
Fire ready for big game
June 2, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release
The Louisville Fire (ranked third in this week's coaches poll) arena football team is off to a 6-2 start, but they know this Saturday's game against the 6-2 Quad City Steamwheelers (ranked second in the coaches poll this week) will give the winning team the fast track to the Midwest Division title. The Fire is 0-4 all-time against the Steamwheelers, but has never had a winning record going into a game with the Steamwheelers.
"This game is big. We are coming off of a big win and our guys are ready to get back out there," commented Fire Head Coach Tommy Johnson, who has been with the team all four years. "This game is going to be a fun game for the fans in Freedom Hall. I encourage everyone to come out and make some noise and help us out."
Neither team is short on offensive power, with the Fire third in the arenafootball2 league in scoring at 57.6 points a game and Quad City ninth at 51.1. The Fire is also first and second in total offense and passing offense respectively while the Steamwheelers are ninth in both categories.
While the Fire has been putting up points, the defense has struggled at times to stop teams giving up 52 points a game. The Fire defense has however come up big on when needed, including holding Wilkes-Barre inside the 10 with under a minute left to give the offense the ball to win the last week's game. Quad City's defense however is leading the league in points against giving up just 36.2 a game.
"We know that both teams can score points. Defensively we need to make stops and continue to turn the ball over and take advantage of those turnovers," said Johnson.
Turnovers have been one of the main reasons both teams are 6-2 and tied for the division lead. The Fire is third in the league in turnover margin at plus 9 while the Steamwheelers are second in af2 with a plus 11.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 Saturday night in Freedom Hall and tickets can be purchased by calling (502) 368-0009, at the Freedom Hall box office or at Ticketmaster.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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