Destroyers Game Notes

Published on July 10, 2007 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


Destroyers (2-0) at Georgia Force (1-0)

July 14, 2007, 1 p.m. (ET)

Philips Arena (18,200) Atlanta, GA

Referee: Steve Pamon, Umpire: Tom Laverty, Head Linesman: Bill Ward

Line Judge: Art Lucky, Back Judge: Bud McCleskey

DESTROYERS/FORCE PREVIEW

The Destroyers (2-0) will take on the Force (1-0) in the team's third meeting of the season and eighth meeting in history. The Force holds a 5-2 advantage over the Destroyers all-time. The teams met twice during the regular season, with the Destroyers scoring a one-point victory at home in the first game and Georgia winning by 21-points in the most recent contest, in Atlanta. This will be the Destroyers first-ever appearance in the National Conference championship game. For the Force this will be their second visit in three years. Current Destroyers quarterback Matt Nagy led the Force to a berth in ArenaBowl XIX in 2005.

On Mar. 30 in Columbus, Ohio, the Destroyers were victorious 62-61 in dramatic fashion. Quarterback Matt Nagy found wide receiver Marcus Knight in the front corner of the end zone for a touchdown, which brought the home team to within one point, 61-60. The decision was made to go for a two-point conversion and Nagy completed a pass to Knight in the same corner of the end zone that the touchdown was scored. Columbus had a 41-27 halftime lead, however Georgia was able to take a 54-48 lead early in the fourth quarter. The loss for Georgia was one of only two suffered during the 2007 regular season. On June 2, in the teams' second meeting, Columbus had a 7-6 lead after the first quarter but fell 54-33 to the Force . Georgia outscored the Destroyers 26-6 in the second and third quarters combined to take control of the game. Columbus scored 20 fourth-quarter points in the defeat.

The Force have collected a 23-10 record over the past two seasons, including playoff games. A season ago, Georgia beat the New York Dragons in the first round of the Arena Football League playoffs, before losing in the Divisional Round to the Dallas Desperados 62-27. The Force offense is led by First-Team All-Arena players, quarterback Chris Greisen and wide receiver Chris Jackson. In addition, they had four players make Second-Team All-Arena; wide receiver Troy Bergeron, offensive lineman Marcus Keys, defensive lineman Jermaine Smith, and linebacker Umar Muhammad. Georgia's defense finished the regular season Tied-8th in the AFL giving up 52.2 points per contest while the Destroyers finished 5th surrendering 49.6 points per game.

2007 Destroyers Schedule/Opponents

3/1 at Nashville Kats W, 58-56

3/9 at New Orleans VooDoo L, 45-52

3/24 vs. CHICAGO RUSH L, 47-55

3/30 vs. GEORGIA FORCE W, 62-61

4/5 at Dallas Desperados L. 53-51

4/14 vs. AUSTIN WRANGLERS W, 72-49

4/23 vs. PHILADELPHIA SOUL W, 44-21

4/29 at Tampa Bay Storm L, 34-32

5/4 vs. NEW YORK DRAGONS W, 51-42

5/11 vs. GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE W, 59-56

5/18 at Colorado Crush L, 58-40

5/26 vs. DALLAS DESPERADOS L, 56-47

6/2 at Georgia Force L, 54-33

6/8 vs. KANSAS CITY BRIGADE L, 47-34

6/16 at Philadelphia Soul L, 56-53

6/23 at New York Dragons W, 74-43

WILD CARD ROUND

6/30 at Tampa Bay Storm W, 56-55

DIVISIONAL ROUND

7/7 at Dallas Desperados W, 66-59

NATIONAL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

7/14 at Georgia Force 1 p.m. *

ALL TIMES EST AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

* AFL on ESPN

The Series:

Overall Record: Force lead 5-2

Regular Season: Force lead 5-2

Playoffs: First Meeting

Last Meeting: Georgia won 54-33

on 6/2 at Georgia.

TV: AFL on ESPN

Mike Greenberg, play-by-play

Mike Golic, color analyst

Radio: The WINK107.1 FM,

Steve Sefner, play-by-play

Rob Blackman, analyst

Web: AFLNet at

www.ArenaFootball.com

TALE OF THE TAPE

2007 FINAL AFL RANK

DESTROYERS FORCE

50.1 (16) Scoring Offense 62.9 (3)

49.6 (5) Scoring Defense 52.3 (9)

256.9 (18) Total Offense 323.5 (1)

284.4 (7) Total Defense 302.8 (15)

22.9 (4) Rushing Offense 19.8 (10)

17.1 (8) Rushing Defense 11.7 (2)

233.9 (19) Passing Offense 303.7 (2)

267.3 (7) Passing Defense 291.1 (16)

DESTROYERS/DESPERADOS RECAP

The Destroyers defeated the Dallas Desperados 66-59 in a National Conference Divisional Round match-up last Saturday afternoon in front of 15,572 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Trailing 38-28 at halftime, the Destroyers caught a break when Peter Martinez opened the second half as his kickoff hit the left upright. Wide receiver Josh Bush recovered the bouncing ball on the one-yard line and rolled into the end zone for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Martinez hit the right upright and this time defensive back Brandon Hefflin recovered the ball at the four-yard line. It took Columbus just one play to get into the end zone and re-take the lead, one which they would not relinquish. Matt Nagy was named Offensive Player of the Game as he completed 20-of-32 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns. The AFL Offensive Player of the Week also rushed for two touchdowns. The playoff win was the second all-time in franchise history, the first coming in the Wild Card Round game versus the Tampa Bay Storm in the previous week.

"THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM"

In the 20-plus year history of the Arena Football League, two teams have faced each other three times in one season on 51 occasions. The Destroyers became the 11th team in League history to defeat a team after losing the first two contests with their 66-59 Divisional Round victory over the Desperados last Saturday night. The Desperados won the two regular season contests by a combined 11 points (Apr. 5, 53-51 - May 26, 56-47).

THE "ESPN FACTOR"

The Columbus Destroyers are 3-0 in games broadcast on ESPN this season. Columbus played host to the Philadelphia Soul as part of Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday Night on Apr. 23 and won 44-21. The past two weekends ESPN analysts Mark Jones and Merril Hoge have been the broadcast crew for Destroyers playoff games, at Tampa Bay and at Dallas. The Destroyers were victorious over the Storm 56-55 in the Wild Card Round and defeated the Desperados 66-59 in the Divisional Round.

WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT

Destroyers kicker Peter Martinez has converted his last 28 point after touchdown attempts, including the game winning PAT against the Storm on June 30. Martinez' longest streak this season, prior to his current streak, is 13 PAT's (Apr. 5 at Dallas - Apr. 14 vs. Austin). The Western Kentucky graduate is tied for 1st (Todd France - Philadelphia) among all kickers in the AFL Playoffs with 20 points. He's converted all 17 PAT's and nailed a 31-yard field goal against the Desperados.

BACK-TO-BACK?

The Columbus Destroyers are trying to become the second team in consecutive seasons to win the ArenaBowl entering the playoffs with a 7-9 regular season record. Last season the Chicago Rush took home the Jim Foster Memorial Trophy by defeating the Orlando Predators 69-61 in ArenaBowl XX in Las Vegas. Both teams needed wins in their final regular season games to qualify for the playoffs. Below are interesting comparisons with the two teams' seasons...

DESTROYERS 2007 RUSH 2006

2-6 ROAD RECORD 2-6

50.1 POINTS PER GAME 51.6

284.4 TOTAL DEFENSE 286.4

GROUND ATTACK

When the Destroyers and Force hit the turf this Saturday, both teams are ranked in the top-two in rushing. Georgia's Kevin Aldridge (3 att.-12 yds.) and Jarrick Hillery (3 att.-10 yds.) lead the top-rated rushing attack averaging 34 yards per contest. Destroyers fullback Harold Wells ( 14 att.- 34 yds.) leads all ball carriers in the 2007 AFL playoffs as Columbus is 2nd averaging 32.5 yards in their two playoff games.

"TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE"

Destroyers defensive back B.J. Barre is the 26th player in Arena Football League playoff history to intercept a pass and return it for a touchdown. His 50-yard return against the Tampa Bay Storm in the Wild Card Round is the second-longest in the 20-plus years of AFL playoff games. The longest interception return for touchdown belongs to Shalon Baker of the San Jose SaberCats who returned a 51-yard effort against the Oklahoma Wranglers (8/4/2000 - Quarterfinal Round).

RUSHING TO VICTORY

The 2007 Destroyers have an 9-3 record when they rush for 20+ yards in a contest. The Destroyers rushed for 22 yards in their Wild Card Round win against the Tampa Bay Storm, including a 1-yard TD run by Matt Nagy that tied the game at 55-55. Against the Desperados in the Divisional Round, the Destroyers rushed for 43 yards. Fullback Harold Wells led the charge with 19 yards and one rushing TD and Nagy added two scores on the ground.

END OF YEAR AWARDS

Destroyers center Will Rabatin was selected to the 2007 AFL All-Rookie Team on June 27. Defensive lineman Ken Jones was named to the First- Team All-Arena on June 28. Wide receiver/linebacker B.J. Barre and fullback/linebacker Harold Wells were named to the AFL's All-Ironman team on June 29.

- REGULAR SEASON NOTABLES -

MR. RELIABLE

Wide receiver David Saunders finished second on the team with 68 receptions for 550 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2007. Against the Brigade in Week 15, his streak of 19 consecutive games with a touchdown reception ended. The streak started on Mar. 3, 2006 against the New York Dragons, Saunders had amassed 119 receptions for 1,180 yards and 33 touchdowns during the streak. Ironically, Saunders' streak ended on the same week that the longest touchdown reception streak in AFL history ended. Colorado Crush wide receiver Damien Harrell ended his streak at 78 games against the Utah Blaze on June 4.

GROUND CONTROL

The Columbus Destroyers ground game took off this season as they put up an average of 22.9 yards per contest, the fourth best mark in the AFL. In fact, when the Destroyers rush for over 20 yards in a game they have a record of 7-3 in 2007 during the regular season. The rushing attack is led by fullback Harold Wells who has set career-highs with 73 carries for 197 yards (5th in the AFL) and 13 touchdowns.

HOME COOKIN

The 2007 Columbus Destroyers set a single-season franchise record with five wins on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. The team has a record of 5-3 at home, including a five game consecutive streak that spanned Mar. 30 vs. Georgia - May 11 vs. Grand Rapids. The team bested the 2006 squad and the 2002 Buffalo Destroyers whom both won four games at home in their respective seasons. The 2002-03 Buffalo Destroyers put together a string of seven consecutive wins at home over the course of two seasons.

DYNAMIC DUO

The tandem of Matt Nagy and Damien Groce has sparked the Destroyers offense in 2007. The two combined for 26 touchdowns through the air. Nagy passed to Groce for 1,342 yards on 118 receptions, consisting for a third (32.7%) of the Destroyers offensive output in 2007. Groce was accountable for 27% of the Destroyers scoring this season with 31 total touchdowns (26 receiving, 3 rushing, 2 kick off returns).

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Head Coach Doug Kay signed a contract extension on May 16 that will keep him at the helm of the Columbus Destroyers through the 2008 season. Now in his second season with the Destroyers, Kay has accumulated a overall record of 17-17 with the club. Columbus finished in third place in the Eastern Division with a record of 7-9. In 2006, the Destroyers posted an 8-8 mark and missed the playoffs by one game just one year removed from a 2-14 finish during the 2005 campaign. Kay has over 40 years of football coaching experience, including 13 years in the AFL. His AFL teams have made the playoffs in 10 of 13 years. He has won ArenaBowl championships as a defensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Storm (ArenaBowl VII - 1993) and Arizona Rattlers (ArenaBowl XI - 1997) and has also served as a head coach with the Charlotte Rage (1995) and Carolina Cobras. (2000-01).

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