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Colorado Crush game notes

February 25, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Colorado Crush (2-1) vs. Austin Wranglers (2-0)
Date: February 27, 2004
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. MST
Site: Pepsi Center (18,063)
Officials: Bill LeMonnier – Referee, Rick Podraza – Umpire, Allen Baynes – Head Linesman, Dana McKenzie – Line Judge, Billy Beckett – Back Judge
Television: Comcast Channel 5 (Mitch Hyder – play-by-play, Damon Bowers – analyst, David Briggs – sideline)
Radio: KKZN 760 AM The Zone (Marc Stout – play-by-play, David Diaz-Infante - analyst)
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
Coaches: Mike Dailey (2-1 in 2004, 65-47 Overall)
Skip Foster (2-0 in 2004, 2-0 Overall)

THE STAKES: The Crush will seek to rebound from their first loss of the season and improve to 3-1 on the season. A win would surpass the team's win total from its inaugural 2-14 campaign. A win would also give the Crush a 1-0 series lead over Austin.



Colorado Crush
Date Opponent Time/Score Record
Fri, 2/6 LAS VEGAS W 43-42 1-0
Sat, 2/14 @ Grand Rapids W 55-37 2-0
Sun, 2/22 @ Chicago L 35-65 2-1
Fri, 2/27 AUSTIN 7 p.m.
Thu, 3/4 DETROIT 7 p.m.
Sun, 3/14 @ San Jose 6 p.m.
Sun, 3/21 @ Philadelphia 10 a.m.
Sat, 3/27 ARIZONA 7 p.m.
Sat, 4/3 INDIANA 1 p.m.
Sat, 4/10 @ Los Angeles 8:30 p.m.
Sun, 4/18 @ New York 1 p.m.
Fri, 4/23 GRAND RAPIDS 7 p.m.
Sun, 5/2 PHILADELPHIA 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/16 @ Indiana 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/23 @ Detroit 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/30 CHICAGO 2 p.m.


American Central Division
Team W L T PCT. PF PA H A Conf. Div. Strk
Chicago 3 0 0 1.000 171 119 2-0 1-0 2-0 2-0 W3
Colorado 2 1 0 .667 133 144 1-0 1-1 2-1 1-1 L1
Detroit 2 1 0 .667 125 114 1-1 1-0 2-1 1-0 W2
Gr. Rapids 0 3 0 .000 81 156 0-1 0-2 0-3 0-2 L3
Indiana 0 3 0 .000 113 129 0-1 0-2 0-1 0-1 L3

ALL-TIME SERIES: This will be the first ever meeting between the Crush and the expansion Austin Wranglers.


RADIO/TV COVERAGE: This week's game will be televised locally by Comcast Channel 5 with Mitch Hyder calling the game, former Crush player and "Bachelorette" contestant Damon Bowers serving as analyst, and David Briggs patrolling the sidelines. The game will be broadcast on KKZN (AM 760 The Zone), with Marc Stout handling the play-by-play duties and former Denver Bronco OL David Diaz-Infante serving as color commentator.






Practice Schedule
Monday, Feb. 23
No Practice

Tuesday, Feb. 24
11:30-1:30 p.m. Practice @ Family Sports Dome

Wednesday, Feb. 25
9:30-11:30 p.m. Practice @ Family Sports Dome

Thursday, Feb. 26
10:00-11:00 a.m. Walk Through
@ Wembley Events Center

Friday, Feb. 27
7:00 p.m. Crush vs. Austin Wranglers



Mike Dailey (Colorado Crush):
Dailey became the Crush's second head coach on June 26, 2003. Dailey joined the Crush after seven seasons as head coach of the Indiana Firebirds, and his teams have compiled an overall record of 65-47, a winning percentage of .580. In 1999 Dailey led the Firebirds to their only ArenaBowl championship and a combined regular season/playoff record of 14-3, best in Firebirds history. He was named AFL Coach of the Year following that standout campaign. He joined the Firebirds prior to the 1992 season, spending five seasons as an assistant coach before being named head coach in 1997. Dailey began his Arena Football coaching career with the Washington Commandos where he served as offensive and defensive line coach. Prior to the AFL, Dailey worked as an Assistant Coach at Towson State University and was the Offensive Coordinator at Montgomery College-Rockville (MD).

Skip Foster (Austin Wranglers):
Skip Foster is making his AFL head coaching debut with the Austin Wranglers this season. Foster, deemed the second most winning coach in arenafootball2 history, will also act as the Wranglers offensive coordinator. Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2 Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster lead the team to a 13-3 regular season record while accumulating 3,995 yards in total offense, 3,679 yards passing and 316 yards rushing. This offensive effort also concluded with Tulsa outscoring
their opponents 823-690 in regular season play. The Talons totaled 745 yards in offense and outscored
their postseason opponents 179-130 on their way to winning the 2003 ArenaCup. During his three years
with Tulsa, Foster made history when he led his team to the National Conference Central Division
Championship for two straight seasons and won the ArenaCup in 2003. Foster was the only af2 coach to
go undefeated at home over three consecutive regular seasons.

INJURY REPORT
Colorado Crush
Player Pos. Injury Status
Maurice Anderson OL/DL Right Knee on IR
Wade Davis WR/DB Lt. Hamstring Strain on IR
Windrell Hayes WR/DB Right Knee on IR
Nate Jacquet WR/DB Rt. Achilles' Rupture on IR
John Peaua FB/LB Lt. Knee MCL Sprain on IR
Kamau Peterson WR/DB Left Ribs on IR
Derrick Pickens OL/DL Right Shoulder on IR
Tony Scott DS Foot Sprain on IR
Dwayne Stukes WR/DB Left Quad Strain on IR
LEAGUE TOP 10s: Crush players who rank in the Top 10 in the AFL entering Week 4:
Colorado Crush
Player Rank Category Stat
John Dutton 1st Fumble Recoveries 5
Kevin McKenzie T-1st Interceptions 1
Rashad Floyd T-1st Interceptions 1
Ahmad Hawkins T-1st Interceptions 1
Anthony Brenner T-5th Scoring (Kickers) 25
Saul Patu T-7th Sacks 1.0
Chad Dukes T-7th Fumble Recoveries 1
Kevin McKenzie T-7th Fumble Recoveries 1
Damian Harrell T-9th 3rd Down Recept. 3
Kevin McKenzie 10th Receiving Yards 229
Kevin McKenzie 10th Yds from Scrimmage 232
Damian Harrell T-10th Scoring (non-Kick) 36
John Dutton T-10th Pass Completions 54
John Dutton T-10th Pass Attempts 89

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Crush and the Wranglers stack up (through Week 3):
Statistical COLORADO AUSTIN
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Points per Game 16th 44.3 6th 52.5
Points Allowed T-10th 48.0 T-10th 48.0
Total Offense 16th 216.7 1st 297.5
Total Defense 6th 227.3 19th 310.0
Pass Offense 15th 209.0 2nd 277.5
Pass Defense 4th 195.0 19th 292.0
Rushing Offense 17th 7.7 10th 20.0
Rushing Defense 18th 32.3 8th 18.0
Kickoff Returns 10th 17.4 8th 19.8
KO Return Allowed 6th 16.6 1st 13.5
Turnover Margin T-13th -2 T-10th -1
First Downs T-16th 16.0 T-6th 19.0
Opp. First Downs 10th 18.7 18th 22.0
3rd Down Efficiency 19th .231 3rd .588
Opp. 3rd Down Eff. 15th .579 5th .417
4th Down Efficiency T-14th .333 T-1st 1.000
Opp. 4th Down Eff. 16th .750 T-2nd .000
Field Goal % T-9th .429 T-17th .000
TD% Inside the 20 17th .636 T-1st 1.000
Opp. TD% Inside 20 T-17th 1.000 2nd .500
1st Down Yds/Play 12th 5.93 14th 5.58
Opp. 1st Dwn Yd/Play 8th 5.73 15th 7.00
(Top 10 ranks in bold)

COLORADO CRUSH NEXT WEEK
The Crush will host division rival the Detroit Fury at the Pepsi Center on Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m. The Fury (2-1) have won two straight games since dropping their season opener and are tied with the Crush for second place in the Central Division entering Week 4. The Fury have a bye this weekend.

TURN AROUND
The Crush are off to a 2-1 start, already equaling the win total from their entire inaugural season. They are one game out of the American Central Division lead. Along with the quick start have come a few franchise firsts. Their 43-42 win over Las Vegas on 2/6 was their first home win after going 0-8 at the Pepsi Center in 2003. They are over .500 for the first time and had their first two-game winning streak. Should they beat Austin it would mark a new franchise record for wins in a season, their first two-game home winning streak, and their first win over the expansion Wranglers.

FAMILIAR FACES
Before Austin Wranglers co-owner Tony Boselli became a two-time All-American and a five-time Pro Bowler for the Jacksonville Jaguars, he began his football career as a freshman quarterback at Fairview High School here in Colorado. He switched to linebacker and tight end as a sophomore when his coach convinced him that these positions would give him the best chance for playing time and the rest is history.
Crush co-owner and CEO John Elway is not the only Stanford alum, former Denver Bronco involved in the Arena Football League. The Wranglers' assistant general manager & director of player personnel Glyn Milburn was a second round draft pick and spent his first three NFL seasons as a teammate of Elway's with the Broncos (1993-95) as a running back, wide receiver and kick returner. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, once as a Bronco in 1995.
One player also has strong ties to Colorado. Former CU Buffalo and Crush quarterback Bobby Pesavento is currently the back-up QB for the Wranglers. Pesavento played in 15 games at CU, starting eight, while leading the Buffs to a Big XII Championship his senior season. He appeared in four games for the Crush during their inaugural season in 2003, completing 13-of-37 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. He has yet to see game-action for Austin.





PLAYERS TO WATCH:
OS Damian Harrell: In his sixth AFL season, Harrell has amassed 5,441 receiving yards on 389 catches, an average of 13.99 yards/catch, along with 111 career touchdowns (1 on return). Harrell is tied for 10th in the AFL in scoring with 36 points after he caught three touchdowns at Chicago on 2/22. He caught seven passes for 134 yards and a TD at Grand Rapids on 2/14, and scored two TDs in the final 12 seconds vs. Las Vegas to lift the Crush to a remarkable 43-42 come-from-behind win and was named Offensive Player of the Game.

QB John Dutton: As Dutton goes, so go the Crush. The former Arena Bowl MVP (2002 w/ SJ) looked like it at Grand Rapids as he completed 20-of-24 passes for 264 yards and 4 TDs as he was named Offensive Player of the Game. However, he followed that up with a 16-34, four TD, two interception performance at Chicago that included a stretch of 12 straight incomplete passes. In Week 1 he threw two TDs in the final 12 seconds as the Crush defeated Las Vegas 43-42 to earn their first home win in franchise history. He finished 18-of-31 for 204 yards with the two TDs and an interception in the game.

WR/DB Kevin McKenzie: Third-year standout McKenzie (5-11, 183, Washington State), was named the AFL's U.S. Army Ironman of the Week after spearheading the Crush with a great two-way performance in the 55-37 victory over Grand Rapids in Week 2. McKenzie recorded four receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown, added a 3-yard rushing TD, while recording 2.5 tackles and a 44-yard interception return for a TD on defense. He followed that performance by making five catches for a team-high 75 yards and a touchdown, returned two kickoffs for 34 yards and made 1.5 tackles at Chicago on 2/22.

MILESTONES
Crush FB/LB Chad Dukes needs 26 rushing yards to pass Bo Kelly for third place on the AFL's all-time rushing list. Dukes is already one of only four players in AFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career.

AFL Career Rushing Yards
Player Team 2004 Career
Les Barley — — 1,382
Andre Bowden TAM — 1,194
Bo Kelly LV — 1,063
Chad Dukes COL 11 1,037
Bob McMillen CHI 67 931
Major Harris — — 832
Travis Pearson — — 829
Cedric McKinnon — — 793

OL/DL Kyle Moore-Brown: A true AFL Ironman, he is in his 10th season in the league and has never missed a game. The game vs. Austin will mark his 143rd consecutive start.

BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 vs. Las Vegas Damian Harrell (COL))
2 @ Gr. Rapids John Dutton (COL)
3 @ Chicago Raymond Philyaw (CHI)

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 vs. Las Vegas Ahmad Hawkins (COL)
2 @ Gr. Rapids Rashad Floyd (COL)
3 @ Chicago John Moyer (CHI)

ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 vs. Las Vegas Kevin McKenzie (COL)
2 @ Gr. Rapids Kevin McKenzie (COL)
3 @ Chicago Jamie McGourty (CHI)


TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The Crush were named recipient of the Arena Football League's 2003 Commissioner's Award. The Award is presented annually to the AFL franchise that has the best business operations in the League.
"This is a tremendous and unique honor for our organization. The collective commitment to excellence displayed by dozens of individuals in our organization allowed us to experience a memorable inaugural season in the AFL," stated Ronald O. Sally, president of the Colorado Crush.

NEW BLOOD
In addition to a new coaching staff, the Crush features a revamped roster. Only five players from last year's inaugural season made the 2004 opening day roster.
Returning 2003 Players
John Dutton Saul Patu
Damian Harrell Bryant Shaw
Ahmad Hawkins


CALL TO THE HALL
Legendary Denver Broncos QB and Crush chief executive officer and co-owner John Elway was among four players named as the NFL Hall of Fame class of 2004. Elway is the winningest quarterback in NFL history (148-82-1) and led the Broncos to five Super Bowls, including championships in his final two seasons. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII.


WEEK 4 AFL ON NBC SCHEDULE, Sun., Feb. 29th:

New York at Arizona, 1 pm
Chicago at Indiana, 1 pm
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 1 pm
Dallas at Columbus, 1 pm
New Orleans at Las Vegas, 1 pm

(all times are Mountain)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 25, 2004


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.

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