Florida Firecats game notes
July 6, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Birmingham Steeldogs (9-3) at Florida Firecats (7-5)
Date: Saturday, July 10, 2004
Kickoff: 7:40 p.m. EST
Site: Germain Arena (7,128)
National Anthem:
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: Birmingham 3-1
Last Meeting: Florida 34 BIRMINGHAM 55, 5/14/04
Streaks: Florida L2 Birmingham W3
Florida Coach: Ben Bennett (17-11 regular season; 0-1 playoffs, Second season)
Birmingham Coach: Bobby Humphrey
THE STAKES: After dropping two in a row, the Firecats desperately need this big win against a stellar Birmingham team. Only four games remain in the regular season, and each game will be instrumental in playoff seeding. The Firecats have fallen to two games behind Birmingham in the American South Division, and Birmingham currently takes the tiebreaker from Florida due to their 21-point win in May.
THE SERIES: Birmingham currently leads the series three games to one. Birmingham beat Florida 49-31 in their first ever meeting in 2002. The two teams split in 2003.
THE IFs:
If Florida beats Birmingham, it would ...
· Give Florida a 2-3 series record with Birmingham
· Give Florida a 4-2 home record in 2004
· Give Ben Bennett an 18-11 regular season record as a head coach
· Give Florida a 8-5 record for the season
· Give Florida a 8-5 record against the American Conference
· Move Florida to one game behind Birmingham in the American South Division
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
Ken Mastrole 10 Pass Rating 110.1
Steve Gorrie 1 Rushing 386
Chris Morant 9 Rushing 151
Cainon Lamb 10 Receptions 80
Chris Morant 1 Tackles- Loss 8.5
Quincy Sorrell 2 Tackles 71.0
STEELDOGS
Player Rank Category Stat
Rhett Gallego 4 Scoring (Kicking) 95
Kenton Evans 1 Pass Rating 119.6
Anthony Jordan 1 Interceptions 8
Detronn Harris 8 KO Rtn. Avg. 24.0
Rhett Gallego 1 Field Goals 55.6
Rhett Gallego 6 PAT (Kick) 65
L. Huntington T-3 Fumble Rec. 3
Jerry Turner T-2 Tackles-Loss 8.0
Marlon Bush T-8 Tackles-Loss 6.5
Anthony Jordan T-8 Passes Def. 18
Anthony Jordan T-10 Tackles 53.5
Terrance Harris T-10 Tackles 53.5
Jerry Turner 3 Sacks 8.0
Marlon Bush 4 Sacks 6.5
FIRECATS RECORD WATCH
Player Record Stat To Break
C.Lamb (Career) Rec. 190 +5
C.Lamb (Career) Rec Yds 2,106 +223
Q.Sorrell Tackles 71.0 +9.0
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. STEVE GORRIE, FLORIDA, 2004, 386 YARDS (-53)
6. Darnell Small, Arkansas, 2002, 370 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
TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Florida and Birmingham stack up:
Statistical FIRECATS STEELDOGS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 14 46.7 6 53.1
Scoring Defense 3 38.7 9 44.8
Total Offense 13 257.8 10 266.0
Total Defense 1 210.2 13 251.8
Pass Offense 21 211.2 13 236.2
Pass Defense 1 194.0 16 236.5
Rushing Offense 1 46.6 3 29.8
Rushing Defense 10 16.2 7 15.2
Scoring (Non-Kick) 15 496 8 542
Scoring (Kicking) 20 64 5 95
Pass Rating 7 109.8 11 109.1
Pass Def. Rating 6 100.2 5 95.4
Kickoff Returns 13 19.4 12 19.6
MFG Returns 16 15.3 24 8.5
Turnover Margin 23 -8 14 -2
Field Goals 8 .357 2 .556
PAT Kicking 13 .742 7 .802
Sacks By 11 16 5 21
Sacks Against 1 4 12 13
First Downs 11 188 21 169
Opp. First Downs 4 163 17 195
Penalties 22 69.8 5 47.8
Opp. Penalties 6 50.7 2 43.1
Red Zone Offense 10 76.9 3 80.7
Red Zone Defense 5 66.2 12 73.2
FIRECATS WHEN THEY:
SCORE 30-LESS........... 0-0
SCORE 31-40............... 0-3
SCORE 41-50............... 3-1
SCORE 51-60............... 3-1
SCORE 61+.................. 1-0
ALLOW 30-LESS.......... 4-0
ALLOW 31-40.............. 3-0
ALLOW 41-50.............. 0-1
ALLOW 51-60..............0-4
ALLOW 61+................. 0-0
AT HOME...............................................3-2
ON THE ROAD.......................................4-3
FIRECATS SCORE FIRST........................3-2
OPPONENT SCORES FIRST....................4-3
LEADING AFTER 1ST QUARTER...............6-3
TRAILING AFTER 1ST QUARTER.............1-0
TIED AFTER 1ST QUARTER......................0-2
LEADING AT HALF.................................7-1
TRAILING AT HALF................................0-4
TIED AT HALF........................................0-0
LEADING AFTER 3RD QUARTER...............7-1
TRAILING AFTER 3RD QUARTER.............0-4
TIED AFTER 3RD QUARTER......................0-0
AGAINST TEAMS BELOW .500.................4-2
AGAINST TEAMS .500.............................0-1
AGAINST TEAMS ABOVE .500.................3-2
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: The Firecats went into Birmingham and received a 55-34 beating. Anthony Snead led all Firecat receivers, catching seven passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Magic Benton also caught two touchdowns.
FORWARD MOTION: The Firecats will return home to host the Laredo Law. It will be the first ever match up between the two teams, and it is also the Firecats' only game against a National Conference team.
U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF
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
12 Birmingham Carlos McNearny
13 Columbus Adrian Cockfield
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
12 Wilkes-Barre Jamie Hattley
13 Macon Marcus Bradley
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
12 Tulsa Bob Bees
13 Columbus Troy Bergeron
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