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Columbus Destroyers Weekly: Opening Week

February 25, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Destroyers, presented by Germain, are set to open their fifth season against the Colorado Crush at Pepsi Center on Sunday, March 2. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (ET). Below is a look ahead at this week's opponent, practice schedule, team news and notes, broadcast information and a look ahead to Week 2.

THIS WEEK: The defending National Conference champion Columbus Destroyers kick off the 2008 campaign Sunday, March 2 against the Colorado Crush at Pepsi Center. The Crush finished the 2007 season with a 8-8 mark and finished sixth in the American Conference. The ArenaBowl XX champion Crush are led by head coach Mike Dailey (11th season, 4th in Colorado). The Destroyers have one win in three meetings with the Crush all-time - 65-21 on March 25, 2006.

The Crush was victorious in the last meeting between the two teams on May 18, 2007 in Denver. With Destroyers quarterback Matt Nagy sidelined with an elbow injury, Scott Dreisbach completed 30-of-45 passes for 269 yards and five touchdowns in a 58-40 loss. Colorado quarterback John Dutton was named Offensive Player of the Game after completing 28-of-40 passes for 293 yards and eight touchdowns.

A player to watch is wide receiver Ben Nelson, who joined the Crush during the off-season. The 2006 AFL Rookie of the Year caught 100 passes for 1,257 yards and 25 touchdowns in 11 games with the ArenaBowl XXI champion San Jose SaberCats last season.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Destroyers will have played eight games in a row away from Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena before their 2008 home opener against the Cleveland Gladiators on Mar. 15. This is the longest stretch in franchise history that the team has gone without playing a home contest. The previous record was three games on two occasions (July 22, 2000-Apr. 14, 2001 and Apr. 6-Apr. 18, 2003). Columbus is 4-2 in their last six road contests including wins at: New York Dragons (74-43; June 23, 2007), Tampa Bay Storm (56-55; June 30, 2007), Dallas Desperados (66-59; July 7, 2007) and Georgia Force (66-56; July 14, 2007).

STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: Destroyers Head Coach Doug Kay has won four-of-five season openers all-time, including a perfect 3-0 record when opening on the road.

WEEK 2 - BACK TO "BIG D": The Destroyers will continue their 2008 road schedule as they visit Dallas to take on the Desperados on Friday, Mar. 7 at American Airlines Arena with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. (ET). The Destroyers ended the Desperados season with a 66-59 victory in the National Conference Divisional Round on July 7, 2007. Dallas set a League record for most wins in a regular season (15) last year.

ON THE AIRWAVES: This week's contest between the Destroyers and the Crush can be heard on your home for Destroyers football, WNNK 107.1 FM with the broadcast tandem of Todd Walker (play-by-play) and Rob Blackman (color commentator) on the call. Tune in at 3:30 p.m. (ET) as the Destroyers pre-game show gets underway with a one-on-one interview with Destroyers Head Coach Doug Kay, player interviews and insider information.

GAME PROMOTIONS: The Destroyers will kickoff their 2008 home schedule against division rival Cleveland Gladiators in the "Battle of the Buckeye State" presented by Columbus Worthington Air on Saturday, March 15. Kickoff at Nationwide Arena is slated for 7 p.m. The teams will be playing for the "Battle of the Buckeye State" Trophy sponsored by Columbus Worthington Air. Before kickoff, the team will raise the 2007 National Conference Championship Banner. The first 10,000 fans will receive a 2008 Destroyers magnet schedule. During the post game autograph session, presented by Nationwide, fans will be able to win a $10 gift certificate in the Giant Eagle Ham Toss.

TICKET INFORMATION: The Destroyers 2008 home schedule features seven Saturday night games and one Monday night contest. For a limited time, fans can purchase two season tickets, two AFL replica footballs and two Destroyers hats for ONLY $222. The package can be purchased by calling (877) COLS-AFL. Single game tickets start at just $15 and are on sale now at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, ticketmaster Ticket Centers, ticketmaster.com and all FSN Ohio Blue Line team stores located at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, Chiller Easton, Chiller Dublin and Chiller North. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for group rates by calling (614) 246-HITS.

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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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