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Destroyers continue playoff push as they host the Brigade

June 5, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Destroyers (6-7), presented by Germain, will host the Kansas City Brigade (8-5) in the regular season home finale on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena on Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m. (ET).

THIS WEEK: The Destroyers are currently in fifth position of the Mitsubishi Motors Drive to ArenaBowl XXI National Conference standings. They will play in their final home contest of the 2007 regular season against the Brigade on Friday, June 8 on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (ET). This will be the second meeting all-time between the two franchises. The Brigade defeated the Destroyers last season in Kansas City, 45-24. The Brigade will make their first appearance in Columbus vying for a spot in the American Conference playoffs. The Brigade are led by eight-year veteran quarterback Raymond Philyaw. On the season he has completed 371-of-449 passes for 3,694 yards, 70 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Brigade come to Nationwide Arena with the AFL's top defense giving up an average of 260 yards per contest and are third in the league surrendering 48.5 points per game.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The practice schedule for this week is below. Practices times and locations are subject to change. All practices at the Columbus FieldHouse are open to the public. Practices/Walk-Thru's at Nationwide Arena are closed to the public.

Day Event Time Place

Tuesday, June 5 Practice 10:35 a.m.-12:35 p.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Wednesday, June 6 Practice 10-11:35 a.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Thursday, June 7 Walk-thru Practice 9-10 a.m. Nationwide Arena

LAST WEEK: Three costly turnovers in the second half led to 14 points and the Destroyers lost their fifth straight road contest, 54-33, to the Georgia Force (11-2) last Saturday night at Philips Arena. With the win the Force captured the 2007 Southern Division crown and by virtue of a Tampa Bay Storm (6-7) victory over the New Orleans VooDoo the Destroyers are in the fifth position in the Mitsubishi Motors Drive to ArenaBowl XXI National Conference standings. Destroyers quarterback Matt Nagy, playing in his second game against his former team this season, finished completing 29-of-48 passes for 270 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver David Saunders extended his consecutive touchdown reception streak to 19 games, a franchise record.

NEXT WEEK: The Destroyers will travel to take on the Philadelphia Soul (6-7) at Wachovia Center on Saturday, June 16 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. (ET). The Destroyers have beaten the Soul in four consecutive games, including a 44-21 victory on Apr. 21 on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday Night on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. The Destroyers used eight defensive stops to defeat the Soul. Defensive lineman Ken Jones had a huge game vaulting him to the top of the AFL's sacks chart. Jones finished with 5.5 tackles (4UT-3AT), four tackles totaling a loss of 11 yards, two sacks and a forced fumble. Offensive Player of the Game wide receiver Damien Groce scored four times on the night with passes from 25 and 20 yards and runs from five and two yards. On the night, Groce hauled in nine passes for 116 yards and added three rushes for a gain of 16 yards. Quarterback Matt Nagy finished the contest completing 16-of-28 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

THE ROAD AHEAD: The Destroyers have a tough schedule over the last three games of the season. Over the final three weeks of the regular season, they will play teams that are currently in the running for ArenaBowl XXI playoff spots. The games include the regular season finale at home against Kansas City Brigade (June 8), prior to finishing up the season on the road against Eastern Division foes, Philadelphia Soul (June 16) and New York Dragons (June 23). Since the return of quarterback Tony Graziani, the Soul have won two of three games, while the Dragons have won three of four since falling to the Destroyers on May 4. Including last week's contest against the Georgia Force, this is the third time in Destroyers' history they have closed out with three of four on the road. The most recent was last season when the club won three of four.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Destroyers are second in the Eastern Division and with a 6-7 record are currently the fifth seed in the National Conference. Among the teams vying for the final playoff spots in the National Conference are the Orlando Predators (7-6, 3rd), the Tampa Bay Storm (6-7, 4th), the Philadelphia Soul (6-7, 6th), and the New York Dragons (5-8, 7th),.

HOME COOKIN: The 2007 Columbus Destroyers have set a franchise record with five home wins this season. In fact at home they are averaging 54.6 points per game (7 games) and surrendering an average of 48.6 to opponents when they visit Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. Among all 12 playoff teams, the Destroyers rank fifth in average points scored on their home turf. The Utah Blaze lead all teams in playoff contention averaging 60 points a game (7 games) at EnergySolutions Center and the defending ArenaBowl Champion Chicago Rush are 12th among all playoff contenders scoring an average of 41.8 on their home field at Allstate Arena.

DESTROYERS ON TELEVISION: The next edition of Columbus Sports Network's weekly magazine show, Destroyers Digest, will air on Wednesday, June 6 at 6 p.m. The show provides in-depth coverage and analysis of the team and the AFL. CSN's lead anchor Ray Crawford is the host of the half-hour show. CSN's next Destroyers broadcast will be Friday, June 8 when they take on the Kansas City Brigade. Destroyers Playbook hosted by Ray Crawford will begin at 6:30 p.m. (ET) followed by all the exciting action of Destroyers football with Randy Rhinehart and Greg Frey at 7 p.m. (ET).

ON THE AIRWAVES: This week's contest between the Destroyers and the Brigade can be heard on your home for Destroyers football, the new WINK 107.1 FM with the broadcast tandem of Steve Sefner (play-by-play) and Rob Blackman (color commentator) on the call. Tune in at 6:30 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: On Friday, June 8, the Destroyers will host the Rooster's Wing Bash (Starting a 4p.m.) featuring Roosters food, Budweiser Beer and a live performance from The Pike Band. Then see a special appearance by the Cleveland Cavaliers Girls who will sign autographs from 6-7p.m. on the Bud Light Terrace and perform at halftime. The Huntington $10 Ticket Blitz offers a minimum of 225 lower bowl seats to each home game for just $10. They will be available at the Nationwide Arena Box Office two hours prior to every home game. The Destroyers and Giant Eagle are teaming up with the Mid-Ohio FoodBank to TACKLE HUNGER in Central Ohio. Last year, with the help of fans, the Destroyers raised enough resources to provide over 27,000 meals to those in need. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to all Destroyers home games to receive a raffle ticket. In addition, if fans bring a Giant Eagle branded non-perishable food item they will receive a voucher for $3 off a regularly priced ticket.

TICKET INFORMATION: Single game tickets are now on sale at the Nationwide Arena Box Office, ticketmaster outlets and The Blueline locations at Chiller Dublin, Chiller Easton, Chiller North and the Mall at Tuttle Crossing. Single game tickets for the 2007 season are available for as low as $12 by visiting www.ColumbusDestroyers.com. For information on season tickets call (877) COLS-AFL. 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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