Friday Night Match-ups

Published on April 23, 2009 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009 - Verizon Wireless Arena (9,650) 7:30 P.M. ET

Week 5 kicks off Friday night with the Tri-Cities Fever traveling cross country to face the Manchester Wolves in the first meeting ever between the two clubs. Tri-Cities has had a rocky start to their third season with four straight defeats. The Fever's most recent outing came last week at home against the South Georgia Wildcats. South Georgia forced six turnovers by Tri-Cities and 11 total stops overall as the Wildcats stifled the Fever, 84-34. QB Joe Ayoob (5-for-12, 39 yards) received his fourth consecutive start with the Fever and took the offense down field for 37 yards for a score when WR Chase Reed (2-2-1 TD rushing; 3-23 receiving) ran it in from the 1-yard line. After a pair of turnover on downs and a fumble, QB Jimmy Collins (14-for-26, 153 yards and 2 TDs) saw his first professional action. Although his first drive ended in an interception, he quickly bounced back and threw back-to-back TDs to WR Tremayne Kirkland (8-94-3 TDs). South Georgia, however, responded with four unanswered scores. Kirkland scored two more times for the Fever in the fourth - once on a 55-yard KO return and lastly on a 27-yard scoring pass from Collins. Tri-Cities DB/WR Ray Little (2 catches, 11 yards, 40 kick return yards, 1 tackle, 1 FR) received the JLS Ironman of the Game Award. The Fever will likely start Collins again this week to see if he can spark an offense that currently ranks last in the league in scoring (29.8 ppg), passing (169.5 ypg) and total offense (183.2 ypg). Tri-Cities' rough start so far can also be traced to turnovers. The team ranks last in turnover margin at minus-9 (14 lost/5 gained). One bright spot on the squad is Kirkland, a rookie receiver from Portland State. Kirkland leads the team in scoring (30 points) and receiving (28-270-4 TDs). Manchester enters this week's contest ranked No. 11 in the latest league coaches poll. The Wolves have won their last two games, including last week's home-opening victory against Albany, 74-53. The Firebirds, who took an early 14-0 lead and led by four points at the half (30-26), disintegrated in the second half with a series of mistakes, miscues, and penalties. Manchester outscored Albany 48-23 over the final 30 minutes of play. The Firebirds offense, led by rookie QB Adam Bednarik (19-of-36 passing, 262 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT), struggled in the second half against Manchester's defense. The Wolves offense, meanwhile, was effective all evening. QB James Pinkney completed 18-of-30 passes for 252 yards with seven passing scores and one rushing touchdown. WRs Steven Savoy and Emery Sammons combined for 198 yards and seven touchdowns. For the second straight week, the Wolves defense was relentless in pursuit of the quarterback. Bryan Robinson, making just his second start, sacked Bednarik three times. Manchester's secondary was led by rookie DB Brandon Isaac. Isaac led all defenders with seven tackles. Pinkney's play of late has been key to the Wolves recent success. After a three-touchdown, three-interception effort in the opener, the third-year signal caller has thrown 10 TDs without an interception in the last two games. If Pinkney continues to play well, the Wolves should continue their winning ways.

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009 - The Resch Center (7,695) 8:30 P.M. ET

Friday night's action concludes with the Arkansas Twisters making their first trip to Green Bay, Wisc. to face the Blizzard. These two clubs have faced each other just once before. Green Bay won the only meeting, 48-35, in North Little Rock, Ark. in 2005. The Twisters saw their opportunity to start the season 4-0 come to an abrupt end last week after losing at home to the defending ArenaCup Champion Tennessee Valley Vipers in heartbreaking fashion, 61-60. The Vipers scored as time expired and made the extra point to escape Alltel Arena with the one-point win. Twisters QB Kyle Rowley finished with 33 completions on 44 pass attempts for 345 yards and eight touchdowns. WR Rod Harper had 13 catches for 138 yards and four touchdowns. WR Olan Coleman had eight catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns. He added 127 return yards which included a 57-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. DB ANTHONY HAILSTOCK stood out on defense with 7.5 tackles and two pass breakups.

Rowley, in his second year with Arkansas and his sixth af2 season overall, keys the Twisters offense. He's currently tied for third in the league in touchdown passes (24) and ranks fourth in passing yards (1,092) and eighth in passer rating (117.8). Defensively, DB BRANDON FREEMAN leads the squad with 23.5 tackles and two interceptions. DL JERRY TURNER has also been a factor up front with 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and one blocked kick. The Twisters enter the week ranked No. 6 in the latest league coaches poll. The Blizzard, currently ranked No. 8, looked impressive in their most recent game played last week at Midwest rival Quad City. Green Bay played well on both sides of the ball to secure the 65-52 victory. The Blizzard defense forced Quad City to turn the ball over on downs on the game's first series. Three plays and 43 yards later, Green Bay scored the first points of the game. Quad City tied it up, 7-7, but the Blizzard took the lead for good with a 1-yard run by FB ORLANDO MEDLOCK. Green Bay led 33-16 at the half and didn't quit, quickly building a 39-16 lead early in the second half. Quad City scored on its next drive, but Green Bay retaliated with a 58-yard kickoff return for a score by WR BRIAN HERNANDEZ to build a 46-23 advantage in the third. Although Quad City managed to tally 22 points in the fourth quarter, the Blizzard were able to hold them off for the key division win. Medlock led Green Bay offensively with four rushing touchdowns. QB GINO GUIDUGLI also rebounded from a subpar effort a week ago to finish with 270 yards passing and four total touchdowns (3-passing, 1-rushing) with just one interception. DB TRACY BELTON paced the Green Bay defense with a game-high 12 tackles. Belton, who starred with Arkansas last season, also recorded an interception and three pass breakups against the Steamwheelers. He currently leads the Blizzard with 23.5 total tackles and two interceptions. DL CRAIG WILSON was a factor up front against Quad City with 2.5 sacks and a safety. This battle of Top-10 teams should shape up to be one of the more competitive games of the week.

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