Destroyers Weekly

Published on June 12, 2007 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Destroyers (6-8), presented by Germain, will travel to take on Eastern Division Rival Philadelphia Soul (6-8) at Wachovia Center on Saturday, June 16 at 7 p.m. (ET).

THIS WEEK: A playoff birth in the Mitsubishi Motors National Conference Playoff picture is at stake this week as the Destroyers take on the Soul. Entering the week, the Destroyers are in the fifth position and the Soul are currently in the sixth, and final, seed in the National Conference Playoff picture. The Destroyers have beaten the Soul in four consecutive games, including a 44-21 victory on Apr. 21 earlier this season 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 hauled in nine passes for 116 yards, two touchdowns and on the ground added three rushes for a gain of 16 yards and . QB Matt Nagy finished the contest completing 16-of-28 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. After starting the season with a record of 4-0, the Soul have lost eight of their last 10 contests. Since the return of Soul QB Tony Graziani, the team has a record of 2-2 with wins coming against teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention (New Orleans VooDoo and Austin Wranglers).

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 12, Practice, 11 a.m.-12:35 p.m., Columbus FieldHouse

Wednesday, June 13, Practice, 9:40--11:05 a.m., Columbus FieldHouse

Thursday, June 14, Practice, 9:30-10:50 a.m., Nationwide Arena

Friday, June 15, Walk-thru Practice, 9-10 a.m., Columbus FieldHouse

LAST WEEK: The Destroyers encountered the best defense in the league in the Kansas City Brigade (9-5) last Friday night. The Brigade was able to hold the Destroyers offense to 265 yards of total offense, sack Destroyers QB Matt Nagy five times and intercept two passes in a 47-34 victory. With the win the Brigade has earned a spot in the American Conference playoffs. Nagy finished the game completing 27-of-42 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Destroyers fullback Harold Wells added to his career year carrying the ball seven times for 34 yards and two scores.

NEXT WEEK: The Destroyers will travel to take on the New York Dragons (5-9) at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, June 23 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. (ET) in their 2007 regular season finale. The Destroyers defeated Eastern Division rival the New York Dragons, 51-42, in front of 14,009 fans on Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena on May 4 earlier this season. Offensive Player of the Game QB Matt Nagy completed 18-of-28 passes for 238 yards and five touchdowns. "Ironman" of the Game wide receiver/defensive back B.J. Barre was called upon to help the defensive backfield as Rober' Freeman departed the game early in the first quarter with a knee injury. Barre finished with a game-high 10.5 tackles, caught three passes for 66 yards and led the Destroyers with two-touchdown receptions. Destroyers sack leader Ken Jones was at it again as he was able to sack Dragons QB Aaron Garcia twice. Jones is second in the league with 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

PLAYOFF SCENARIO: With a win this week against the Philadelphia Soul the Destroyers can earn a spot in the National Conference playoffs and finish no further than fifth in the Conference. The Mitsubishi Motors National Conference standings are listed below...

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Dallas Desperados (13-1)**

Georgia Force (12-2)**

Orlando Predators (8-6)*

Tampa Bay (7-7)*

COLUMBUS (6-8)

Philadelphia (6-8)

New York (5-9)

** Clinched division and first-round bye.

* Clinched playoff spot

REMAINING SCHEDULE INVOLVING TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT

June 15 - Georgia at Orlando

June 16 - COLUMBUS at Philadelphia

New York at Dallas

Tampa Bay at Grand Rapids

June21 - Orlando at Philadelphia

June 23 - COLUMBUS at New York

Austin at Tampa Bay

June 24 - New Orleans at Georgia

June 25 - Dallas at Colorado

GOING BACK TO THE WELL: Fullback Harold Wells leads the Destroyers rushing attack. He has set career-highs with 65 carries for 177 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is two rushing touchdowns away from tying a franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a season (Ryan Vena - 2004).

DESTROYERS ON TELEVISION: The next edition of Columbus Sports Network's weekly magazine show, Destroyers Digest, will air on Wednesday, June 13 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.

ON THE AIRWAVES: This week's contest between the Destroyers and the Soul 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.

TICKET INFORMATION: Should the Destroyers host a playoff game all information will be located on www.ColumbusDestroyers.com. Stay tuned for more information.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 12, 2007


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