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Detroit Fury Game Notes

April 16, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Detroit Fury (6-5) at New York Dragons (4-7)
Date: April 19, 2003
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Site: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (11,216)
Officials: Pat Garvey (Referee), Paul King (Umpire), Rusty Spindel (Head Linesman), James Mello (Line Judge), Rich Wilborn (Back Judge)
Radio: WDFN, 1130 AM Matt Dery (Play-by-Play)
TV: Fox Sports Net Detroit Jamie Samuelsen (Play-by-Play) (Color Analyst)
Series Record: (0-2)
Last Meeting: Sunday, March 16, 2003 New York Win, 65-57 OT
Streaks: New York – Win 1 Detroit – Win 1
Coaches: Todd Shell (4-3, 1st Year) Al Luginbill (6-5, 1st Year)

THE STAKES: Detroit will be continuing its playoff push after a huge win at San Jose against the defending ArenaBowl Champions. The game was the first of three straight road games, and the Fury would like to keep the momentum rolling. New York won the first game of the series earlier in the season, and have won four of their last five games since coming to Detroit. The Fury remaining tied for the Eastern Division title after the Gladiators fell last week, and the Fury will be looking to secure another division win Satuday, before heading to Las Vegas to play the Gladiators in their first of two games this season.

THE SERIES: The Fury have yet to beat the Dragons since joining the AFL in 2001, holding a (0-2) record against the them. The Fury will be looking to even the 2003 series record at (1-1) when they head to New York this Saturday.

HEAD COACHES:

AL LUGINBILL, Detroit (6-5, 1st Year): Luginbill enters his first season as head coach and general manager of the Detroit Fury and his first season coaching in the Arena Football League. He brings over 33 years of football experience to the Fury. Luginbill began his coaching career at Pasadena City College, where he guided Pasadena City College to Jr. Rose Bowl Championship in his final season as a head coach. He then moved on to Arizona State University and worked as an assistant coach from 1977-1984 with a one-year coaching stint at the University of Wyoming. Finishing his career as a Sun Devil, he left ASU to pursue a job with the San Diego State University Athletic department. After three years on the administrative side, Luginbill was given the control over the slumping Aztec football program, where he served as head coach of SDSU for five years. He is the only coach in SDSU to ever have five consecutive winning seasons. Luginbill's career turned when he left the collegiate ranks to coach in the NFL Europe (World League). He served as head coach and director of football operations of Amsterdam Admirals from (1995-2000). In his tenure there, he guided the Admirals to the World Bowl. Luginbill moved back to States and took a job with up-start XFL and guided the Los Angeles Xtreme to XFL's first and only league championship. Throughout his career, Luginbill is credited with finding and developing NFL stars such as Marshall Faulk (San Diego St. Player), Kurt Warner (NFL Europe / Amsterdam Player) and most recently, Tommy Maddox (XFL). Luginbill currently holds a 86-56-2 overall record as a head coach. He has won three championships and appeared in five bowl games during his coaching tenure.

TODD SHELL, New York (4-3, 1st Year): Shell is taking over as the Dragons' head coach, after the team started the season off with a (0-4) record. Before coming to the Big Apple, Shell was a part of the Arizona Rattlers television broadcast crew. He served as the team's color commentator. Shell got his head coaching break in the Arena Football League with the San Jose SaberCats in 1995, where became the first head coach in SaberCats history. In San Jose's inaugural season, Shell led his 1995 squad to a record of 8-4 and a Western Division Championship. His team became the first expansion franchise in AFL history to win a division title. After four seasons at the helm in San Jose, Shell compiled a record of 29-25 earning playoff berths in three of four seasons. Before coming to San Jose, Shell served as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers from 1992-1994, helping lead the Rattlers to their first ArenaBowl title in 1994. Shell was a 1984 first-round draft pick out of BYU by the San Francisco 49ers, where he proceeded to win two Super Bowl rings (1984 and 1988). Shell played five seasons in San Francisco before retiring due to injuries. FURY IN THE COMMUNITY:

FURY HOSPITAL VISITS

Members of the Fury Team visit local area hospitals to bring cheer and hope to children during their stay. Often, players and coaches will "take over" the ward, filling it with Fury decorations. Players and coaches spend time with the children, sign autographs and leave special gifts behind. The Fury hopes that these types of events will leave a lasting impression on the children and provide a life long memory they are sure to never forget.

FURY FIELD TRIPS PROGRAM

The Fury Field Trips program is designed to encourage young people's interest in science, math and technology by introducing them to real-life examples of how the sciences are used in the world around them. The goal of Fury Field Trips is to instill an interest in the sciences that they will carry through adulthood. The Fury Field Trips are proudly supported by the Metro Detroit Ford Dealers and the Towne Mortgage Company.

The Fury embarked on the first Fury Field Trip of the 2003 season with a visit to the Ford River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan on Friday, March 21, 2003. Fury players Jon McCall, Dary Myricks, Matt Norwood, Ron Carpenter and Lucas Yarnell toured the plant with sixty students from Stout Middle School in Dearborn. After the tour, Ford representatives and Fury players spoke to the children about the importance of learning about science.

The Fury also traveled to Woodland Elementary School in Troy, Michigan on Thursday, March 27. Students in attendance were treated to a wonderful, educational learning experience through an interactive science show. This show was performed by Science Theatre, a student run organization from Michigan State University. These science majors involved students and players in showing physics and chemistry to students in an interesting and innovative production.

The Fury's latest field trip will take them to Selfridge Air Base in Mt. Clemens, MI on Thursday, April 24. The base, which is still an active base for the National Guard, has a military air museum on site. Fury players and local area children will be touring the facilities, while students will learn about science and aviation. They will receive hands on demonstrations and the ability to climb into many cockpits of the planes to feel first hand what they were like. With many historic planes on display, and today's latest models flying around, the trip will be exciting and informative for all.

LAST WEEK:

San Jose, CA – In their first ever meeting, the Detroit Fury ended the San Jose SaberCats' 18-home game winning streak, defeating them 45-42. The Fury (6-5) held the SaberCats (7-4) to only 42 points, their lowest scoring total since May 26, 2001. The SaberCats entered the game as the Arena Football League's top-rated scoring team.

In a game filled with penalties and poor offensive performances, it was the defense that prevailed for the Fury. The Fury now improve to (4-2) on the road, and are (5-0) when the defense holds opponents to under 50 points in a game. The Fury were also able to hold the SaberCats to only 13 yards rushing. The SaberCats also enter the game as the AFL's leading rushing attack, averaging 39 yards a game.

"I am very proud of our guys tonight," said Fury Head Coach Al Luginbill. "We struggled offensively and got down early, but this team never gave up. Our defense kept us in this game, holding on fourth downs, keeping pressure on the quarterback and playing hard until the very end. We were able to come back and win the game, and that is never an easy thing to do on the road."

Offensively, QB Andy Kelly led the Fury, completing 26-of-45 for 243 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. Thomas Bailey, making only his second start this season, led the Fury's receiving corps, catching eight passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.

San Jose OS James Hundon led all receivers, catching nine passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Mark Greib completed 18-of-28 for 277 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Detroit continued to be plagued by injuries, as lineman Dary Myricks suffered a sprained shoulder and did not return to play in the second half. His status will be reevaluated next week.

San Jose wasted no time scoring to start the game. Following a Detroit offsides penalty, QB Mark Grieb connected with OS James Hundon for a 37-yard touchdown strike.

The Fury offense was unable to respond on its next possession. QB Andy Kelly failed to complete three consecutive passes, and kicker Nick Gatto missed the field goal. The SaberCats turned the missed field goal into a score on a seven-yard touchdown strike from Greib to WR James Roe.

Before the end of the first quarter, the Fury were able to get on the board when Kelly threw a 25-yard pass to WR Herman Bell.

The SaberCats offense continued to roll, as Grieb hit Roe for a 31-yard pass. Roe was tackled just short of the goal line, but it set up a one-yard touchdown run by Barry Wagner. The Fury kept pace with the SaberCats on their next possession. Kelly connected with WR Marcus Nash on fourth down for the 17-yard touchdown strike, keeping the SaberCats' lead at seven.

Detroit's defense stepped up on San Jose's next possession, forcing a turnover on downs, but Detroit was unable to find the end zone to tie the score. Kicker Nick Gatto nailed a 32-yard field goal to bring Detroit within four points of San Jose.

The SaberCats demonstrated their league-leading rushing attack, as they rushed three straight plays, finishing with a two-yard touchdown run by Barry Wagner. The score capped off a seven-play, 46-yard drive.

With less than a minute remaining, the Fury drove the ball down the field and scored the final touchdown of the half as time expired. The two-point conversion following was no-good. The Fury entered halftime trailing the SaberCats 23-28.

The Fury returned from halftime and received the kickoff. The offense continued to struggle. A SaberCat penalty on third down gave the Fury a fresh set of downs, and later in the drive, the Fury converted their second fourth down alive to keep possession. With the ball on the 10-yard line, Kelly found WR Kelly Snell in the end zone for the Fury touchdown. The PAT was blocked, giving the Fury one-point lead.

Detroit's defense forced the game's first turnover of the game on San Jose's next possession. FB James Williams fumbled a pitch, and Detroit lineman Angel Rubio recovered the ball. Again, on fourth down, Kelly hit Nash for his second touchdown pass of the game, but Gatto missed the following PAT.

The SaberCats put their first points of the second half on the board on their next drive. Grieb hit Roe for a 19-yard touchdown strike to finish off a three-play scoring drive.

After two consecutive unsportsmanlike penalties against the Fury, the offense converted its fourth, fourth-down of the night to keep the drive alive. OS Thomas Bailey finished the drive with a 12-yard pass from Kelly to give the Fury the lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

The Fury defense had an opportunity to force a turnover on downs with less than five minutes left in the game, but were unable to stop the SaberCats from converting a fourth and 21. Later in the drive, the Fury forced another fourth down, but this time, the defense held, turning the ball over on downs.

Detroit took possession of the ball, but San Jose's defense prevented Detroit from scoring a touchdown. With 54 seconds remaining in the game, Nick Gatto hit a 37-yard field goal to give Detroit a 10-point lead.

San Jose returned the kickoff to the 25-yard line, and two plays later, Grieb hit Roe for their third touchdown pass of the day.

The SaberCats lined up for the onside kick with 32 seconds left in the game, but Ron Carpenter covered the ball for the Fury. QB Andy Kelly took a quarterback sneak to move the ball forward, and with no timeouts remaining, the Fury ran out the clock for the win.

MVP: Andy Kelly (DET)

Ironman: Barry Wagner (SAN)

Attendance: (11,563)

FURY NOTES / TRENDS:

No picks = win: Last week against San Jose, Andy Kelly had his second interception free day, and the Fury were able to grab a win because of it. It was also the first game of the season the Fury have not committed a turnover in the game.

Rotating the Specialists: So far this season, no one person has not held the offensive and defensive specialist positions for the Fury for more than two weeks at a time, with the exception of Ron Carpenter. Today's game against New York could be the first time the same DS (Brent Browner) will start for the third straight week.

Defense Getting it done: Although they are not forcing turnovers or recording the most sacks each week in the AFL, the Fury's defense has been getting the job done lately. In last week's win, the Fury held the SaberCats (who entered the game as the league's top-scoring offense) to only 42 points, their lowest total since May 2001. In the game, the Fury did not force any turnovers, but did recover a fumble. In Buffalo, the Fury shut out the Destroyers in the entire second half, holding them to only 14 points in a single game (a franchise record). While in Buffalo and Colorado, the Fury forced seven turnovers (four interceptions & three fumbles) to help guide them to victories. Despite a poor offensive performance in Chicago, the Fury defense forced two interceptions, and one was returned for a touchdown.

Franchise records: With five games remaining in the 2003 season, this year's Fury team is approaching some franchise milestones, in some cases, have already set a few. Standing at (6-5), the Fury are only one win away from tying a team best seven wins in a season (set in 2001). With last week's win, the Fury have already set a new mark for road wins (four) in a season and consecutive road victories. If the Fury can win in New York and Las Vegas, they could run their streak even higher.

RUNNING WITH THE RECORDS: Watch as Fury Quarterback Andy Kelly continues his assault on the Arena Football League's record books, as he hopes to remain the league's all-time leading passer. AFL Veterans Aaron Garcia (NY) and Sherdrick Bonner (AZ) are right behind.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 16, 2003


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