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Dorados Weekly Release

April 12, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release


DORADOS LOOK TO GET ON "FIRE"CATS IN FLORIDA

GAME #2 SATURDAY GERMAIN ARENA (Estero, FL) 6:30 PM AT FLORIDA FIRECATS (2-0)

BROADCASTS: RADIO: ESPN RADIO 1240 AM

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados will look for their first win of the season and hand the Florida Firecats their first loss this Saturday night, as the Dorados make their first road trip of the season. The Dorados will also be looking to extend a road winning streak to two games, which carries over from last season, and their first win against a non-divisional opponent (0-4) in franchise history. The Florida Firecats are the defending af2 ArenaCup champions and rolling into the week winners of their last six and nine of their last ten (includes playoff games last season). They also are currently ranked first in the af2 Coach's Poll. Rio Grande Valley will see an old face in the Florida lineup, as former Dorados lineman Raymond James is now a member of the Firecats. The matchup will feature two of the better ground teams in the af2 this season, with Florida entering the game second in the af2 in rushing offense with 48 yards per game and the Dorados ranking right behind them in third place with 39 yards per game. Florida's Steve Gorie leads the af2 in rushing with 50 yards off 15 carries. Dorados Head Coach Kevin Guy is 3-1 all-time in regular season action against Florida in his coaching career and 0-1 in post season play. Last season, the Florida Firecats knocked Kevin Guy's Tennessee Valley Vipers out of the playoffs with a 62-58 win on their way to the ArenaCup.

DORADOS DROP BACK

The Louisville Fire opened up the 2005 af2 season scoring 27-unanswered points to scorch the Rio Grande Valley Dorados 56-42 in front of 5,011 fans Saturday night at Chase Field inside the Dodge Arena. The loss gave the Fire a 1-0 record to begin the season, while giving the Dorados a 0-1 record and handing Dorados new head coach Kevin Guy his first opening night loss (3-1) in his af2 coaching career.

The comeback was led by a trio of fourth quarter touchdown receptions by Fire offensive specialist Cesare Manning, who found the endzone five times on the night and earned Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game honors with a game-high 10 receptions for 198 yards. The Dorados had a 42-29 lead with 1:46 remaining in the third quarter after Ben McCombs picked up his first af2 touchdown reception of his career, but the touchdown would end up being the final one for the Dorados on the night. The next offensive possession for the Dorados led to a Craig Cole fumble, followed by two drives that combined for minus-two yards on eight plays.

Fire quarterback Matt Sauk, who spent the 2003 season playing under Guy in Tennessee Valley, hit Manning for strikes of 25, 26 and 35 yards in the comeback march. He finished the night 18 of 25 for 280 yards and 6 touchdowns. Meanwhile, it was long night for Dorados quarterback Josh Kellet. He started the night 2 of 7 in the first quarter and tossed two of his four interceptions in the quarter. Kellet was 17 of 44 passing for 219 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and resorted to most of his success on the ground. He set a single-game franchise mark with two rushing touchdowns. Also finding success on the ground was fullback Chris Robinson for Rio Grande Valley. Robinson set the Dorados single-game rushing record with 35 yards on four carries, including a scamper of 22 yards.

Marquis Floyd earned the US Army Ironman of the game for the Dorados with a Dorados single-game record of 140 receiving yards on six catches. He also led the Dorados with 6.5 tackles (5 solo). ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors went to Tony Stallings, who nabbed two of the Fire's four interceptions. Arkee Thompson, who co-led the Fire with three pass break-ups, registered the Fire's first interception of the game to extend his af2 all-time mark for interceptions to 28 in his career.

FLORIDA DROP BACK (a look at the opponent's previous game)

Courtesy of Manchester Wolves

The home opener for the Manchester Wolves was a slugfest between two teams assembled by the same coach. The Wolves fell just short in overtime to their head coach Ben Bennett's former team the Florida Firecats 32-26, Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Wolves home opener drew a crowd of 8,038.

This was a see-saw battle and a defensive struggle. There were five lead changes in the game, yet the scoring was relatively low by arena football standards. Each team had a number of chances to put the other team away and it took an overtime period to settle on a winner.

With the score tied at the end of regulation, each team had a brief possession that ended in a turnover. The Firecats then went on a six minute drive that ended in a Steve Gorrie four yard plunge that ended the Wolves hopes of a home opener win against the defending ArenaCup champions.

The Offensive Player of the Game was awarded to Jake Eaton, who was the Wolves top rusher (5 rushes-18 yards and a TD). Eaton's passing performance was impressive as well, totaling 29 completions out of 42 attempts for a touchdown and 255 yards. Defensive Specialist Allistair Sebastien was the Defensive Player of the game. Sebastien picked off two Chris Wallace passes and returned them for a total of 11 yards. Mark Kimener took home the Army Ironman of the Game for his tireless efforts on both sides of the ball.

RECORD THIS

Despite the Dorados loss, there were several team records that were snapped:

Individual

Most Games Played in franchise history: Eric Houle (17)
Most Carries (Rushing) in a game: Chris Robinson (tied the record joining three others with 4 carries)
Most Net Yards Rushing in a game: Chris Robinson (35 yards)
Most Rushing TDs scored in a game: Josh Kellett (2)
Most Interceptions Thrown in a game: Josh Kellett (4)
Most Net Yards Receiving in a game: Marquis Floyd (140)
Most Fumbles Forced in a game: Curtis Jeter (3)
Most Blocked Kicks in a game: Chris Robinson (tied the record with 1)

Team

Most Rushing Attempts in a game: 10 (tied the record done twice before)
Most Rushing TDs Scored in a game: 3 (tied the record done twice before)
Most Interceptions Thrown in a game: 4
Most Offensive Plays in a game: 54 (tied the record done once before)
Most Fumbles Forced in a game: 3
Most Blocked Kicks in a game: 1 (tied the record completed six previous times)

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:

Sun. April 10th at Colorado Crush

The Philadelphia Soul had their three-game winning streak come to an Sunday with a 77-56 road loss in Denver against the Colorado Crush. Moten had a fourth consecutive solid outing and earned the ADT Defensive Play of the Game during the NBC telecast. He collected his fourth interception of the season and returned it 44 yards. He also registered 5.5 tackles (5 solo) and had a pass breakup. His game totals place him with 45.5 tackles (40-solo, 11-assisted) on the year (ranks tied for 18th in the league and co-leads the team) and his team leading 17 passes defended (break-ups and interceptions) ranks tied for third in the AFL, leaving him eight back from leader Jonathan Ordway of Tampa Bay. Moten also has 4 interceptions, which ranks tied for 8th in the league.

Next for Moten: The Soul (5-6) will return home Sunday, as the Las Vegas Gladiators (6-5). The contest, which will be the first meeting between Moten and former Dorados head coach Gary Gussman (an assistant coach with Las Vegas) since the two were with the Dorados last season. The contest is scheduled to air on NBC with a noon kickoff. (NBC determines which games are televised in each of their markets and KVEO Channel 23 could air the Soul contest or three other regional contests).

af2 WEEK 2 REVIEW

Friday, April 8
Florida 32, MANCHESTER 26 OT (8,038)
GREEN BAY 49, Albany 41 (2,175)
Memphis 66, AMARILLO 41 (3,892)
Saturday, April 9
Macon 52, SOUTH GEORGIA 41 (7,214)
San Diego 58, BIRMINGHAM 57 (7,112)
Tulsa 61, BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT 51 (2,128)
Oklahoma City 71, ARKANSAS 48 (8,407)
Louisville 56, RIO GRANDE VAL. 42 (5,011)
Sunday, April 10
W-B/SCRANTON 64, Quad City 28 (4,532)
Bye: Bakersfield, Central Valley
Home team in CAPS

af2 WEEK 3 PREVIEW

Thursday, April 14
Birmingham at Macon 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 15
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Albany 7:30 p.m.
South Georgia at Louisville 7:30 p.m.
Arkansas at Memphis 8:30 p.m.
San Diego at Bakersfield 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 16
Rio Grande Valley at Florida 7:30 p.m.
Green Bay at Manchester 7:30 p.m.
Central Valley at Oklahoma City 8:30 p.m.
Bossier-Shreveport at Quad City 8:30 p.m.
Bye: Tulsa, Amarillo

NEXT HOME GAME

The Dorados next home game will be May 2nd, as the Dorados host the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings for some Monday night football 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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