Former Blizzard Player Wins AFL Championship
June 14, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Green Bay Blizzard News Release
In arenafootball2, the benchmark of success is the future achievement of former players. As a developmental league for AFL, the af2 teaches players the Arena game and prepares them to advance to the "big league." The Green Bay Blizzard has been consistently sending players to the AFL for the past few years, and this past weekend one of their former stars achieved the ultimate goal by winning the Arena Football League Championship.
OL/DL Joe Peters (6-4, 275 Concordia), who played for the Blizzard in 2005, is a member of the Chicago Rush, who on Sunday defeated the Orlando Predators 69-61 in Las Vegas for the in Arena Bowl XX title and the Jim Foster Trophy.
"This is unbelievable," said Peters. "We worked so hard for this, and to be able to stand up there with that trophy is just unbelievable." An unbelievable journey that started with Peters fighting for a Rush roster spot at the end of training camp in January ended with him kissing the Foster Trophy on the podium on the Thomas & Mack Center field.
A defensive end while in college at Concordia University in St. Paul, Peters was praised before the title game by Rush Head Coach Mike Hohensee for his versatility and ability to learn quickly. Peters originally made the team as a reserve, and then saw his playing time increase as the season progressed and as he gained confidence and grew more comfortable playing both sides of the ball.
Peters credits the team's confidence as one of the biggest reason they won it all. "When we started the week [before the Championship game], we all felt like we could win," he said. "[John] Moyer described it best when he said that we went from thinking we could win to knowing we could win as the week went on. Coach Ho told us all along we could win it all, and he was right. He has a way of bringing out the best in us and making us believe we can do anything."
A valuable backup to 7-year AFL veteran John Moyer and 2nd-year player D.J. Bleisath, Peters recorded a tackle in Arena Bowl XX while providing flawless protection for QB Matt D'Orazio, who would go on to be named the game's Schutt Offensive Player of the Game.
As the Blizzard prepares to finish out the remainder of the 2006 af2 season strong - at 5-5 they are currently the 4th seed in the American Conference with 6 games to go - they can do so with the knowledge that their coaches have proven that they are able to mold their players into champions who can win on Arena Football's biggest stage. Joe Peters is living proof of that.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from June 14, 2006
- Giveaways galore at this week's Xplorers game - Memphis Xplorers
- Lightning Searching For Blood Donors and Coin Toss - Stockton Lightning
- Yard Dawgz pitted against another of league's best - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Former Blizzard Player Wins AFL Championship - Green Bay Blizzard
- Arena Football: A good fit for Tacoma, Dome? - OSC Original by Bruce Baskin
- Memphis reclaims top spot in coaches poll - af2
- Dietz Named Schutt Offensive Player of the Week - Louisville Fire
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
