Dawgz defense dominates as OKC claims first place

May 23, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz News Release


OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Ford Center crowd of 7,554 people saw the Yard Dawgz dominate Wichita 53-25 Saturday to force a first-place tie with the visiting Stealth at 5-2 in arenafootball2's Southwest Division. The Yard Dawgz now are 4-0 at home with the Arkansas Twisters coming to Oklahoma City next Saturday.

"This is a big win to put us on top of the division," Oklahoma City head coach Gary Reasons said. "The credit has to go to the players. Each and every one of them stepped up their game tonight. There were some exceptional performances out there. I think some big things are ahead for this team."

Wichita entered the contest with the third-best scoring defense in af2, holding opponents to just 36 points per game. But the Yard Dawgz defense stole the spotlight, holding the Stealth to its two lowest-scoring halves and lowest overall point total of the season. Oklahoma City's offense, meanwhile, rolled to 21 fourth-quarter points to top the half-century mark for the sixth time in seven games.

A third-quarter shutout gave the Yard Dawgz a 32-12 lead entering the final period, breaking open a game in which the Stealth never really threatened. U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Al Hunt caught two of his four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, totaling 137 yards on six receptions overall. Quarterback Craig Strickland also hit Timon Marshall with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass of six yards to answer a late Wichita score by Marc Bacote. Strickland completed 17-of-29 passes for 240 yards and seven touchdowns to earn Baby Ruth Player of the Game honors for the fourth time in as many home games.

Aaron Sparrow passed for 227 yards and just one touchdown for the Stealth, which lost its second straight game. Sparrow also was sacked six times as Oklahoma City built its league-leading sack total to 28. Damon Thompson caught eight passes for 98 yards for the visitors.

The first half featured two unusually long drives by Wichita that produced points, but didn't allow much time for either team to do much scoring. The Yard Dawgz struck quickly to take a 13-0 lead on touchdown passes of 29 yards and 9 yards from Strickland to Kris Peters. The Stealth then marched 45 yards in nine plays, eating up the last 7:51 of the first quarter and cutting the deficit to 13-6 on Anthony Griffin's 2-yard TD run.

After a spectacular play by Hunt, on which he broke five Wichita tackles for a 19-yard touchdown catch and a 20-6 Oklahoma City lead, the Stealth plodded 47 yards in 12 plays, making the score 20-12 on Daren Williams' 2-yard run. Oklahoma City's Peter Martinez added a 20-yard field goal to give the Yard Dawgz a 23-12 halftime edge. It was Wichita's lowest scoring half of the season.

The Dawgz third-quarter shutout included an Oklahoma City defensive score when James Landers sacked Sparrow in the end zone for a safety. Landers was tabbed as the ADT Defensive Player of the Game, making three tackles and recovering a fumble in addition to his sack. Hunt caught a 23-yard touchdown pass for a 32-12 Oklahoma City lead, then made it 39-18 with his diving 44-yard TD catch after Griffin had scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The final period also featured the first two point-after-touchdown dropkick attempts in Yard Dawgz history. Martinez made his first attempt for two points and missed his second with the outcome no longer in doubt.



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