Destroyers Weekly: National Conference Divisional Round at Dallas Desperados

July 2, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Destroyers, presented by Germain, will travel to take on Eastern Division rival Dallas Desperados in a National Conference Divisional Round playoff game at American Airlines Center on Saturday, July 7 at 8 p.m. (ET).

THIS WEEK: The Destroyers (1-0) will take on the Desperados (0-0) in the team's third meeting this season and ninth meeting in history. The Desperados hold a 7-1 advantage over the Destroyers all-time. Although, the Destroyers lost to the Desperados by a combined margin of 11 points in games played during the 2007 season. The first meeting on Apr. 5, the Destroyers lost 53-51. With 3.3 seconds remaining in the game a field goal by Desperados kicker Todd Sievers from 16-yards sealed the Destroyers fate. The Destroyers jumped out to a 37-7 lead with 0:30 seconds left in the second quarter and did not score again until the 14:58 mark of the fourth quarter. The Desperados came out of the half a brand new team as they scored on all-six possessions, outscoring the Destroyers 39-14 in the final 30-minutes of the contest. In the teams' second meeting on May 26, down 42-41 in the fourth quarter, the Destroyers and Desperados traded touchdowns and a Nagy interception with 0:31 seconds remaining thwarted a Destroyers comeback. The Desperados won 56-47. The Desperados come into the contest with a 15-1 record, the most wins by any AFL team in the regular season, in the 20-plus year history of the league. Over the course of two-consecutive seasons, the Desperados sport a 29-3 record. A season ago, the Orlando Predators defeated the Desperados, 45-28, in the National Conference Championship Game. The Desperados offense is led by Second-Team All-Arena quarterback Clint Dolezel. The East Texas State Graduate, finished the season in the top-10 amongst all quarterbacks in the AFL in completions (375, 6th), completion percentage (70.4, 3rd), passing yards (4,475, 4th), touchdowns passes (107, t-2nd) and quarterback rating (128.2, 2nd). Dolezel, is the only quarterback in AFL history to pass for consecutive 100+ touchdowns in a season (106 - 2006). Among Dolezel's targets is wide receiver Will Pettis who has caught 130 passes (6th) for 1,471 yards (10th) and 40 touchdowns (5th). The offensive front for the Desperados has allowed the least amount of the sacks in the league with four. The Desperados defense finished the regular season 6th in the AFL giving up 50.4 points per contest while the Destroyers finished 5th surrendering 49.6 points per game.

LAST WEEK: The Destroyers defeated the Tampa Bay Storm 56-55 in a Wild Card Round match-up last Saturday afternoon in front of 10,221 fans at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. With 1:06 remaining in regulation, quarterback Matt Nagy led the charge as he capped off a 7-play drive culminating with a one-yard touchdown run. Kicker Peter Martinez nailed the point after attempt and the Destroyers led 56-55 with :07 seconds remaining in the game. After the ensuing kickoff Storm kicker Seth Marler missed a 56-yard field goal wide left with no time left. Nagy finished the contest 19-of-26 for 260 yards and five touchdowns. Destroyers leading receiver Damien Groce hauled in seven passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive back B.J. Barre earned Defensive Player of the Game honors when he intercepted a Brett Dietz pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Destroyers their first lead of the game in the second quarter. Doug Kay coached and won his first AFL playoff game as a head coach. The Destroyers were victorious in their first playoff game in three attempts.

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, July 3 Practice 10 -11:35 p.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Wednesday, July 4 Practice 9:30--11:05 a.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Thursday, July 5 Practice 9:30-10:30 a.m. Columbus FieldHouse

Friday, July 6 Walk-thru Practice 9-10 a.m. Columbus FieldHouse

"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 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).

WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT: Destroyers kicker Peter Martinez has converted on his last 19 point after touchdown attempts, including the game winning PAT against the Storm. His last successful attempt vaulted the Destroyers to their first postseason victory in franchise history. Martinez' longest streak this season, prior to his current streak, is 13 PAT's (Apr. 5 at Dallas - Apr. 14 vs. Austin).

RUSHING TO VICTORY: The 2007 Destroyers have an 8-3 record when they rush for 20+ yards in a contest. Including the one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Matt Nagy that tied the score at 55-55, Destroyers leading rusher Harold Wells carried the ball six times for 15 yards and B.J. Barre scored on a two-yard handoff before halftime.

DESTROYERS ON TELEVISION: The next edition of Columbus Sports Network's weekly magazine show, Destroyers Digest, will air on Thursday, July 5 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. This week's National Conference Divisional Round playoff game will be shown on ESPN Saturday, July 7 at 8 p.m. (ET) on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football with Mark Jones and Merril Hoge calling the action.

ON THE AIRWAVES: This week's National Conference Divisional Round playoff contest between the Destroyers and the Desperados 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 7:30 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.

TICKET INFORMATION: For information on 2008 Destroyers season tickets call (877) COLS-AFL. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for group rates by calling (614) 246-HITS.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from July 2, 2007


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