af2 Amarillo Venom

Dusters game preview: Rio Grande Valley at Amarillo

June 4, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Amarillo Venom News Release


Amarillo, TX 6/4/09 - The Amarillo Dusters will seek their second straight home victory this weekend, as they take on the Rio Grande Valley Dorados for the second time this season Saturday night at 7:05 PM.

Amarillo (1-8), will look to a familiar Dusters superstar in quarterback Julian Reese to lead the charge. Reese was a fixture in the Dusters organization in 2004, 2005, and 2008. He led Amarillo to the organization's only division title, conference title, and league championship in 2004, when the Dusters played in the IFL (Intense Football League). How valuable is Julian to the Dusters? "Reese will be the starting quarterback, the backup quarterback, and the wide receiver," remarked Dusters head coach Ben Bennett.

The second-placed Rio Grande Valley Dorados (5-3), meanwhile, will play their third consecutive road game this Saturday. Quarterback Nick Hill has played strong offensively this year, registering 2505 yards passing and 55 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions. Hill will try and lead the Dorados out of a two game skid.

The matchup of the night will be between the Amarillo's defensive back Myron Newberry and Dorados wide receiver Rod Wilson. Newberry has gone up against the af2's top wide outs the last two weeks (Tim Dodge, Iowa and Nichiren Flowers, Boise). Wilson has been the go-to guy for Rio, racking up 107 receptions, 1328 yards, and 33 touchdown receptions.

QUICK FACTS:

Rio Grande Valley Dorados (5-3) @

Amarillo Dusters (1-8)

Date: Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Kickoff: 7:05 p.m. CST

Site: Amarillo Civic Center (5,001)

National Anthem:

Coin Toss: Referee

Officials:

Referee: Chris George Snead

Umpire: Oscar Shorten

Head Linesman: Wayne Bernier

Line Judge: Brad Rogers

Back Judge: Lo van Pham

Radio: KPUR 107.1 FM

Internet: www.dustersfootball.com

Broadcaster: Jacob Albracht

Series Record: 6 games, (2-4)

Last Game: 25-66 L @ Rio Grande Valley

Streak: Lost 2

Coaches: Ben Bennett, Dusters

Marty Hammond, Dorados

THE STAKES: The Dusters look to an Amarillo franchise favorite in quarterback Julian Reese to lead the charge this Saturday. Amarillo's offense played strong last week in Boise, but could not cash in when the moment was there.

THE SERIES: The Dorados lead the series 4 games to 2, including a 66-25 victory earlier this season.

THE IFs:

If Amarillo defeats the Dorados, it would ...

- Give the Dusters two consecutive home victories for the first time this season.

- Help the Dusters draw closer to the eighth and final playoff spot. Amarillo is just 2 games out of the final spot.

Statistical Dusters Dorados

Category Rank Stat Rank Stat

Scoring Offense 24 35.6/gm 4 61.8/gm

Scoring Defense T-16 55.9/gm 21 58.2/gm

Total Offense 23 220.7/gm 2 330.9/gm

Total Defense 10 270.1/gm 23 311.0/gm

Rushing Offense 8 31.0/gm 13 21.1/gm

Rushing Defense 25 35.7/gm 21 29.8/gm

Pass Rating 23 80.5 6 118.0

Pass Def. Rating 19 113.5 16 107.2

Pass Offense 25 189.7/gm 2 309.2/gm

Pass Defense 8 234.4/gm 21 281.2/gm

Field Goal % 21 23.5% T-8 50.0%

PAT % 24 69.8% 25 62.3%

MFG Returns 5 20.0/ret 12 13.0/ret

Kickoff returns 22 16.5/ret 2 22.7/gm

Turnover Margin 21 -11 T-14 E

First Downs 23 145 17 160

Opp. First Downs T-12 171 2 150

Third down conv. 21 35.4% 3 54.3%

Opp. third down co. 21 53.1% 4 34.4%

4th down conv. 16 39.1% 19 37.5%

Opp. 4th down co. 20 55.6% 11 42.9%

Sacks By T-23 7 T-21 8

Sacks Against 19 21 T-6 6

Penalties 9 48.8/gm 21 73.4/gm

Opp. Penalties 4 68.3/gm 25 31.8/gm

Fans can tune in to coverage of the game on 107.1 KPUR-FM in Amarillo, and can watch the contest via a free webcast through af2TV. Go to www.dustersfootball.com for more information.



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