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Columbus Destroyers game notes

February 10, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Columbus Destroyers (1-0) vs Carolina Cobras (1-0)
Date: Friday, February 13, 2004
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (ET).
Site: Nationwide Arena (17,078)
Officials:
Television: NA
Radio: Columbus' flagship station WAZU-107.1 FM "The Big Wazoo will broadcast the game live with Marty Bannister handling the play-by-play duties and Greg Frey supplying color commentary.
Series Record: Carolina leads 1-3.
Last Meeting: February 9, 2003 in Buffalo (Destroyers 44, Cobras 16)
Series Streaks: Destroyers Won One.
Coaches: Destroyers, Earle Bruce (1-0 in 2004, 14-23 overall). Carolina, Eddie Khayat (1-0 in 2004, 23-19 overall).

OVERVIEW: The Destroyers are coming off a dramatic come-from-behind road victory over the Indiana Firebirds last Saturday night in Indianapolis. The win was the third season-opening victory for the Destroyers franchise, dating back to when the team played out of Buffalo, NY. Friday's meeting with Carolina will be the Destroyers' inaugural home opener after relocating from to Columbus, OH this past offseason following five seasons in Buffalo. A win would get the Destroyers off to their best start since the 2001 season when the team opened up the season with two consecutive wins out of the gates. The Destroyers will welcome a Cobras franchise that finally snapped a league-worst 17-game losing streak last week after besting the Dallas Desperados 67-41 in Dallas last Sunday. The Cobras losing streak, which extended back to the 2002 season, included a 0-16 2003 campaign.

THE SERIES: Dating back to the 2001 season, the Cobras hold a 3-1 series advantage over the Destroyers in four all-time series meetings. Four of the first five meetings between the two teams, including Friday's contest, will have been played on the Destroyers' home field. After dropping the first three meetings with Carolina, the Destroyers claimed a lop-sided 44-16 victory over the Cobras when the two teams last met on February 9 of last season. The 16 points scored by Carolina were the fewest points allowed by a Destroyer defense in franchise history.



COLUMBUS DESTROYERS
Date Opponent Time (ET) Result/Streak
2/7 At Indiana 7:00 W-54-48/W1
2/13 CAROLINA 7:00
2/21 At Philadelphia 7:30
2/29 DALLAS 3:00
3/5 At Arizona 9:00
3/13 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
3/20 At New York 7:00
4/4 ORLANDO 12:00
4/10 NEW YORK 7:00
4/18 At New Orleans 3:00
4/25 TAMPA BAY 12:00
5/1 At Carolina 7:30
5/9 GEORGIA 3:00
5/14 GRAND RAPIDS 7:00
5/22 At Dallas 8:30
5/29 At Las Vegas 4:00

CAROLINA COBRAS
Date Opponent Time (ET) Result/Streak
2/8 At Dallas 3:00 W-67-41/W1
2/13 At Columbus 7:00
2/21 ARIZONA 7:30
2/28 ORLANDO 7:30
3/7 At Austin 3:00
3/14 DALLAS 3:00
3/21 TAMPA BAY 3:00
3/27 At New Orleans 8:00
4/4 NEW YORK 3:00
4/11 At Indiana 3:00
4/17 PHILADELPHIA 7:30
5/1 COLUMBUS 7:30
5/8 At New York 7:00
5/15 At Philadelphia 7:30
5/22 GRAND RAPIDS 7:30
5/30 At Georgia 4:00

THE IFS...
If Columbus defeats Carolina, it would...

 Give Columbus their best start to a season since the 2001 campaign when the team opened the season with two consecutive wins.
 Give Columbus their first-ever victory in their new home.
 Give Columbus back-to-back wins over Carolina
 Give Columbus their first win over an Eastern Divisional rival.
 Give Columbus momentum heading into Philadelphia in week three, which is divisional showdown for the second game in as many weeks.



LAST WEEK: The Destroyers erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit in the team's inaugural season opener en-route to a 54-48 road victory over the Indiana Firebirds at Conseco Fieldhouse last Saturday night. The Destroyers outscored the Firebirds 26-7 in the fourth quarter. Rookie quarterback Ryan Vena led the Destroyers' offense, completing 19-of-25 pass attempts for 202 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 21 yards in the contest. Offensive specialist CoCo Blalock led the Destroyers in receiving, catching six balls for 66 yards and a score. Wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White followed Blalock, recording four catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Trailing by one point with just under five minutes remaining in the contest, Destroyers defensive specialist JoJo polk stepped in front of a Tony Zimmerman pass and returned it four yards for the game-winning score.

NEXT WEEK: Following Friday's game with Carolina, the Destroyers will travel to Philadelphia to face the expansion Soul on Saturday, February 21. The game will be the second consecutive Eastern division contest for the Destroyers and first-ever meeting between the Destroyers and Soul.

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Buffalo Destroyers posted their first victory of the 2003 season with a 44-16 decision over the Carolina Cobras at the HSBC Arena on February 9 of last year. The 16 points allowed by Buffalo remains as the fewest by an opponent in team history. The first quarter was ruled by the defense as Carolina got the only score after quarterback Robert Hall found wide receiver/defensive back Nick Ward for a 38-yard touchdown. Buffalo took the lead early in the second quarter on a Anthony Hicks six-yard touchdown run. Buffalo quarterback Jeff Loots hit offensive specialist Gunnard Twyner for a 49-yard touchdown pass as time expired as the Destroyers led 13-9 at halftime. Buffalo came out firing in the second half as offensive specialist Jarrail Jackson returned the second half kickoff back for a 55-yard touchdown. Five minutes later, Loots hit wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White for a 28-yard touchdown. After a Carolina touchdown, Loots found Twyner for a second time, this one a nine yard score as Buffalo lead after three quarters, 32-16. Buffalo added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Loots and White hooked up for a 17 yard score and full back/linebacker Juan Long scored on a one yard run.

ALL-TIME SERIES SCORES
Date Score
February 9, 2003 Destroyers 44, Cobras 16
July 12, 2002 Cobras 52, Destroyers 31
June 17, 2001 Cobras 53, Destroyers 44
May 4, 2001 Cobras 59, Destroyers 57

THE COACHES:
Columbus – Earle Bruce, 5th season (1st with Destroyers) 1-0 in 2004; 14-23 overall
Earle Bruce returns to the Arena Football League as head coach and general manager for the Columbus Destroyers. Bruce landed his first collegiate head coaching job at the University of Tampa in 1972, where he fashioned a 10-2 record, including a win in the Tangerine Bowl. He took over at Iowa State University from 1973-1978, where he guided the Cyclones to eight wins in each of his last three seasons. Bruce succeeded long-time coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State in 1979 and went on to compile an 81-26-1 record from 1979-1987 in Columbus. He led the Buckeyes to two outright Big Ten titles (1979, 1984) and two co-championships (1981, 1986) and was named the 1980 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Following his tenure in Columbus, Bruce coached at the University of Northern Iowa in 1988 before taking over the Colorado State University program from 1989-92. He led the Rams to their best season in school history, a 9-4 record that included a win in the Freedom Bowl. Bruce began his coaching career in the AFL during the 1993-1994 seasons with the Cleveland Thunderbolts. He spent the 1994-1995 seasons with the St. Louis Stampede, making theirs the best record of an expansion football team at 9 and 4 and taking them to the playoffs. In 2001 Bruce coached the Iowa Barnstormers in the AF2 League.

Carolina – Eddie Khayat, 5th season (2nd with Cobras) 1-0 in 2004; 23-19 overall
Eddie Khayat originally joined the Cobras organization on February 13, 2003 as the senior advisor of football operations before being named the Cobras' interim head coach for the team's final three games last year. Khayat played nine seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles from 1957-1965, winning a Super Bowl as a member of the Eagles in 1960. Khayat has nearly 30 years of coaching experience in the NFL as well as the AFL, landing his first coaching job as defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints in 1967. Khayat spent 25 years on the sideline as a coach in the NFL with seven different teams, including the Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Khayat began his Arena Football coaching career in 1991 as head coach of the New Orleans Night. He also spent time at the helm with the Nashville Kats (1997-98) before joining the Cobras in 2003.

Recent Roster Moves (most recently first)
Date Action Player
2/10 Activated from Pr Squad Jason Collins-Baker
2/10 Activated from Pr Squad Titcus Pettigrew
2/10 Activated from Pr Squad LaKendrick Jones
2/10 Released Alex Houston
2/10 Waived Tony Locke
2/10 Placed on IR Kenny Jackson
2/3 Signed to Practice Squad Titcus Pettigrew
2/3 Signed to Practice Squad LaKendrick Jones
2/3 Signed to Practice Squad Matt D'Orazio
2/3 Signed to Practice Squad Jason Collins-Baker
2/3 Acquired via trade Marcus McKenzie
2/2 Waived Phil Taylor
2/2 Waived Hunter Adams
2/1 Signed Prentice Taylor
1/30 Signed Carey Clayton
1/30 Signed Kenny Jackson

INJURY REPORT: Offensive/defensive lineman Richard McCleaskey remains on injured reserve after suffering an elbow injury midway through this year's training camp. Following the Destroyers' season opener in Indiana, offensive/defensive lineman Kenny Jackson was placed on IR.

INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Kenny Jackson Knee IR
Richard McCleskey Dislocated Elbow IR

MILESTONES:
K Steve Videtich: Last week, Videtich connected on 6-of-8 PATs in the Destroyers' win over Indiana. With his fifth PAT of the game, Videtich became only the second player in league history to reach 1,000 points in a career (kicking).

DS JoJo Polk: Polk needs seven more total tackle to reach 200 for his career.

WR/LB Cornelius White: Needs two receiving yards to reach 2,000 for his career. White also only needs one more touchdown to reach 50 total touchdowns for his career and two more to receiving touchdowns to reach 50 in his career.

OS CoCo Blalock: Needs 15 yards receiving to reach 1,000 for his career.

OL/DL Tony Plantin: Needs 1.5 sacks to reach 10 for his career.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Destroyers and Cobras match up after one week of play.

2004 LEAGUE TEAM RANKINGS
Category Columbus Carolina
Scoring Offense (Rank) 54.0 (T-3) 67.0 (1)
Scoring Defense 48.0 41.0
Total Offense 224.0 (14) 312.0 (1)
Total Defense 247.0 (11) 245.0 (10)
Touchdowns Scored 8 9
Pass Offense 202.0 (13) 282.0 (1)
Pass Defense 183.0 (4) 238.0 (14)
Passing Touchdowns 4 6
Rushing Offense 22.0 (14) 30.0 (T-8)
Rushing Defense 64.0 (9) 7.0 (2)
Rushing Touchdowns 1 2
Field Goal Percentage 00.0 (T-9) 25.0 (8)
Field Goals Made 0 1
PAT Kicking 6-8 8-9
Interceptions 2 2
Kickoff Returns 8 8
Kickoff Return Average 19.3 15.4
Turnover Margin +1 (T-7) +5 (1)
Sacks By 3 0
Sacks Against 0 0

BIG D
Under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Weylan Harding, the Destroyers have established themselves as one of the top defensive teams in the Arena Football League. Last season the Destroyers finished first in the league in pass defense (219.1 ypg), second in total defense (238.5 ypg) fourth in scoring defense (46.9 ppg) and fourth in team interceptions (21). Carrying over from last year, the Destroyers' defense came up big again during the team's season-opening victory over the Firebirds Saturday night, returning two interceptions for touchdowns late in the game. Wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White picked off a Kevin Daft pass early in the fourth quarter, returning it nine yards for a touchdown only minutes before defensive specialist JoJo polk stepped in front of a Tony Zimmerman pass and returned four yards for the game-clinching score.

WELCOME TO THE AFL
Destroyers rookie quarterback Ryan Vena edged teammate John Rayborn for the starting job and made the most of his AFL debut last week in Indianapolis. Vena's first pass attempt in the Arena Football League went for a 13 yard touchdown to wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White. Vena went on to complete 19-of-25 pass attempts for 202 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and is currently the highest rated passer in the league (138.7).

CAPTAIN COMBACK
Destroyers quarterback Ryan Vena led his team back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit last week, however the task has become fairly routine for Vena. Last year as a member of the arenafootball2's Albany Conquest, Vena led his team to four come-from-behind victories with winning touchdowns coming in the final minute of play.

A VERY SPECIAL TEAMS
The Destroyers' special teams played a big role in Columbus' victory over Indiana last Saturday after returning eight kickoffs for 154 yards and a touchdown. OS CoCo Blalock returned his first kick as a Destroyer 40 yards to the Indiana 10, setting up the Destroyers first touchdown of the contest. The Destroyers strong special teams continued into the second half when WR/LB Sedrick Robinson returned an Indiana kickoff 57 yards for the first out of five second half touchdowns.

HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN
Well over 16,500 fans will celebrate the newest team in Columbus when they pack Nationwide Arena for the Destroyers Inaugural Home Opener. The game will be the highest attended game played by the Destroyers since their inaugural Buffalo opener 16,100.

RETURN ME
Three of the eight touchdowns the Destroyers scored last weekend were via returns (2 INT, 1 KR), which is the most in the AFL through one week of play

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Entering this week's play the Destroyers have the fourth best pass defense in the league having given up only 183 yards through the air last week. However, the Cobras bring the top-ranked pass offense in the league into Friday's contest, gaining 282 passing yards in their season opener. A stingy Destroyer pass defense and a strong Cobras pass offense could prove to be a volatile match-up.

ROSTER MAKE UP
The 2004 Destroyers roster is made up of 16 newcomers and only six returning players from last year's team in Buffalo. This year's team includes a solid mix of young and veteran players. One of the top offseason acquisitions for the Destroyers was former AFL Kicker of the Year Steve Videtich. Entering the 2004 season, Videtich ranked second all-time in field goals attempted (262), field goals made (130) and fourth all-time in field goal percentage (49.6). Last week Videtich became surpassed the 1,000 point barrier for his career. Only one other player in league history has duplicated that feat among kickers (Mike Black).

CAREER KICKING
Player Category Stat/Rank
Mike Black Career FGs made 174/1
Steve Videtich Career FGs made 130/2
Kenny Stucker Career Fgs made 118/3
Daron Alcorn Career FGs made 99/4
Remy Hamilton Career FGs made 90/5

GAME MVP AWARD
WEEK OPPONENT PLAYER
One Indiana Brett Bech (IN)
Two CAROLINA
Three Philadelphia
Four DALLAS
Five Arizona
Six PHILADELPHIA
Seven New York
Eight ORLANDO
Nine NEW YORK
Ten New Orleans
Eleven TAMPA BAY
Twelve Carolina
Thirteen GEORGIA
Fourteen GRAND RAPIDS
Fifteen Dallas
Sixteen Las Vegas

GAME IRONMAN AWARD
WEEK OPPONENT PLAYER
One Indiana Sedrick Robinson (COL)
Two CAROLINA
Three Philadelphia
Four DALLAS
Five Arizona
Six PHILADELPHIA
Seven New York
Eight ORLANDO
Nine NEW YORK
Ten New Orleans
Eleven TAMPA BAY
Twelve Carolina
Thirteen GEORGIA
Fourteen GRAND RAPIDS
Fifteen Dallas
Sixteen Las Vegas

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

COLUMBUS DESTROYERS
QB Ryan Vena: Led the Destroyers to a week-one victory in Indiana after completing 19-of-25 pass attempts for 202 yards and four touchdowns. He is currently the highest rated quarterback in the AFL (138.7). In af2 last season as a member of the Albany Conquest, Vena was the league leader in passing yards (4,460), total offense (4,634), completions (345), and was second in pass attempts (513), touchdown passes (85) and completion percentage (67.3).

WR/LB Cornelius White:
Led the Destroyers in 2003 with 63 receptions and was second on the team with 760 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. Last week, White registered four catches for 48 yards and two scores, while leading the team's defense with five tackles and one interception returned for a touchdown.

DS JoJo Polk:
A three-year veteran who last season set the Destroyers record for tackles in a single season (86.5/5th in AFL) in his first season with the team. Last week Polk had one interception, which he returned four yards for the game-winning touchdown.

CAROLINA COBRAS
QB MATT NAGY: A second-year quarterback who was named the AFL's Player of the Week after leading the Cobras to their first win since the 2002 season last week in Dallas. Nagy completed 28-of-39 passes for 282 yards and six touchdowns in Carolina's 67-41 victory over the Desperados. He also rushed for a touchdown.

DS DAMON MASON: Mason is in his seventh season in the Arena Football League. Entering the 2004 season, Mason ranked among the league's all-time leaders with 501 tackles (3rd), 19 forced fumbles (3rd) and 65 pass deflections (16th). He has registered three of the top four single-season tackle totals in AFL history.

OS TODD DOXZON: A fourth year offensive specialist who is in his first season with the Cobras after spending his first three seasons in the Arena Football League with the New York Dragons. Last week, Doxzon recorded ten catches (T-2nd in AFL) for 97 yards (5th in AFL) and three touchdowns (T-1st in AFL) during the Cobras victory over the Desperados.

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