Dorados Camp Roster Taking Shape
Published on February 4, 2008 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release
Hidalgo, Texas --- With training camp for the 2008 season just about a month away, the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of arenafootball2 (af2) have been busy filling out the roster the team's fifth season at Dodge Arena.
Among the assignees is OL Garrett Mason, a McAllen High School graduate and the first RGV-bred player in four years for the Dorados. A recent graduate of Duke University, Mason was a two-year starter at McAllen and was named First Team All-District as a senior as well as First Team All-Area, First Team All-Valley and Honorable Mention All-State. He also served as team captain and was elected to play in the Texas All-Star Game.
Prior to the 2007 season at Duke, he was listed as a reserve offensive lineman with good versatility and charted as the top backup at center. He posted the top bench press lift on the team at 450 pounds while leading the squad in 225-pound bench press repetitions with 31. He also ranked first among Blue Devil offensive linemen with a vertical leap of 31.5 inches.
"I'm excited to see what Garrett can bring to the team," said Dorados Head Coach Marty Hammond. "As a player with local ties, I know he'll work hard to become a key member of the team."
Other notable assignees include WR Jermaine Carpenter, QB J.R. Davies and OL John Scott.
Carpenter broke into the 2007 lineup in Week 5 at Amarillo and led the team with eight catches for 135 yards and 1 TD. A knee injury in Week 7 forced him to sit out four weeks, but he returned to finish third on the team with 795 receiving yards and 11 receiving TD's. He also added two rushing and one kick return TD.
Davies is set to return to the Valley after playing the 2005 and 2006 campaigns with the club as backup QB. He appeared in six games during the 2006 season, completing 112 of 187 passes for 1064 yards and 19 TD's.
Scott, a 6-foot, 300-pound rookie out of Jacksonville State finished third on the team with 53 tackles and tackles for loss (8). He also added one sack.
"John had a great collegiate career at Jacksonville State and I'm hoping he'll be able to step up and take over where guys like Quinton Staton, Tony McClain and Toli Liufau left off on the defensive side of the ball," explained Hammond.
Staton led af2 with 18.5 sacks last season. He also finished second in the league with 22.5 tackles for loss and finished tied for third on the Dorados with 44.5 tackles. McClain appeared in seven games for the Dorados and made a quick impact, posting 10.5 tackles and 4.5 sacks while adding 5.5 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries. His second quarter sack on July 7 at Laredo pushed the Dorados season total to 53, setting a single season af2 record for sacks. Liufau finished third on the 2007 Dorados with 9.0 sacks for 40 yards and 12.5 tackles for loss in 15 games. He recovered three fumbles for 59 yards including one TD on a 49-yard return, the longest fumble return in team history. He also had three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.
All three have signed to play with Arena Football League teams for the 2008 season.
Dorados single game tickets will go on sale at all TicketMaster outlets, including online and at the Dodge Arena Box Office, on Monday, March 31 at 10 a.m. Season and group tickets are already available by calling 956-843-7825. Tickets start as low as $112 for the full season and $14 for single games. Group tickets remain as low as $12 per game.
2008 RGV DORADOS ROSTER (AS OF 2/4/08)
2008 RGV DORADOS SCHEDULE (* all times local)
Week 1
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Texas 3:00 p.m.
Week 2
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Bye: Rio Grande Valley
Week 3
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Corpus Christi 7:00 p.m.
Week 4
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Austin 3:00 p.m.
Week 5
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Bossier-Shreveport at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 6
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Corpus Christi at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 7
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Tulsa 7:00 p.m.
Week 8
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Central Valley 7:00 p.m.
Week 9 Saturday, May 24, 2008
Oklahoma City at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 10
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Lubbock 7:00 p.m.
Week 11
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Texas at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 12
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Amarillo 7:10 p.m.
Week 13
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tulsa at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 14
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Bye: Rio Grande Valley
Week 15 Friday, July 4, 2008
Rio Grande Valley at Bossier-Shreveport 7:05 p.m.
Week 16
Monday, July 14, 2008
Corpus Christi at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 17
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Austin at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m.
Week 18
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Lubbock at Rio Grande Valley 7:35 p.m
arenafootball2 Stories from February 4, 2008
- AFL'S San Jose, Kansas City Coming to Stockton Arena - Stockton Lightning
- Dorados Camp Roster Taking Shape - Rio Grande Valley Dorados
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.
