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Columbus Destroyers game notes

March 8, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Las Vegas Gladiators (3-3) at
Columbus Destroyers (1-4)
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2005
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Site: Nationwide Arena (17,171)
Officials: David Lambros, Referee; Rick Podraza, Umpire; Royce Cooly, Head Linesman; Paul Engelberts, Line Judge; David Cutaia, Back Judge
Radio: Columbus' flagship station WAZU-107.1 FM "The Big Wazoo" will broadcast the game live with Marty Bannister and Greg Frey.
Television: None
Series Record: The Destroyers hold a 4-3 all-time series advantage over the Gladiators in seven all-time series meetings dating back to the 2001 season.
Series Streaks: Saturday marks the eighth all-time series meeting between the Destroyers and Gladiators. The Destroyers won the first four meetings from 2001-2002 before dropping the past three games against the Gladiators in 2003-2004. The two teams have met twice every season since 2001, with the exception of last season when they only met once as the Gladiators bested the Destroyers, 64-51, in the final week of the 2004 season.
Coaches: Columbus, Chris Spielman, 1st season (1-4 in 2005, 1-4 overall). Las Vegas, Ron James, 1st season (3-3 in 2005, 3-3 overall).

OVERVIEW: After coming away with their first win of the season three weeks ago over Chicago, the Destroyers have dropped two consecutive road games in Grand Rapids and Georgia resulting in the team's 1-4 record through six weeks of play. The Destroyers will play three out of their next four games at home as the club looks to rebound from a slow start this season. Last week, the Destroyers fell to the Georgia Force at Philips Arena, 55-48, dropping Columbus' record to 0-3 on the road this season.

Las Vegas, who enters Saturday's game with a record of 3-3, is coming off a tough loss to the Austin Wranglers at home last Friday night. Vegas fell to Austin on the game's final play when Wranglers quarterback John Fitzgerald found Kevin Nickerson for a 14-yd TD as time expired to give Austin a one-point win. Vegas has yet to drop consecutive games this season.

COLUMBUS DESTROYERS (1-4)
Date Opponent Time Result Record
1/28 NASHVILLE 7:00 L (47-38) 0-1
2/13 @Dallas 3:00 L (35-31) 0-2
2/19 CHICAGO 7:00 W (52-39) 1-2
2/27 @Grand Rapids 3:00 L (66-57) 1-3
3/06 @Georgia 2:00 L (55-48) 1-4
3/12 LAS VEGAS 7:00 - -
3/20 @Colorado 3:00 - -
3/26 NEW YORK 7:00 - -
4/03 PHILADELPHIA 12:00 - -
4/08 @Arizona 10:00 - -
4/16 @New Orleans 8:00 - -
4/22 DALLAS 7:00 - -
4/30 AUSTIN 7:00 - -
5/07 @New York 7:00 - -
5/15 @Philadelphia 1:00 - -
5/22 TAMPA BAY 3:00 - -

*All Eastern Time

LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (3-3)
Date Opponent Time Result Record
1/30 LOS ANGELES 3:00 W (46-37) 1-0
2/05 @San Jose 9:00 L (31-66) 1-1
2/11 NEW YORK 10:00 W (41-37) 2-1
2/20 GEORGIA 6:00 L (13-38) 2-2
2/26 @Nashville 8:30 W (40-32) 3-2
3/04 AUSTIN 10:00 L (41-42) 3-3
3/12 @Columbus 7:00
3/19 @Arizona 9:00
3/28 SAN JOSE 10:00
4/03 @Colorado 3:00
4/08 GRAND RAPIDS 10:00
4/17 @Philadelphia 1:00
5/01 @Chicago 1:00
5/07 DALLAS 10:00
5/14 @Los Angeles 10:30
5/22 ARIZONA 3:00

A COLUMBUS WIN OVER LAS VEGAS WOULD...

· Give the Destroyers their second win of the season
· Give the Destroyers their second home win of the season
· Give the Destroyers their fifth all-time win over the Gladiators franchise
· End the Destroyers' current two-game losing streak
· End the Destroyers' three-game losing streak versus the Gladiators

LAST SERIES MEETING

Gladiators 64, Destroyers 51 (5/30/04)
Former Destroyers offensive specialist CoCo Blalock greeted his old team with six total touchdowns in leading his new team, the Las Vegas Gladiators, to a 64-51 decision over Columbus in both team's season finale at the Thomas & Mack Center. Destroyers quarterback Ryan Vena finished his rookie season by completing 21-of-36 pass attempts for 223 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 16 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, becoming the Destroyers' all-time leading rusher in the process. Blalock, who spent the first ten weeks of the 2004 season in a Destroyers uniform, finished the contest with a game-high eight catches for 147 yards and five receiving touchdowns. Both teams scored on their opening possession of the contest with Columbus breaking the scoring column first on a 40-yard field goal from kicker Steve Videtich. Blalock then scored the first of his six touchdowns in the game on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Dolezel. The extra point missed however, making the score 6-3 early in the opening quarter. If Blalock was fired up about facing his old team, he wasted little time in showing it. He would go on to score Las Vegas' first four touchdowns of the game, three through the air and one on the ground to give the Gladiators a 27-10 lead early in the second quarter. Noticeably fearful of Robinson's ability to return the ball, Las Vegas would squib their first three kicks in an attempt to take Robinson out of the game. The three kicks he did have an opportunity to return in the first half went for a total of 55 yards. He finished the game with five kick returns for 91 yards. The two teams traded scores throughout the second quarter with the Gladiators maintaining a double digit lead for the majority of the half. Vena registered consecutive rushing touchdowns in the second quarter from three and four yards out to keep Columbus within striking distance at 34-24. Vena's pair of first half rushing touchdowns gave him 13 on the season, which tied him for second all-time on the Destroyers career rushing list. Blalock added his fifth score of the first half on a five-yard touchdown pass from Dolezel to extend Las Vegas' lead to 16 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening half of play. Columbus would make the most of the two minutes they had to work with, using the majority of the clock and finding the endzone with thee seconds remaining in the half on a six-yard touchdown connection between Vena and Robinson to close the gap to nine at 40-31, Las Vegas. Following a Las Vegas field goal to open the second half, Columbus drove the length of the field on five plays, capped off by Vena's third rushing touchdown of the game to pull the Destroyers to within five points of the Gladiators. Trailing 50-38 early in the fourth, the Destroyers kept pace, adding their fourth rushing touchdown as a team on the afternoon. This time the rushing score came courtesy of Robinson who found his way into the endzone from one yard out to bring Columbus back to within a touchdown of Las Vegas. Another Blalock receiving score would push Las Vegas' lead back to double digits and a 31-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown would put the game out of reach.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS VS THE GLADIATORS
Date Score
April 21, 2001 BUFFALO 39, NEW JERSEY 28
June 1, 2001 BUFFALO 51, NEW JERSEY 31
April 19, 2002 BUFFALO 53, NEW JERSEY 51
June 23, 2002 BUFFALO 52, NEW JERSEY 45
March 23, 2003 LAS VEGAS 50, BUFFALO 32
May 18, 2003 LAS VEGAS 55, BUFFALO 38
May 30, 2004 LAS VEGAS 64, COLUMBUS 51

NO LUCK IN VEGAS
The Destroyers and Gladiators have met seven times prior to Saturday's meeting at Nationwide Arena. Before moving to Vegas, the Gladiators played in New Jersey from 2001-2002 where the Destroyers were a perfect 4-0 in games versus the New Jersey Gladiators. The Gladiators then moved to Las Vegas in 2003. Since the team moved to Vegas, the Destroyers are winless in three tries versus the Las Vegas Gladiators.

FAMILIAR FACES
Saturday will mark the return of OS CoCo Blalock and OL/DL Wilky Bazile to Nationwide Arena and the city of Columbus. Both players, now Gladiators, spent the majority of the 2004 season in a Destroyers uniform. Blalock played in 10 games for the Destroyers and Bazile spent all 16 in Columbus last season before being named the club's Ironman of the Year.

D'ORAZIO ON THE MARK
Destroyers quarterback Matt D'Orazio set a single-game record last week in Georgia, completing a franchise-best 84.8 percent of his pass attempts (28-33). On the season, D'Orazio has completed 74-of-103 passes for a completion percentage of 71.8. His 71.8 percent completion rate is tops in the AFL among all quarterbacks. He is also currently the fifth-highest rated quarterback in the league heading into Saturday's game (117.4).

HEFF HEFF AWAY
Destroyers defensive specialist Brandon Hefflin has impressed head coach Chris Spielman with his play since day one. Day one just happened to be in an open tryout this past fall. Hefflin came to an open tryout for the Destroyers in August and caught the eye of Spielman. Spielman asked Hefflin to attend an invitational workout and then signed the former Toledo standout shortly thereafter. He cracked his way into the lineup in week two and has been one of Columbus' more consistent players on the defensive side of the ball since. Last week, Hefflin made the biggest play of the day and biggest of his young career, recording his first AFL interception and returning it 47 yards for a touchdown. He is currently the club's fourth-leading tackler (12.0) in only four games and is second on the team in pass deflections with two.

CLOSE, BUT NOT ENOUGH
The Destroyers have lost four games this season. However, the team has been in every contest with a legitimate opportunity to win each game. The Destroyers have not lost by more than nine points all season, with the point differential in the club's four loses only being an average of 7.3 points per game. They still count as defeats, but the Destroyers have been more than competitive in every game this season.

SELF-INFLICTED PAIN
The Destroyers have had two interceptions called back during the past two games due to personal fouls; both unnecessary roughness calls. Both would-have-been interceptions came at critical times that could have changed the outcome of the game. In addition, the Destroyers have been penalized 29 times for 181 yards in the past two games.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
Wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White became the Destroyers' all-time leading receiver in week one and continues to build on his mark in his third season with the team. He is currently 11 catches behind OS Bobby Olive, who is also still playing, to become the club's all-time leader in every major receiving category. He is currently the team's all-time leader in receiving yards (2,348), touchdowns scored (45), receiving touchdowns (45) and points scored (280). Olive currently is the club's all-time leader in career receptions (189), single-season receptions (106) and single-season receiving yards (1,184).

DESTROYER CAREER RECEIVING LEADERS
Player Career Receptions
Bobby Olive 189 (1999-2002, 2005)
Cornelius White 178 (2003-2005)

Player Career Receiving Yards
Cornelius White 2,253 (2003-2005)
Bobby Olive 1,971 (1999-2002, 2005)

Player Career Receiving Touchdowns
Cornelius White 45 (2003-2005)
Darrick Branch 29 (1999-2001)

DESTROYERS SELL OUT AGAIN
The Destroyers sold out four of eight home games during their inaugural season, eventually averaging over 16,000 fans in attendance per home game in 2004. The club has picked up where they left off last season, recording yet another sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena (17,171) three weeks ago versus Chicago in the team's last home game. The sellout was the second consecutive this season and sixth out of 10 home games in Columbus.
DESTROYERS TACKLE HUNGER
When the Columbus Destroyers kicked off the 2005 AFL season, the team also kicked off a new community initiative in conjunction with the Mid-Ohio FoodBank to "Tackle Hunger" in Central Ohio. Beginning with the home opener and continuing throughout the 2005 season, fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to each home game at Nationwide Arena for donation to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank. In turn, fans will receive one raffle ticket per donated food item for a chance to win a team-autographed, authentic AFL football. One winner will be announced during the fourth quarter of each game. In addition to the eight-game collection drive, members of the Columbus Destroyers plan to further support the "Tackle Hunger" initiative with visits to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank to help pack boxes for distribution to local food pantries. Players and team personnel will also lend a hand at Faith Mission to serve meals and spend time with residents during several trips scheduled throughout the season.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Destroyers and Gladiators match up after six weeks of play.

2005 LEAGUE TEAM RANKINGS
Category (RANK) Columbus Las Vegas
Scoring Offense 45.2 (14th) 35.3 (17th)
Scoring Defense 48.4 (8th) 42.0 (1st)
Total Offense 243.2 (16th) 287.2 (6th)
Total Defense 260.0 (5th) 242.7 (3rd)
Touchdowns Scored 29 (16th) 23 (17th)
Pass Offense 223.6 (15th) 264.0 (8th)
Pass Defense 224.6 (3rd) 229.8 (4th)
Rushing Offense 19.6 (9th) 23.2 (5th)
Rushing Defense 35.4 (16th) 12.8 (3rd)
Field Goals Made 5-9 (T-5th) 5-9 (T-5th)
Field Goal Percentage .556 (T-5th) .556 (T-5th)
Kick Return Yards 705 (2nd) 503 (10th)
Kickoff Return Average 22.7 (2nd) 18.0 (T-6th)
Kickoff Coverage 13.7 (2nd) 18.9 (15th)
3rd Down Efficiency 16-41 (12th) 11-33 (16th)
4th Down Efficiency 6-12 (T-3rd) 6-14 (T-11th)
Red Zone Offense 15-22 (16th) 18-30 (17th)
Red Zone Defense 20-22 (15th) 29-39 (6th)
Avg. Time of Possession 28:22 (13th) 27:31 (16th)
Turnover Margin -5 (15th) -9 (T-16)


NEXT WEEK
Following Saturday's game with Las Vegas, the Destroyers return to the road as the club travels to Colorado to face the Crush at the Pepsi Center on Sunday, March 20. That game will be the first-ever meeting between the Destroyers and Crush.

DESTROYERS RECENT Transactions:

3/3/05: Activated linemen Troy Pelshak and Bryan Ray off injured reserve; placed fullback/linebacker Chris Pope and lineman LaKendrick Jones on injured reserve

3/1/05: Signed wide receiver/linebacker Chris Curd to the practice squad

2/24/05: Signed offensive specialist Randall Lane off the practice squad

2/17/05: Activated fullback/linebacker Juan Long off injured reserve

2/15/05: Released quarterback Chad Salisbury

2/15/05: Waived wide receiver/linebacker D.J. Humphries

2/15/05: Signed quarterback Ryan Vena

2/15/05: Traded lineman Carey Clayton to Nashville for defensive specialist Art Smith (Other League Exempt: NFL-Green Bay)

1/26/05: Signed quarterback Scott McMullen to practice squad

1/26/05: Signed offensive specialist Randall Lane to practice squad

1/26/05: Signed defensive specialist Justin Isom to practice squad

1/26/05: Signed defensive specialist Bobby Britton to practice squad

1/25/05: Waived lineman Tyronn Johnson

1/25/05: Released wide receiver/linebacker Sir Mawn Wilson

1/25/05: Placed fullback/linebacker Juan Long on injured reserve

COLUMBUS DESTROYERS 2005 RECORD WHEN...
HOME 1-1
AWAY 0-3
FRIDAY 0-1
SATURDAY 1-0
SUNDAY 0-3
VS EASTERN 0-1
VS CENTRAL 1-2
VS WESTERN 0-0
VS SOUTHERN 0-1
JANUARY 0-1
FEBRUARY 1-2
MARCH 0-1
APRIL 0-0
MAY 0-0
SCORE FIRST 1-3
OPPONENT SCORE FIRST 0-1
AHEAD AT HALF 1-2
BEHIND AT HALF 0-2
TIED AT HALF 0-0
AHEAD AFTER 3RD QTR 1-1
BEHIND AFTER 3RD QTR 0-3
TIED AFTER 3RD QTR 0-0
PLUS TURNOVER RATIO 1-0
EVEN TURNOVER RATIO 0-1
MINUS TURNOVER RATIO 0-3
MORE TOTAL OFFENSE 1-1
LESS TOTAL OFFENSE 0-3
OUTCOME 7 POINTS OR LESS 0-2
OUTCOME 3 POINTS OR LESS 0-0
OVERTIME 0-0
PLAY ON NBC 0-1
NOT ON NBC 1-3



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 8, 2005


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