coach Cree Morris. "It seemed like every time we were coming back we had a turnover that set us back. San Diego is a good team, and they took advantage of our mistakes and made us pay for them."

On the Coyotes opening drive at their own 21 yard line, quarterback Wesley Phillips first pass was intercepted by Riptide defensive back Ryan Smith, who returned the ball to the San Diego 12.

The Riptide wasted no time as game MVP Kane Claunch connected with wide receiver Marty Graham on the second play for a 38 yard TD to take a 14-0 lead.

The Coyotes got back on track the next series as Phillips completed 3-of-3 opportunities for 23 yards. He would then take in Central Valley's first score on a one yard run, his first of the year.

The Riptide added to that score with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Claunch to Nakoa Mcelrath to finish off a 5-play, 27-yard scoring drive. After a Central Valley fumble at their own 20 yard line at the end of the first quarter, San Diego took over on downs only to be halted by a goaline stance from the Coyotes which setup a Chris Arnce missed 17 yard field goal.

The defensive stance seemed to give light back to Central Valley as they drove down the field on a 3-play, 45 yard scoring drive capped off by an acrobatic 20 yard catch in the endzone from Coyotes wide receiver JaJuan Huddleston. The score put Central Valley within six points (14-20) with eight minutes remaining in the half.

San Diego would add two more touchdowns as Claunch hooked up with Mcelrath again on a 36-yard TD and then with Dwight Carter on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 1:32 remaining in the half.

Halted by penalties the Coyotes were unable to convert on a Navid Niakan 29-yard field goal attempt to end the half.

Central Valley opened up the second half at their own 17-yardline. On the opening play Phillips completed a pass to receiver Marvin Brown who fumbled on a big collision with defensive back Quincy LeJay. The Riptide recovered the ball and Brown would be forced to leave the game with an arm injury.

The Coyotes defense responded as defensive back VonKeith Spencer picked off a Claunch pass at the Coyotes 4-yardline to end the drive.

After a pair of Phillips completions Central Valley found themselves with a 1st and 10 from their own 15. Phillips was pressured from the outside and fumbled the ball at the four yard line, the ball would roll into the endzone with offensive lineman Ricky Leung-Wai trying to throw the ball away only to bounce into the hands of Rico Curtis in the endzone for the Riptide TD.

"It was a weird play," said Leung-Wai. "I tried to pick up the ball and throw it away, but I just lost my grip on the football."

Central Valley drove down the field on their next possession as Phillips hooked up with rookie receiver LaMonte Jones on a 7-yard touchdown pass. San Diego added three points on their ensuing drive when Arnce hit a 29 yard field goal. The score at the end of three quarters would stand at 41-20.

San Diego added two more scores after a Navid Niakan 63-yard field goal attempt was returned back 49-yards for a touchdown by Dwight Carter and then a Claunch three yard touchdown run.

"You have to make stops in this league," stated defensive coordinator Doug Murray. "We didn't make to many stops tonight. At times we looked good and at times we looked bad, we just need to play a complete game for 60 minutes."

A bright spot in the night came with 8 minutes left to go in the game when offensive specialist Kenyatte Morgan returned a kickoff 56-yards for the score. The return was his second in two weeks as he returned a 58-yard kickoff against Bakersfield in Week 2. Morgan finished the night with 197 return yards and 263 all-purpose.

San Diego sealed the game with a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to push the Riptide score out to 59-26. Central Valley backup quarterback Kyle Biggs completed a 7-play, 39 yard scoring drive with a four yard pass to Huddleston for his second TD of the game.

The Riptide ran the clock out to end the game with a final of 59-34.

Game Notes Phillip's 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was only the third rushing touchdown of his career.

JaJuan Huddleston set a career game high for receiving touchdowns with two on the night.

VonKeith Spencer intercepted his second pass on the season, he also picked off two, two-point conversion attempts.

COYOTES WEEK 5 GAME NOTES

JAJUAN ‘A' TOUCHDOWN: Wide receiver JaJuan Huddleston has come alive in recent weeks on the football field. Last week against the San Diego Riptide he hauled in 4 receptions for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Huddleston is currently second on the team in TD's with 3 only one behind the leader Kenyatte Morgan who has 4.

THE SPENCER FILE: Coyotes defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer has been an emotional leader for the defensive unit this season. Spencer has tallied 7.5 tackles (3-solo), and leads the team in interceptions (2) and pass deflections (6). Spencer also spends once a week with centralvalleycoyotes.com to talk about the 2004 season.

RETURNING FOR MORE: Kenyatte Morgan kept pace with his previous games, he continued his special team's streak, returning a 56-yard kickoff back for a touchdown. Morgan has posted the most return yards by any player in the af2 this season and is currently ranked 4th in the league in kickoff return yard average. He is also 3rd in the af2 in all-purpose yards with 778.

COYOTES POINTS: Defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer recorded his second interception of the season last week...Rookie JaJuan Huddleston recorded his third career touchdown...Quarterback Wes Phillips rushed for only his third career rushing touchdown last week.

COYOTES IN THE RANKINGS: The following is a breakdown of the Coyotes af2 Week 3 rankings.

Category NC Ranking af2 Ranking

Total Offense 9 14

Rushing 3 9

Passing 10 16

Total Defense 11 21

Against Rush 4 5

Against Pass 11 23

2004 COYOTES TEAM NOTES

FRESNO BOUND: The original Bakersfield Blitz franchise was purchased by current Coyotes Operator and CEO George Chung along with the Tachi Yokut Tribe earlier this December. Chung and the tribe then decided to relocate the franchise to Fresno, naming the team the Central Valley Coyotes. The Coyotes retain all stats from Bakersfield and continue their third season in the af2.

MAKING THE JUMP: The Central Valley Coyotes have been fortunate enough to progress three players to the Arena Football League. Former wide receiver/defensive back Ryan Sloth is now with the Columbus Destroyers, current franchise leading tackler J'Sharlon Jones is with the Philadelphia Soul and current quarterback Johnny Turman is with the Indiana Firebirds.

WILD, WILD WEST: In 2004 the West Division was realigned back to its original format in 2002, which featured the San Diego Riptide, the Bakersfield Blitz, the Hawaiian Islanders and the Central Valley Coyotes. Each franchise in the West will play all divisional opponents four times (twice at home, and twice on the road). This will make for an interesting season in the West with each divisional game being important.

HOME AND AWAY: The Central Valley Coyotes have posted a 10-7 record at their home venue. In post-season the Coyotes have a record of 0-1. On the road though, the franchise has not done so well in the win column tallying a 7-8-1 record in the regular season and 0-1 in the post-season.

OFFENSE:

THE DYNAMIC DUO: With the acquisition of lineman Zach LaMonda to compliment Ricky Leung-Wai as the lineman duo for the 2004 season it will not mark the first time the two paths have crossed. The two have battled over the past tow years as divisional rivals as LaMonda played for the San Diego Riptide the past two seasons. With the veteran leadership on the line the offense should look to put up numbers in 2004.

STACKING UP THE ROOKIES: Come opening day the Coyotes will have a total of 16 rookies on the squad. Some of the new face rookies include fullback/linebacker and former Fresno State Bulldog JaJuan Huddleston, quarterback Jose Fuentes, wide receiver/linebacker Marvin Brown and wide receiver/defensive back LaMonte Jones.

CREE ‘A' TING OFFENSE: Coyotes head coach Cree Morris looks to lead the Coyotes franchise to the top of the offensive charts. Last season while in San Diego, Morris had the third ranked offense in the National Conference. Morris averaged 248.2 yards per game.

DEFENSE:

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Central Valley's 2003 defense finished the season third in the af2, its second straight season finishing in the top-10 in the league in total defense. The Coyotes led the league in pass defense and were third in the league in run defense.

COYOTES 2004 OPPONENTS AND SCHEDULE NOTES

The af2's realignment of the West Division in 2004 ensures that each team in the division will face their opponent four times, twice at home and twice on the road. The following breaks down the Coyotes 2004 schedule.

HOME GAMES:

- The Coyotes will host Peoria after defeating the Pirates in Week 14 of the 2003 season, 45-35 in Bakersfield. Peoria currently leads the all-time series 2-1.

- The Rio Grande Valley Dorado's make their first trip to Fresno, CA as an expansion team for the 2004 season. The Dorado's are led by head coach Gary Gussman.

AWAY GAMES:

- The Central Valley Coyotes will travel to the town that Farve built as they take on the Green Bay Blizzard. The two teams last met in Week 8 of the 2003 regular season with the Coyotes grabbing the victory 38-31 in Green Bay.

- The Coyotes head south to Oklahoma City to take on the Yard Dawgz in Week 12. Oklahoma City also joined the af2 as an expansion team in 2004.

DIVISION GAMES:

- Bakersfield Blitz – They will make their first trip to the Selland Arena since joining the league as an expansion team in 2004. This will be the first meeting of the original Bakersfield Blitz (now the Central Valley Coyotes) and the new Bakersfield Blitz.

- San Diego Riptide – The team heads into the 2004 with their former head coach on the opposite side of the box. Central Valley Head Coach Cree Morris will square off against his former team in Week 3. San Diego leads the series 3-4.

- Hawaiian Islanders – The 2003 West Division champions look to build on their breakout season last year. Though the Coyotes were able to win the series between the two teams last season, Hawaii held strong towards the end of the season. Central Valley leads the series 4-3.

A LOOK AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

The Coyotes will hit the road in Week 6 as the travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin to take on the Green Bay Blizzard. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday May 8th.

# # #

THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED

TEAM

OVERTIME GAME

Bakersfield 54, Peoria 60 at Centennial Garden, May 18, 2002

AT LEAST 400 TOTAL YARDS

By Blitz: 433 vs. Tulsa, July 27, 2002

60 POINTS

By Blitz: 70, vs. Fresno, June 1, 2002

INDIVIDUALS

100 YARD RECEIVING GAME:

By Coyotes: Kenyatte Morgan (8-111) vs. Hawaiian Islanders, March 27, 2004

300 YARD PASSING GAME:

By Blitz: Chad Elliott (25-37-356) vs. Tulsa Talons, June 21, 2003

5-TOUCHDOWN PASSING GAME:

By Blitz: Chad Elliott vs. San Diego, May 31, 2003

6-TOUCHDOWN PASSING GAME:

By Blitz: Chad Elliott vs. Tulsa, June 21, 2003

8-TOUCHDOWN PASSING GAME:

By Blitz: Chad Elliot vs. Hawaii, June 22, 2002

2-RUSHING TOUCHDOWN GAME:

By Blitz: Steve Wofford vs. Fresno, June 1, 2002

3-RUSHING TOUCHDOWN GAME:

By Coyotes: Marshall Blount vs. Bakersfield Blitz, April 10, 2004

3 FIELD-GOALS MADE GAME:

By Blitz: Jon Baker vs. Green Bay, May 24, 2003

DEFENSE

FUMBLE RETURN FOR TOUCHDOWN

By Blitz: Oscar Grajeda vs. Louisville, June 7, 2003



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