Columbus Destroyers game notes

April 19, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


DESTROYERS/SOUL PREVIEW

The Columbus Destroyers (3-3) will take on the Philadelphia Soul (4-2) on Russell Athletics ESPN Arena Football Monday Night. With a win the Destroyers will move into a second place tie with the Soul in the Eastern Division. This will be the seventh time these division foes have met, the two teams have split the previous six contests.

The Destroyers have defeated the Soul consecutively in the last three meetings between the two squads. On Mar. 18 last season Destroyers won 53-20 on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. The Destroyers needed a TD and a two-point conversion with 40-seconds remaining in the game to defeat the Soul 46-45 at Wachovia Center on April 21.

Destroyers' wide receiver David Saunders caught a combined 13 grabs for 163 yards and three touchdowns in two games against the Soul last year. Both games were a part of his consecutive touchdown streak of 17-games.

Soul QB Tony Graziani has been placed on injured reserve and will not play. Signal caller Juston Wood will lead the Soul offense. The Soul pass defense allows 301 yards per game, second to last in the AFL. Look for Matt Nagy and the Destroyers receiving corps to move the ball through the air.

DESTROYERS/WRANGLERS RECAP

The Destroyers (3-3) exploded for 41-points in the second half against the Austin Wranglers (2-5) that led to a 72-49 victory in front of 15,121 at Nationwide Arena. QB Nagy completed 28 of 40 passes for 326 yards and a franchise and career high nine touchdown passes. On the receiving end of five of those scoring strikes was Damien Groce. The five touchdown receptions are also a franchise and career mark for Groce. After trading touchdowns throughout the first half, kicker Peter Martinez gave the Destroyers a three point edge at halftime. The Destroyers defense went on to stop the Wranglers on four consecutive drives in the second half and that proved to be the difference. Jerald Brown (2) and Rober' Freeman were able to pick off Wranglers QB Adrian McPherson in three of the four drives.

THE MAGIC NUMBER

The Destroyers put 72 points on the scoreboard, the second most points in franchise history, in a win over the Austin Wranglers last week. Since the Destroyers have moved to Columbus they hold a perfect 7-0 record in games in which they score 60-plus points. Earlier this season the Destroyers defeated the Georgia Force in Week Five, 62-61.

The most points the Buffalo Destroyers scored in a game is 79. They accomplished that on the road at New Jersey on June 25, 2000.

TOUCHDOWN MACHINE

Last week against the Wranglers Destroyers QB Matt Nagy threw for a team record and set a personal best with nine touchdown passes.

Nagy bested the previous Destroyers record set by Ryan Vena who threw for eight scores against the Dallas Desperados on May 22, 2004.

CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN

Wide receiver Damien Groce torched the Wranglers secondary last week as he caught 13 passes for 129 yards and set a franchise record with five touchdown receptions. On the season he leads the team with 49 receptions (T-15th in the AFL) for 541 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He also leads the league in kick returns with 17 returns for 423 yards and one touchdown.

MR. RELIABLE

David Saunders has caught 39 passes for 336 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He has caught a touchdown in 17-consecutive games dating back to the 2006 season.

Since the streak started on Mar. 3, 2006 against the New York Dragons, Saunders has amassed 104 receptions for 1,058 yards and 28 touchdowns.

DYNAMIC DUO

The tandem of Matt Nagy and Damien Groce has sparked the Destroyers offense in the first six games of the season. The two have combined for 14 touchdowns.

Nagy has passed to Groce for 541 yards on 49 receptions, that consists for over a third (37%) of the Destroyers offensive output in the first six games.

DEFENDING THE CROWN

Reigning AFL Defensive Player of the Year Jerald Brown picked up right where he left off 2006 as he's intercepted five passes this season (tied for fifth in the AFL), including two in Destroyers' victories over the Georgia Force in Week 5 and two last week against the Austin Wranglers. A season ago, Brown finished second in the league with 11 interceptions and 133 interception return yards.

In addition to the five interceptions, Brown has amassed 21.5 tackles (16 UT, 11 AT), one fumble recovery and holds for the team lead with eight pass breakups.

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL?

The Destroyers special teams are providing a much-needed boost to the team's overall game, ranking among league leaders in kick returns.

Kick returners Damien Groce (17 KOR for 423 yards and 1 TD) and Josh Bush (17 KOR for 362 yards and 2 TD's) have supplied great starting field position for the offense in the first four games of the season. The two have combined for 785 yards on 34 kick returns and three touchdowns. The kick return average of 23.1 yards per return leads the AFL.

DÉJÀ VU

In Week Five against the Georgia Force the Destroyers kickoff returners were all over the field as they returned two the length of the field for touchdowns. In the second quarter Josh Bush returned his second in as many games from 56-yards and in the third quarter Damien Groce returned a Xavier offering 56-yards for the score.

This is the first time the Destroyers have had two kickoff returns for touchdowns in a game since May 9, 2004 against the Georgia Force. In history the Destroyers have now accomplished the special teams feat four times including Week Five, three of those have been at the hands of the Georgia Force.

SPREADING THE LOVE

Quarterback Matt Nagy found five different receivers for touchdowns against the Dallas Desperados in Week Six. Damien Groce, Tony Locke, David Saunders (2), Josh Bush and Howard Duncan were the recipients of the scoring strikes.

Nagy has now accomplished this feat twice in his career. The first coming on March 7, 2004, as a member of the Carolina Cobras he threw for six touchdowns in the game to five different receivers including current teammate, Damien Groce.

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

With great kickoff returns provided by Bush and Groce, field position comes into play. The Destroyers are starting on average from the 18-yard line, a league best.

In Week 1 at Nashville the team average start was from their own 20-yard line. In a Week 2 loss at New Orleans the Destroyers started from their own 12-yard line. In a Week 5 victory against the Georgia Force, Columbus' average start was from the Force 24-yard line.

In the second half of last week's game against the Wranglers the Destroyers average starting field position was their own 20-yardline. The Destroyers scored 41-points in the second half.

BEAR DOWN

Rober' Freeman, now in his third year in the AFL, leads the Destroyers with 41.5 tackles (37 UT, 9 AT) the eighth best tackle mark in the AFL. The Atlanta, Georgia native spent his first two seasons with the Nashville Kats where he accumulated 61.5 tackles, seven pass breakups and one interception.

In 2004, Freeman played in NFL Europe with the Rhein Fire after being allocated by the Houston Texans.

THE TOLEDO TACKLER

Toledo graduate, Brandon Hefflin, is second on the team (tied for ninth in the AFL) with 36.5 tackles after six games. Now in his third year with the Destroyers, Hefflin led the team in tackles in 2005 (76.5) and 2006 (84.5).

Hefflin made a strong showing in the season opener against the Kats, he corralled 9.5 tackles and one pass breakup. Against the VooDoo a week later, he made 10 stops, two tackles for a loss totaling three yards and forced one fumble. In both games he was the Destroyers leading tackler.

Hefflin was inactive for last weeks game against the Wranglers and is expected to make his return to the turf Monday night against the Soul.

JOLTING JONES

Ken Jones led the Destroyers with five sacks last season. This season he leads the team with 4.5. He sacked Rush QB Matt D'Orazio twice in Week 4 and Georgia's Chris Griesen for 1.5 in Week 5 while stripping the ball and recovering it on one occasion.

Being able to get pressure on the quarterback is his specialty and he's making a statement against offensive lineman as he third in the AFL in sacks and is tied for second in the league in tackles for loss with 5.5 (4.5 sacks, one tackle in the backfield).

O-H-I-O

Six Destroyers players have ties to the Buckeye state.

DB B.J. Barre

- Grew up in Toledo, attended Whitmer High School and played at The Ohio State University one season.

DB Brandon Hefflin

- Attended the University of Toledo

WR Tony Locke

- Born in Springfield, attended Urbana High School and played at The Ohio State University

OL Juan Porter

- Prepped at St. Ignatius High School (Cleveland) and played at The Ohio State University

DB Anthony Floyd

- Born in Youngstown

QB Josh Harris

- Prepped at Westerville High School and played quarterback at Bowling Green State University

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

The Destroyers 2007 coaching staff brings with it 37 years of coaching experience in Arena Football. Collectively the Destroyers coaches have won three ArenaBowl Championships (Head Coach Doug Kay, Tampa Bay Storm - ArenaBowl VII and Arizona Rattlers - ArenaBowl XI; Coach Mitch Matuska, Tampa Bay Storm - ArenaBowl XVII)

Offensive coordinator Skip Foster (2003) won an ArenaCup in arenafootball2 with the Tulsa Talons as head coach.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 19, 2007


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