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Friday Night Matchups

May 7, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS (5-1) AT MAHONING VALLEY THUNDER (1-5)

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009 - Chevrolet Centre (6,100) 7:00 P.M. ET

Week 7 kicks off Friday night with the No. 2-ranked Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Pioneers traveling to Youngstown, Ohio to take on Mahoning Valley in an East Division affair. These two clubs have met six times in total. The Pioneers have won all six. The most recent meeting came in Week 4 where Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won big at home, 80-43. The Pioneers are coming off a hard-fought, 53-50, home victory against Manchester last Friday. QB RYAN VENA scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with 7:12 left in the game as the Pioneers took a 53-50 lead. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's defense came up on Manchester's next drive, forcing the Wolves to turn the ball over on downs with just under two minutes to play. The Pioneers offense ran out the remaining time left on the clock to secure their 21st consecutive regular season home victory. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was led offensively by FB/LB Kirby Griffin. Griffin earned two player awards on the evening (JLS Ironman, Russell Athletic Offensive) on the strength of his three-touchdown performance. He rushed for 46 yards and two touchdowns and also caught four passes for 79 yards with one touchdown. WR IRVING CAMPBELL also scored three times for the Pioneers (2 rush TDs, 6 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD). DB Micheaux Robinson (5 tackles, 2 PBUs) paced the defense. The defense has been key in the Pioneers' success this season, only allowing an average of 39.7 points per game to their opponents, while holding them to a mere 52.1% passing completion rate. They also lead the league in sacks (19). The offense can't be dismissed, however, racking up an average of 64.7 points per game. K DAVID DAVIS leads the league with a 96.3% PAT success rate. He also has the most points of any kicker so far with 58. Mahoning Valley is in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Last week the Thunder lost on the road at Albany, 50-41, spoiling the af2 head coaching debut of BRENNAN BOOTH. Booth, who began the year as Mahoning Valley's defensive coordinator and offensive line coach, took over the team a week and a half ago. The win by Albany was the club's first of the season. Thunder rookie QB BLAKE POWERS finished the night 21-of-39 for a career-high 251 yards and five touchdowns along with one interception. WR Quorey Payne was Mahoning Valley's biggest playmaker, catching six passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns. De'Tario Frederick handled the return duties for the Thunder and returned a second quarter kickoff 55 yards for a score. The Thunder's rough start can be traced in part to their trouble with turnovers. The team leads the league in fumbles lost (11). They are also tied with Milwaukee in most total turnovers given up with 21 (11 fumbles, 10 interceptions). This week Mahoning Valley will need a near perfect effort in all phases of the game if they hope to keep things close with the potent Pioneers.

IOWA BARNSTORMERS (3-3) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (3-2)

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

The second Friday contest features a Midwest Division matchup as the Iowa Barnstormers travel to Green Bay, Wisc. to take on the Blizzard. This will be the third time these clubs face off. Green Bay won both previous affairs which were played last season. After storming out to a 3-0 start this year, Iowa has cooled off of late. After reaching a high-ranking of No. 4 in the Coaches Poll in Week 4, the Barnstormers have lost their last three games, including last week's 49-30 road loss at No.1-ranked Spokane. Iowa, currently ranked No. 13, played the Shock tough for three quarters before getting outscored 14-0 in the fourth. QB BRIAN VILLANUEVA completed just 21-of-41 passes for 245 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also had one rushing score. The Shock pass rush harassed Villanueva numerous times, resulting in three sacks. His favorite target was WR TIM DODGE, who had seven catches for 101 yards and one touchdown. Dodge is averaging 152 all-purpose yards per game, good for 12th in the league. Iowa leads the league in rushing defense, allowing just 9.5 yards per game. DB TANNER VARNER tallied 15 tackles against the Shock, including one tackle-for-loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Varner leads the league in tackles with 58.5. Recent addition BRENT CURVEY, a defensive lineman from Iowa State, also stood out with two tackles for loss and one sack. The Barnstormers need to get their offense back on track this week in order to test Green Bay. Iowa has averaged just 30 points in the last three games after averaging 62 through the first three. Villanueva's play will be critical. In the Barnstormers last four games he's thrown eight interceptions. He didn't throw any in the team's first two. Green Bay enters this week's game ranked No. 12 in the latest league coaches poll. The Blizzard won their most recent outing last Friday at Milwaukee, 56-28. Rookie QB Mark Nicolet, making his first start for the Blizzard, completed 15-of-34 passes for 175 yards. He also had two touchdown passes without an interception and one rushing score. WR/LB Robert Garth caught six passes for 46 yards with one touchdown. Another notable performer for Green Bay was K Bob Forstrom. Forstrom set a Green Bay team record with five field goals made on six attempts. His longest make of the evening came from 29 yards out. DBs Shadrach Okoebor and Rayshaun Kizer had two interceptions apiece to pace the Green Bay defense. The duo also each returned one of their interceptions for a touchdown. Okoebor also led the club with 7.0 total tackles. The Blizzard also blitzed Milwaukee QB TYLER DONOVAN for eight sacks. As a team, Green Bay ranks second to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in sacks with 17 and have allowed a league-low three sacks. The Blizzard also rank fourth in turnover margin at plus+7 (15 gained, 8 lost). Offensively, Green Bay relies on a strong running attack that averages nearly 50 yards per game (49.8 - 2nd in af2). Expect this game to be another low-scoring Midwest Division affair that is tightly-contested from start to finish.



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