Sports stats



Detroit Fury game notes

May 18, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Colorado Crush (9-5) at Detroit Fury (4-10)
Date: Sunday, May 23, 2004
Kickoff: 3:00 p.m. ET
Site: The Palace of Auburn Hills (14,826)
Officials: Wes Fritz (Referee), Tony Payne (Umpire),
Jim Hatfield (Head Linesman), David Chesney (Line Judge)
James Cole (Back Judge).
Radio: WDFN, 1130 AM
Fred McLeod - (Play-by-Play)
Rob Rubick – (Color Analyst)
TV: None
Series Record: 1-1
Last Meeting: Thursday, March 4, 2004 @ Colorado
Colorado 62 – Detroit 61
Streaks: Colorado – Lose 1
Detroit – Lose 6
Coaches: Colorado – Mike Dailey (72-50, 8th Year)
Detroit – Tom Luginbill (4-10, 1st Year)

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Colorado: Jonathan Goldstein
Office: (303) 777-7717 ext. 118
Mobile: (720) 641-8964
Detroit: Jason Miller
Office: (248) 377-8704
Mobile: (248) 318-5968


THE STAKES: For Detroit, the playoffs are out of reach, and now they must play to finish the season strong and try to be a spoiler for the Colorado Crush. For the Fury, their mission is snapping their current six-game losing streak and ending the season on a positive swing. For Colorado, they failed to clinch a playoff spot after a last-second loss to Indiana. While not out of the playoffs, the Crush need a win against Detroit to stay ahead of a pack of teams, who are playing hot at the right time.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will be the third time these two teams have met, and it will be the first time these teams will have met in Detroit. Earlier in the year, Detroit lost a last-second heartbreaker 62-61 in Colorado. In the game, Detroit recovered two onside kicks to try for the win, but Mark Lewis's 55-yard field goal sailed wide right as time expired for the Crush win.

TEAM SCHEDULES:

DETROIT FURY (4-10)
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
4/01 GEORGIA 2-1 W 42-40
4/10 GRAND RAPIDS 2-4 L 45-49
4/16 @Los Angeles 1-1 L 55-62
4/25 @Las Vegas 1-4 L 34-60
5/02 CHICAGO 3-4 L 40-57
5/07 @Indiana 2-5 L (OT) 59-68
5/15 ARIZONA 1-3 L 33-57
Date Opponent Time TV Series
5/23 COLORADO 3:00 - 1-1
5/29 @Grand Rapids 7:30 - 2-4

COLORADO CRUSH (9-5)
Date Opponent Series Result Score
2/6 LAS VEGAS -- W 43-42
2/14 @ Grand Rapids -- W 55-37
2/22 @ Chicago -- L 35-65
2/27 AUSTIN -- W 37-35
3/4 DETROIT -- W 62-61
3/14 @ San Jose -- L 35-55
2/21 @ Philadelphia -- W 40-33
3/27 ARIZONA -- W 54-46
4/3 INDIANA -- L (OT) 42-45
4/10 @ Los Angeles -- W 57-55
4/18 @ New York -- L 49-52
4/23 GRAND RAPIDS -- W 69-30
5/2 PHILADELPHIA -- W 58-40
5/9 BYE WEEK
5/16 @ Indiana -- L 56-59
Date Opponent Time TV Series
5/23 @ Detroit 3:00 -- 1-1
5/30 CHICAGO 4:00 NBC -
* all times Eastern and subject to change

HEAD COACHES:

TOM LUGINBILL, Detroit (4-10, 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.

MIKE DAILEY, Colorado (72-50, 8th Year, Overall): Dailey enters his first season with Colorado Crush, but he is no stranger to the game of Arena Football. Dailey spent the last seven seasons as the head coach of the Indiana (Albany) Firebirds, where he won an ArenaBowl Championship in 1999 with the then Albany Firebirds. Prior to taking over the reigns as head coach, Dailey served five seasons as an assistant coach under current Chicago Rush Head Coach Mike Hohensee. Dailey has served as both an offensive and defensive coordinator, but is regarded for his ability to run an offense. While the Firebird's offensive coordinator, Dailey's team finished at the top of the league for points per game. Before entering the AFL coaching ranks, Dailey worked as an offensive coordinator at Montgomery College and as an assistant at Towson State University. With Colorado, Dailey took the job hoping to rebuild the Crush's record from 2-14 in their inaugural season. In order to sign Dailey, the Crush had to trade three players to the Firebirds.




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 another hospital visit on Wednesday, April 28. Fury players Herman Bell and Dawan Moss and mascot Frenzy visited the children and other patients at Hurley Hospital in Flint, Michigan.

The Fury embarked on their second Field Trip of the season on May 6, 2004 when a group of players will joined 50 students from Rochester Elementary school in a show at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mad Science, a national science showing treated the students to interactive displays of science, and the players spoke about the importance of going to school and how the forces of science work in football.

The Detroit Fury headed out to the Detroit Children's hospital on Thursday, May 13 to visit the Children in the hospital and to spread cheer throughout. Fury FB/LB Juan Long, Frenzy and Emliy (a cheerleader) spent time making art projects and talking to the children.

LAST WEEK (vs. Arizona):

AUBURN HILLS, Mich – The Detroit Fury gave up six first half possessions and allowed the Arizona Rattlers to score 37 unanswered points, as they were beat 57-33 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Arizona used a strong defensive effort, holding Detroit to only 13 points in the first three quarters.

Defensively, the Rattlers were too much to handle for the Fury. On Detroit's first drive of the game, Arizona's Orshawante Bryant intercepted Detroit quarterback Andy Kelly, and that set the tone for the rest of the half. Although the Fury scored on their next possession, they would not score again until there was 5:50 remaining in the third quarter.

In the first half, Arizona blocked a field goal for a safety, recovered a kickoff of the net for a touchdown and recovered a fumble. The Rattler defense forced a total of three field goal attempts in the first half.

With the loss, Detroit (4-10) has now dropped six straight games, and Arizona (10-5) has won seven in a row, as they head into their bye week.

The Rattlers were lead by a two-headed quarterback machine. Sherdrick Bonner finished the game completing 13-of-20 passes for 162 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions before being replaced by backup Joe Germaine in the third quarter.

Germaine picked up right where Bonner left off. He finished the night completing 8-of-12 passes for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

Five different Arizona receivers caught touchdowns in the game. AFL veteran Hunkie Cooper led the Rattler receivers with five catches for 27 yards and one touchdown.

Quarterback Andy Kelly led Detroit offensively. Kelly finished the game completing 19-of-31 passes for 230 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His number one target was receiver Thabiti Davis, who led all receivers with eight catches for 102 yards and one touchdown.

Score By Quarter 1 2 3 4 Final
Arizona Rattlers 7 23 13 14 57
Detroit Fury 7 0 6 20 33

Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game:
Thabiti Davis (DET)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Tony Plantin (ARI)
U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Orshawante Bryant (ARI)

Attendance: 5,782


NEXT WEEK:

Next Week, the Fury will close out the 2004 regular season on the road with intrastate rival Grand Rapids Rampage. Earlier in the year, the Rampage won their only game of the season in Detroit, defeating the Fury 49-46. The Fury and Rampage will meet for the seventh time. The last time Detroit played at Grand Rapids, they won with a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion in the opening round of the 2003 playoffs.

STATISTICS:

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

Statistical DETROIT COLORADO
Category Stat Stat
Scoring Offense 655 692
Scoring Defense 755 655
Total Offense (yds/g) 275.0 273.5
Total Defense (yds/g) 271.5 269.7
Pass Offense (yds/g) 262.6 257.6
Pass Defense (yds/g) 235.9 252.2
Rushing Offense (yds/g) 12.4 15.9
Rushing Defense (yds/g) 35.6 17.2
Kickoff Returns 19.3 15.5
Field Goals 14 / 26 10 / 29
PAT Kicking 75 / 83 86 / 93
Sacks By (sks-yds) 11 (53) 10 (64)
Sacks Against (sks-yds) 13 (87) 4 (27)
First Downs 297 265
Penalties (#/yds) 99 (583) 93 (623)
Turnover Margin -21 +13
Time of Possession 31:21 29:47
Third Down % 47.8 42.9
Fourth Down % 50.0 46.2
Opp. Third Down % 47.1 51.7
Opp. Fourth Down % 69.2 48.0
Offensive TD % inside 10 68.6 65.1
Defensive TD% inside 10 75.0 77.8

THE IFs:
If DETROIT defeats Colorado, it would...
· Give DETROIT a (3-4) overall series record Colorado, and avoid the 2004 series sweep
· Give DETROIT a (3-5) record on the road
· Give DETROIT a (5-10) overall record
· Give DETROIT Head Coach Tom Luginbill his fifth win as an AFL head coach
· End DETROIT's six-game losing skid, and give the Fury their first win since April 1

FURY NOTES / TRENDS:

Fury Records Were Made to be Broken: Since 2001, no Fury receiver has come close to matching Robert Gordon's numbers, until 2004...Receiver Thabiti Davis has the opportunity to break two Fury receiving records, receptions in a season and receiving yards. Davis currently has 108 receptions for 1,328 yards. He only needs 17 more receptions and 296 yards to tie the franchise records. If Davis can average nine catches and 148 yards a game, Davis could become the Fury's new record holder. Fury receiver Carl Bond tied another of "Flash's" old records two weeks ago in Indiana. With his six receiving touchdowns, Bond tied Gordon's record for touchdowns in a single game, a record that dated back to 2001.

Second Half Improvement: After the first eight weeks of the season, kick returner Ron Carpenter did not have the kind of performances that helped him set the AFL record for kickoff return yards in 2003. In the first eight weeks, "Carp" only acquired 424 yards, an average of 53 yards a game. Since turning the halfway point, "Carp" had accumulated 908 yards in only five games, an average of 181.6 yards a game. Despite being inactive last week, if "Carp" continues on his current pace, he will finish with 1271 return yards in the second half of the season. Had "Carp" had this success all season, he would have been on pace to snap is current record by over 500 yards.

Fullback Shuffle: Ever since the Fury traveled to Los Angeles on April 16, they have been unable to start the same two FB/LBs. Each week, FB/LBs Dawan Moss, Juan Long and Errick Herrin have all taken turns playing together. In LA – Moss/Herrin, LV – Long/Herrin, CHI – Moss/Long, IND – Moss/Herrin, ARI – Long/Herrin. Each Linebacker has seen an injury over the course of the five-week FB/LB shuffle, and this week, expect to see another shuffle, as Dawan Moss re-enters the lineup.

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 most of the 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 75-of-82 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 4,582
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 3,915
3) Aaron Garcia, New York 3,743
4) Todd Hammel, Philadelphia 3,717

All-Time Pass Completions #
1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 2,827
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 2,433
3) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 2,390
4) Aaron Garcia, New York 2,290

All-Time Passing Yards #
1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 31,385
2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 30,388
3) Aaron Garcia, New York 30,147
4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 28,267

All-Time Passing Touchdowns #
1) Aaron Garcia, New York 627
2) Andy Kelly, Detroit 611
3) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 608
4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 562


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 Carp will defend his record, as this 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 1,331

KICKOFF RETURN LEADERS
Steve Smith, Grand Rapids – 1,514 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 367.0
Will Pettis, Dallas – 1,505 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 371.5
Ron Carpenter, Detroit – 1,331 Yards
Yards Needed to AVG/Game to Break – 458.5

MILESTONES
· Dawan Moss needs 10 more rushing yards to have a 100-yard rushing season, the first in Fury history



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 Detroit Mark Lewis
10 Grand Rapids Chris Avery
11 Los Angeles Tony Graziani
12 Las Vegas Marcus Nash
13 Chicago Chad Salisbury
14 Detroit Carl Bond
15 Detroit Thabiti Davis
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 Detroit Curtis Eason
10 Grand Rapids Mark Ricks
11 Los Angeles Jason Moore
12 Las Vegas Marvin Taylor
13 Chicago DeJuan Alfonzo
14 Indiana Ricky Hall
15 Arizona Tony Plantin
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 Detroit Thabiti Davis
10 Grand Rapids Chris Avery
11 Detroit Ron Carpenter
12 Las Vegas Coco Blalock
13 Chicago DeJuan Alfonzo
14 Detroit Curtis Eason
15 Arizona Orshawante Bryant
16
17

FOLLOWING THE FURY IN 2004:

2-5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills
2-5 on the road

1-2 vs. National Conference
3-8 vs. American Conference

0-0 vs. Eastern Division
1-2 vs. Southern Division
2-4 vs. Central Division
1-4 vs. Western Division

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

1-3 on Thursdays
1-3 on Fridays
0-2 on Saturdays
1-2 on Sundays
1-0 on Mondays

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

2-0 when leading after first quarter
1-6 when trailing after first quarter
1-4 when tied after first quarter

3-2 when leading at halftime
1-7 when trailing at halftime
0-1 when tied at halftime

3-1 when leading after three quarters
1-8 when trailing after three quarters
0-1 when tied after three quarters

1-6 in games decided by 10+ points
1-3 in games decided by 4-9 points
2-1 in games decided by 3 or less points

1-10 when opponent scores more than 40 points
3-0 when opponent scores 40 points or less

3-6 when Fury score more than 40 points
1-4 when Fury score 40 points or less

3-8 when the Fury score first
1-2 when opponent score first

0-1 in overtime


AFL STANDINGS:

American Conference - Central Division Team W L T
Chicago Rush 10 4 0
Colorado Crush 9 5 0
Indiana Firebirds 8 7 0
Detroit Fury 4 10 0
Grand Rapids Rampage 1 13 0

American Conference - West Division
Team W L T
San Jose SaberCats 10 4 0
Arizona Rattlers 10 5 0
Los Angeles Avengers 8 6 0
Las Vegas Gladiators 7 7 0

National Conference - Eastern Division
Team W L T
New York Dragons 8 6 0
Dallas Desperados 6 8 0
Carolina Cobras 5 9 0
Philadelphia Soul 5 9 0
Columbus Destroyers 4 10 0

National Conference - Southern Division
Team W L T
New Orleans VooDoo 10 4 0
Austin Wranglers 8 6 0
Orlando Predators 8 6 0
Tampa Bay Storm 7 7 0
Georgia Force 5 9 0


2004 Playoff Seedings (Through Week 13):

1. (p) – Chicago Rush (10-4) *
2. (p) – New Orleans VooDoo (10-4) *
3. (p) – San Jose SaberCats (10-4) *
4. (p) – Arizona Rattlers (10-5)
5. – Colorado Crush (9-5)
6. – Austin Wranglers (8-6)
7. – Los Angeles Avengers (8-6)
8. – New York Dragons (8-6) *

* Current Division Leader
(p) – Clinched a playoff spot

Last Week in the AFL:
Friday, May 14
Grand Rapids Rampage 28 – Columbus Destroyers 59
Saturday, May 15
Arizona Rattlers 57 – Detroit Fury 33
Carolina Cobras 46 – Philadelphia Soul 43
Georgia Force 40 – New Orleans VooDoo 44
Sunday, May 16
Los Angeles Avengers 58 – New York Dragons 53
Colorado Crush 56 – Indiana Firebirds 59
Orlando Predators 43 – Austin Wranglers 26
Dallas Desperados 41 – Chicago Rush 45
San Jose SaberCats 35 – Las Vegas Gladiators 44

Bye: Tampa Bay Storm

This Week in the AFL:
Saturday, May 22
Grand Rapids Rampage @ Carolina Cobras, 7:30 pm
Columbus Destroyers @ Dallas Desperados, 8:30 pm
Philadelphia Soul @ San Jose SaberCats, 10:30 pm
Las Vegas Gladiators @ Los Angeles Avengers, 10:30 pm
Sunday, May 23
Indiana Firebirds @ Chicago Rush, 3:00 pm
Colorado Crush @ Detroit Fury, 3:00 pm
Austin Wranglers @ Georgia Force, 3:00 pm
New Orleans VooDoo @ Tampa Bay Storm, 3:00 pm
New York Dragons @ Orlando Predators, 3:00 pm

Bye: Arizona Rattlers

Next Week in the AFL:
Saturday, May 29
Detroit Fury @ Grand Rapids Rampage, 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 23
Arizona Rattlers @ San Jose SaberCats, 4:00 pm
Columbus Destroyers @ Las Vegas Gladiators, 4:00 pm
Orlando Predators @ Los Angeles Avengers, 4:00 pm
Chicago Rush @ Colorado Crush, 4:00 pm
Philadelphia Soul @ New York Dragons, 4:00 pm
Austin Wranglers @ New Orleans VooDoo, 4:00 pm
Carolina Cobras @ Georgia Force, 4:00 pm
Tampa Bay Storm @ Dallas Desperados, 4:00 pm

Bye: Indiana Firebirds

* All Times Eastern

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 18, 2004


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.

Other Recent Detroit Fury Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central