Firecats Midgett Set For First Home Start
July 16, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release
Estero, FL - The arenafootball2 (af2) Florida Firecats announced today that Quarterback Justin Midgett is scheduled to start this week against the Tennessee Valley Vipers. It will be the Southwest Florida native's first start at Germain Arena.
"We're looking for big things out of him this week," Firecats Coach Kevin Bouis said. "He got a game under his belt last week and I told him this week he just needs to settle down and not try and do too much on his own."
Midgett started last week on the road against the South Georgia Wildcats. He finished the night completing 22 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns to go with one interception and two fumbles. He has taken snaps under center in two other games this season for Florida.
For the second straight week Midgett with be starting in place of veteran QB Chris Wallace who is still hampered by a neck injury. Doctors had initially cleared Wallace to play this week but revised that report after an appointment earlier today.
"Wallace still has some numbness in the thumb on his throwing hand," Coach Bouis added. "He is having some trouble gripping the ball so we're going to shut him down for one more week and see how things go next week."
Last week Wallace had a streak of 83 consecutive starts come to an end. He had started every game since the start of the 2005 season. During his eight seasons under center he has passed for 25,332 yards in 105 games. In 2008 he broke the all-time league records for touchdown passes and passes completed. During the 2009 campaign he became the all-time passing yards leader and the first QB to throw 500 TD's. (556 currently) In 2006 he became the first QB to toss 100 TD's in a single season.
"No one wants to start because of an injury," Midgett said. "Chris has done a lot in his career and he's a leader on this team. I know he and the rest of the guys will be behind me on Saturday."
Midgett served as the Firecats' second string QB in 2006 appearing in four games tossing a pair of touchdowns. He began the '07 season with the af2's Lubbock Renegades starting in three games before being traded to the Alabama Steeldogs. He finished that year passing for 759 yards and ten touchdowns.
A Southwest Florida native, he was one of the nations most prized prep quarterbacks as a senior in 2002 when he threw for 2,489 yards and 21 touchdowns leading the Charlotte Fighting Tarpons to the Class 4A semifinals.
"I'm looking forward to getting the chance to play in front of people who haven't seen me play since high school," added Midgett. " We've got great fans and I hope we can go out there and give them a win."
The Firecats host the defending af2 ArenaCup champion Tennessee Valley Vipers this Saturday July 18th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:35pm. Florida needs a win to remain in playoff contention. The Vipers lead the all-time series nine games to seven. Visit the team online at www.FloridaFirecats.com and get score updates and team news at www.Twitter.com/af2Firecats.
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