Sports stats



Coyotes beat Bakersfield 33-20

April 3, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


BAKERSFIELD – The Coyotes defense and special teams made sure that defensive coordinator Steven G. Folmar and secondary coach Delvin Myles had a victorious homecoming in their return to Bakersfield. John Gockman's three field goals and the special teams' two blocked kicks helped guide the Coyote's to a 33-20 victory at Rabobank Arena.

"It seems like we really found our guy," head coach Fred Biletnikoff Jr. said of Gockman. "To come into your first-ever arena game and kick like that is outstanding."

The victory puts Central Valley at 1-0 and gives them an early division lead.

Gockman, who was a long-field goal specialist at the University of Illinois, was 3-of-4 on field goals and a perfect 2-of-2 on extra points.

The rest of the Coyotes special teams contributed with a blocked field goal attempt for a safety in the third quarter and a blocked extra point attempt in the fourth.

Bakersfield seemed to be in control early as on the game's first series, the Blitz defense stuffed two Coyote one-yard run attempts on third and fourth down to take over at their own 20.

On the ensuing drive, the Blitz were able to go up 7-0 on a Chad Elliot-to-Rennard Reynolds seven-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

The Coyotes responded with a 23-yard field goal with less than eight minutes left to make it 7-3. Gockman kicked ensuing kickoff out of bounds, drawing a penalty.

"I thought it was going to be a long night for him," Biletnikoff Jr. said. "It was the complete opposite."

At that point, the Coyotes defense took over, making the first of six consecutive stops on a 42-yard missed field goal attempt.

Central Valley was unable to cash in on the first stop as they turned the ball over on downs after coming up short on a fourth-and-one for the second straight time.

"Their front line made a statement early with those two fourth-and-one stops." Biletnikoff said.

The Coyotes defense responded when WR/LB Latario Rachal intercepted a Chad Elliot pass at mid-field.

The turnover would lead to a 20-yard Gockman field goal, a few minutes into the second quarter to bring the Coyotes within 7-6.

The Coyotes defense was able to force another turnover when DS Marvin Owens made an interception with 8:36 to go in the half.

Central Valley took advantage of the turnover with a Vai Notoa two-yard score as he plowed through the defense on a third-and-goal. An unsuccessful two-point attempt left the score at 12-7.

Another Blitz missed field goal gave the Coyotes the ball with 49 seconds left in the half.

Central Valley was unable to move the ball, which led to a 43-yard Gockman field goal attempt that went directly through the uprights as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving the Coyotes a 15-7 lead.

"That was a huge momentum builder," Biletnikoff Jr. said. "The way our defense was playing, we were glad to have a two-score advantage at that point."

The special teams set the tone in the second half when FB/LB Clint Merz blocked a 48-yard Dan Burnett field goal attempt that bounced into the endzone for a safety to make it 17-7.

On the ensuing drive FB/LB Vai Notoa got his second touchdown of the game when he caught a short pass and scampered 24 yards for the score to make it 24-7 with under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

WR/LB Wes Borba helped force the third Blitz turnover of the game when he recovered an Elliot fumble.

"After the blocked field goal and the fumble recovery to start the second half, there was no turning back." Biletnikoff said.

Quarterback Juston Wood found OS Marvin Brown for a 10-yard score to give the Coyotes a 31-7 lead with two minuets left in the third quarter.

The Blitz finally got on the board after a three-quarter scoring drought with 12:53 left to go in the game on a Rennard Reynolds 6-yard touchdown reception to make it 31-14.

The Coyotes added another safety and fumble recovery to seal the deal.

Blitz backup quarterback Jason Thomas added a late touchdown to make it 33-20.

The Coyotes will take a week off and hit the road again on April 16, when they take on the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz at the Ford Center. The contest will kickoff at 6:30 and can be heard on ESPN AM 1430.

• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...

arenafootball2 Stories from April 3, 2005


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.

Other Recent Central Valley Coyotes Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central