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Colorado Crush game notes

March 6, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Colorado Crush (0-1) vs. Kansas City Brigade (1-0)

Date: March 10, 2007

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. MT

Site: Pepsi Center (18,093)

Radio: 850 KOA (Marc Stout: play-by-play, Andy Lindahl: analyst, Corey Lopez: sidelines)

Coaches: Mike Dailey, Colorado (99-65, 11th Year)
Kevin Porter, K.C. (4-13, 2nd Year)
Officials: Referee: Barry Anderson
Umpire: Rick Lowe
Head Linesman: Brent Durbin
Line Judge: Art Lucky
Back Judge: Scott Helverson

Series Record: Crush lead the all-time series 1-0
Colorado 55, @ Kansas City 49 (4/16/06)

THE GAME:

The Colorado Crush stay in Denver for the second of a three-game home stand at Pepsi Center to open the season when they host the Kansas City Brigade on Saturday, March 10th at 7:00 p.m. The Brigade are co-owned by former Denver Bronco and Kansas City Chief Neil Smith.







Last season, Colorado won the team's only meeting 55-49 in Kansas City (4/16/06). With AFL re-alignment this off-season, the Brigade now join the Central Division setting up a home and away battle with the team's second meeting coming on April 27th.

With a win over Kansas City, Crush head coach Mike Dailey would earn his 100th career AFL head coaching victory. Dailey would join only three other AFL head coaches with 100 or more career wins (Tim Marcum- Tampa Bay, Danny White- Utah and Mike Hohensee- Chicago).

The Crush will be looking to avoid an 0-2 start to the year, which they have not suffered since their inaugural season of 2003 (the only other time Colorado began a season with three straight home contests).

The Kansas City Brigade come into Denver 1-0 following a 54-41 victory over the defending AFL champion Chicago Rush. In their inaugural season in 2006, the Brigade did not capture their first win until Week 4.

Kansas City finished the 2006 season with a 3-13 record, however the Brigade have a new look this year with only 10 returning players. One new addition is kicker Clay Rush. Rush spent the last two seasons in Colorado, highlighted by his 20-yard field goal in ArenaBowl XIX to give the Crush their first championship.

Kansas City is led by QB Raymond Philyaw and DB Kenny McEntyre. Philyaw, a seven-year AFL veteran, has thrown for almost 300 touchdowns and rushed for 32 more scores in his career, while McEntyre, a three-time AFL Defensive Player of the Year, hauled in two interceptions in K.C. Week 1 victory. The Colorado coaching staff should be familiar with Philyaw's playmaking abilities however as he began his career with the Albany and Indiana Firebirds playing under Dailey.

The Brigade boast the AFL's top rushing attack racking up 131 yards on the ground in the first week of action. Rookie Charles Frederick amassed three rushing touchdowns against the Rush.



PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Tues, Mar. 6- 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Practice at Mile High Racing
Wed, Mar. 7- 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Practice at Mile High Racing

Thurs, Mar. 8- 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Practice at Mile High Racing

Fri, Mar. 9- 10:00 a.m.
Walkthrough at Mile High Racing

Sat, Mar. 10- Crush vs. Kansas City
7:00 p.m. at Pepsi Center
Sun, Mar. 11- Players Off Day


THE SCHEDULE:

COLORADO CRUSH (0-1)

Date OPPONENT RESULT SCORE
Mar. 4 GRAND RAPIDS L 42-44
Mar. 10 KANSAS CITY
Mar. 16 ARIZONA
Mar. 22 @ Philadelphia
Apr. 1 NASHVILLE
Apr. 6 @ San Jose
Apr. 15 @ New York
Apr. 20 LAS VEGAS
Apr. 27 @ Kansas City
May 7 @ Chicago
May 11 @ Nashville
May 18 COLUMBUS
May 26 @ Grand Rapids
June 4 @ Utah
June 18 CHICAGO
June 25 DALLAS


CRUSH NEXT WEEK:

The Crush close out a three-game home stand to begin the 2007 season when they host the Arizona Rattlers on Friday, Match 16 at 7:00th p.m. at Pepsi Center.

Colorado and Arizona have faced each other six times with both teams capturing three wins. The Crush however have won three of the last four meetings, including a 59-35 victory in the season finale last year at home.

STATISTICS:

A look at how Colorado and Kansas City match-up based on 2007 regular season statistics:

Statistical COLORADO KANSAS CITY
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 14th 42 11th 54
Scoring Defense 7th 44 5th 41
Total Offense (yds/g) 9th 301 2nd 356
Total Defense (yds/g) 2nd 180 4th 246
Pass Offense 8th 300 15th 225
Pass Defense 2nd 167 6th 233
Rushing Offense T-16th 1 1st 131
Rushing Defense T-9th 13.0 T-9th 13.0
Passer Rating 14th 94.6 15th 91.1
Def. Passer Rating 7th 99.0 10th 111.1
Kickoff Returns (y/rtn) 17th 9.8 11th 16.0
MFG Returns T-7th 0 T-7th 0
Turnover Margin 18th -3 T-4th +2
Field Goals T-12th .000 T-12th .000
PATs 5th 1.000 16th .571
First Downs 3rd 26 4th 25
Opp. First Downs T-3rd 16 T-3rd 16
Penalties (yds/g) 16th 77 14th 70
Sacks By T-4th 3 T-6th 1
Sacks Against 9th 1 4th 0
Time of Possession 14th 27:57 2nd 36:52
Red Zone Offense T-14th 2-3 13th 5-7
Red Zone Defense T-8th 4-5 T-4th 2-3


CONNECTIONS:

Crush CEO and co-owner John Elway and Brigade co-owner Neil Smith were teammates with the Denver Broncos winning consecutive Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999. Smith later faced Elway as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded 14 sacks against Elway, the most by any player ever ... Colorado FB/LB Robert Thomas attended training camp with the Brigade in 2007 ... Kansas City kicker Clay Rush played for Colorado during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, highlighted by a 20-yard field goal in ArenaBowl XIX to give the Crush their first championship ... Crush OL/DL Kyle Moore-Brown was part of a defensive line at the University of Kansas that included Gilbert Brown and Dana Stubblefield and still resides in the Kansas City area.








RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Jan. 10, 2007- Signed FB/LB Lyonel Anderson, DB Jammal Lord. Waived OL/DL Seante Williams.
Jan. 22, 2007- Signed DB James Taylor.
Jan. 31, 2007- Signed DB Jason Harmon.
Feb. 7, 2007- Signed DL Joe Massey, DL George Peterson, WR Brad Pyatt, LB Kelvin Robinson. Placed on Injured Reserve OL/DL Craig Heimburger. Placed on Physically Unable to Perform OL Brett Huyser. Placed on Refused to Report K Jason Ball, OL/DL Aaron Johnson.
Feb. 9, 2007- Signed QB Brandon Kirsch.
Feb. 13, 2007- Activated from Refused to Report K Jason Ball. Waived DB Bobby Antee.
Feb. 16, 2007- Placed on Injured Reserve WR/DB Robert Redd.
Feb. 19, 2007- Signed K Greg Kuehn.
Feb. 25, 2007- Activated from Injured Reserve WR/DB Robert Redd. Re-Signed WR Willie Quinnie and OL/DL Chris Watton. Placed on Injured Reserve OL Brett Huyser. Placed on Recallable Waivers WR Chauncey Stovall. Waived Injured FB/LB Lyonel Anderson, OL/DL Craig Heimburger and WR Jim Lukowiak. Waived FB Terrell Browden, FB/LB B.J. Dean, K Greg Kuehn, DB Jammal Lord, WR Triandos Luke, DL Joe Massey, DL Justin Parrish, DL George Peterson, LB Kelvin Robinson, DB James Taylor and DL Ed Wangler. Released QB Jose Davis and WR/DB Ahmad Hawkins.
Feb 26, 2007- Placed on Recallable DB Jason Harmon. Released WR/DB Willis Marshall and WR/LB Andy McCullough.
Feb, 27, 2007- Signed to the Practice Squad WR Chauncey Stovall.
Feb. 28, 2007- Recalled from Waivers DB Jason Harmon. Re-Signed OL/DL Kyle Moore-Brown and FB/LB Saul Patu. Placed on Recallable Waivers DL Quinn Dorsey.
March 2, 2007- Signed FB/LB Robert Thomas. Recalled from Waivers DL Quinn Dorsey. Placed on Injured Reserve DL Quinn Dorsey and DB Jason Harmon.






THE CRUSH THIS SEASON ARE:


O H R
Overall Record 0-1 0-1 0-0
Overtime Games 0-0 0-0 0-0
Score first 0-1 0-1 0-0
Opponent scores first 0-0 0-0 0-0
Score 40+ points 0-1 0-1 0-0
Score less than 40 points 0-0 0-0 0-0
Games decided by 10+ pts 0-0 0-0 0-0
Games decided by 7 pts or less 0-1 0-1 0-0
Games decided by 3 pts or less 0-1 0-1 0-0
Lead at halftime 0-1 0-1 0-0
Trail at halftime 0-0 0-0 0-0
Are tied at halftime 0-0 0-0 0-0
Lead after 3rd quarter 0-0 0-0 0-0
Trail after 3rd quarter 0-1 0-1 0-0
Are tied after 3rd quarter 0-0 0-0 0-0
Lead time of possession 0-0 0-0 0-0
Trail time of possession 0-1 0-1 0-0
Positive turnover margin 0-0 0-0 0-0
Negative turnover margin 0-1 0-1 0-0
Even turnover margin 0-0 0-0 0-0
More total yards offense 0-1 0-1 0-0
Less total yards offense 0-0 0-0 0-0
On Fridays 0-0 0-0 0-0
On Saturdays 0-0 0-0 0-0
On Sundays 0-1 0-1 0-0
vs. American Conference 0-1 0-1 0-0
vs. Central Division 0-1 0-1 0-0
vs. Western Division 0-0 0-0 0-0
vs. National Conference 0-0 0-0 0-0
vs. Eastern Division 0-0 0-0 0-0
vs. Southern Division 0-0 0-0 0-0















HEAD COACHES:

MIKE DAILIEY, Colorado (99-65, 11th Year): Mike Dailey enters his fourth season in Colorado and 11th as head coach in the AFL, after becoming the Crush's second head coach on June 26, 2003. Dailey joined the Crush following 13 seasons in the Albany/Indiana Firebirds organization, including the final seven as head coach.

One of the most successful and well-respected coaches in AFL history, Dailey's teams have compiled an overall record of 99-64 record, a winning percentage of 60.7. His teams have also made eight postseason appearances and he has won five division titles and two championships. This season, Dailey is posed to become only the fourth head coach in AFL history to surpass the 100 win mark. He currently stands as the league fourth all-time winningest coach.

In his first season in Colorado, Dailey helped guide the Crush to the largest turnaround in AFL history, inheriting a 2-14 team and leading them to an 11-5 record in 2004. In 1999, Dailey led the Albany Firebirds to their only ArenaBowl championship and was named AFL Coach of the Year. Before being named head coach of the Firebirds in 1997, Dailey served as an assistant in Albany for five seasons.

Dailey began his AFL coaching career with the Washington Commandos where he served as offensive/defensive line coach in 1990. He joined the Firebirds organization in the same capacity in 1991.

Prior to the AFL, Dailey worked as an assistant coach at Towson State University and was the offensive coordinator at Montgomery College-Rockville (Md.). Dailey got his start in coaching in 1981 as a 22-year-old assistant at Georgetown Prep High School in Rockville, Md. The move to coaching followed a semi-pro football career in the Washington D.C. area.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason

Rank Name-Team Wins
1. Tim Marcum- Tampa Bay 181
2. Danny White- Utah 149
3. Mike Hohensee- Chicago 106
4. Mike Dailey- Colorado 99
5. Darren Arbet- San Jose 94
6. Perry Moss- not active 86
7. Michael Trigg- not active 80
8. Jay Gruden- Orlando 77





KEVIN PORTER, Kansas City (4-13, 2nd Year): Kevin Porter became the inaugural head coach of the Kansas City Brigade in 2006 with the reputation as one of the Arena Football League's finest young defensive minds, based on his experience of a five-year NFL playing career and coaching tenure in the Arena Football League and af2. In his first season as an AFL defensive coordinator, the VooDoo finished the season with the second ranked scoring defense in the AFL, surrendering only 721 points, the sixth ranked defense and the fourth ranked pass defense.
Porter is the winningest coach in af2 history with a 45-27 record. The head coach of the Macon Knights from 2001-03 before joining the VooDoo, Porter took his team to the ArenaCup 2003 championship final game. Porter started his coaching career as head coach of the Pensacola Barracudas, in 2000. As an af2 head coach, Porter took his teams to the playoffs all four seasons. Porter started his coaching career as the defensive backs coach of the AFL Orlando Predators in 1999.
A third round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1988, Porter was a four-year starter at strong safety for the Chiefs, recording 290 tackles, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during his five year NFL career, which he closed out with the New York Jets in 1992. Prior to being drafted by the Chiefs, Porter was a four-year starter at cornerback at Auburn, where he was named honorable mention All-America as a senior.
He and his wife Annjela, have two sons, Jacob (6) and Kellen (2).




















LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET:

KANSAS CITY (4/15/06) -- Damian Harrell snared 14 catches for 196 yards and five touchdowns, then successfully fielded a short kickoff as time ran out to preserve a 55-49 win over the Kansas City Brigade at Kemper Arena.

Colorado improved to 9-3 with the win, while Kansas City dropped to 2-10 in its expansion season.

Harrell's reception and touchdown totals tied a career high. His scores allowed the Crush to grab a 49-20 third-quarter lead before the Brigade rallied with four consecutive touchdown drives while holding Colorado to three Clay Rush field-goal tries. Two connected; the other, an 18-yarder, missed wide right in the final minute.

Kansas City's final touchdown came with two seconds remaining on a pass from Chris Sanders to Aaron Boone and accounted for the final margin. The Brigade outscored the Crush 29-6 in the game's final 16 minutes.

Colorado staked its lead thanks to Harrell's scores and interceptions by Rashad Floyd, Ahmad Hawkins and Delvin Hughley. Floyd's interception came in the second quarter and gave the Crush its first defensive stop of the game; the others came in the third period and allowed Colorado to stretch its lead from 15 to 29 points after halftime.

Colorado quarterback John Dutton completed 24 of 39 passes for 280 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. Ahmad Hawkins and Andy McCullough had the only two scores that Harrell did not produce for the Crush.





















CRUSH LAST WEEK:

DENVER (3/4/07)- The Grand Rapids Rampage snapped an eight-game road losing streak handing the Colorado Crush a 44-42 loss in the season opener in front of 14,950 fans. The Rampage's last road win came on May 15 in the 2005 season finale against Chicago.

Colorado could not overcome three turnovers, two interceptions and a fumble, as Grand Rapids outscored the Crush 34-7 in the second and third quarters.

On Colorado's first series of the game, quarterback John Dutton completed a perfect 5-for-5 passing as he found wide receiver Damian Harrell for a six-yard touchdown strike. With the score, Harrell broke the AFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown (66). The Crush would build a 21-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, as Dutton completed his third TD pass to rookie receiver Willie Quinnie with seven seconds left in the period.

The Crush took a 28-20 lead into the half, as Grand Rapids chipped at the Colorado lead with two field goals by Brian Gowins and a 13-yard touchdown from Chad Salisbury to Timon Marshall.

Salisbury would leave the game on the second play of the third quarter when he suffered a concussion on a quarterback scramble. Back-up Matt Sauk did not take long to make an impact, stepping in on a fourth down play and connecting with Jerome Riley on a 43-yard touchdown pass to cut the Colorado lead to 28-27.

Dutton would fumble on the Crush's ensuing drive setting up the Rampage to lead, their first lead of the game, which they would not relinquish. Troy Edwards' three-yard touchdown reception with 2:25 left in the third quarter gave Grand Rapids a 34-28 advantage.

The Crush made a late surge as wide receiver Brad Pyatt's 14-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining in the game trimmed the Rampage lead to 42-44, but an unsuccessful on-side kick by Colorado helped secure the win for Grand Rapids.












THINGS TO WATCH:

YOUNG BLOOD:

The Colorado Crush took the field in Week 1 with four rookies on their active roster. Not since head coach Mike Dailey's arrival to Colorado in 2004 has he had that many first-year players on his Crush active roster to begin a season.

# OF ROOKIES ON ACTIVE ROSTER
2004- 4
2005- 0
2006- 2
2007- 4


LOCAL TIES:

This season the Crush have found a lot of good-young talent right in their back yard. Here is a list of players that have Colorado ties:

- DL QUINN DORSEY attended Manual High School in Denver.
- FB/LB ANTHONY DUNN attended Centauri High School in Manassa, CO and later played at the University of Northern Colorado.
- OL BRETT HUYSER played his collegiate football at the Air Force Academy.
- WR BRAD PYATT has played football at all three levels of his career in Colorado (Arvada West High School, Northern Colorado and the Crush).


BUILDING A WINNING TRADITION:

The Crush are the winningest team in the AFL regular season since head coach Mike Dailey's arrival, having tied for the league's best record in 2004 (11-5) and finishing with the American Conference's top seed in 2005 (10-6) and 2006 (11-5).


Team '04 '05 '06 '07 Total
Colorado 11 10 11 0 32
Orlando 10 10 10 1 31
San Jose 11 9 10 1 31
New York 9 10 10 0 29
Chicago 11 9 7 0 27
Tampa Bay 9 10 7 0 26
Los Angeles 9 10 5 0 24





ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH:

After finishing their inaugural season 0-8 at home, the Crush are now 21-6 under Mike Dailey (2-1 in the postseason) at Pepsi Center. Two of the five losses consist of a field goal in overtime (42-45) vs. Indiana in 2004 and a 51-48 Chicago win in 2005 on a field goal with three seconds remaining.


LET'S MAKE IT THREE:

Last season, Colorado was the only team to repeat as a division champion. This year, they'll look to become the first team since the New York Dragons (2003-2005) to repeat as divisional champions in three consecutive seasons.

2005 2006
Central Division Colorado Colorado

Western Division Los Angeles San Jose

Southern Division Georgia Orlando

Eastern Division New York Dallas


STEEL CURTAIN:

After allowing 14 sacks in 2003 (12 on Dutton), the Crush pass protection has been stellar under head coach Mike Dailey.

The team allowed just four sacks in 2004, and none after Week 6. In 2005, Colorado allowed just six sacks, while holding 10 opponents sackless on the year.

Since 2004, the Crush have allowed just 17 sacks in their last 41 regular season games (total of 1,925 plays).














HE KEEPS GOING & GOING & GOING....:

A true AFL Ironman, Kyle Moore-Brown is in his 13th season in the league and has never missed a game. ArenaBowl XIX marked his AFL record 176th consecutive start. The first 139 all came with the Firebirds organization before he signed with the Crush prior to the 2004 season.

AFL Record for Consecutive Games
Player (current team) Reg. Season Playoffs Total
Kyle Moore-Brown (Col)* 175 19 194
Otis Moore (GR) 153 1 155
*streak current




AMONG THE BEST:

Here is a break-down on where some of the Crush players rank in the AFL in various categories this season:

PLAYER CATEGORY AFL RANK


K- Jason Ball

PAT % T-1st

QB- John Dutton

Completions 2nd
Attempts 2nd
Passing TDs T-7th
Passing Yards 7th
Interceptions T-1st
Total Offense 7th

DB- Rashad Floyd

Tackles T-4th

WR- Damian Harrell
Scoring T-6th
Scoring (TDs) 7th

FB/LB- Saul Patu

Sacks T-4th

A BROKEN RECORD:

WR Damian Harrell has caught a touchdown pass in an AFL record 66 straight regular season games, including all 63 games as a member of the Crush. That streak is also the longest active streak of consecutive games scoring a TD. He broke the record for consecutive games with a receiving touchdown on 4/3/05 in the win over Las Vegas and set the mark consecutive games with a TD on 3/4/07 vs. Grand Rapids. Harrell's streak began with the Toronto Phantoms vs. Carolina on 7/4/02.


AFL Consecutive Games with a TD Reception
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col) 2002 (Wk 12) --- 66
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1997 (Wk 3) 2000 (Wk 1) 41
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2002 (Wk 7) 28

AFL Consecutive Games Scoring a Touchdown
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col) 2002 (Wk 12) --- 66
Eddie Brown (Alb/Ind) 1997 (Wk 3) 2002 (Wk 3) 65
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2003 (Wk 14) 47
Barry Wagner (Orlando) 1992 (Wk 10) 1996 (Wk 11) 43
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33

AFL Consecutive Games Scoring a Touchdown (Active)
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col) 2002 (Wk 12) --- 66
Chris Jackson (LA/GR/Geo) 2005 (Wk 2) --- 27
Siaha Burley (Or/LA/Ar/Ut) 2005 (Wk 10) --- 23

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