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Central Valley Coyotes game notes

May 11, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


(Fresno, CA) – Central Valley returns back home in Week 7 to host the expansion Rio Grande Valley Dorados on Saturday, May 15 at Selland Arena. This will mark the first time these two organizations have met. Each team is coming of a Week 6 loss, the Dorados fell at home to the Wichita Stealth, 28-35, and the Coyotes were defeated by the Green Bay Blizzard, 50-32 in Green Bay.

The Coyotes were unable to get things going in the second half of the contest against the Blizzard. Penalties and mental breakdowns caused Central Valley to fight an uphill battle all night long. Defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer intercepted his fourth consecutive pass of the season and is currently tied for second in the league in interceptions

Offensive specialist Kenyatte Morgan once again led the way for the Coyotes, hauling in 110-yards receiving on 9 receptions, with a touchdown. Morgan also returned four kickoffs for 64 yards. The touchdown marks his fifth consecutive TD in five games. He is currently ranked 9th in the league in kick return average (23.5), 2nd in the league in all-purpose yards with 1,185 and 9th in receptions (37).

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 15, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Selland Arena (artificial turf)
Capacity: 8,900

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.

Gary Gussman (gus-man), a 38 year-old native of Miami, Florida, accepts his first head coaching position after serving six seasons as an assistant coach within the Arena Football League (AFL). He began his coaching career as a Special Teams Coordinator with the Connecticut Coyotes (AFL) in 1995 and then spent four seasons (98-01) with the Houston Thunderbears (AFL) as the Special Teams Coordinator / Player Personnel. Gussman most recently served as the Special Teams Coordinator with the Orlando Predators (AFL) during the 2002 season. Gasman's college success on the gridiron led to a professional career in the AFL, and he began his AFL playing career in 1989 with the Denver Dynamite. He earned 1st Team All-Arena honors following his rookie season with Denver, converting on 7 of 30 field goals and 7 of 19 extra points to co-lead the league with 28 kicking points. His 7 field goals made led the league. In 1990, Gussman played for the Albany Firebirds and was a 1990 2nd Team All-Arena member, leading the league again in field goals made with 10 out of 39 opportunities. After the 1990 AFL season, Gussman attended NFL training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals, but did not make the final roster. He returned to the AFL and to Albany for two seasons (1991, 1992) before closing out his professional playing career. Gussman's career AFL playing numbers include 36 for 130 in field goals and 89 of 123 in extra points for 197 career points in 32 games played.



CENTRAL VALLEY VS. RIO GRANDE VALLEY – SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's contest will mark the first time these two organizations have ever met.

At A Glance:
- The Central Valley Coyotes offense is currently ranked 19th in the af2, while the Rio Grande Valley Dorados are ranked 22nd.

- Dorados quarterback Will Burch's QB rating stands at 103.40, completing 74-of-131 passes and four interceptions. Burch's passing has totaled 861 yards and 19 touchdowns. He averages 172.2 yards per game. Central Valley's quarterback Wesley Phillips rating holds at 93.90, and has thrown 11 touchdown passes. Phillips has completed 61-of-114 passes for 709 yards and five interceptions. Phillips averages 177.2 yards per game.

- Central Valley's leading wide receiver, Kenyatte Morgan has grabbed 37 receptions for 447 yards, averaging 12.1 yards per reception. Rio Grande Valley's leading receiver, Manwell Talbert, has amassed 27 receptions for 311 yards, averaging 11.5 yards per reception.

- In rushing, Dorados, Abel Gonzalez leads the team with 19 net yards accumulated with 4 attempts. Gonzalez averages 4.8 yards per carry. Marshall Blount of the Coyotes has totaled 53 net yards on 9 attempts, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Blount has rushed for two touchdowns.

- The Central Valley Coyotes total defense is ranked 20th in the af2, they are 21st against the pass and 7th against the run. Rio Grande Valley's total defense checks in at 4th in the league, ranking them 8th against the pass and 1st against the rush.

- Central Valley defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer leads the team in tackles with 22.5 (16-solo and 13-assisted). Spencer has tallied 1.5 tackles for a loss of two yards, 7 pass breakups, and 4 interceptions for 19 yards. Rio Grande Valley's Nick Davis leads the defensive side of the team, with 17.5 tackles, 14 of which are solo and 7 assisted. Davis has 11 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.


LAST WEEK: RIO GRANDE VALLEY VS. WICHITA

DORADOS 28, STEALTH 35 – MAY 8, 2004 – DODGE ARENA

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados had an opportunity to jump into a first place tie with a win over the unbeaten Wichita Stealth at the sold out Dodge Arena (5,600), but it slipped away in the fourth quarter and the Stealth leave Hidalgo with a 35-28 victory, knocking the Dorados record to 3-2 and placing them in a third place tie in the af2 National Conference's Southwest Division with the Tulsa Talons.

Statistics showed coming into the contest this would be a low scoring affair as the Dorados had the third best ranked scoring defense in the league and the Stealth lead the league in the category. It was as advertised in the start, as neither team produced points in the game's opening quarter. Wichita's opening drive spanned 11:05 and the Stealth ran 14 plays resulting in progress of 32 yards but without points.

Dylan Pohlman's 26-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the Dorados were able to start their first offensive possession. The opening possession for the Dorados would end up needing eight plays (most of any Dorados drive on the night) and 48-seconds into the second quarter, Dorados quarterback Will Burch threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the endzone to newly acquired McKinley Bowie.

It would be back and forth for the remainder of the first half. Wichita responded with an 11-yard touchdown completion to Brian Livingston from Aaron Sparrow. Jason Null broke the 7-7 tie by collecting his first rushing touchdown of the season, stumbling into the endzone from one yard out to cap off a six play 35-yard drive to extend the Dorados lead to 14-7. Wichita again responded on the following drive, but this time Sparrow found Marc Bacote for the touchdown. Pohlman's extra-point attempt hit the upright and the Dorados remained with the lead 14-13 with 26-seconds remaining in the half. Burch tried to hurry the Dorados downfield for a quick score but his toss to the endzone was intercepted by Livingston.

The Dorados extended their lead in the opening drive of the first half with an 11-yard touchdown reception by Manwell Talbert from Burch to push the lead to 21-13. Sparrow, who was 11 of 12 passing in the second half, found Livingston again for an 11-yard score on the ensuing drive. Livingston also converted on the two-point conversion with another reception from Sparrow to tie the game up 21-21.

Rio Grande Valley had their opportunities to regain the lead, but ran into problems. After three straight incompletion's intended for receiver Manwell Talbert on goal-to-go on the 10-yard line, Dorados kicker Eric Houle had his 25-yard field goal attempt blocked by Ervin Hollaman.

Wichita's Anthony Griffin fumbled on the very next play for the Stealth and the Dorados regained possession on their own 19-yard line. The Dorados drive was stalled by a holding penalty on the Wichita 9-yard line pushing them back and eventually forcing Houle to attempt a 34 field goal. The kicks just sailed wide right and was no good.

The Stealth would then take their first lead of the game with 9:05 remaining in the game. The 25-second play clock hit zero, but it went unnoticed and Sparrow hit Damon Thompson for a three yard touchdown completion to give the Stealth a 28-21 advantage. The Dorados opened the ensuing drive with a quick toss to Talbert for eight yards, but the Dorados could not get the first down. Burch missed Talbert twice and then fumbled the snap on fourth down, giving the Stealth the ball on the Dorados 13-yard line. Griffin rushed in his sixth rushing touchdown of the season with 4:18 remaining to extend the lead to 35-21.

Kendall Williams returned the Stealth kickoff 36-yards and a Stealth penalty spotted the ball on the Wichita 17-yard line. Form there, Burch hit Mike Duncan on the drive's first play to cut the Wichita lead to 35-28 with 2:18 remaining. The Dorados tried to hold the Stealth defensively, but Sparrow was bale to manufacture a first down and run out the clock to hand the Dorados their first loss and extend the Stealth record to 5-0. They are now the only unbeaten team in the league.

Livingston was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game with 7 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stealth Marc Bacote was awarded the ADT Security Defensive Player of the Game with 3 tackles (6 assisted tackles) and a pass break-up. Talbert received recognition for the Dorados, receiving the US Army Ironman of the Game with a team leading 8 receptions (most of which were acrobatic) and 78 yards receiving. Sparrow finished the night 25 of 34 passing for 218 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Burch finished 21 of 33 for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Dorados were only two of four in the red zone in scoring chances.

With Oklahoma City improving their record to 4-1 with a 79-48 win over 0-5 Laredo, the 3-2 Dorados fall into a third place tie with Tulsa, who won 65-59 over Bossier-Shreveport. The Dorados now prepare for their longest road trip of the season as they battle the Central Valley Coyotes next Saturday in Fresno, California.


COYOTES WEEK 7 GAME NOTES


MORGAN ON A MISSION: Offensive specialist Kenyatte Morgan has amassed 1,185 all-purpose yards through five games this season, ranking him second in the af2. Morgan is averaging 237 yards per game. The af2 all-time season record for all-purpose yards is held by former Quad City Steamwheeler, Ira Gooch. Gooch racked up 3,472 yards in 2002. Morgan is on pace to break that record if he keeps up his average per game. If so, he should set a new af2 record with 3,792 all-purpose yards.

COYOTES LAST WIN: Last week's loss marks the fifth game in Central Valley's losing streak. The last game won by the Coyotes dates back to week 16 of the 2003 regular season, when the Blitz conquered the Islanders, 75-61. Now in the second quarter in the season, the Coyotes will have to make improvements to provide a chance to make a run at the Western Division title.

THE SPENCER FILE: Coyotes defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer has been an emotional leader for the defensive unit this season. Spencer has tallied 22.5 tackles (16-solo), leads the team in interceptions (4) and pass deflections (7). Spencer also spends once a week with centralvalleycoyotes.com to talk about the 2004 season.

COYOTES POINTS: Defensive specialist VonKeith Spencer recorded his fourth interception of the season last week...Howard Maxwell recorded his second touchdown of the season...LaMonte Jones recorded a season-high two touchdowns against the Blizzard.

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

Category NC Ranking af2 Ranking

Total Offense 12 19
Rushing 4 13
Passing 12 18
Total Defense 12 20
Against Rush 4 7
Against Pass 13 21


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 8 as they travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to take on the Hawaiian Islanders (4-2). The game is scheduled for Saturday, May 22.

# # #


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 (9-110) at Green Bay Blizzard, May 8, 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

AT LEAST TWO INTERCEPTIONS:
By Blitz: J'Sharlon Jones (3) at Quad City, July 6, 2002

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