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Florida Firecats game notes

May 18, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Florida Firecats (3-3) at Tennessee Valley Vipers
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Von Braun Center
National Anthem:
Coin Toss: "Head Referee"
Officials: (Referee) (Umpire) (Head Linesman) (Line Judge) (Back Judge)
Radio: ESPN 770 AM (Dave Leval)
TV: None
Series Record: Tennessee Valley 2-0
Last Meeting: TENNESSEE VALLEY 41 Florida 36
Streaks: Florida L1 Tennessee Valley W4
Coaches: Florida/ Ben Bennett (13-10; 0-1 playoffs; 2nd Season)
Vipers/ Kevin Guy (33-8; 1-2 playoffs;
3rd Season)

THE STAKES: The Firecats have fell to two games out of first place following last week's loss to the Birmingham Steeldogs. The Firecats have never beaten Tennessee Valley before, and no time would be better than now to make that happen.

THE SERIES: Tennessee Valley leads the series 2-0. The Vipers were the only team to defeat the Firecats during their last eight regular season games in 2003. Before a crowd of 6,304 in Huntsville, the Vipers topped the Firecats by a score of 41-36.

THE IFs:
If Florida beats Tennessee Valley:
· Give Florida a 1-2 series record with Tennessee Valley
· Give Florida their third road win in 2004
· Give Ben Bennett a 14-10 record as a head coach
· Give Florida a 4-3 record for the season.
· Give Florida a 4-3 record against the American Conference.


FLORIDA FIRECATS AT TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS
SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2002
VON BRAUN CENTER (6,642)
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

FLORIDA (3-3, Lost 1)

Date Opponent Series
5/22 @ TENNESSEE VALLEY 7:30 W4 TV 2-0
5/29 MEMPHIS 7:30
6/4 @ MACON 7:30
6/12 COLUMBUS 7:30
6/19 @ CAPE FEAR 7:30
6/26 MACON 7:30
7/3 BYE
7/10 BIRMINGHAM 7:30
7/17 LAREDO 7:30
7/26 @ COLUMBUS 7:30
7/31 TENNESSEE VALLEY 7:30

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (5-1, Won 4)

Date Opponent Series
5/22 FLORIDA TV 2-0
5/29 @BIRMINGHAM
6/5 ARKANSAS
6/12 @MACON
6/19 BIRMINGHAM
6/26 @MEMPHIS
7/10 QUAD CITY
7/17 MACON
7/23 @BOSSIER
7/31 @FLORIDA


HEAD COACHES: Firecats' Head Coach Ben Bennett played college ball at Duke under Steve Spurrier. Bennett was the 1980 ACC Rookie of the Year, and he was named ACC Player of the Year in 1982 and 1983. Bennett went on to have one of the prolific careers of any quarterback in Arena Football League history. He was named the AFL Most Valuable Player in 1988 while playing with the Chicago Bruisers. He is only quarterback in AFL history to lead three different teams to a total of five Arena Bowls.

LAST SERIES MEETING: Before a crowd of 6,304 fans, Tennessee Valley edged out Florida 41-36 in Huntsville, Alabama. It was the Firecats' only loss of their last eight regular season games.

SERIES NOTABLES: Tennessee Valley currently leads the series 2-0. The Firecats are looking for their first win against Tennessee Valley.

FAMILIAR FACES
Tom Abraham, voice of the Tennessee Valley Vipers, hosted the morning sports radio talk show for ESPN 770 (Fort Myers) prior to leaving to work in Alabama. He also served as the radio commentator for the Firecats.

FORWARD MOTION: The Firecats finally return home to TECO Arena to host the Memphis Xplorers. The Xplorers handed the Firecats their first loss of the 2004 season in April by a score of 54-51. The game will be the first home game for Florida in five weeks.

IN THE ZONE: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have the best red zone offense and defense in the entire af2, scoring 87.1% of the time in the red zone and allowing their opponents to score a mere 54.8% of the time.

FIRECATS RECORD WATCH
PLAYER RECORD PLAYER STAT TO BREAK
C. Lamb Scoring (Career) 281 pts. +22 pts.
C. Lamb Receptions (Career) 155 rec. +40 rec.
C. Lamb Rec. Yards (Career) 1699 yds. +630 yds.
S. Gorrie Rush Yds. (Season) 151 yds. +70 yds.
K. Mastrole Pass Yds. (Season) 1,414 yds. +1,015 yds.

LEAGUE TOP 10s:
FIRECATS
Player Rank Category Stat
Cainon Lamb 10 Scoring 84
Cainon Lamb T-8 Receptions 45
Steve Gorrie 1 Rushing Off. 151
Chris Morant 10 Rushing Off. 69
Cainon Lamb 10 Kickoff Returns 22.5
Ken Mastrole 10 Pass Rating 110.2
Ken Mastrole 10 Total Offense 238.0
Quincy Sorrell T-5 Tackles 33.0

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Florida Firecats and Tennessee Valley Vipers stack up:
Statistical FIRECATS VIPERS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 14 47.7 9 50.8
Scoring Defense 8 41.8 2 34.7
Total Offense 7 273.2 12 263.2
Total Defense 2 204.5 4 205.5
Pass Offense 15 233.8 10 246.5
Pass Defense 1 178.7 3 191.8
Rushing Offense 2 39.3 14 16.7
Rushing Defense 22 25.8 6 13.7
Scoring (Non-Kick) 10 256 9 268
Scoring (Kicking) 21 30 7 37
Pass Rating 7 110.2 13 105.0
Pass Def. Rating 10 101.0 3 87.4
Kickoff Returns 9 20.3 24 16.3
MFG Returns 22 11.0 8 21.8
Turnover Margin 24 -6 2 +9
Field Goals 23 .200 7 .375
PAT Kicking 8 .794 13 .737
Sacks By 18 6 8 10
Sacks Against 1 2 8 4
First Downs 3 105 13 90
Opp. First Downs 9 79 7 76
Penalties 25 88.3 23 76.2
Opp. Penalties 10 56.5 2 42.0
Red Zone Off. 10 76.2% 1 87.1%
Red Zone Def. 10 71.4% 1 54.8%


FIRECATS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Status
OL/DL Brian Devine OUT


THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

What it will take to get this huge win against Tennessee Valley?

DS QUINCY SORRELL: "Focus- we have to keep our mind focused on the game, and we have to take care of business on the field."

OL/DL COMONE FISHER: "The whole team- the players, the coaches, the entire staff- have to be on the same page."

QB KEN MASTROLE: "We need to play within the system as a team, and we need to be individually accountable for our performance."


PLAYERS TO WATCH:

QB Ken Mastrole: Ken Mastrole has a vast professional resume, starting his career with the Chicago Bears and the NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals. Mastrole threw for 2,284 yards and 55 touchdowns last year in only 11 games for the Firecats.

WR/LB Cainon Lamb: Cainon returns to the Firecats after being the number one receiver last year. He caught 110 passes for 1,297 yards and 32 touchdowns last year. He is also the team career leader with 45 touchdown receptions.

WR/DB Anthony Snead: Snead comes to the Firecats after spending 2003 with the Macon Knights. At Macon, he caught 90 passes for 1,140 yards and 17 touchdowns.

FB/LB Chris Morant: Morant has been a beast on defense this season. He has three tackles for a loss, two sacks, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, three pass breakups, and a blocked field goal.


DS Quincy Sorrell Sorrell returns to the Firecats after a solid 2003 season. Sorrell had 54 tackles, 2 interceptions, and two forced fumbles last year.

OS Magic Benton Benton caught 77 passes for 821 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2003.

FB/LB Steve Gorrie Gorrie spent a few years with the AFL's Florida Bobcats. He is a former Division II Player of the Year, and he began his pro career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Gorrie currently leads the af2 with 147 yards rushing.

OL/DL Comone Fisher Fisher had 23 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries in 2003 for the Firecats.

OL/DL Victor Hall Hall is #9 all-time in sacks in AFL history. He was the OL/DL coach for the Firecats last year. Hall recently decided to come out of retirement to return the game.

DS Roy Stabler Stabler led the Firecats last season with 79.5 tackles, including 64 solo stops. He also had four interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and 19 pass breakups in only 13 games.


U.S. ARMY IRONMAN AWARD (SELECTED BY MEDIA)
The U.S. Army Ironman Award is a national recognition award given after every game to the player (or players) best demonstrating mental determination and physical toughness in that game. The award honors the best two or three-way player of the game.


BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
The Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game is a national recognition award given after every game to the player (or players) that has the best offensive performance of the night.


ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
The ADT Defensive Player of the Game is a national recognition award given after every game to the player (or players) that has the best defensive performance of the night.

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