Georgia Force Game Notes
April 15, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Georgia Force News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Georgia Force (6-5) at Carolina Cobras (0-11)
Date: April 18, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Site: Charlotte Coliseum (12,229).
Radio: WQXI 790 AM The Zone (David Hubbard: play-by-play, Chuck Oliver: color analyst). WPLO 610 AM RadioMex (Jose Medellin: play-by-play, Marcelo Godoy: color analyst).
Coaches: Marty Lowe- Georgia (11-9, 2nd Year).
Mike Hold- Carolina (0-11, 1st Year)
Series Record: Georgia leads the series 2-1
@ Georgia 54, Carolina 55 (4/26/02)
Georgia 53, @ Carolina 42 (6/14/03)
@ Georgia 45, Carolina 37 (3/15/03)
THE GAME:
The Georgia Force heads back out on the road for its fourth away game in its last five when it travels to the Charlotte Coliseum to face the Carolina Cobras on Friday, April 18th at 7:30 p.m. The Force will be looking to snap its current three-game losing streak, it longest of the season, and win its club-high seventh game. Georgia captured the first meeting between the two teams this season in a 45-37 victory on March 15th in the first battle of I-85.
Rookie quarterback Leon Murray will be making his second career start with hopes of improving the Force's offensive out-put as Georgia was held to a team-low 27 points last week against New York. The Force was only able to convert four of its 11 drives in the game into points.
Carolina is still seeking its first victory of the season as the Cobras are riding a club-high 11-game losing streak. Last week, Carolina had one of its strongest showings of the year pushing Southern Division leader Tampa Bay to overtime before falling 45-38.
GEORGIA FORCE NEXT WEEK:
The Force plays host to the Orlando Predators on Saturday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m. in the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Georgia is 3-0 all-time against Orlando and earlier in the season captured a 38-36 victory with a 30-yard field goal by Steve McLaughlin as time expired.
CONNECTIONS:
Force defensive specialist Kevin Gaines led the Cobras in tackles and interceptions in 2002...Georgia lineman Marcus Keyes played in 13 games for Carolina in 2002...Force lineman Juan Porter appeared in seven games for the Cobras last season...Georgia lineman Tony Henderson played in 10 games for Carolina in 2002...Force Assistant Line/ Special Teams Coach Brennen Booth served as the Cobras Line Coach last season...Georgia's Chief Operating Officer Brett Bender served as Carolina's General Manger from 2000-2002, where he was named 2001 AFL Executive of the Year...Cobras lineman Ben Crosland played in 14 games for the Force in 2002...Carolina Senior Advisor Billy McGehee served in the same capacity for Georgia last season.
HEAD COACHES:
MARTY LOWE, Georgia (11-9, 2nd Year): Marty Lowe begins his second season as Head Coach of the Georgia Force. Lowe guided the Force to a second place finish in the Southern Division and a 6-8 record in the team's inaugural season in 2002. He replaced Robert Lyles, who was relieved of his duties following the Force's 1-4 last year. Under his direction, the Force finished the year winning five of their last eight games.
Prior to joining the Force, Lowe served as running back coach for the University of Texas-El Paso. Lowe's coaching career in the Arena Football League started when he joined the Nashville Kats as an offensive assistant in March 2000 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. With the Kats, Lowe had Nashville's offense clicking on all cylinders in the 2000 playoffs, scoring more than 50 points in each of the team's first three post-season contests to quality for Arena Bowl XIV. Lowe went on to serve as the Kats offensive coordinator and assistant coach, where his duties included creating and implementing the offensive game plan and coaching the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Lowe, who played quarterback at the University of Louisville from 1991-95, spent two seasons in the Arena Football League. He played quarterback for the St. Louis Stampede in 1996 and joined the Texas Terrors. He was a starter at Texas until a knee injury ended his playing career.
In college, he started 22 consecutive games for the Cardinals, passing for 2,268 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 1995. He is one of only four passers in Louisville history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Lowe joined the Louisville coaching staff in 1997, breaking down practice and game tape. A native of Chattanooga, Lowe was Mr. Football in Tennessee as a senior at Red Bank High School in 1990.
MIKE HOLD, Carolina (0-11, 1st Year): After two seasons as head coach of the af2 Augusta Stallions, Hold is making his AFL coaching debut with the Cobras in 2003. He led the Stallions to a combined 22-10 record in his two years. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Hold spent 12 seasons as an AFL quarterback. He saw action for eight teams during his tenure and was the last remaining active player from the league's first season when he retired in 2000. Hold had training camp stints with the Denver Broncos (1986) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987, 88). He appeared in three games for Tampa Bay during the NFL strike in 1987. A 1985 graduate of the University of South Carolina, Hold led the Gamecocks to the school's only 10-win season in 1984 and earned MVP honors of the Gator Bowl. Despite playing only two seasons, he ranks seventh on the school's all-time passing yards list with 2,981 yards.
BASKING IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Georgia is 5-1 on the season when the NBC cameras are rolling. Claiming victories against the Colorado Crush (2/2), vs. the defending AFL World Champion San Jose SaberCats (2/16), at Los Angeles (3/2), vs. Grand Rapids (3/9) and at Orlando (3/23). The Force dropped its only NBC televised game at Tampa Bay (4/6). Georgia has two remaining games scheduled to be shown regionally on NBC this season.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON:
The Force finished the season a perfect 3-0 versus teams from the Western Division. With wins against Colorado, San Jose and Los Angeles, Georgia reversed its fortunes after going 0-3 against the West last season. The Force is not scheduled to play Arizona in the 2003 regular season.
BEASTS OF THE EAST:
Four of Georgia's five losses this season has come from teams hailing from the Eastern Division. With road losses at Detroit and Las Vegas and home losses against Buffalo and New York, the Force finished the regular season 0-4 versus the Eastern Division.
SPEADING THE WEALTH:
The Force leads all teams in lineman receptions with 15. Georgia OL/DL Oscar Sturgis leads all AFL linemen in receptions this season with six for 76 yards. Bruce McClure and Kendrick Gholston have three receptions each, while Kerwin Hairston has two catches on the season and Tony Henderson has one.
A DEFENSIVE FORCE:
For the ninth straight week, the Force sits atop the league charts for total defense. Only giving up an average of 225.8 yards per game and ranks second in the AFL in scoring defense yielding an average of 44.5 points per game.
Georgia is also high among some of the other league defensive categories. The Force is first in pass defense (210.6), third in pass defense rating (101.9), fourth in sacks (13), fifth in rush defense (15.2), fifth in interceptions (14) and seventh in red zone defense (35-44).
The Force defense has been able to make its mark against five of the AFL's highest rated offenses. (AFL rank at time of game).
OPPONENT AVG PTS/ GM PTS vs. FORCE
San Jose 60.5 (3rd) 49
Los Angeles 62.5 (2nd) 35
Grand Rapids 60.2 (2nd) 54
Orlando 53.0 (7th) 36
New York 55.4 (5th) 34
BETTER WITH AGE:
Wide Receiver/ Linebacker Darryl Hammond seems to defy time as he plays in his 13th season in the AFL breaking the league record for career years of service. (Previous mark 12 years- Sylvester Bembery 1988-2000 and George LaFrance 1988-2000).
He currently ranks second in the AFL with 552.5 career tackles, ranks in the top 15 in AFL in career scoring with 844 points and is in the top 10 in AFL in career pass receptions with 643. Hammond has had 8 seasons of 50 or more pass receptions. He has 54 receptions this season.
Against San Jose (2/26/03), Hammond caught six passes for 58 yards, three of which went for touchdowns including a game-winning catch from quarterback James Brown as time expired to give the Force a 51-49 victory over the defending AFL World Champions.
Versus Orlando (3/23/03), Hammond showed his ability to still play the game at a high level. Hammond hauled in two interceptions and returned both for touchdowns of three yards and ten yards respectively. He also forced a fumble from Connell Maynor with 17 seconds remaining in the game, which was recovered by Tommy Dorsey. The turnover led to Steve McLaughlin kicking a game winning field goal with 1.7 seconds left as time expired. Hammond added one solo tackle, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups and caught five passes for 46 yards against the Predators.
For his efforts, Hammond was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week and the contest's Ironman of the Game.
STEPPING UP AND STANDING OUT:
In victories over Los Angeles and Grand Rapids, Markeith Cooper stepped in for the injured Tyronne Jones and was one of the most productive and dangerous offensive players in the league. Against the Avengers and Rampage, Cooper has hauled in 17 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. He has also added nine kickoff returns for 176 yards, including a 57-yard score that tied the team record for longest kickoff return.
After seeing limited or no action over the next four games, Cooper returned to show his big play capabilities vs. New York catching five passes for 98 yards, including a 42-yard pass and one 30-yard touchdown reception.
RETURNING TO OLD FORM:
Donnie Davis has regained the form that propelled him to the AFL's second highest rated passer and fourth ranked QB in completion percentage in 2002.
Over the last six games Davis has played, he has thrown for 1,388 yards on 131-of-201 passing with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions.
In his first three games this season appearing as the starting quarterback, Davis had thrown seven interceptions to just nine touchdowns. Davis missed the Force's game verses San Jose due to a dislocated finger on his left hand.
Last season, Davis only threw eight INTs all year in 10 games (nine as a starter) while racking up 45 TDs.
Davis has also been playing through injuries this season. Besides the dislocated finger on his left hand, he has a fracture in his throwing right hand and took a hit at Orlando that required stitches in his chin. Two weeks ago, Davis suffered a concussion in the third quarter of the Force's game at Tampa Bay. The injury happened when he was intercepted by Storm lineman BJ Cohen, who returned the pick 15-yards for a touchdown. In an effort to make a tackle on the play, Davis was knocked unconscious and was carried off the field on a stretcher. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital for further evaluation where CAT Scan results came back negative. Davis was placed on Injured Reserve on April 9th.
GO TO GUY:
Playing in his third AFL season, Scott Thomas is establishing himself as a mainstay in the Force offense. Over a five game span from Feb. 22nd from March 29th, Thomas has caught 26 passes for 377 yards and seven touchdowns. He was inactive for the Force's March 23rd game at Orlando with turf toe.
He has also shown his ability to make the big play. Versus Buffalo (2/22), Thomas pulled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Donnie Davis that tied the club record for longest pass reception in a game. Two weeks later vs. Grand Rapids (3/9), he took a Davis screen pass 43 yards for a score. Last week at Las Vegas, Thomas scored his second 45-yard touchdown on a pass from Davis tying his own team record.
Thomas is currently tied for eighth in the AFL in yards per catch with a 14.7 average having gained 485 yards on 33 receptions on the season with seven touchdowns.
He has been inactive three of the last four weeks with a turf toe injury.
JUST FOR KICKS: Steve McLaughlin currently ranks second in the league in field goal percentage connecting on 47.6 percent of his attempts. He is also fourth in the AFL in field goals made connecting on 10-21.
This season, McLaughlin has twice set the team-record for the club's longest field goal hitting on a 49-yarder at Los Angeles (3/2) than making good on a 51-yard field goal at Las Vegas (3/29). In a win over Orlando (3/23), he kicked a game winning 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Force a 38-36 win over the Predators.
McLaughlin ranks fifth in the AFL in PAT kicking percentage-making 86.5 of his PAT attempts (45-52). He started the season making 18-of-18 PAT attempts before missing his first of the season at Los Angeles (3/2).
McLaughlin was named Kicker of the Month for March. It marked the first time in McLaughlin's career that he has won an AFL monthly award. For the month, McLaughlin made 7-of-11 field goals and was 21-of-27 on extra point attempts. He accounted for 42 points in helping the Force to a 4-1 record in March.
DAN THE MAN:
Dan Curran currently ranks fifth in the AFL in rushing with 110 yards on 31 carries. He is also fifth in the league in rushing touchdowns with eight scores. Curran had led the league in both categories, but with the return of both Travis Reece and Tommy Dorsey to the lineup his touches have been limited.
LAST WEEK VS. NEW YORK:
DULTUH, GA. - The Georgia Force (6-5) dropped its third straight game falling 34-27 at home to the New York Dragons (4-7). Aaron Garcia completed 21-of-36 passing for 200 yards and four touchdowns adding one rushing score to lead New York to its fourth win in its last five games. The Dragons were able to capture the victory despite being held to a season-low in points. With the loss, the Force finished the regular season 0-4 against teams hailing from the Eastern Division.
The first quarter ended with New York holding onto a small edge and a 7-0 lead. The Dragons took their opening drive six plays down the field ending with Aaron Garcia finding his favorite target in Mike Furrey for a seven-yard touchdown pass. The Force, under rookie quarterback Leon Murray making his first career start, could not answer the Dragons' score. Facing fourth down, Murray fumbled the exchange from under center and New York took over possession on downs. Georgia defense stepped up to the challenge holding the Dragons on a goal line stand at the Force three-yard line.
Looking to create some momentum of its own and tie the score, the Force were faced with another fourth down situation this time at the New York one-yard line as the second quarter began. Murray scrambled around the right side of the line but was stopped short half a foot short as the Dragons took over again off of a Georgia turnover on downs. New York's high-powered offense struck once more as Garcia and Furrey combined for a 20-yard touchdown. Dragons' kicker Mike Moser missed the ensuing PAT leaving the score 13-0 New York. The Force put its first points on the board on its next drive when Murray found Markeith Cooper for a 30-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 13-7. New York increased its lead back to 13 points when William Holder hauled in a three-yard pass from Garcia. The next series for both teams were very important and both involved key plays by Bret Cooper. Georgia worked its way down inside the New York red-zone and on second down, Murray hit a streaking Bret Cooper across the middle. As Cooper worked his way to the endzone, he fumbled the ball, which was recovered by New York with less than one minutes remaining in the half. The Dragons, looking to capitalize on the turnover, drove down to the Force three-yard line. Bret Cooper then turned in his second key play of the quarter intercepting a Garcia pass in the endzone and returning it 50-yards for a Georgia touchdown leaving 14 seconds showing on the clock. The 50-yard INT return was the longest in team history breaking the previous mark of 42-yards by Cliff Green set on June 23, 2002. Moser missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired as New York took a 20-14 lead to the break.
Georgia began the second half with the ball but could not come up with any points as Steve McLaughlin's 62-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Four plays later, Garcia hit Chris Anthony for a 16-yard touchdown to build the Dragon lead to 27-14. The Force could not get anything going on its next possession as Georgia once again gave the ball back to New York off a turnover on downs. Moser missed his second field goal of the game, this time from 33-yards out as New York still held to a 13-point lead. Travis Reece rushed in from one-yard out as the third quarter ended to bring the score to 27-20 Dragons. The Force was unsuccessful in its two-point conversion attempt as both teams headed for the final stanza.
Moser missed his third consecutive field goal to start the fourth giving Georgia an opportunity to get back into the game. Murray led his troops on a nine play drive capped out by a six-yard touchdown reception by Darryl Hammond on fourth and goal as the Force tied the score at 27 a piece with 5:23 remaining in the contest. Garcia accounted for his fifth touchdown of the game, this time on a five-yard run to put the Dragons up 34-27 with less then two minutes left in the game. Murray made one more attempt to bring his team back but a final desperation pass off the nets fell incomplete as New York hung on for the win.
Garcia was named to Game's MVP and was Hammond named the contest's Iroman.
LAST MEETING WITH CAROLINA:
DULUTH, GA. (3/15/03) - The Georgia Force (5-2) won back-to-back home games for the first time in team history as it held on to hand the Carolina Cobras (0-7) their seventh straight loss of the season. With the victory, second-year Head Coach Marty Lowe captured his 10th career AFL coaching win. The league leader in rushing touchdowns, Dan Curran, added two more while gaining 18 yards on three carries in winning Game MVP honors.
After scoring a club-record 70 points the week before versus Grand Rapids, the Force picked up right where it left off jumping to an early 20-0 lead on the visiting Cobras. Georgia took its opening possession 45 yards on two completed passes and two runs into the endzone capped by a four-yard run by Curran. On its first possession, Carolina attempted a 40-yard field goal, which missed wide left. Jarrick Hillery then returned the missed attempt 54-yards for a touchdown. The Cobras' fumbled on their next drive giving the Force the ball back. Donnie Davis capitalized on the turnover finding Scott Thomas for a seven-yard touchdown. Bernard Holmes broke the Carolina draught when he returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards for the score. Carolina kicker, Matt George, entered the game a perfect 17-for-17, but missed is first PAT attempt of the game leaving the score 20-6 after one quarter.
Carolina made good on the Force's first turnover of the game, when after Davis fumbled, quarterback Robert Hall ran in from three yards outs to cut the score to 20-12. Georgia responded as Curran ran in from six-yards out to increase the Force lead back to 15 at 27-12, but to would not last long. It only took Carolina one play to get back the seven points as Hall connected with Holmes for a 27-yard touchdown. Georgia would tack on its third rushing score of the half when Travis Reece, returning from an abdominal injury that kept him out the last two weeks, rumbled in from two yards out giving the Force a 34-19 advantage. With 20 seconds left in the half, George added a 30-yard field goal as the Force took a 34-22 lead into the break.
The third quarter began the same way the second quarter ended. George connected on his second field goal of the game from 21 yards out bringing the deficit to nine points at 34-25. On the Force's next possession, Davis led the team inside Carolina 20-yardline. On a fourth down and two, Davis over-threw Tyronne Jones turning the ball over to the Cobras on downs. Carolina would get the score to its closest margin of the game at three points when Hall hit Nick Ward for an 11-yard touchdown cutting the score to 34-31 Georgia as the third quarter ended. The Force offense would be held scoreless during the third stanza.
Steve McLaughlin would break the Force's second half scoring troubles with a 27-yard field goal to give Georgia a six-point advantage. On Carolina's next possession, they drove down the field to the Georgia nine-yard line. Attempting a 24-yard field goal, George missed wide right and the Force took over the ball on its own two yardline.
The next series for the Force was the game's turning point. On first and ten from the Carolina 21-yardline, Davis was intercepted by Tramain Jones. As Jones worked his way across the field, he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Georgia's Kendrick Gholston. Davis not wasting any time correcting his mistake threw a strike to Hammond in the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown. Davis and Hammond would also team-up to add a two-point conversion giving Georgia a 45-31 lead with 2:39 remaining in the game. Holmes would add his third touchdown of the game on a nine-yard pass from Hall leaving the score 45-37 Force. Carolina attempted an on-side kick, which was recovered by Hammond as the Force held on for the win. Hammond was named the contest's Iroman.
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