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Florida Firecats game notes

June 8, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Columbus Wardogs (4-5) at Florida Firecats (6-3)
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2004
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. EST
Site: Germain Arena (7,128)
National Anthem: Loni Schultz
Coin Toss: Kevin and Christian Haag (Gulfstream Development)
Officials: Mike Paveese (Referee), Brent Sowell (Umpire),
Rich Misner (Head Linesman), Mike Mongoven (Line Judge), Barry Hendon (Back Judge)
Radio: ESPN 770 (Dave Parks)
TV: None
Series Record: Florida 5-0
Last Meeting: Florida 62 Columbus 33/ Columbus, Georgia, 5/8/04
Streaks: Florida W3 Columbus W3
Coach: Ben Bennett (16-9 regular season; 0-1 playoffs, Second season)
John Fourcade (8-17 regular season, Second Season)

THE STAKES: Both teams have won three games in a row. The three game winning streak is the longest in Columbus team history. Columbus has already matched their season win total from last year with their four victories. Florida needs the win to strengthen their playoff run. Columbus would reach .500 with the win.

THE SERIES: The Firecats have been the victors in all five of the previous meetings between these two teams.

THE IFs:
If Florida beats Columbus, it would ...
· Give Florida a 6-0 series record with Macon
· Give Florida a 3-1 home record in 2004
· Give Ben Bennett a 17-9 regular season record as a head coach
· Give Florida a 7-3 record for the season
· Give Florida a 7-3 record against the American Conference

FLORIDA (6-3, Won 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/104/174/245/15/85/145/225/296/4 BOSSIER @MEMPHISCAPE FEAR@MACON@COLUMBUS@BIRMINGHAM@TENN. VALLEYMEMPHIS@MACON WLLWWLWWW 46-3151-5435-5558-2362-3334-5553-3043-2041-29
Date Opponent Streak Series
6/12 COLUMBUS W3 FLO 5-0
6/19 @CAPE FEAR TIE 2-2
6/26 MACON FLO 5-3
7/3 BYE
7/10 BIRMINGHAM BIR 3-1
7/17 LAREDO
7/26 @COLUMBUS FLO 5-0
7/31 TENN. VALLEY TV 2-1

COLUMBUS WARDOGS (4-5, WON 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/104/174/235/15/85/155/215/296/56/126/196/267/107/177/267/31 @WILKES-BARRECAPE FEAR@BIRMINGHAM@CAPE FEARFLORIDA@MACON@BOSSIERBOSSIERBIRMINGHAM@FLORIDAMACONOKLAHOMA CITY@LOUISVILLE@PEORIAFLORIDAMEMPHIS LWLLLLWWW 33-3862-5245-7721-6033-6240-5554-5051-4144-42

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 the only quarterback in AFL history to lead three different teams to a total of five Arena Bowls.

LEAGUE TOP 10s:
FIRECATS
Player Rank Category Stat
Steve Gorrie 1 Rushing 268
Cainon Lamb 9 Scoring (TD) 122
Chris Morant T-8 Forced Fumbles 2
Quincy Sorrell T-5 Tackles 45.5
Chris Morant 9 Rushing 109
Chris Morant T-6 Tackles for Loss 6.0

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Florida and Columbus stack up:
Statistical FIRECATS WARDOGS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 13 47.0 20 42.6
Scoring Defense 2 36.7 22 53.0
Total Offense 12 261.9 11 265.8
Total Defense 2 207.0 11 246.9
Pass Offense 20 217.7 8 256.7
Pass Defense 2 186.1 6 205.6
Rushing Offense 1 44.2 25 9.1
Rushing Defense 15 20.9 26 41.3
Scoring (Non-Kick) 11 374 20 330
Scoring (Kicking) 18 53 15 49
Pass Rating 6 110.9 7 110.7
Pass Def. Rating 8 99.4 6 98.1
Kickoff Returns 13 18.8 26 14.6
MFG Returns 17 15.3 8 21.0
Turnover Margin 24 -8 9 +3
Field Goals T-4 .400 T-4 .400
PAT Kicking 12 .755 7 .778
Sacks By 17 11 26 4
Sacks Against 2 4 15 13
First Downs 8 146 5 151
Opp. First Downs 6 123 17 136
Penalties 4 49.6 24 75.9
Opp. Penalties 5 52.9 21 66.7
Red Zone Offense 14 74.1 19 71.4
Red Zone Defense 3 63.3 25 82.6

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 Rec. 69 +26
C.Lamb Rec Yds 1880 +449
K.Mastrole Pass Yds 1980 +449



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

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

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

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Firecats went into Columbus and defeated the Wardogs 62-33. Quarterback Kenny Mastrole went 21-29 for 275 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensive specialist Quincy Sorrell also broke the Firecats' single game tackle record after collecting 12.5 tackles.

FORWARD MOTION: The Firecats hit the road for Fayetteville, North Carolina, for a crucial rematch with the Cape Fear Wildcats.

GORRIE RUNNING AWAY WITH RUSHING TITLE: After running for 39 yards last Friday against the Macon Knights, Firecats fullback Steve Gorrie has a dominating 100 yard lead in his quest for the 2004 af2 rushing title. He is now only 171 yards away from the af2 record of 439 yards.

DE-PENDABLE: Florida linebacker Chris Morant is ranked in the top ten in forced fumbles and tackles for a loss. He is also ranked in the af2 rushing top ten.

NEW NAME FOR FIRECATS HOME : The name of the Firecats' arena will now be known as Germain Arena, effective June 1, 2004. The arena was formerly known as Teco Arena. This will be the first athletic event there since the name change.

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