af2 arenafootball2

Friday Night Matchups

Published on April 30, 2009 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


Week 6 gets started with the Corpus Christi Sharks traveling to take on the Florida Firecats in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Last time Corpus Christi took the field the team endured a 77-50 road loss to division rival Rio Grande Valley. The Sharks have had a slow start to their 2009 season. To date, Corpus Christi averages 40 points a game while their defense allows nearly 56 points per game (55.8). The Sharks average 270 yards of offense a game (14th in af2). In their recent loss to the Dorados, Sharks QB GARY COOPER threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns (1 rush TD) while the offense netted a season-high 350 total yards. Cooper's favorite target was WR BRANDON HUSSEY who had 11 catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Hussey leads the team this season with 27 catches for 360 yards. DB TERICK THOMAS leads the defense with eight pass breakups, one interception and 13 tackles. Four of his pass breakups came versus Rio Grande Valley. In their only win of far this season, the Sharks defeated Amarillo by 16 points in Week 3. However, their three losses have been by an average of 26.3 points. Florida also suffered a loss in its last outing, falling to the defending champion Tennessee Valley Vipers, 69-43. The Firecats are currently ranked No. 15 in the most recent coaches poll. This season the Firecats average 47.4 points a game while the defense allows an average of 53.6 points. Veteran QB CHRIS WALLACE, the league's career passing leader, is currently averaging 239 passing yards a game (No. 12 in af2). Last week Wallace completed 26-of-45 passes for 254 yards and six touchdowns. WR BRUCE GORDON tallied the most catches for the evening, grabbing 10 for 116 yards and two touchdowns. WR CHRIS MCKINNEY leads the team with 32 receptions for 331 yards and nine touchdowns. McKinney, who averages eight receptions a game, grabbed 10 against the Vipers. The key for Corpus Christi is Cooper. If their quarterback plays well, the Sharks have a fighting chance to stay with the Firecats.

Friday night continues with an East Division battle as the Manchester Wolves take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers for the second time this season. The Pioneers currently lead the all-time series, 13-10. They won the first head-to-head matchup of 2009 in Week 1, 59-28. That game was also played at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Since that season-opening loss, Manchester has won its last three games, including last week's 69-33 home triumph over Tri-Cities. Led by QB JAMES PINKNEY, Manchester's offense was on fire while the defense stifled the Fever and the special teams contributed to the win as well. The Wolves pulled ahead 42-6 in the first half and never looked back. Pinkney completed 20-of-27 passes for 265 yards with 8 touchdowns and one interception. Rookie JASON MESSING, who joined the team earlier in the week, was the team's leading receiver with seven catches for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Veteran DB ROB GREEN was also instrumental in the victory as he intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for a score. Green is tied for second in the league in interceptions with four. One cause for concern for the Wolves is pass protection. Manchester has given up 11 sacks through the first four games, six of which came against the Pioneers in Week 1. As a result, Pinkney suffered through his worst outing of the year (3 INTs, 21-of-37 passing). He has rebounded well, however, throwing 18 TDs against just one INT in the Wolves three wins. Manchester currently ranks No. 8 in the latest league coaches poll. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enters the week ranked No. 3 overall. The Pioneers also had a convincing win last weekend, defeating the Albany Firebirds, 70-26. The Wolves will have their work cut out for them this week as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leads the league in both scoring offense (67 points per game) and scoring defense (37.6 points per game). A large part of their scoring dominance comes from the performance of veteran QB RYAN VENA. Vena continues ranks second in the league in passer rating (130.1) and touchdowns passes (33). Last week against Albany, Vena completed 19-of-27 passes for 235 yards and eight touchdowns. Rookie WR IRVING CAMPBELL leads the club in receiving (37-481-9 TDs). The Pioneers defense is also extremely talented. The team leads the af2 in sacks with 18. DL ROYCE MORGAN leads the league individually in sacks with six. DB MICHEAUX ROBINSON leads the af2 in interceptions (5) and pass breakups (14). The Wolves will need to protect Pinkney in order to keep things close with the Pioneers this week.

The Green Bay Blizzard travel two hours south to Milwaukee for the first of three intrastate showdowns between the Blizzard and expansion Milwaukee Iron. Green Bay fell to 2-2 with last weekend's home loss to Arkansas, 62-47. QB GINO GUIDUGLI completed just 10-of-28 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns (1 INT). WR/DB SHADRACH OKEBOR led the team in receiving, grabbing six passes for 74 yards. He also led the club in kickoff returns (6-129) and racked up a game-high 203 all-purpose yards. FB/LB ORLANDO MEDLOCK ranks second in the league in rushing yards per game with 31. Green Bay also leads the league in rushing yards per game (60.5) and has tallied nine rushing touchdowns. The Blizzard offensive line has been solid as well. Guidugli has only been sacked once so far this year, a league-low. The Green Bay defense, however, traditionally a strong suit, has not performed up to par so far. The Blizzard currently rank last in total defense, allowing 325.5 yards a game. Green Bay enters this week ranked No. 13 overall in the latest league coaches poll. Milwaukee also lost its last outing, falling on the road to the Kentucky Horsemen, 56-38. The Iron tried to keep up, but a series of five touchdowns by the Horsemen in the third quarter blew the game open and sealed the team's fate. QB TYLER DONOVAN completed just 10-for-24 passes for 125 yards but only threw two touchdowns and a season-high four interceptions. DB JAMES MCCOY led the club in tackles with 6.5, while DB LAVAR STEPTER had an interception. Stepter leads Milwaukee with four interceptions. Overall, it's been a tough start for the Iron in their inaugural season (1-4) despite the fact that they are leading the league in several categories. Milwaukee is only allowing 197 yards passing to their opponents on average, the lowest in the league. The Iron are also allowing the least amount of overall offensive yards, with the opposition only racking up 218 yards a game on average. As strong as their defense is, the Iron have been having a difficult time on the offensive side of the ball -- especially protecting the quarterback. Donovan and Shane Adler have been sacked 12 times so far this season. Milwaukee has also proved to be their own worst enemy, averaging nearly 75 penalty yards per game (74.4 - 5th in af2). If the Iron can limit their mistakes and keep their quarterback upright, they should provide their new state rivals with a formidable test.

The final matchup of Friday evening pits the Rio Grande Valley Dorados against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in Oklahoma City. The Yard Dawgz currently own a 5-4 series edge over the Dorados. So far this season, Rio Grande Valley has gotten off to a strong start, winning three of its first four contests. The Dorados won their most recent outing at home over Corpus Christi, 77-50. Rookie QB NICK HILL completed 15-for-26 passes for 198 yards and eight touchdowns. Hill ranks third in the league in passing yards per game (291.5). Fellow rookie ROD WINDSOR continues to impress as well. He caught seven passes against the Sharks for 92 yards with one touchdown. He leads the league in receptions per game with an average of 12.5. So far this season he's made 50 grabs for 583 yards and is averaging 19.5 points per game. Fellow receiver ANTHONY CHAMBERS had a game-high four TD grabs against Corpus Christi. DB CRAIG TURNER earned the honor of Ironman of the Game, and his statistics show why: he returned four kick offs for 122 yards and tallied 12 tackles and two pass breakups. The Dorados have one of the league's highest scoring offenses, averaging 59.8 points per game. Their strength can be seen in their passing game, where they average 286 yards per contest. The defense has also made a large contribution as well. As a team Rio Grande Valley ranks fourth in interceptions with eight. LB TRAVIS MCALPINE leads the club individually with four interceptions. Another player to watch for the Dorados is DL Quinton Staton. Staton, who historically ranks as one of the league's top sack artists, has two in two games since returning to the team. The Dorados enter Week 6 ranked No. 10 in the latest league coaches poll. The No. 2-ranked Yard Dawgz are one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the af2. QB ROBERT KENT is a big reason behind the club's best start in team history. He leads the league in passer rating (140.7) and completion percentage (77.6 - 76-of-98). Oklahoma City didn't have its best effort last time out but still came away with a 41-28 win against division rival Amarillo. Kent went an impressive 21-for-25 for 263 yards and four touchdowns. WR DANNY HOWARD was his favorite target of the evening, making 10 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Veteran WR and team-leading scorer AL HUNT had a relatively quiet game with just three catches for 35 yards and one TD. On average, Oklahoma City has defeated its opponents by 26.6 points. The Yard Dawgz currently rank third in scoring at 64.8 points per game. Another key to their success so far has been their plus+9 turnover margin. Oklahoma City has forced 13 turnovers while losing just four. Despite the Yard Dawgz' low point total a week ago, this week's game should be a high-scoring affair. If Hill continues his solid play, this should shape up to be one of the closest calls of the weekend.

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arenafootball2 Stories from April 30, 2009


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