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Division Lead On Line in NY

April 12, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


ROCHESTER, NY – The Rochester Brigade and fellow Northeast Division foe Albany Conquest meet Saturday night at Blue Cross Arena in what is being dubbed the inaugural "Battle of I-90". First place is up for grabs in this one, as the Brigade and Conquest look to establish themselves as the early-season leader in the standings.

Besides the division lead and a 2-0 start, these two teams will be competing for pride, as the winner of this game will be presented with the "NYS Lottery af2 Cup." Rochester and Albany are geographically located at opposite ends of I-90 in New York State and the cup will be on the line every time they meet.

"This weekend is a huge for us," declared Rochester Head Coach MARK SAUNDERS. "It's not just for the cup, it's for first place."

Rochester looked impressive in their debut last week, scoring a club-high 61 points to get past the New Haven Ninjas. QB MATT D'ORAZIO showed Rochester fans what they can expect in 2002, as he completed 17 passes for 207 yards and four scores. Three of those touchdowns fell into the hands of OS MARTINO THEUS, putting him among af2 leaders with 18 points.

A key difference to this year's edition of the Brigade is the improved play on the lines. After giving up 53 sacks (second-most in the league) and recording only 24 a year ago, Coach Saunders decided to bolster his lines. It appears he might have been successful. The Brigade line didn't allow a single sack in its first game while dumping New Haven QB PHIL STAMBAUGH five times on the night.

The Conquest used a strong defensive effort to prevail over the Mohegan Wolves last week. The defense is led by 6-foot-3, 205-pound DS HENRY "SHAKE" BAKER. Baker earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors last week, registering two picks and 4.5 (3UT-3AT) tackles against the Wolves. Albany also got superb performances on the other side of the ball, as OS COREY HILL'S brought in 14 receptions, a league high for Week 2.

Albany also boasts strong play on the lines. The Conquest linemen kept constant pressure on Mohegan's QB last week, recording two sacks. The offensive line provided QB JOHN KRUEGER with enough protection to complete 17 passes on the night.

This is the first of three meetings between these soon-to-be rivals. Rochester heads to Albany for the game two on April 27. The New Haven Ninjas play their first-ever home game Saturday night when the host they Cape Fear Wildcats. New Haven, who fell to Rochester 61-34 last week, will have to do without the services of OS CY BUTLER. Butler came in as last-minute replacement against the Brigade and tallied a game-high 108 yards receiving with two scores. Unfortunately for the Ninjas, Butler injured his Achilles tendon in the game and is now on the IR. QB PHIL STAMBAUGH (207 yd, 3 TD at Rochester) will probably turn to WR/DB ANTHONY COMER instead. Comer posted 71 yards receiving with two touchdowns, one by receiving and one rushing against Rochester. The Wildcats enter the New Haven Coliseum on a high after shocking Norfolk 69-19 last week. The expansion Wildcats held the Nighthawks to 71 total yards of offense, due in part to the stellar play of DS KENTON RICKERSON. Rickerson grabbed two interceptions, made four tackles, had five passes defended and was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game. On the other side of the ball, QB VIC PENN will continue to try to find WR/DB NORMAN MASON. Last week the duo connected six times for 75 yards and two scores.

Macon and Tallahassee get together on Saturday night for the first of two regular season meetings. The Knights come to Tallahassee on the heels of a convincing 54-18 win over Carolina a week ago. Tallahassee overcame a 17-point hole to slip by Pensacola 46-41 and win their home opener. The Knights and Thunder both possess potent weapons at QB. Macon QB MIKE GLUSKI tossed five touchdowns last week, while Thunder signal-caller CHRIS WINDSOR had a hand in every Tallahassee touchdown against Pensacola. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound QB threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for two more scores. Kicking could play a role in this one, as Tallahassee's PHIL SETTERQUIST usually provides an extra, extra point by dropkicking his PATs for two points each. Setterquist also converted a 30-yard drop kick FG last week, good for four points.

The Columbus Wardogs begin their search for that elusive first win in club history Saturday night when they travel to Ft. Myers to battle the Firecats. The Wardogs look to new QB DAVID EDGERTON in their quest for a win. Edgerton, who played in Pensacola last year, will try to connect with Wardog veteran MATT BURNSTEIN. The speedy OS played in 11 games with Columbus in 2001, catching 45 balls for 525 yards. Florida comes into this one at 1-0 after knocking off the expansion Wizards last week. Head Coach JOHN FOURCADE'S bunch looks to be better than last year's squad that went 7-9. Part of the new mix includes QB DERRICK TAITE and OS KENNY CAUSEY. Taite and Causey, who connected eight times for 106 yards and three touchdowns against Mobile, should feel rather comfortable with each other. The two were high school rivals, Causey at Biloxi (Miss.) High and Taite at Moss Point and they were teammates at Mississippi State for two years and then were reunited in 1999 with the Indoor Professional Football League Mississippi Fire Dogs.

The marquee National Conference game on Saturday pits the Bakersfield Blitz against the Hawaiian Islanders. Both Western Division foes come in at 1-0 after nailbiting wins in their openers. The visiting Blitz overcame a 27-3 deficit last week to beat San Diego 49-43 in overtime. QB CHAD ELLIOTT passed for a league-high 341 yards, targeting WR/DB RYAN SLOTH (11 rec., 148 yds., TD) and OS STEVE WOFFORD (9 rec., 145 yds., 2 TD – including the game winner). The Islanders fired the final shot in a seesaw 50-47 win over Fresno. QB DARRELL ARCENEAUX accounted for six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) in earning af2 Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 1. His game-winning QB sneak came in the closing seconds.

Bossier City was just inches away from handing two-time defending champion Quad City its first-ever home loss last week. The Battle Wings' 39-34 setback ended with a goal-line fumble on the game's last play. QB SHERARD POTEETE is a run/pass threat while rookie Ironman DENNIS SHORT made a big impression in his af2 debut with two TDs on offense and a sack on defense. Tulsa, the only team ever to beat Quad City, enters this key Central Division road game coming off a 55-42 win against Birmingham in Week 2. The Talons' tandem of QB ANTHONY BUICH (three passing TDs, two rushing TDs) and OS WES CASWELL (83 receiving yards, 1 TD) shared game MVP honors last week. Buich's turnover-free outing played a big role in the victory against the error-prone Steeldogs.

Arkansas and Wichita each lost their home openers last week, with both teams struggling to put points on the board and plagued by kicking game woes. Wichita's receiving trio of XAVIER PATTERSON, PASCAL VOLZ and WILLIE GRISSOM looks to get on track – they combined for just 137 yards and two touchdowns (both Patterson's) in the 30-21 loss to Peoria. The Twisters have their own pass-catching threesome. JOHN DOLLAR, ANTHONY EUBANKS and LENNIE JOHNSON grabbed 13 combined passes for 203 yards and three TDs in last week's 37-28 loss to Tennessee Valley.

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