Florida Firecats game notes
June 21, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Macon Knights (2-9) at Florida Firecats (7-4)
Date: Saturday, June 26, 2004
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. EST
Site: Germain Arena (7,128)
National Anthem: Loni Schultz
Coin Toss:
Officials: Mike Pavese (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 5-3
Last Meeting: Florida 41 MACON 29, 6/4/04
Streaks: Florida L1 Macon L5
Florida Coach: Ben Bennett (17-10 regular season; 0-1 playoffs, Second season)
Macon Coach: Mike Hold (2-9 First Season)
THE STAKES: With only five games left in the regular season, Florida needs to play every game like it is a playoff game. Every game has extreme relevance to playoff seeding and home field advantage. A win would serve as a major motivational tool for the Firecats as they head down the stretch in the 2004 season.
THE SERIES: Florida currently leads the series five games to three. Florida leads the season series by a count of two games to none. Macon knocked Florida out of the playoffs last year en route to the 2003 ArenaCup. Florida knocked Macon out of the playoffs in 2002 en route to their first ArenaCup appearance.
THE IFs:
If Florida beats Macon, it would ...
· Give Florida a 6-3 series record with Macon
· Give Florida a 4-1 home record in 2004
· Give Ben Bennett an 18-10 regular season record as a head coach
· Give Florida a 8-4 record for the season
· Give Florida a 8-4 record against the American Conference
FLORIDA (7-4, Lost 1)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/104/174/245/15/85/145/225/296/46/126/19 BOSSIER @MEMPHISCAPE FEAR@MACON@COLUMBUS@BIRMINGHAM@TENN. VALLEYMEMPHIS@MACONCOLUMBUS@CAPE FEAR WLLWWLWWWWL 46-3151-5435-5558-2362-3334-5553-3043-2041-2954-3449-57
Date Opponent Streak Series
6/26 MACON FLO 5-3
7/3 BYE
7/10 BIRMINGHAM BIR 3-1
7/17 LAREDO NEVER PLAYED
7/26 @COLUMBUS FLO 5-0
7/31 TENN. VALLEY TV 2-1
MACON KNIGHTS (2-9, Lost 5)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/104/164/245/15/85/155/225/296/46/126/196/267/107/177/247/31 TULSA@LOUISVILLEMANCHESTERFLORIDA@BIRMINGHAMCOLUMBUS@ALBANY@CAPE FEARFLORIDATENN. VALLEY@COLUMBUS@FLORIDACAPE FEAR@TENN. VALLEY@MEMPHISBIRMINGHAM LLWLLWLLLLL 40-4942-7857-3423-5827-5555-4037-5642-6029-4138-5445-46
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 most 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 Yards 354
Chris Morant 10 Rushing Yards 123
Cainon Lamb 7 Receptions 74
Chris Morant T-10 Forced Fumbles 2
Chris Morant 5 Tackles for Loss 6.5
Quincy Sorrell 1 Tackles 65.0
KNIGHTS
Player Rank Category Stat
Jamaal Garman 8 All-Purpose Yds. 1781
John Ohlinger 9 Field Goals 6
Hosea Laney 9 Tackles 51.0
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
DS ROY STABLER ON THE FOCUS OF THE TEAM: "We have to stay strong. We must stay within the game plan and go out there and believe in one another. We must have faith in each other as a team so we can come away with a victory."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KEVIN BOUIS: "We need to get back to playing our style of football, and that's limiting penalties and mistakes."
RECEIVER ANTHONY SNEAD: "We have to continue to play together and depend on each other. If we can cut down on penalties and execute the coach's game plan, we can really have a shot at winning the whole thing."
TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Florida and Macon stack up:
Statistical FIRECATS WILDCATS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 13 47.8 21 39.5
Scoring Defense 1 38.3 20 51.9
Total Offense 12 260.9 18 251.4
Total Defense 1 211.5 19 267.3
Pass Offense 21 214.3 17 226.6
Pass Defense 1 193.7 16 238.8
Rushing Offense 1 46.6 7 24.7
Rushing Defense 12 17.7 22 28.5
Scoring (Non-Kick) 12 466 22 382
Scoring (Kicking) 17 60 24 53
Pass Rating 5 112.8 24 91.3
Pass Def. Rating 6 99.1 15 107.5
Kickoff Returns 16 19.4 7 20.8
MFG Returns 17 15.3 23 10.6
Turnover Margin 22 -7 25 -15
Field Goals 4 .385 13 .316
PAT Kicking 17 .738 25 .673
Sacks By 11 14 24 7
Sacks Against 1 3 5 8
First Downs 9 175 11 171
Opp. First Downs 8 155 9 158
Penalties 24 73.5 4 46.4
Opp. Penalties 6 50.7 5 48.9
Red Zone Offense 9 77.5% 18 71.9%
Red Zone Defense 3 64.1% 19 78.3%
FIRECATS RECORD WATCH
Player Record Stat To Break
C.Lamb Rec. 184 +11
C.Lamb Rec Yds 2,055 +274
K.Mastrole Pass Yds 2,377 +52
Q.Sorrell Tackles 65.0 +15.0
af2 SINGLE SEASON RUSHING RECORD
MOST YARDS GAINED
1. Darnell Arceneux, Hawaii, 2002, 439 yards
2. Sherard Poteete, Bossier, 2002, 405 yards
3. Quentin Cradle, Memphis, 2001, 402 yards
4. Wilmont Perry, Cape Fear, 2003, 397 yards
5. Darnell Small, Arkansas, 2002, 370 yards
6. STEVE GORRIE, FLORIDA, 2004, 354 YARDS
7. Jeremy Scruggs, Memphis, 2001, 333 yards
8. Matt D'Orazio, Rochester, 2002, 332 yards
9. Kenyata Spruill, Charleston, 2001, 324 yards
10. Randy Sullivan, Carolina, 2001, 316 yards
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.
LAST SERIES MEETING: When the two teams last met on June 4 in Macon, the Firecats came out with a 41-29 victory. Quarterback Ken Mastrole completed 18 passes for 253 yards and five touchdowns. Receivers Magic Benton and Cainon Lamb had two touchdown catches each.
FORWARD MOTION: The Firecats will take a break for the weekend of July 4th. They will then host the Birmingham Steeldogs on July 10th in a crucial division match up.
U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE
Week Team Player
1 T-Valley Jerrian James
2 Okla. City Al Hunt
3 WB/Scran Leroy McFadden
4 Tulsa Bjorn Barre
5 FLORIDA STEVE GORRIE
6 Louisville Takuya Furatani
7 Green Bay Deronn Finley
8 Columbus Terrence Samuel
9 San Diego Nakoa McElrath
10 Cape Fear Mitch Galloway
11 T-Valley Travis McAlpine
ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
1 Rio Grande Karleton Thomas
2 Birmingham Jerry Turner
3 Louisville Justin Thomas
4 Louisville Demtrius Formey
5 Quad City Matt Forbes
6 Birmingham Anthony Jordan
7 Cent. Valley Ricky Lenng-Wai
8 Hawaii Joshua Robinson
9 Peoria Lawrence Matthews
10 Green Bay Robert Garth
11 Wichita Henry Bryant
BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
1 Quad City Jeff Hewitt
2 Green Bay Randall Lane
3 Cape Fear Matt Burstein
4 Wichita Aaron Sparrow
5 Manchester Chris Sanders
6 Bossier Bo Smith
7 Green Bay Chris Greisen
8 Memphis Brian Jones
9 Louisville Anthony Payton
10 Bossier Sherard Poteete
11 Albany Tony Locke
MASTROLE SETS CROSSHAIRS ON ANOTHER TEAM RECORD: Firecats' quarterback Kenny Mastrole is only 52 yards away from breaking the team's single season passing yardage record. He currently has 2,377 yards. Former Firecat Bryan Sparacino is the current record holder with 2,428 yards. Mastrole already owns four other team records.
UNDE-NIABLE: The Firecats currently have the number one defense in points allowed (38.3), yards per game (211.5), and passing yards per game (193.7).
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