Florida Firecats game notes
July 25, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Florida Firecats News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Florida Firecats (11-4, 4-3) @
Manchester Wolves (9-6, 6-2)
Date: Saturday July 28th 2007
Kickoff: 7 p.m. EST
Site: Verizon Wireless Arena
National Anthem:
Coin Toss: Referee
Officials:
Referee: Rick Santilli
Umpire: Jeffery Akers
Head Linesman: Troy Riley Line Judge: Ryan Flynn
Back Judge: Jack O'Keefe
Internet: www.FloridaFirecats.com, www.ABC-7.com & www.NBC-2.com
TV: NONE
Series Record: 3-2 FLA
Last Meeting: 49-27 FLA 6/16/07
Streaks: FLA Won 1; SGA Lost 1
Coaches: Kevin Bouis (38-9) 3rd Season
Ben Bennett (50-29) 3rd Season @ MAN
(Regular Season Coaching Records)
THE STAKES: A Florida win will clinch the South Division for the 4th straight season and guarantee at least one home playoff game.
THE SERIES: The Firecats have a 3-2 series advantage over the Wolves. Florida won at home on June 16th against Manchester.
THE IF's:
If Florida defeats Manchester, it would ...
- Give Florida the Division Championship
- Give Florida a home playoff game in the 1st round
- Give Florida its' 12th Win of the year
- Give Florida a 5-1 record against American Conf. teams
- Give Florida a 4-2 series lead over Manchester
- Give Florida a 2 game win streak heading to the playoffs
Florida Firecats (11-4, 4-3; WON 1)
Date Opponent Result Score
3/31 Oklahoma City 7:30 WIN 55-22
4/06 @ Texas 8:00 WIN 54-13
4/13 @ Tennessee 8:30 WIN 61-34
4/21 WB Scranton 7:30 LOST 58-36
4/28 Tennessee 7:30 LOST 39-38
5/05 @ Albany 4:00 WIN 56-51
5/12 @ South Georgia 7:30 LOST 49-38
5/19 Mahoney Valley 7:30 WIN 62-26
6/02 Alabama 7:30 WIN 29-21
6/09 @ Tennessee 8:30 WIN 53-37
6/16 Manchester 7:30 WIN 49-27
6/23 Albany 7:30 WIN 64-41
6/30 @ Oklahoma City 8:00 WIN 69-38
7/07 South Georgia 7:30 LOST 47-40
7/14 @ Alabama 8:00 WIN 55-44
7/28 @ Manchester 7:00
Manchester Wolves (9-6, 6-2; WON 4)
Date Opponent Result Score
3/31 @ WB Scranton 7:30 L 36-50
4/13 @ Green Bay 7:00 L 32-35
4/21 Fort Wayne 7:00 W 54-41
4/28 Mahoning Valley 7:30 W 67-49
5/4 @ WB Scranton 7:00 L 42-59
5/12 Albany 7:00 W 53-48
5/18 @ Bossier-Shreve 7:00 L 52-62
5/25 @ Mahoning Valley 8:00 W 50-40
6/1 Tulsa 7:30 L 75-50
6/8 Albany 7:00 W 47-35
6/16 @ Florida 6:00 L 27-49
6/30 South Georgia 7:00 W 80-57
7/7 @ Cincinnati 7:05 W 54-34
7/13 WB Scranton 7:00 W 49-46
7/21 @ Albany 6:30 W 69-56
7/28 Florida 7:00
HEAD COACH:
Kevin Bouis is set to begin his 3rd year as head coach and 6th year overall with the Florida Firecats. In his 1st 2 seasons at the helm he guided the team to a 27-5 regular season record going 13-3 in 2006 & 14-2 in 2005 (the af2's best record that year). Last year the Firecats captured their 3rd straight South Divisional Championship. 2006 also marked the 2nd straight season that Florida had home field advantage in the playoffs. 2006 also saw the Firecats play in their 3rd straight American Conference Championship game. As the defensive coordinator, Bouis helped coach the Firecats to an Arena Cup Championship in 2004. That year Kevin's Defense was ranked #1 in total defense, #1 in pass defense, #3 in rush defense & #2 in scoring defense(38.2 pts/g).
Stifling defense has been a signature of the Firecats since Bouis arrived in 2002 when the Firecats finished 5th in scoring defense (38.1 pts/g), 5th in rushing defense and 7th in pass def rating on their way to their 1st arena cup appearance and the American Conference Championship. In 2003 his defense to finished 2nd in scoring defense (39.2 pts/g), 7th total defense and 4th in pass def rating.
He is a former player for the National Indoor Football League's Mississippi Firedogs. He helped his team win two League championships, 2000 and 2001, winning All-NIFL honors. In three seasons with the Firedogs (99-01), Bouis totaled 30 defensive turnovers, 23 interceptions and 7 fumble recoveries. In 2000 and 2001 Bouis led the team in tackles and interceptions. He won the honor of being the IPFL defensive player of the week in 2000. In 1999, Bouis helped the Firedogs qualify for the first round of the playoffs in their inaugural season (9-7). During his tenure with the Firedogs he registered 189 tackles including 81 in 2000.
As a player at the University of Texas El Paso/University of Kentucky, Bouis was furnished with a full scholarship and was a two-year varsity letterman in Football at UTEP, who started as a true freshman and sophomore. He then transferred and completed his college football career at the University of Kentucky.
Bouis holds a B.A. in Education from UK and has an M.B.A. from William Carey College.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Ken Mastrole is in his 3rd year as coordinator after leading the Firecats to the championship as QB in 2004. in 2006 Mastrole's offense ranked #1 in the af2 scoring nearly 60 points per game. He played his college ball at Maryland & Rhode Island also had stints with the Chicago Bears in the NFL, The Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe & the Detroit Fury in the AFL.
Assistant Head Coach OL/DL & FB/LB: Victor Hall "Sack Man" coached with the Firecats in 2003 before returning to the field as a player in 2004. Hall returned to the sideline in 2005 as the Assistant Head Coach. The Auburn grad who was in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings from 1991-1993 and the Indianapolis Colts for the 93-94 season has an Orlando Predators Arena Bowl ring to go along with the hardware he received last year and has the distinction as being the 1st player to win both an AFL and af2 championship.
Hall is also an ex-police officer and became the youngest Chief of Police in Alabama at the age of 23. Vic can be seen as an extra through out the Adam Sandler film "The Waterboy".
LAST SERIES MEETING: Florida 49 - Manchester 27
The Florida Firecats defense pitched a shout out in the second half and the Firecats rolled to a 49-27 victory over the Manchester Wolves, Florida's 4th straight win on the year in front of 5,479 fans.
The teams battled to a 30-27 halftime score which saw Florida on top. Levy Brown provided a bit of foreshadowing intercepting Wolves QB Mark Radlinski on the opening drive of the game. The Firecats needed just 3 plays to get on the board as Chris Wallace threw his 1st of 5 TD's on the night, finding Ethenic Sands for a 10 yard strike. Manchester led at the end of the 1st 14-12 thanks to touchdowns by David Bailey and Patrick Rouzard. Firecats kicker Andy Eminger missed a pair of PAT's in the quarter, which would wind up to being a trend all night long as he finished with just 1 extra point on 6 tries.
Florida scored on their second possion of the 2nd half to take a 36-27 lead. The Firecats' defense then took over and blocked a kick, recovered a fumble and intercepted 2 more passes including one returned 31 yards by Kris Thomas for a TD that would prove to be the games final score.
DB Levy Brown led all defenders with 11.5 tackles and his league leading 10th INT. While the 'Cats defensive line didn't record a sack, they harassed Radlinski throughout the 2nd half and recorded 2 tackles for a loss.
LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match up who ranked among af2's statistical leaders:
Firecats
Player Rank Category Stat
Chris Wallace 6 Total TDs 86 TDs
Chris Wallace 5 Total Offense 261.3yds/g
Chris Wallace 9 Passing 260.7yds/g
Chris Wallace 8 Passing Attempts 495 att
Chris Wallace 7 Passing TDs 81 TDs
Chris Wallace 2 Passer Rating 122.9
Chris Wallace 5 Passing Yards 3910 yards
Magic Benton 4 Receiving Yards 1552 yds
Magic Benton 8 Receiving 103.5yds/g
Magic Benton 10 Receptions 111
Wallace House 7 Rushing Yards 239 Yds
Wallace House T9 Rushing Attempts 60 att
Wallace House T7 Rushing TDs 12 TDs
Wallace House T7 Yards per Rush 4.0 Yds/rsh
Levy Brown 3 Interceptions 13 Int
Levy Brown 1 Tackles 126
Levy Brown T3 Passes Defended 39
Quincy Sorrell T9 Tackles 86.5
Wolves
Player Rank Category Stat
Adam Fichter 10 Rushing Yards 194 yds
Adam Fichter 3 Rushing Attempts 73 att
Adam Fichter 6 Rushing TDs 13 TDs
Connor McCormick 7 PAT Kicking 87.5 %
Maurice Fountain 4 Sacks 13.0
Maurice Fountain 4 Tackles for Loss 16.0
Player Match-ups to Watch:
Firecats QB Chris Wallace vs Wolves Defense: Wallace leads the af2's 5th ranked offense and has the 2nd best passer rating in the deuce. The Wolves give up an average of 247 yards passing per game.
Firecats O-Line vs Wolves Maurice Fountain: Fountain ranks 4th in the af2 in sacks (13) and tackles for a loss (16). Florida is tied for 1st with Manchester in only surrendering 9 sacks on the year. In their previous match-up the Firecats O-Line didn't surrender any sacks and held Fountain to just 2.5 tackles.
Firecats DB Levy Brown vs. Wolves Offense: Brown has already set a new af2 single season tackles record. Brown needs 2 interceptions to tie the current single season interceptions record. In the game earlier this year Levy led all defenders with 10.5 tackles and hand one pick. The Wolves come into the game with the leagues #1 passing attack averaging 293 yards per game thru the air.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Firecats and Wolves stack up:
Statistical Wolves Firecats
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 12 50.8ppg 13 50.6ppg
Scoring Defense 16 49.1ppg 2 36.5ppg
Total Offense 16 262.5yd/g 5 287.2yd/g
Total Defense 24 273.4yds/g 2 225.5yds/g
Pass Offense 1 293.4yds/g 8 259.3yds/g
Pass Defense 21 246.9yds/g 3 211.5yds/g
Rushing Offense 23 14.7yds/g 4 29.1yds/g
Rushing Defense 28 26.5yds/g 4 14.0yds/g
Pass Rating 15 101.9 2 123.0
Pass Def. Rating 13 98.2 3 80.3
Kickoff returns 25 15.4yds/ret 29 14.3yds/ret
MFG Returns 5 23.5yds/ret 28 11.4yds/ret
Turnover Margin 17 -.27 3 1.4
Field Goals 20 5-18 27 1-6
PAT Kicking 18 .760 23 .725
Sacks By 19 20 5 29
Sacks Against T1 9 T1 9
First Downs 6 298 16 269
Opp. First Downs 14 266 16 268
Penalties 1 43.1yds/g 8 53.7yds/g
Opp. Penalties 3 69.1yds/g 24 53.1yds/g
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
SOUTH DIVISION
Florida 11-4 (4-3)
South Georgia 10-5 (4-2)
Tenn Valley 7-8 (3-4)
Alabama 6-9 (2-4)
SOUTHWEST DIVISION
Rio Grande Valley 14-1 (8-1)
Bossier-Shreveport 10-5 (6-1)
Corpus Christi 5-10 (4-6)
Texas 2-13 (2-6)
Laredo 1-14 (1-7)
CENTRAL DIVISION
Tulsa 13-2 (6-2)
Arkansas 11-4 (6-1)
Oklahoma City 7-8 (3-4)
Lubbock 6-9 (3-5)
Amarillo 3-12 (1-7)
SCHUTT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 OKC Ethenic Sands - FLA
3 TV Chris Wallace - FLA
5 TV Chris Wallace - FLA
8 MHV Chris McKinney - FLA
10 ALA Wallace House - FLA
11 TVV Wallace House - FLA
12 MAN Magic Benton - FLA
13 ALB Chris Wallace - FLA
14 OKC Chris Wallace - FLA
16 ALA Chris Wallace - FLA
U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 OKC Brent Burnside - FLA
3 TV Brent Burnside - FLA
6 ALB Brent Burnside - FLA
8 MHV Levy Brown - FLA
10 ALA Chris McKinney - FLA
12 MAN Brent Burnside - FLA
13 ALB Comone Fisher - FLA
ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 OKC Levy Brown - FLA
3 TV Levy Brown - FLA
5 TV Levy Brown - FLA
6 ALB Alfred Peterson - FLA
8 MHV Levy Brown - FLA
10 ALA Tony Stubbs - FLA
11 TVV Levy Brown - FLA
12 MAN Tony Stubbs - FLA
13 ALB Alfred Peterson - FLA
14 OKC Levy Brown - FLA
16 ALA Quincy Sorrell - FLA
CUTTERS CATCH OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 OKC Magic Benton - FLA
5 TV Chris McKinney - FLA
8 MHV Magic Benton - FLA
10 ALA Chris McKinney - FLA
11 TVV Ethenic Sands - F:A
13 ALB Magic Benton - FLA
16 ALA Magic Benton - FLA
Drop Back: Florida 55 - Alabama 44
The Alabama Steeldogs dropped their sixth-straight game Saturday night to the Florida Firecats, 55-44, in front of 4,170 fans at the BJCC Arena.
Florida quarterback Chris Wallace threw for a game-high seven touchdowns to lead the Firecats (11-4).
Up 23-21 at the half, the Steeldogs (5-9) turned the ball over twice in the first few minutes of the third quarter. The Firecats capitalized on the mistakes, scoring 14-straight points off the turnovers for a 35-23 lead. They did not trail in the game again.
The Steeldogs were led offensively by receiver Jon Olinger, who went over the century mark in receiving yards for the season. Olinger caught 12 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown, giving him 1,066 total receiving yards on the season.
Florida set a number of new records in the win. The Firecats' Magic Benton scored his 1,000th point in the first quarter of the game, making him the first player in the history of the af2 to do so. Defensive back Levy Brown broke the all-time af2 total tackles record by earning 10 tackles. He now has 126.0 solo tackles on the season.
Quincy Sorrell led all players with 11.0 total tackles on defense, while Brown also had a forced fumble, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and two passes defended.
Look Ahead: If the Firecats win or South Georgia looses, Florida will host a 1st round game at home. As the 3 seed they would host the 6th seed, currently the Bossier Shreveport Battlewings. The Battlewings are led by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter. The home game would be scheduled for Saturday August 4th at Germain Arena.
Firecats Milestones: Receiver Chris McKinney needs just 33 yards (967) to join teammates Magic Benton (1552) and Ethenic Sands (1055) in the 1000 yard receiving club. This would mark the 1st time in franchise history that the Firecats had 3 1000 yards receivers. They would join four other threesums in reaching the 1000 yard mark in league history.
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