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Fury Game Notes

April 30, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Buffalo Destroyers (1-1) at Detroit Fury (0-2)
Date: May 4, 2002
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
Site: The Palace of Auburn Hills (14,826)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Referee: Riley Johnson, Umpire: Paul Frerking, Head Linesman: Neil Brunner, Line Judge: Paul Engelberts, Back Judge: Paul McCleskey
Fury Radio: WDFN 1130 AM (Jamie Samuelsen, Bubba Baker)
Fury TV: Fox Sports Net Detroit (Mark Champion, Jim Brandstatter)
Regular Season Series Record: Have never met
Streaks: Detroit lost two; Buffalo lost one
Coaches: Mouse Davis (7-9, 2nd)
Ray Bentley (12-14, 2nd)

THE STAKES: Detroit needs to get their first win of the season and there is no better place to do it than at home. The Fury struggled all last season on the road (2-5) and apparently are on that same path this year (0-2). The good news however is the fact that when Detroit played at The Palace last season, they dominated opponents and boasted a 5-2 record. Buffalo on the other hand is trying to bounce back after losing their last game in Long Island. The bottom line is that no team wants to drop another game this early into the season.

THE SERIES: This is the first time these two clubs have ever met in the regular season. The two teams did battle against each other in the preseason this year, with Detroit edging the Destroyers 32-27.

THE IFs:

If DETROIT defeats BUFFALO, it would ...
· Give DETROIT 1-2 record
· Give DETROIT 1-0 record against Buffalo
· Give Mouse Davis a 8-9 all-time record
· Give DETROIT a 1-2 all time record against Eastern Division opponents

HEAD COACHES:

Mouse Davis returns to right the ship for Detroit. Davis led a first-year team to a 7-7 record last season, coupled with the 10th seed in the AFL playoffs. Davis vows that the Fury will compete for the ArenaBowl Championship this season and feels that he has many of the pieces to the puzzle to accomplish that.

Ray Bentley is entering his second season as the head coach and GM of the Destroyers. Last year his team fell short of making the playoffs at 6-8. The former Michigan Panther has made numerous improvements to his roster for this season and is already considered a dangerous opponent.

2001 REVIEW: Detroit capped off a successful freshman season in the AFL in 2001. The Fury finished with a 7-7 record and the 10th seed in the ArenaBowl playoffs. Robert Gordon led the team in virtually every offensive category, finishing the year third in the AFL in scoring.

PRESEASON HISTORY: Detroit completed the 2002 preseason with a 47-37 loss to the Arizona Rattlers at The Palace on April 9. The Fury sank the Buffalo Destroyers on March 30 32-27, winning their first-ever preseason game. In the 2001 season, Detroit dropped both contests.

LAST WEEK: TORONTO, ONTARIO.—In what can only be phrased as a game to forget, the Toronto Phantoms took it to the Detroit Fury by a tune of 50-30. Detroit drops to 0-2 on the season while the Phantoms climb to 2-0.

In the first quarter Toronto got the board when Chad Salisbury hit Charlie Davidson for a 35-yard touchdown at 7:23. The Fury followed it up with a Chuck Levy six-yard TD reception from Rickey Foggie at 2:46. Detroit's new kicker Ignacio Brache missed wide right on the only PAT he would attempt on the night.

Toronto was able to find the paint first in the second frame when Salisbury threw a 31-yard bomb to Davidson at 14:52. Once again the Fury answered back, when Robert Gordon pulled in a 44-yard Foggie pass at 11:19. Detroit failed on the two-point conversion to bring the score to 14-12 in favor of the Phantoms. Toronto began to pour it on with consecutive scores from Jermaine Younger (6:15) and Kelvin Ingram (:08) to close out the second.

Things started out during third as they pretty much had all game long, with Toronto scoring first. Ty Law's 42-yard interception return off a Foggie pass at 10:11 spelled the end of the evening for Detroit's QB. Drew Miller entered the game for the Fury, connecting to Levy on an 8-yard dish at 8:14. Salisbury found Phil Glover for a 13-yard TD at 2:27 to complete the third quarter scoring, with Toronto holding a 43-18 lead.

In the final stanza Damian Harrell caught a 21-yard pass from Salisbury at 14:13. Levy scored the game's final two TDs, first off a 37-yard toss at 13:03 and then off a five-yard pass with 54 seconds remaining.

Foggie finished the game with 132 yards, two TDs and going 11-22 with one INT before be replaced by Miller, who played well in his professional debut, going 8-of-13 for 132 yards, three TDs and one INT. The game's MVP, Salisbury, went 21-of-32 for 283 yards and five strikes. Pat O'Hara came in during the final quarter and completed the only pass he attempted. Levy led the Fury in receptions with nine and TDs with four. Torey Hunter recorded an interception for Detroit and Chuck Winters returned five kickoffs for 91 yards. The Fury will host the Buffalo Destroyers on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 PM for the 2002 home opener. Fan are encouraged to arrive early in order to enjoy outdoor tailgate activities beginning at 5:30. Tickets are available by calling (248) 377-0100 or by logging onto www.detroitfury.com.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Mouse Davis on the Destroyers: "They dominated a number of plays against NY and went into the fourth quarter pretty evenly. But in the fourth, they had a turnover which pretty much cost them the game. They played pretty well though."

Mouse Davis on Fred McNair: "He played a good game and moved the ball up and down the field and looked effective while doing it."

Chuck Levy on this weekend's game: "We need to come out and play hard. Once we get that first win, things will steam roll and we will be all set. We just need to keep working hard and get a few "W's" in the win column."

MILESTONES:

ROBERT GORDON
· Needs 326 yards to reach 3,000
· Needs 36 TDs to hit 100
· Needs six receptions to reach 200

DETROIT NEXT WEEK: 5/11 at Buffalo-The Fury will complete their home-and-home series with the Destroyers next Saturday in Buffalo.

FURY NOTES/TRENDS:

Chuck "Ironman" Levy : Chuck Levy continues to be on a personal tear this season, leading the Fury in yards and TDs. Last week in Toronto, Levy gathered four TDs, a career high.

Milestone Man: QB Rickey Foggie hit two personal milestones last week in Toronto. Foggie surpassed the 1,500 AFL pass completions mark (1,504) and the 16,000 yards plateau (16,061).

So We Meet Again: Technically, the Fury and Destroyers record against each other is 0-0. But in reality, the Fury knocked off the Destroyers in the preseason 32-27. Detroit will have another chance to lock up with Buffalo, as they complete the home and home series next week in New York.

Welcome Back: After missing the first two games of the regular season with a hamstring injury, WR/LB Ty Grovesteen will suit up this week. Grovesteen was a key contributor to the Fury's success last season and his injury this year has been a factor in Detroit's overall performance.

Waive Goodbye: Detroit waived WR/DB Willie Latta last week after the game in Toronto.

Road Kill: After posting a poor 2-5 record on the road last season, Detroit realizes that they need to change that around for 2002. The Fury dropped their first two games on the road this season. Detroit has an all time road record of 2-7.

Home Cookin': Three of the next five games for Detroit will be played at The Palace. Detroit had better take care of business at home, because they are off to a poor start in enemy territory so far.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Fury QB Rickey Foggie: After being pulled in favor of Drew Miller last week in Toronto, Foggie knows he has something to prove to this organization. Foggie will look to Chuck Levy and Robert Gordon quite a bit.

Fury WR/DB Chuck Levy: Chuck Levy started out the 2002 season with a solid performance and will be a key factor in this week's game. In the first week of this season, Levy reached a career-high three TDs scored. He shattered that last week in Toronto by finding the paint four times. Can he continue to one up himself everyweek?

Buffalo QB Fred McNair : AFL vet Fred McNair is off to a solid start with his new club. He has gone 42-of-63 this year with eight TDs and 517 yards passing. McNair can be contained though and with the strong pass rush of Kelvin Kinney and R-Kal Truluck, McNair could very well be in for a long night.

Buffalo OS Lamont Cooper: One of the AFL's premier receivers, Lamont Cooper leads the Destroyers in receiving with 11 catches for 117 yards and two TDs. Cooper was the "Don't Blink" award recipent for 2000 and 2001 as the league's most electrifying player. Watch out for this guy on kickoff returns. Cooper holds the league record of 20 returns for TDs. The guy just keeps getting better, as he broke nearly all of his 2000 records last season.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 30, 2002


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