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Destroyers look to bounce back against Eastern Division rival Dragons

April 30, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Destroyers (4-4), presented by Germain, will host Eastern Division rival New York Dragons (2-6) to Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena on Friday, May 4, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. (ET).

THIS WEEK: This week's match-up between the clubs marks the 15th in history with the Dragons holding a 9-5 advantage in the series. The teams split the season series last season with the visiting team each claiming a victory. The Dragons used a 48-point second half to get by the Destroyers by a touchdown, 64-57, on April 14 on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. Columbus used a second half rally to defeat New York at Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, N.Y.) earlier in the season as the Destroyers slayed the Dragons 65-54 on Mar. 3. The Dragons are led by future Arena Football League Hall-of-Fame QB Aaron Garcia. The 13-year AFL veteran has 764 touchdown passes in his illustrious career. After missing nearly a year of action, Garcia returned to action last week in a victorious effort against the Arizona Rattlers and completed 17-of-30 passes for 251 yards and seven touchdowns.

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, May 1 Practice 1:30-5 p.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Wednesday, May 2 Practice 6-8 p.m. Nationwide Arena

Thursday, May 3 Walk-Thru Practice 8-9 a.m. Nationwide Arena

LAST WEEK: The Destroyers traveled to the "Sunshine State" to face the Tampa Bay Storm (2-6) in the team's second visit to the St. Pete Times Forum. Two missed extra points by the Destroyers and an interception with 2:14 left in the game was enough to give the Storm the victory over the Destroyers, 34-32. With 0:27 remaining in the game, Destroyers QB Matt Nagy scored from three yards on a naked bootleg. The ensuing two-point conversion was batted down and that sealed the Destroyers fate as they lost for the second-time in Tampa and fall to a 1-5 record in the series with the Storm. Nagy finished 18-of-30 for 204 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Damien Groce, B.J. Barre and Marcus Knight all had five receptions totaling 167 yards; Groce caught two touchdowns. Former Destroyers QB John Kaleo started the game before leaving with an injured left thumb in the second quarter and was replaced by Brett Dietz who was making his AFL debut. Dietz completed 12-of-24 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown.

NEXT WEEK: The Destroyers will close out a two-game home stand as they host the Grand Rapids Rampage (2-6) on Friday, May 11, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. This will mark the eighth meeting all-time between the two franchises. Grand Rapids holds a 5-2 advantage over the Destroyers in the series. A season ago in the Destroyers home opener, a 34-point first half gave Columbus a 53-30 victory over the Rampage. The Rampage are led by QB Chad Salisbury (6-6, 240, Buffalo) in five games this season he's completed 104-of-161 passes for 1,097 yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. Among his favorite targets is WR Timon Marshall. He leads the team with 57 receptions for 688 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Rampage are 17th in the AFL in total offense putting up close to 262 yards of offense and defensively are next to last surrendering 321 yards to opposing offenses.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE: Inside the friendly confines of Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena the Destroyers are 3-1 in games played at home this season. The team is putting up an average of 56.3 points at home and giving up a stingy 46 points including a combined total of 70 points in their last two contests (Austin 49 - Apr. 14, Philadelphia 21 - Apr. 23). The franchise record for home victories in a season is four tied by last season's squad and the 2002 Buffalo Destroyers. The team is riding a three-game home win streak.

CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN: Wide receiver Damien Groce torched the Wranglers secondary in Week 7, as he caught 13 passes for 129 yards and set a franchise record with five touchdown receptions. Against the Soul on April 23rd he hauled in a game-high nine passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, he leads the team with 63 receptions (T-12th in the AFL) for 718 yards (20th in the AFL) and 18 touchdowns. He also is third in the league with 20 kick returns for 460 yards (23.0 avg.) and one touchdown, giving him a total of 1,212 all-purpose yards, which ranks him sixth in the AFL.

DYNAMIC DUO: The tandem of Matt Nagy and Damien Groce has sparked the Destroyers offense in the first eight games of the season. The two have combined for 18 touchdowns through the air. Nagy has passed to Groce for 718 yards, which consists for over a third (37%) of the Destroyers offensive output in the first eight games. Groce is accountable for 37% of the Destroyers scoring this season with 21 total touchdowns (18 receiving, 2 rushing, 1 kick off return).

DESTROYERS ON TELEVISION: The next edition of Columbus Sports Network's weekly magazine show, Destroyers Digest, will air on Thursday, May 3, at 5:30 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. Scheduled to appear on this week's show is Head Coach Doug Kay, Line Coach Jim Lachey, QB Matt Nagy, WR Damien Groce, OL Will Rabatin, OL Jason Hilliard and OL Howard Duncan. CSN will also broadcast this week's game between the Destroyers and the Dragons with Randy Rhinehart (play-by-play) and Greg Frey (color analyst) and Crawford (pre-game host) beginning at 6:30 p.m. (ET).

ON THE AIRWAVES: This week's contest between the Destroyers and the Dragons 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, May 4, the Destroyers will host Spiderman and Friends Mascot Night presented by Columbia Gas. Bring the kids to meet Spiderman, Stinger (Columbus Blue Jackets), Cozy Cat (Columbia Gas), Moon Dog (Cleveland Cavaliers), Crew Cat (Columbus Crew), Chilly Bear (Chiller Ice Rinks), Iceburg (Pittsburgh Penguins), Maya and Miguel (WOSU), Patriot and Dodger (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium), plus other area mascots. Check out the Destroyers Spiderman Premier Package, which includes: one ticket to the game (200 level), one ticket to the post-game showing of Spiderman 3 at the Arena Grand on opening night of the movie, and a coupon for a small popcorn (a $3 value) redeemable at the Arena Grand Concession stand. Visit www.ColumbusDesroyers.com or call (614) 246-HITS for more information. Dispatch/Mix 97.1 Family Night presented by Wendy's packages are available for May 4. Receive four tickets, four hot dogs, four Pepsi's, four popcorns, one foam football and four Dispatch Ice Haus skate passes for as low as $66. 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 non-perishable food item from Giant Eagle 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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