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Detroit Fury game notes

March 31, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Georgia Force (4-4) @ Detroit Fury (3-4)
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Site: The Palace of Auburn Hills (14,826)
Officials: Bill LeMonnier (Referee), Rick Podraza (Umpire),
Rod Pearson (Head Linesman), Dana McKenzie (Line Judge)
Billy Becket (Back Judge).
Radio: WDFN, 1130 AM
Fred McLeod (Play-by-Play)
Rob Rubick (Color Analyst)
TV: Comcast Cable
Mark Champion (Play-by-Play)
Jim Brandstatter (Color Analyst)
Series Record: 1-1
Last Meeting: Sunday, February 9, 2003
Detroit 38 – Georgia 31
Streaks: Georgia – Lose 2
Detroit – Win 1
Coaches: Georgia – Marty Lowe (18-17, 3rd Year)
Detroit – Tom Luginbill (3-4, 1st Year)

THE STAKES: Detroit went to Chicago last week and came away with a must-needed win, but now, they need to focus on the Georgia Force. A win puts the Fury back at .500 for the season and keeps them in the playoff hunt. Georgia is currently on a two-game slide and they will be looking to rebound against Detroit, to keep their playoff hopes alive. A loss this week sets the Fury back before they host the currently winless Grand Rapids Rampage next week.

THE SERIES: This will be the third overall meeting between the Force and Fury. The series is spilt at one game apiece, with the Fury winners of last year’s meeting. The Fury and Force have never played in Georgia, and this will be the third game in a row the teams play at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

TEAM SCHEDULES:

DETROIT FURY (3-4)
Date Opponent Series Result Score
2/05 SAN JOSE 1-1 L 43-58
2/13 @Arizona 1-2 W 48-31
2/23 INDIANA 2-4 W 34-25
2/28 BYE WEEK - - -
3/04 @Colorado 1-1 L 61-62
3/12 @New Orleans 0-1 L 31-45
3/18 AUSTIN 0-1 L 58-70
3/28 @Chicago 3-3 W 72-71
Date Opponent Time TV Series
4/01 GEORGIA 7:30 Comcast 1-1
4/10 GRAND RAPIDS 7:30 - 2-3
4/16 @Los Angeles 10:30 - 1-0
4/25 @Las Vegas 3:00 NBC 1-3
5/02 CHICAGO 3:00 NBC 2-3
5/08 @Indiana 8:00 - 2-4
5/15 ARIZONA 7:30 - 1-2
5/23 COLORADO 3:00 NBC 1-0
5/29 @Grand Rapids 7:30 - 2-3
Comcast Cable / Bright House Network

GEORGIA FORCE (4-4)
Date Opponent Series Result Score
2/9 NEW YORK - L 28-54
2/13 @ Tampa Bay - W 70-62
2/22 NEW ORLEANS - L 52-55
3/1 @ Los Angeles - W 53-52
3/7 LAS VEGAS - W 55-40
3/12 @ Orlando - W 52-44
3/20 @ Indiana - L 36-73
3/27 TAMPA BAY L 24-53
Date Opponent Time TV Series
4/1 @ Detroit 7:30 - 1-1
4/11 @ Austin 3:00 NBC -
4/18 ORLANDO 3:00 NBC -
4/25 SAN JOSE 12:00 NBC -
5/2 BYE WEEK - - -
5/9 @ Columbus 3:00 NBC -
5/15 @ New Orleans 8:00 - -
5/23 AUSTIN 3:00 NBC -
5/30 CAROLINA 4:00 NBC -
* all times Eastern and subject to change

HEAD COACHES:

TOM LUGINBILL, Detroit (3-4, 1st Year): Luginbill enters his first season as an AFL head coach, after taking the reigns from his father Al, who served as the Fury’s head coach in 2003. At 30 years old, Luginbill is the youngest head coach in the AFL, and he looks forward to a breakout season as head coach. Last season, Luginbill helped to re-build the Fury team from a 1-13 record in 2002. With his guidance, the Fury finished the regular season at 8-8, which tied the AFL record for a single-season turnaround. The Fury also finished 1-1 in the playoffs, and the franchise won its first-ever playoff game. Prior to joining the Fury, Luginbill had coached for three different teams in three years, but he is no stranger to the game of Arena Football. Luginbill played two seasons as an AFL quarterback in 1996 & 1997, before joining the coaching staff on the New York CityHawks in 1998. Luginbill got his first head-coaching job in 2000, with the Tennessee Valley Vipers of af2, where he led the team to the championship game in his first year with the team. Following a season in af2, Luginbill teamed with his father Al in the XFL as the quarterback’s coach of the Los Angeles Xtreme. There, he coached XFL MVP Tommy Maddox, and helped guide the Xtreme to the league’s first and only championship. He re-joined the AFL in 2002 as an assistant head coach with the expansion Dallas Desperados. In Dallas, Luginbill’s offense set an AFL record for scoring the most points ever by an AFL expansion franchise in one year, and his red-zone offense was ranked number one in the league.

MARTY LOWE, Georgia (18-17, 3rd Year): Lowe returns to the Force for his third season as head coach. Last season, Lowe guided the Force to the second round of the ArenaBowl playoffs. Lowe took the reigns for the Force after they started the 2002 season 1-4, losing four straight games. He began to turn the team around, finishing the season with a 6-8 record. Prior to taking over the head coaching position, Lowe served as the offensive coordinator for the Force (Nashville Kats) from 2000-2001. Before joining the Force, Lowe worked as the running back’s coach at the University of Texas-El Paso. He began his AFL career as a quarterback for the St. Louis Stampede (1996) and played for the Texas Terror in 1997 before a knee injury ruined his playing career. Lowe got his coaching break following his injury, with his collegiate Alma Mater, Louisville. He was responsible for breaking down game tape and practice films. Lowe started 22 consecutive games for the Cardinals, and is still one of only four quarterbacks in Louisville history to pass for over 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.



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 spend time with the children, sign autographs and leave special gifts behind. The Fury hope that these 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 2004 SEASON

In 2004, the Fury are still committed to making a difference off the field. The Fury will continue to host Fury Field Trips and Hospital Visits throughout the season. This season, the Fury will have four hospital visits to local area hospitals, with the first happening Tuesday, February 17, at St. Joseph Mercy Macomb Hospital. Fury players Jon McCall, Dawan Moss, David Hill and cheerleaders visited the pediatric wing of the hospital and brought Fury swag and cheer to all the kids. The players and cheerleaders also toured the rest of the hospital.

The Fury had their latest hospital visit on Tuesday, March 30. Fury players Angel Rubio and Dawan Moss and mascot Frenzy visited the children and other patients at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

The Fury will embark on their first Field Trip of the season on April 13, 2004 when a group of players will join 50-100 students from local youth groups in metro-Detroit as they tour the weather studios in WDIV Channel 4. Meteorologist Andrew Humphrey will take the students on a tour of the studio, explaining how we predict the weather and the technology used to get the weather on TV.

The players will help guide the children around, and later on, they will talk about how they use technology to become better football players on and off the field. They will also give out Fury swag and gear to all the participants involved on the Field Trip.


LAST WEEK (@ Chicago):

ROSEMONT, IL – It was an offensive shoot-out, but in the end, the Detroit Fury used a trick play, allowing quarterback Andy Kelly to rush in for a three-yard, game-winning touchdown with three seconds left in the game for a 72-71 victory over the Chicago Rush. The Rush had one final play to win the game, but Fury linemen Curtis Eason and Dustin Keith sacked Rush quarterback Raymond Philyaw to seal Detroit’s victory.

With the win, the Fury (3-4) snapped their three-game losing streak and a three-game losing streak against the Rush (5-2).

Fury quarterback Andy Kelly and receiver Thabiti Davis led the way for Detroit. Kelly completed 22-of-31 passes for 306 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception, and he ran three times for four yards and two touchdowns. Kelly has now thrown for over 300 yards in four straight contests.

Kelly’s main target, receiver Thabiti Davis, led all receivers with 12 catches for 166 yards and five touchdowns.

For Chicago, quarterback Raymond Philyaw led the Rush completing 14-of-22 passes for 244 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. Philyaw has yet to throw an interception in 2004.

Philyaw used a trio of receivers for his offensive assault. Etu Molden led all Rush receivers with five catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. Receiver Lindsay Fleshman finished the game four catches for 81 yards and three touchdowns.

In the game, kickers had a rough time kicking the ball off. Chicago kicker Keith Gispert had five kickoffs in a row that hit a ceiling fixture (scoreboard and lights), allowing Detroit to take over possession of the ball at the 20-yard line each time. Detroit kicker Mark Lewis also hit a ceiling fixture once in the game.

Score By Quarter 1 2 3 4 Final
Detroit Fury 7 24 20 21 72
Chicago Rush 14 16 19 22 71

Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game:
Thabiti Davis (DET)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Lindsay Fleshman (CHI)
U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Lindsay Fleshman (CHI)

Attendance: 14,837

NEXT WEEK:

Next Week, the Fury stay at home for a game against their intra-state rival Grand Rapids Rampage on Saturday, April 10. Last season, the Fury did not play Grand Rapids in the regular season, but met them in the first round of the playoffs, where the Fury defeated them on a last second play and two-point conversion 55-54 in Grand Rapids.

STATISTICS:

A look how Detroit and Georgia match-up on both sides of the ball based on the regular season statistics:

Statistical DETROIT GEORGIA
Category Stat Stat
Scoring Offense 347 370
Scoring Defense 362 433
Total Offense (yds/g) 306.3 263.9
Total Defense (yds/g) 249.6 264.0
Pass Offense (yds/g) 287.4 234.3
Pass Defense (yds/g) 217.1 239.1
Rushing Offense (yds/g) 18.9 29.6
Rushing Defense (yds/g) 32.4 24.9
Kickoff Returns 14.9 18.1
Field Goals 7 / 12 4 / 15
PAT Kicking 42 / 45 46 / 47
Sacks By (sks-yds) 8 (50) 3 (12)
Sacks Against (sks-yds) 5 (39) 12 (49)
First Downs 156 144
Penalties (#/yds) 50 (291) 63 (365)
Turnover Margin -12 -5
Time of Possession 31:41 28:28
Third Down % 54.7 % 38.8 %
Fourth Down % 54.4 % 38.5 %
Opp. Third Down % 40.0 % 54.5 %
Opp. Fourth Down % 60.0 % 42.9 %
Offensive TD % inside 10 69.2 % 75.0 %
Defensive TD% inside 10 72.4 % 75.6 %

THE IFs:
If DETROIT defeats GEORGIA, it would …
· Give DETROIT a (2-1) series record against Georgia, and give them a two-game winning streak over the Force
· Give DETROIT a (2-2) record at home
· Give DETROIT a (4-4) overall record
· Give DETROIT Head Coach Tom Luginbill his fourth win as an AFL head coach
· Keep DETROIT in the playoff hunt
· Keep DETORIT’s winning streak alive
· Give DETROIT their first win against a team from the Southern Division

FURY NOTES / TRENDS:

Trick-or-Treat: When the Fury defeated the Chicago Rush, no one thought it would be on a trick play that allowed quarterback Andy Kelly to walk three yards into the end zone untouched. In the play, Kelly tossed the ball to receiver Jeff Russell, who was in motion. Russell, who was being swarmed with defensive players, then turned and threw the ball backwards to Kelly. Kelly, then behind center and lead blocker Matt Norwood, walked into the end zone with three seconds remaining for the winning score.

Quick Turnaround: The last time the Fury had a quick four-day turnaround, it was at the end of the 2003 season. The Fury played the Las Vegas Gladiators on Sunday, April 27 and had to turnaround and play the Buffalo Destroyers at home on Thursday, May 1. They won that game 50-48.

Air it Out in March: In the month of March, quarterback Andy Kelly accumulated four passing games of over 300 yards. Detroit is 1-3 when Kelly passes for more than 300 yards, with the win at Chicago being his only +300 victory. He has totals of 375 (@ Colorado), 312 (@ New Orleans), 345 (vs. Austin) and 306 (@ Chicago) in the last month. His total of 375 yards was a career best, and he is on pace to beat his personal best in passing yards in a season by over 500 yards.

Flip of the Coin: So far in 2004, the Fury still have only won one coin toss, but in their only coin toss win of the season, the Fury ended up kicking off in both halves due to a quirky rule. Against Austin, the Fury opted to kick rather than defer, giving Austin the choice of receiving the ball to open both halves of play.

Familiar Face: When the host the Georgia Force, lineman Dary Myricks will be returning to The Palace of Auburn Hills after leaving the Fury in the offseason to sign with the Force. Last season, Myricks was a consistent player for the Fury. Fury DS Ron Carpenter still holds over 10 Georgia Force kickoff and field goal return records.

Nope, they aren’t twins: Pictured below are Fury kicker Mark Lewis and NBA star Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets. So far this season, Lewis has been mistaken for Kidd on two of the three road trips of the season. While they do not play the same sport, both have a great ability to handle a ball. Lewis is nearly flawless on PAT’s going 41-of-43 and making over 50% of his field goals.


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.

All-Time Pass Attempts: #
1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 4,369
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 3,688
3) Todd Hammel, Philadelphia 3,558
4) Aaron Garcia, New York 3,527

All-Time Pass Completions #
1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 2,672
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 2,267
3) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 2,258
4) Aaron Garcia, New York 2,207

All-Time Passing Yards #
1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 29,898
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 28,739
3) Aaron Garcia, New York 28,334
4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 26,730

All-Time Passing Touchdowns #
1) Aaron Garcia, New York 585
2) Andy Kelly, Detroit 584
3) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 567
4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 528

* Denotes Back-Up Quarterback in the AFL

CARP’S COUNTDOWN: Last season, Ron Carpenter, “Carp”, set the AFL’s single-season record for kickoff return yardage in his first year with the Fury. Follow to see if this countdown to see if Carp will defend his record and try to season’s league leaders make a run for Carp’s record.

KICK RETURN YARDS RECORD Yards
Ron Carpenter in 2003 2,248
Kickoff Returns Yards to Date in 2004 380

KICKOFF RETURN LEADERS
Steve Smith, Grand Rapids – 814 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 159.3
Markeith Cooper, Georgia – 738 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 188.8
Will Pettis, Dallas – 676 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 174.7

MILESTONES
Andy Kelly Needs
102 Passing Yards for: 30,000 Career Passing Yards
16 Touchdowns for: 600 Career Passing Touchdowns

GAME AWARD WINNERS:

BABY RUTH OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:

WEEK TEAM PLAYER
1 San Jose Mark Grieb
2 Detroit Andy Kelly
3 Detroit Andy Kelly
4 BYE WEEK
5 Colorado Damian Harrell
6 New Orleans Aaron Bailey
7 Austin Tacoma Fontaine
8 Detroit Thabiti Davis
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:

WEEK TEAM PLAYER
1 San Jose Omarr Smith
2 Detroit Reggie Doster
3 Detroit Ron Carpenter
4 BYE WEEK
5 Colorado Willis Marshall
6 New Orleans Monty Montgomery
7 Austin Tom Briggs
8 Chicago Lindsay Fleshman
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME:

WEEK TEAM PLAYER
1 Detroit Cameron Chance
2 Detroit Thabiti Davis
3 Indiana Brett Bech
4 BYE WEEK
5 Colorado Willis Marshall
6 New Orleans Dan Curran
7 Detroit Carl Bond
8 Chicago Lindsay Fleshman
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

FOLLOWING THE FURY IN 2004:

1-2 at The Palace of Auburn Hills
2-2 on the road

0-2 vs. National Conference
3-2 vs. American Conference

0-0 vs. Eastern Division
0-2 vs. Southern Division
2-1 vs. Central Division
1-1 vs. Western Division

0-0 on NBC
1-2 on Local TV Broadcast

0-3 on Thursdays
1-1 on Fridays
0-0 on Saturdays
1-0 on Sundays
1-0 on Mondays

2-1 in February
1-3 in March
0-0 in April
0-0 in May

1-0 when leading after first quarter
1-1 when trailing after first quarter
1-3 when tied after first quarter

2-1 when leading at halftime
1-3 when trailing at halftime
0-0 when tied at halftime

2-0 when leading after three quarters
1-3 when trailing after three quarters
0-1 when tied after three quarters

1-3 in games decided by 10+ points
1-0 in games decided by 4-9 points
1-1 in games decided by 3 or less points

1-4 when opponent scores more than 40 points
2-0 when opponent scores less than 40 points

2-3 when Fury score more than 40 points
1-1 when Fury score less than 40 points

2-3 when the Fury score first
1-1 when opponent score first

0-0 in overtime


AFL STANDINGS:

American Conference - Central Division Team W L T
Colorado Crush 6 2 0
Chicago Rush 5 2 0
Detroit Fury 3 4 0
Indiana Firebirds 3 5 0
Grand Rapids Rampage 0 7 0

American Conference - West Division
Team W L T
San Jose SaberCats 6 1 0
Los Angeles Avengers 4 3 0
Las Vegas Gladiators 3 5 0
Arizona Rattlers 3 5 0

National Conference - Eastern Division
Team W L T
Dallas Desperados 5 2 0
New York Dragons 4 3 0
Carolina Cobras 3 5 0
Philadelphia Soul 3 5 0
Columbus Destroyers 1 6 0

National Conference - Southern Division
Team W L T
New Orleans VooDoo 7 1 0
Austin Wranglers 5 2 0
Georgia Force 4 4 0
Orlando Predators 3 4 0
Tampa Bay Storm 3 5 0


2004 Playoff Seedings (-):

1. –
2. –
3. –
4. –
5. –
6. –
7. –
8. –

* Current Division Leader


Last Week in the AFL:
Friday, March 26
Grand Rapids Rampage 42 – Indiana Firebirds 45
Los Angeles Avengers 52 – San Jose SaberCats 55
Saturday, March 27
Tampa Bay Storm 53 – Georgia Force 24
Las Vegas Gladiators 43 – Orlando Predators 60
Carolina Cobras 31 – New Orleans VooDoo 48
Arizona Rattlers 46 – Colorado Crush 54
Sunday, March 28
Detroit Fury 72 – Chicago Rush 71
Philadelphia Soul 60 – Austin Wranglers 65

Bye: Columbus, Dallas, New York

This Week in the AFL:
Thursday, April 1
Georgia Force @ Detroit Fury, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 3
Indiana Firebirds @ Colorado Crush, 3:00 pm
Austin Wranglers @ Los Angeles Avengers, 10:30 pm
Sunday, April 4
San Jose SaberCats @ Tampa Bay Storm, 12:00 pm
Orlando Predators @ Columbus Destroyers, 12:00 pm
Dallas Desperados @ Philadelphia Soul, 12:00 pm
Arizona Rattlers @ Grand Rapids Rampage, 3:00 pm
New York Dragons @ Carolina Cobras, 3:00 pm
Chicago Rush @ Las Vegas Gladiators, 3:00 pm

Bye: New Orleans VooDoo

Next Week in the AFL:
Friday, April 9
New Orleans VooDoo @ Orlando Predators, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 10
New York Dragons @ Columbus Destroyers, 7:00 pm
Grand Rapids Rampage @ Detroit Fury, 7:30 pm
San Jose SaberCats @ Dallas Desperados, 8:30 pm
Las Vegas Gladiators @ Arizona Rattlers, 10:00 pm
Colorado Crush @ Los Angeles Avengers, 10:30 pm
Sunday, April 11
Carolina Cobras @ Indiana Firebirds, 3:00 pm
Tampa Bay Storm @ Chicago Rush, 3:00 pm
Georgia Force @ Austin Wranglers, 3:00 pm

Bye: Philadelphia Soul

* All Times Eastern

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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