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Coyotes Put out the Burn

May 14, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


(Fresno, Calif.) - Rookie QB Clay Groefsema set three Franchise Records as he led the Coyotes (3-3) to a 79-70 victory over the Boise Burn (4-2). Groefsema racked for 405 total yards surpassing Juston Wood's previous mark of 404 yards, he scored 4 rushing touchdowns bypassing the previous mark of 3 set by Marshall Blount in 2004, and he finished the night with 12 touchdowns responsible for.

The Burn scored on their first two drives of the game and the Coyotes matched. However, after Coyote DE Matt Griffith sacked burn QB Bart Hendricks on a fourth down play Groefsema hit WR Weston Borba a one-play drive and a 24 yard touchdown pass. Borba would finish the night in usual consistent fashion as "Chowchilla's Finest" catching 8 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. After Hendricks and the Burn struck back, and the teams continued to exchange scores, the Coyotes offense would finish the half with a 5 play 41 yard scoring drive that lasted 44 seconds and was topped off with a Groefsema QB sneak for a 1 yard touchdown. The Burn responded immediately but was stopped on the goal line as the Coyotes defense secured a 39-34 halftime lead.

"It was one of those nights that everything offensively was clicking, for both teams," stated Coyote Head Coach Fred Biletnikoff Jr. "Boise has an excellent QB in Hendricks and that is one of best coached teams I've seen in this league. We beat a very, very good football team tonight and I know they'll be waiting for us when we go to their place later this year."

Groefsema continued his assault in the second half as he rushed for three touchdowns and threw touchdown passes to three different Coyote receivers including Michael Lawrence (6 catches, 73 yds, 2 td's) and Tonae Martin (4 catches, 51 yds, 1 td). Groefsema's main target on the night was WR Jason Barnes as the rookie finished the night with 8 catches 134 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite the Coyote offense lighting up the scoreboard, Hendricks and the Burn would not go away quietly. But after the Coyotes defense made two critical stops in the third quarter, including one by an interception by DB Aaron Miller, the Burn would never regain the lead. Hendricks finished the night completing 20 of 38 passes for 291 yards and nine touchdown passes.

The Coyotes finished the fourth quarter riding behind an offensive line that has given up only 5 sacks on the year. Leading the charge for the big guys was FB Damian Walker who turned in his best performance of the year. Walker caught two passes for 36 yards, rushed the ball one time for 9 yards, and was a lead blocker for each of Groefsema's rushing touchdowns.

The Coyotes will return to Stockton this weekend to play the Stockton Lightning looking for redemption after losing to them on April 14, 47-50. The game will be carried on both on radio and a live internet video broadcast; the Coyotes Radio partner 1430 ESPN Radio will broadcast the game locally on the radio. B2 Networks will broadcast the live internet video feed for a fee of $6.95; you can visit www.centralvalleycoyotes.com for more information.

For questions or for information on mini-season packages, individual game, or group tickets to this or any of the Coyotes remaining home games contact the Coyotes at (559) 263-9780 or visiting www.centralvalleycoyotes.com.

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