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Detroit Fury game notes

May 26, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


QUICK FACTS: Detroit Fury (4-11) at Grand Rapids Rampage Date: Saturday, May 29, 2004 Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Site: Van Andel Arena (10,594) Officials: Jerome Boger (Referee), Rick Nelson (Umpire), Rusty Spindel (Head Linesman), Dennis Lipski (Line Judge) Rich Wilborn (Back Judge). Radio: WDFN, 1130 AM Fred McLeod - (Play-by-Play) TBD – (Color Analyst) TV: None Series Record: 2-4 Last Meeting: Saturday, April 10, 2004 in Detroit Grand Rapids 49 – Detroit 45 Streaks: Grand Rapids – Lose 6 Detroit – Lose 7 Coaches: Grand Rapids – Rick Frazier (24-36, 5th Year) Detroit – Tom Luginbill (4-11, 1st Year)

THE STAKES: For Detroit, it is time to play for pride in a rematch of an earlier game that sent the Fury into their current seven-game losing skid. The Grand Rapids Rampage came into Detroit and beat them, for their only win of the season, and now the Fury would like to exact revenge and finish the 2004 season strong. Today's game will be the basement battle, as both the Fury and Rampage sit at the bottom of the AFL standings.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will be the seventh time these intrastate rivals will clash. Grand Rapids currently holds the 4-2 series advantage over Detroit, winning the last contest between these two teams. The Fury are currently are 1-2 when in Grand Rapids, with their only win on the road coming in last year's opening round of the 2003 ArenaBowl Playoffs, where Detroit won on a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion.

TEAM SCHEDULES:

DETROIT FURY (4-11) 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 5/23 COLORADO 1-2 L 42-45 Date Opponent Time TV Series 5/29 @Grand Rapids 7:30 - 2-4

GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE (1-14) Date Opponent Series Result Score 2/8 @ Chicago - L 30-50 2/14 COLORADO - L 37-55 2/22 LAS VEGAS - L 14-51 2/28 @ San Jose - L 31-62 3/6 @ Dallas - L 50-66 3/14 LOS ANGELES - L 33-48 3/20 BYE WEEK - - - 3/26 @ Indiana - L 42-45 4/4 ARIZONA - L 51-41 4/10 @ Detroit - W 49-45 4/17 INDIANA - L 49-67 4/23 @ Colorado - L 30-69 5/1 AUSTIN - L 27-40 5/8 CHICAGO - L 35-63 5/14 @ Columbus - L 28-59 5/22 @ Carolina - L 31-36 Date Opponent Time TV Series 5/29 DETROIT 7:30 - 4-2 * all times Eastern and subject to change

HEAD COACHES:

TOM LUGINBILL, Detroit (4-11, 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.

RICK FRAZIER, Grand Rapids, 5th season (24-36) Former Milwaukee Mustangs Head Coach Rick Frazier took the reigns as interim head coach following the departure of Bob Cortese, who began the season as the club's head coach at 1-10. He brings more than a quarter century worth of football coaching experience to the Grand Rapids, including nearly a decade of Arena Football experience. Frazier spent seven seasons with the Milwaukee Mustangs (1995-2001) and from 1998-2001 was the team's head coach. Following the Mustangs being contracted before the 2002 season, he served as the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator for the Toronto Phantoms, then was the head coach of the af2's Norfolk Nighthawks in 2003. In 1996, Frazier's Mustang defense was the top-ranked unit in Arena Football, leading the league in total defense, pass defense and sacks. In 1997 and 1998, they finished fifth in total defense.

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. Colorado):

AUBURN HILLS, Mich – John Dutton connected with receiver Willis Marshall for a 10-yard touchdown pass with only one second remaining to give the Colorado Crush a 45-42 victory over the Detroit Fury at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit had an opportunity to tie, but Fury kicker Mark Lewis's 61-yard field goal fell short as time expired.

Earlier, the Fury had a chance to put the game out of reach with less than a minute left, but the Detroit offense was unable to capitalize and was forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Lewis. A critical delay of game penalty put the Fury out of reach of the end zone, but the field goal gave Detroit the 42-37 lead.

On their last possession, Colorado worked the clock until only seconds remained before running their final play. Detroit suffered a defensive breakdown, leaving Marshall wide-open for the touchdown reception. Dutton later connected with Kevin McKenzie for the two-point conversion and the three-point lead.

Detroit (4-11) has now lost seven games in a row and has not won a game since April 1, 2004.

Dutton and offensive specialist Damian Harrell led the attack for the Crush. Dutton finished the game completing 21-of-33 passes for 301 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Harrell, who led all receivers, finished the game with 13 receptions for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

Colorado's defense kept the pressure on Fury quarterback Andy Kelly all game. The Crush defensive front registered three quarterback sacks in the game and seven total tackles for a loss.

Kelly and receivers Thabiti Davis and Junior Lord led Detroit's offense. Kelly finished the game completing 29-of-38 passes for 250 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Davis finished the game with 12 receptions for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Lord had 10 receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown. With his performance today, Davis only needs seven receptions and 187 receiving yards to tie Fury single-season receiving records set by Robert Gordon in 2001.

Score By Quarter 1 2 3 4 Final Colorado Crush 13 7 10 15 45 Detroit Fury 10 10 6 16 42

Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game: Damian Harrell (COL) ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Hugh Hunter (COL) U.S. Army Ironman of the Game: Ron Carpenter (DET)

Attendance: 5,614

STATISTICS:

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

Statistical DETROIT GRAND RAPIDS Category Stat Stat Scoring Offense 697 527 Scoring Defense 800 807 Total Offense (yds/g) 271.7 224.7 Total Defense (yds/g) 273.4 270.7 Pass Offense (yds/g) 260.7 202.6 Pass Defense (yds/g) 239.9 247.7 Rushing Offense (yds/g) 11.0 22.1 Rushing Defense (yds/g) 33.5 22.9 Kickoff Returns 19.5 21.7 Field Goals 17 / 30 9 / 34 PAT Kicking 78 / 88 56 / 69 Sacks By (sks-yds) 11 (53) 11 (59) Sacks Against (sks-yds) 16 (103) 21 (127) First Downs 318 237 Penalties (#/yds) 105 (613) 118 (703) Turnover Margin -21 -21 Time of Possession 31:35 29:28 Third Down % 48.5 46.4 Fourth Down % 50.0 29.2 Opp. Third Down % 46.7 54.9 Opp. Fourth Down % 71.4 36.4 Offensive TD% inside 10 66.7 67.2 Defensive TD% inside 10 74.2 71.8

THE IFs: If DETROIT defeats Grand Rapids, it would... · Give DETROIT a (3-4) overall series record Grand Rapids, and avoid the 2004 series sweep · Give DETROIT a (3-5) record on the road · Give DETROIT a (5-11) overall record · Give DETROIT Head Coach Tom Luginbill his fifth win as an AFL head coach · End DETROIT's seven-game losing skid, and give the Fury their first win since April 1 · Keep DETROIT from being Grand Rapids' only two wins of the season

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 120 receptions for 1,443 yards. He only needs five more receptions and 187 yards in the season's final game to tie the franchise records. Fury receiver Carl Bond tied another of "Flash's" old records three 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.

Want to Play QB? You Need Experience: Fury Head Coach Tom Luginbill has had four quarterbacks take snaps during a game for him since rejoining the AFL in 2002 with the Dallas Desperados. It seems that three of the four quarterbacks have one thing in common: They are all over the age of 30 and that makes them holder the Luginbill himself (30). Dallas starter Jim Kubiak, Fury starter Andy Kelly and Fury backup Billy Dicken are all older than Luginbill and have played for Luginbill. Only last year's backup, John Rayborn was younger than Luginbill, but he only saw action in two games as a member of the Fury.

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/LB 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. Last week, all three got a chance to play due to a shortage of linemen. Look for all three to play again this week.

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 78-of-87 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 4,620 2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 3,915 3) Aaron Garcia, New York 3,780 4) Todd Hammel, Philadelphia 3,717

All-Time Pass Completions # 1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 2,856 2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 2,433 3) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 2,422 4) Aaron Garcia, New York 2,308

All-Time Passing Yards # 1) Andy Kelly, Detroit 31,635 2) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 30,388 3) Aaron Garcia, New York 30,379 4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 28,593

All-Time Passing Touchdowns # 1) Aaron Garcia, New York 630 2) Andy Kelly, Detroit 615 3) Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 608 4) Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 568

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. It appears Carp's record is safe for another season, unless players can return close to 700 yards in kickoff returns in the final game of the season.

KICK RETURN YARDS RECORD Yards Ron Carpenter in 2003 2,248 Kickoff Returns Yards to Date in 2004 1,450

KICKOFF RETURN LEADERS Will Pettis, Dallas – 1,664 Yards Steve Smith, Grand Rapids – 1,514 Yards Sedrick Robinson, Columbus – 1,489 Ron Carpenter, Detroit – 1,450 Yards

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 Colorado Damian Harrell 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 Colorado Hugh Hunter 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 Detroit Ron Carpenter 17

FOLLOWING THE FURY IN 2004:

2-6 at The Palace of Auburn Hills 2-5 on the road

1-2 vs. National Conference 3-9 vs. American Conference

0-0 vs. Eastern Division 1-2 vs. Southern Division 2-5 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 1-3 on Sundays 1-0 on Mondays

2-1 in February 1-3 in March 1-3 in April 0-4 in May

2-0 when leading after first quarter 1-7 when trailing after first quarter 1-4 when tied after first quarter

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

3-1 when leading after three quarters 1-9 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 2-2 in games decided by 3 or less points

1-11 when opponent scores more than 40 points 3-0 when opponent scores 40 points or less

3-7 when Fury score more than 40 points 1-4 when Fury score 40 points or less

3-9 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 11 4 0 Colorado Crush 10 5 0 Indiana Firebirds 8 8 0 Detroit Fury 4 11 0 Grand Rapids Rampage 1 14 0

American Conference - West Division Team W L T San Jose SaberCats 11 4 0 Arizona Rattlers 10 5 0 Los Angeles Avengers 9 6 0 Las Vegas Gladiators 7 8 0

National Conference - Eastern Division Team W L T New York Dragons 8 7 0 Carolina Cobras 6 9 0 Dallas Desperados 6 9 0 Columbus Destroyers 6 9 0 Philadelphia Soul 5 10 0

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

2004 Playoff Seedings (Through Week 16):

1. (p) – Chicago Rush (11-4) * 2. (p) – San Jose SaberCats (11-4) * 3. (p) – Arizona Rattlers (10-5) 4. (p) – Colorado Crush (10-5) 5. (p) – New Orleans VooDoo (10-4) * 6. – Los Angeles Avengers (9-6) 7. – Orlando Predators (9-6) 8. – Austin Wranglers (8-6)

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

Last Week in the AFL: Saturday, May 22 Grand Rapids Rampage 31 – Carolina Cobras 36 Columbus Destroyers 68 – Dallas Desperados 56 Philadelphia Soul 36 – San Jose SaberCats 48 Las Vegas Gladiators 51 – Los Angeles Avengers 54 Sunday, May 23 Indiana Firebirds 37 – Chicago Rush 53 Colorado Crush 45 – Detroit Fury 42 Austin Wranglers 34 – Georgia Force 51 New Orleans VooDoo 51 – Tampa Bay Storm 59 New York Dragons 41 – Orlando Predators 65

Bye: Arizona Rattlers

This 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

Next Week in the AFL: First Round of 2004 ArenaBowl Playoffs No. 8 seed @ No. 1 seed No. 7 seed @ No. 2 seed No. 6 seed @ No. 3 seed No. 5 seed @ No. 4 seed

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