Florida Firecats game notes

May 26, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Memphis Xplorers (4-3) at Florida Firecats (4-3)
Date: Saturday, May 29, 2004
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. EST
Site: Teco Arena (7,128)
National Anthem: Christy Anderson; Lee County EMS will present colors.
Coin Toss: Lee County Sheriff Rod Shoap
Officials: (Referee),
Name (Umpire), Name (Head Linesman),
Name (Line Judge), Name (Back Judge)
Radio: ESPN 770 (Dave Parks)
TV: None
Series Record: Florida 3-2
Last Meeting: Florida 51 Memphis 54/ South Haven, MS, 4/17/04
Streaks: Florida W1 Memphis W2
Coach: Ben Bennett (14-9 regular season; 0-1 playoffs, Second season)
Memphis: Danton Barto

THE STAKES: Both teams are currently 4-3 with Memphis taking the tiebreaker. The issue of playoff rankings is becoming an issue now that the midseason has arrived. A win for either team would give a significant boost into the second half of the season.

THE SERIES: The series currently stands at 3-2 with Florida taking the one game edge. The two teams last met in the second full week of the season.

THE IFs:
If Florida beats Memphis, it would ...
· Give Florida a 4-2 series record with Memphis
· Give Florida a 2-1 home record in 2004
· Give Ben Bennett a 15-9 regular season record as a head coach
· Give Florida a 5-3 record for the season
· Give Florida a 5-3 record against the American Conference


HEAD COACH: 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: The Memphis Xplorers edged out the Florida Firecats 54-51 in South Haven, Mississippi. It was the first loss of the season for the Firecats.

LEAGUE TOP 10s:
FIRECATS
Player Rank Category Stat
Steve Gorrie 1 Rushing 168
Chris Morant 10 Rushing 75
Cainon Lamb 8 KO Return Avg. 21.6
Quincy Sorrell 5 Tackles 36.5

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Florida and Memphis stack up:
Statistical FIRECATS XPLORERS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 12 48.4 9 50.7
Scoring Defense 7 40.1 11 46.1
Total Offense 18 253.3 22 217.0
Total Defense 3 205.6 4 207.4
Pass Offense 19 215.6 22 193.7
Pass Defense 2 181.3 3 188.6
Rushing Offense 2 37.7 9 23.3
Rushing Defense 20 24.3 15 18.9
Scoring (Non-Kick) 12 298 10 304
Scoring (Kicking) 16 41 5 49
Pass Rating 9 109.7 17 103.1
Pass Def. Rating 7 98.7 9 100.9
Kickoff Returns 10 19.9 1 24.9
MFG Returns 14 18.7 12 19.5
Turnover Margin 21 -4 16 -2
Field Goals 8 .375 9 .375
PAT Kicking 8 .780 5 .851
Sacks By 19 6 8 11
Sacks Against 3 3 18 11
First Downs 8 114 22 96
Opp. First Downs 5 93 9 101
Penalties 25 81.7 12 56.1
Opp. Penalties 16 60.7 24 73.4

FIRECATS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OL/DL B. Devine Ankle Out

Lamb Finds Sweet Home in Alabama End Zone

Estero, FL- Cainon Lamb led the way for the Florida Firecats (4-3) en route to a 53-30 win over the Tennessee Valley Vipers (5-2).

"We must have a consistent flow of non-stop mental and physical tenacity as a team," Lamb said following the huge win. "We had a big team meeting this past week, and we set goals for this team to achieve."

Lamb found the end zone almost every way possible, and he did it all in the fourth quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, he returned a Tennessee Valley onside kick 11 yards to find paydirt. Five minutes later, Lamb scored on the ground, running in a touchdown from five yards out. In the finishing minutes of the game, quarterback Ken Mastrole hit up Lamb via the air on a 37-yard touchdown pass. Lamb finished with three catches for 47 yards. On defense, Lamb got a pick in his own end zone, and he added four tackles and a pass deflection to the cause.

Quarterback Ken Mastrole finished the night completing ten passes for 115 yards and four touchdowns. Receiver Anthony Snead caught two passes for 27 yards, both for touchdowns. Offensive specialist Magic Benton had three receptions for 23 yards and one score. Receiver Brent Burnside also had two catches for 18 yards. Fullback Chris Morant ran four times for six yards and one score, and fullback Steve Gorrie added 17 yards on eight carries.

In addition to Cainon Lamb, lineman Dunstan Anderson was able to pick off his first interception on the season. Anderson also had 2.5 tackles (one for a loss) and a pass deflection. Defensive specialist Roy Stabler led the team with five tackles (one for a loss) and two pass deflections. Defensive specialists Quincy Sorrell and Desmond Washington had 3.5 tackles each, and Sorrell also forced a fumble. Linebacker Steve Gorrie had another tackle for a loss, and lineman Victor Hall forced and recovered a fumble.

In his Firecats' debut, kicker Matt Groff kicked two field goals, and he kicked five of his seven extra point attempts.

The win was the first win in three attempts for the Firecats. The win also ended Tennessee Valley's 11 game home winning streak.


PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB Ken Mastrole- Mastrole has an extensive professional resume. He began his career with the Chicago Bears, and he played a season with the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe. He threw for 2,284 yards and 55 touchdowns in only 11 games last season.

WR/LB Cainon Lamb- Lamb returns to the Firecats after a stellar 2003 season. He caught 110 passes for 1,297 yards and 32 touchdowns. Lamb is on pace to own all Firecat receiving and scoring records by the end of the season.

WR/LB Anthony Snead- Snead comes to the Firecats after spending the 2003 season with the Macon Knights. He caught 90 passes for 1,140 yards and 17 touchdowns.

OS Magic Benton- Benton caught 77 passes for 821 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2003. Benton has been with the Firecats since the team was established.

FB/LB Chris Morant- Morant has been getting it done on all phases of the ball this season, whether it be on offense, defense, or special teams.

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.

FB/LB Steve Gorrie- Gorrie came into the NFL draft as one of the top ranked fullbacks in the draft. He is also a former Division II Player of the Year. Gorrie currently leads the league in rushing.

DS Roy Stabler- Stabler led the team last year with 79.5 tackles. He also has four interceptions, 19 pass breakups, and four fumble recoveries.

OL/DL Victor Hall- Hall is number ten on the AFL all-time sack list. He was the line coach last year for the Firecats. He recently came out of retirement to return to the game.

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

FIRECATS RECORD WATCH
Player Record Stat To Break
C.Lamb Scoring 300 +3
C.Lamb Rec. 58 +37
C.Lamb Rec Yds 1736 +593
S.Gorrie Rush Yd 168 +53
K.Mastrole Pass Yds 1529 +900

BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player


ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player


U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player


FORWARD MOTION: The Firecats head back out on the road to take on the Macon Knights for a second time this season.

Lamb Goes For Another Record: Florida receiver Cainon Lamb looks to add another Firecat record to his resume. He is three points away from breaking the scoring record for the Firecats. He currently has scored 300 points, and he is two short of former Firecat Anthony Dixon.

Gorrie Approaches Rushing Record: Fullback Steve Gorrie currently has 168 yards rushing. He is only 52 yards short of breaking the Firecats career record.

Fourth Quarter Belongs to Cainon: Cainon Lamb had an amazing fourth quarter last week against the Tennessee Valley Vipers. Lamb returned a kickoff for a touchdown, ran in a fake field goal, caught a 37-yard bomb for a touchdown, and he had an interception, all in the fourth quarter. Lamb also recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter, but it was called back.

Jones Finds End Zone Nine Times: Memphis Xplorers' quarterback went 22-27 for 298 yards and six touchdowns. He also threw no interceptions. He also ran the football seven times for 31 yards and three additional touchdowns.



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