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Dorados Weekly Notes

May 17, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release


HOTTEST TEAM IN THE WEST LOOKS TO REMAIN HOT THIS WEEK

GAME #7 SATURDAY CHASE FIELD AT DODGE ARENA 7:30 PM VS. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS (4-2)

BROADCASTS: TV: TELEVISA RADIO: ESPN RADIO 1240 AM WEBCAST: www.af2tv.com

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados (3-3) are happy to return home, riding a two-game winning streak and looking to do something they have never done... defeat a non-division opponent. The Dorados are 0-7 all-time against non-division opponents and this week they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (4-2), who are coming in with a 2-0 road record this season. The Pioneers enter the contest with one of the af2's most potent offenses, ranking second in the league with an average of 55.2 points tallied per game. They also do it in a short span, as they have ran the least amount of plays in the af2, placing them second in average yards per play with an average gain of 7.2 yards per play. The Dorados will be looking to stop quarterback Kyle Rowley, who leads the af2 with 36 passing touchdowns. Rio Grande Valley will seek a win to not only give them a three-game winning streak for the first time in franchise history, but to possibly get them in a tie for first place in the West Division. They sit one win back from Central Valley, who heads to Amarillo this week, and Tulsa, who plays host to the Macon Knight.

DORADOS DROPBACK

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados lost both of their defensive specialists Saturday night to injury in an af2 battle against the West Division leading Central Valley Coyotes in front of 2,256 at Selland Arena, but the Dorados defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter and rallied to score 33 points in the quarter to defeat the Coyotes 61-51.

Dorados defensive specialist Carl Bucknor, who ironically fell to injury in the sixth game of last season, suffered a foot injury early in the contest, and their other defensive specialist, Kevin Brown injured his leg in the third quarter. The injuries forced the Dorados to place newly acquired John Jefferson and Marquis Floyd at the defensive specialist position, forcing Floyd out of the Dorados offense.

Entering the fourth quarter trailing 29-28, the Dorados recovered a fumble by Coyotes quarterback Juston Wood and converted it into a two-yard touchdown run by Kellett with 7:31 remaining. It was one of two fourth quarter rushing touchdowns in the contest for Kellett to tie his own single-game franchise mark. ADT Defensive Player of the Game Ben McCombs placed heavy pressure onto Wood throughout the game, but the pressure in the fourth quarter forced him to toss some errant throws and two of them ended up being intercepted by Travis McAlpine, who garnered US Army Ironman of the Game honors with 10 catches for 106 yards and two interceptions. The ten receptions ties the Dorados single-game franchise high. The two interceptions were two of three interceptions the Dorados grabbed in the game. Early in the second half, Deorrick Henry grabbed an interception and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

Craig Cole and Kellett supplied the offense in the Dorados productive fourth quarter. Outside of Kellett's two rushing scores, he completed three touchdown passes in the quarter to Cole, who ended the night tying a single-game franchise mark with 4 touchdowns. His first touchdown gave the Dorados a 14-7 lead with 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter after Floyd caught a 23 yard touchdown pass with 11:16 remaining in the quarter for Rio Grande Valley and Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game DeRonn Finley scored his first of four eventual touchdowns 5:26 later.

The Dorados offense hit a dry spell after that and closed the first half unsuccessful in four consecutive offensive series, including a goaline stand by the Coyotes. Central Valley collected a 24-yard touchdown pass from Wood to Wes Borba with 9:54 remaining in the second quarter and a 26-yard field goal by John Gockman with 11.8-seconds remaining in the half to give the Coyotes a 16-14 halftime lead.

Rio Grande Valley improved their record to 3-1 when trailing at the half, while handing the Coyotes their first loss (3-1) when leading at the half. The Dorados also picked up their first win in franchise history when allowing more than 50-points in a game (1-8), as Finley grabbed his fourth touchdown catch as time expired.

Kellett was 20 of 33 for 231-yards for Rio Grande Valley, throwing for five touchdowns and rushing for two. The win places the Dorados with a 3-0 division record this season and a 3-3 overall record, placing them in sole possession of third place in the West Division and a win behind co-leaders Central Valley and the Tulsa Talons.

PIONEER REPORT (a look at the opponent's previous game) Courtesy of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers

The Quad City Steamwheelers suffered their second straight loss and fell to 3-3 on the season with a 63-55 defeat at the hands of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in front of 6,322 fans at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities. Tim Dodge had 128 yards receiving on eight catches, including two of quarterback Sam Clemons' seven touchdown passes, but it was not enough to overcome the Pioneers who picked up their second win of the year over Quad City and their fourth straight overall.

The ‘Wheelers had a chance to send the game into overtime with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but Clemons was sacked at the Wilkes-Barre eight-yard line by David Barnard and Chris Ekwueme on the game's final play to send the Pioneers home from The MARK victorious for the second straight season.

In addition to Dodge's two scores, Jack Walker, Jr. also had a pair of scores while Travis Burns, Jeff Hewitt and Torey Morris all added single touchdown grabs from Clemons. The Quad City quarterback, who completed 26-of-35 passes for 310 yards, also added a rushing score to round out the ‘Wheelers scoring.

The turning point of the game came midway through the third quarter when, following a Pioneer score to go ahead 41-34, Burns fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the football near midfield. On the very next play, Kyle Rowley hooked up with JR Thomas on a 33-yard strike to give their squad a two score lead, an advantage that it would never relinquish. That was the fifth of Rowley's six touchdown passes on the evening, and the first of two to Thomas.

The two teams continued to trade scores for the rest of the second half, putting the ‘Wheelers in a position to win the game or at least send it to overtime. Clemons tallied a one-yard rushing score with 54 seconds left, but Ameer Riley returned the ensuing onside kick for a touchdown, stretching the Pioneer lead back to eight points where it would stay, though without some controversy. AJ Novak blocked the ensuing extra point and following a lengthy scramble, Antonio Watson picked up the loose ball and returned it for a score. However, the referee's conferred and ruled that the ball, after being blocked, caromed off of the side boards, making it a dead ball and keeping the score at 63-55.

RECORD THIS

The following team records were set in the Dorados win over Central Valley Saturday night:

Individual

Most Rushing TDs in a game: Josh Kellett (2 rushing touchdowns to tie his own mark)
Most Receptions in a game: Travis McAlpine (became the third Dorado to catch 10 passes in a game)
Most TD Receptions in a game: Craig Cole (became the third Dorado to tally 4 TD catches in a game)
Most overall TD in a game: Craig Cole (matched the fourth time a Dorado has tallied 4 TDs in a game)
Most Points in a game: Craig Cole (became the fourth Dorado to tally 24 points in a game)
Most Interception TDs in a game: Deorrick Henry (1- fourth ever Dorado touchdown off an interception)

Team

Most Rushing TDs in a game: 3 (4th time)
Most Points in a Road Game: 61
Most Amount of Fumbles Recovered: 2 (3rd time)

Misc.

Chris Robinson had 5 carries for 5 yards to give him 95, placing him as the franchise's all-time single season and overall rushing leader

The Dorados won consecutive road games for the first time ever

THE E-WATCH

Former Dorados defensive specialist Eddie Moten is the first and only player to advance his playing career from the Dorados to the higher level and is currently the youngest member of the Arena Football League ‘s (AFL) Philadelphia Soul. Moten, who was a rookie last season for the Dorados out of Texas A&M-Kingsville, co-led the af2 last season in interceptions with 10 and led the af2 in interception return yards with 124 yards. Each week we will keep tabs on his progress in AFL action:

May 15th vs Columbus Destroyers

The Philadelphia Soul returned from their bye week with a hard loss, falling 55-52 to the Columbus Destroyers. It was just the second win of the season for the now 2-13 Columbus Destroyers, as Steve Videtich's 20-yard field goal with 26-seconds remaining put the Soul's record to 6-9. Moten was second on the Soul's squad in tackles with 6 and led them in pass breakups with 6. His game totals place him with 71.5 tackles (64-solo, 15-assisted) on the year (ranks tied for 15th in the league and leads the team).

Next for Moten: The Soul (6-9) close out their season this Sunday on NBC at 2 PM, as Eddie Moten returns to Texas to face his hometown Dallas Desperados (7-7-1) (The game will be televised on KVEO).

af2 WEEK 6 REVIEW

Friday, May 13
Tulsa 41, BAKERSFIELD 31 (3,095)
Saturday, May 14
Manchester 48, ALBANY 47 (4,541)
SOUTH GEORGIA 62, Arkansas 48 (6,692)
BOSSIER.-SHREVE. 28, Florida 22 (1,770)
GREEN BAY 65, Louisville 49 (4,534)
MEMPHIS 46, Amarillo 40 (2,518)
W-B/Scranton 63, QUAD CITY 55 (6,322)
SAN DIEGO 77, Birmingham 44 (2,832)
Rio Grande Val. 61, CEN. VALLEY 51 (2,256)

af2 WEEK 8 PREVIEW

Friday, May 20
South Georgia at Manchester 6:30 p.m.
San Diego at Bakersfield 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Memphis at Albany 6:30 p.m.
Florida at Louisville 6:30 p.m.
Central Valley at Amarillo 7:00 p.m.
Quad City at Green Bay 7:00 p.m.
Macon at Tulsa 7:00 p.m.
Birmingham at Arkansas 7:00 p.m.
W-B/Scranton at Rio Grande Valley 7:30 p.m.
Bossier-Shreve. at Oklahoma City 7:30 p.m.

ON THE MENU

At each home game, the Rio Grande Valley Dorados will have tailgating outside the Dodge Arena sponsored by Budweiser, Clear Channel, and Dodge beginning at 4PM on game-days. Each tailgate event will feature live musical acts and will feature a marquee food item for grillers and tailgaters to cook. Judges will give out prizes for the best of the selected food item prepared by fans. For Saturday, fans are encouraged to prepare the best pork ribs for judging.

NEXT HOME GAME

The Dorados next home game will be this Saturday, as the Dorados host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers at Chase Field inside the Dodge Arena. Individual tickets for the game and all other home games are already on sale. Season ticket packages and advertising opportunities are still available by contacting the Dorados offices at 956-843-7825. Additional info can also be found by visiting the Dorados online at www.doradosfootball.com.



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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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