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Defending Champs Begin Title Defense

Published on March 26, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


Peoria, Ill. - The 2003 af2 season may be beginning where the 2002 season ended, but things look a whole lot different in Peoria than they did last August 23, and the Tulsa Talons (defending Central Division champions) are going to give the new-look Pirates an early season test, Friday night at the Civic Center.

In a developmental league like af2, every team's roster experiences high turnover from season to season. But nowhere is this more evident than on a championship team, as a quick look at the Pirates' roster proves. The familiar faces of LINCOLN DUPREE (2002 af2 Rookie of the Year), CORNELL CRAIG (2002 ArenaCup MVP), TITCUS PETTIGREW, and ROBERT MEYER are gone, along with 12 other members of the ArenaCup roster. Despite the losses, one familiar face is still in place, and based on his history, don't be surprised to see his roster of over a dozen rookies make a valiant defense of the title earned by their predecessors.

Head coach BRUCE COWDREY has won titles in three different professional football leagues (CFL, IFL, af2) and two of those have come in Peoria over the past three years. Faced with the task of defending a title and rebuilding a roster, Cowdrey went out and got QB CHARLIE PETERSON to lead his offense. Peterson played 12 games for the Pensacola Barracudas last season, passing for over 3,000 yards and leading the league with 264.3 yards per game. He averaged better than five touchdowns and guided the Barracudas to a 6-6 mark after taking over the starting the job on May 11.

Peterson and the rest of the Pirates offense needs to get off to a fast start against the Talons, who led the league in scoring last season (57.1 points per game) and have managed to keep some of the pieces of that offensive juggernaut in place. While head coaches would hate losing a QB that threw for over 3,000 yards and 60 touchdowns, Talons head coach SKIP FOSTER (2nd season) doesn't seem to mind too much that ANTHONY BUICH is gone. That's because CRAIG STRICKLAND is back under center for the Talons this season.

Strickland is the Talons all-time leading passer, throwing for 6,792 yards and 129 touchdowns during the 2000 and 2001 af2 seasons. His af2 success earned him a spot with the Detroit Fury of the AFL in 2002, but a shoulder injury sidelined him for the duration of the season. Now fully healed, Strickland is again taking snaps for the Talons and looking for another shot at the AFL. Also back for the Talons is 2002 Offensive Player of the Year MITCH ALLNER. Allner led the league in scoring in 2002 with 266 points, and he is 201 receiving yards shy of becoming the fifth player in af2 history to break the 3,000-yard mark.

While it should come as no surprise that the Talons will score a lot of points in 2003, Foster also improved his defense with the addition of af2's all-time sack leader, GREG TAYLOR. In 44 af2 games, Taylor has accumulated 32.5 sacks and is coming off a career year in which he recorded 13.5 sacks and earned Second-Team All-af2 honors.

The Talons lead the all-time series with Pirates 2-1, including a come-from-behind 42-39 win in their last meeting back in June at Peoria. This is the first of two meetings between the clubs. The Talons host the Pirates on June 7.

CINCINNATI SWARM (0-0) AT LOUISVILLE FIRE (0-0)
SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2003 - FREEDOM HALL (16,154) 7:30 P.M. ET

Separated by just over 100 miles of Interstate, the Louisville Fire and Cincinnati Swarm promises to be one of af2s hottest regional rivalries in 2003. The first chapter plays out in Louisville on Saturday night as the first-year Swarm debut against the re-tooled Fire. Head coach CHRIS MACKEOWN, who last served on the AFL Indiana Firebirds coaching staff, leads the Swarm. He has built a roster of exceptional athletes, so exceptional in fact that he has already lost three to the NFL and NFLE. After going 2-14 in 2002, the Louisville fire needed to make some changes. New head coach WALLY ENGLISH is the man in charge of righting the ship and he'll do so with some of last season's impact players and some key additions. On offense, the Fire is looking for big numbers from WR/DB ALFONZO BROWNING. Browning joined the Fire late last season and made a quick impact, catching 12 passes for 172 yards and three TDs in just three games. Defensively, the Fire acquired the services of DS ARKEE THOMPSON, who led the Carolina Rhinos with 41 tackles and nine interceptions last season. This is the first of two meetings between these two teams. The Fire travel to Cincinnati on May 2.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS (0-0) AT WICHITA STEALTH (0-0)
SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2003 - KANSAS COLISEUM (9,686) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Arkansas Twisters and Wichita Stealth meet for the first of two meetings on Saturday in Wichita. Just about everything to do with the Stealth has changed from 2002, including the move from the Midwest to the West division. When BOB CORTESE took over as head coach of the Stealth he left no stone unturned in his pursuit of a championship caliber roster. Only five players from the 2002 Stealth are back in 2003, as changes were made at nearly every position. Cortese has added talent and experience to the Stealth this season, and the team should be better than 6-10 squad from a season ago. The recent acquisition of ANTHONY BUICH at QB, makes for a good replacement for RON LOPEZ. Buich guided the league's top scoring offense in Tulsa last season. The Twisters too have made some changes from a year ago, but two key components remain in place. QB RICKY HERBERT, who led the league with 85 passing TDs last season and is 17 TDs shy of becoming the all-time af2 leader, and WR/DB LENNIE JOHNSON are both back for the Twisters. The duo connected for 1,129 yards and 29 TDs last season.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ (0-0) AT SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (0-0)
SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2003 - SAN DIEGO SPORTS ARENA (12,000) 10:00 P.M. ET

Things heat up in a hurry out west as the defending West division champion Bakersfield Blitz renew pleasantries with division rival San Diego on Saturday at the San Diego Sports Arena. The Blitz lead the all-time regular season series 2-1, but the Riptide took the one that counted when they upended the Blitz 40-27 in the First Round of the 2002 playoffs. The Riptide look to build on the success of last season, and they'll do so with a solid core of returning stars. KANE CLAUNCH commands the offense once again. Fresh off a stint in the AFL Colorado Crush camp, Claunch tossed over 60 TDs last season for the Riptide. Additional returnees include OS MARTY GRAHAM, who when healthy, is deadly. In the first meeting with Bakersfield last season, Graham racked a league single-game record 400 all-purpose yards. Last year's record setting tackler RICO CURTIS is back, and this year he'll try his talents on the other side of the ball as he lines up as FB/LB this season. For the Blitz, second-year QB CHAD ELLIOTT should have the Blitz offense firing on all cylinders, as he tossed 70 TDs last season while throwing for over 3,700 yards. Equally important for the Blitz are the returning players on defense. The veteran secondary held opponents to under 200 yards per game last season, and they'll look to improve on that this year. Coach JAMES FULLER'S guys are set to defend their division crown.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (0-0) AT HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (0-0)
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2003 - NEAL BLAISDELL ARENA (6,443) 11:00 P.M. ET

It's doubtful that Hawaii has ever had to prepare for a blizzard, but they've been doing just that for the past two weeks, as the Hawaiian Islanders get ready for the expansion Green Bay Blizzard who visits Neal Blaisdell Arena on Sunday evening. Former Lincoln Lightning head coach JOSE JEFFERSON leads the first-year Blizzard. He garnered a lot of local talent to fill out the roster, as over two-thirds of the Blizzard players hail from the Midwest. The Islanders will look to its veterans and a new head coach (CAL LEE) to keep Hawaii on the winning track. Second year quarterback DARNELL ARCENEAUX set two af2 records last season including most yards rushing in a season (439) and most rushing touchdowns in a season (26). He also tied an af2 record with five rushing touchdowns in a game (Bakersfield (June 22). Lee, Hawaii's current coach, coached Arceneaux, who attended the University of Utah, in high school. Also back for the Islanders is WR/DB NIAN TAYLOR. Taylor returns for his second year following an outstanding 2002. In just five games with the Islanders, Taylor caught 29 passes for 543 yards and 11 touchdowns. In addition, he scored touchdowns on a kickoff return and an interception. Taylor earned three player of the week awards in a four weeks span, which has never been done before. This is the only meeting between the Blizzard and Islanders this season.

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