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Georgia Force game notes

April 5, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Georgia Force News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Georgia Force (7-3) vs. Austin Wranglers (4-6)

Date: April 8, 2005
Kickoff: 7:30 pm ET
Site: Philips Arena (18,200)
Television: FSN (Eli Gold: play-by-play, Charles Davis: analyst, Beau Estes: sidelines).
Radio: WQXI 790 AM The Zone (David Hubbard: play-by-play, Chuck Oliver: analyst).
Coaches: Doug Plank, Georgia (7-3, 1st Year).
Skip Foster, Austin (12-14, 2nd Year).
Series Record: Georgia leads the series 2-1
Georgia 26, @ Austin 42 (4/11/04)
@ Georgia 51, Austin 34 (5/23/04)
Georgia 66, @ Austin 63 (2/25/05)

THE SCHEDULE:

GEORGIA FORCE (7-3)

Date OPPONENT RESULT SCORE
Jan. 30 NEW ORLEANS W 46-44
Feb. 4 @ Los Angeles L 41-46
Feb. 12 ARIZONA W 61-47
Feb. 20 @ Las Vegas W 38-13
Feb. 25 @ Austin W 66-63
March 6 COLUMBUS W 55-48
March 12 @ New York L 51-53
March 19 ORLANDO W 49-47
March 26 @ New Orleans W 43-40
April 2 @ Tampa Bay L 38-48
April 8 AUSTIN
April 15 GRAND RAPIDS
April 22 @ Orlando
BYE WEEK
May 8 TAMPA BAY
May 14 DALLAS
May 21 @ San Jose

THE GAME:

The Georgia Force return home to host the Austin Wranglers on Friday, April 8th at 7:30 pm in Philips Arena. This will be the Force's first Friday night home game of the season and the first of a back-to-back Friday night home stand with Grand Rapids coming next week.

Georgia has found a lot of comfort in the confines of Philips Arena since returning to the venue following a two-year absence. The Force are a perfect 4-0 this season at home and are riding a team-record six game home winning streak dating back to last season. The club has also set four consecutive new home attendance records this year.

Despite falling to Tampa Bay last week, the Force remain atop the Southern Division with a 7-3 record (4-1 in the division). The match-up with Austin with be Georgia's fourth straight division game.

Earlier this season, Georgia defeated the Wranglers 66-63 when Force kicker Nelson Garner connected on a 49-yard field goal as time expired.

Friday's game with also be the debut of the Georgia's newest addition- Chris Jackson. Jackson was acquired by the Force hours before the AFL's trade deadline on March 30th from Grand Rapids in exchange for Dialleo Burks and future considerations. Since his arrival to Arena Football five seasons ago, Jackson has caught more passes, gained more receiving yards and scored more touchdowns or points than any other player in the AFL.

THE OPPONENT:

The Austin Wranglers enter into their match-up with Georgia coming off their biggest and first Southern Division win of the season, a one-point victory over the New Orleans VooDoo 56-55. In that game, Austin WR/LB Darrin Chiaverini caught 12 passes for 96 yards and a game-high three touchdowns.
In three career games against the Force, Chiaverini has racked up impressive numbers of 22 receptions, 256 yards and six touchdowns.


GEORGIA FORCE NEXT WEEK:

The Force host their first back-to-back home games of the season when the Grand Rapids Rampage visit Philips Arena on Friday, April 15th at 7:30 p.m. ET. The all-time series between the Force and Rampage is tied 1-1 with Georgia taking a 55-40 win last season.


THE FORCE THIS SEASON ARE:

4-0 at home
3-3 on the road

0-0 vs. Central Division
1-1 vs. Eastern Division
4-1 vs. Southern Division
2-1 vs. Western Division

1-1 on Fridays
3-2 on Saturday
3-0 on Sundays

1-0 in January
3-1 in February
3-1 in March
0-1 in April
0-0 in May

3-3 in televised games

7-1 when leading at the half
0-0 when tied at the half
0-2 when trailing at the half

7-0 when leading after 3 quarters
0-1 when tied after 3 quarters
0-2 when trailing after 3 quarters

1-0 outcome 7 points or less
4-2 outcome 3 points or less
0-0 overtime games

4-1 when the Force scores first
3-2 when opponent scores first

3-2 when the Force win the coin toss
4-1 when opponent wins the coin toss


STATISTICS:

A look how Georgia and Austin match-up on both sides of the ball based on 2005 regular season statistics:

Statistical GEORGIA AUSTIN
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 9th 48.8 13th 47.1
Scoring Defense 2nd 44.9 16th 56.5
Total Offense (yds/g) 8th 284.7 6th 294.4
Total Defense (yds/g) 12th 299.1 17th 330.4
Pass Offense 7th 267.4 5th 277.0
Pass Defense 14th 282.5 17th 301.0
Rushing Offense 10th 17.3 9th 17.4
Rushing Defense 6th 16.6 16th 29.4
Pass Rating 7th 113.4 11th 104.3
Pass Def. Rating 10th 107.6 15th 121.2
Kickoff Returns 10th 16.8 8th 17.0
MFG Returns 13th 10.7 3rd 27.0
Interceptions (int-yds) 12th 10-79 4th 12-88
Turnover Margin 11th -2 12th -3
Field Goals 3rd 7-11 13th 5-17
PAT Kicking 8th 57-65 9th 48-56
Sacks By (sks-yds) 7th 10-53 11th 7-42
Sacks Against (sks-yds) 6th 6-44 4th 4-33
First Downs 5th 203 2nd 218
Opp. First Downs 15th 215 16th 218
Penalties (yds/gm) 16th 65.4 13th 58.7
Opp. Penalties (yds/gm) 1st 73.6 6th 55.1
Red Zone Offense 17th 28-41 14th 41-57
Red Zone Defense 5th 38-50 15th 32-37
Time of Possession 14th 28:27 7th 30:40


CONNECTIONS:

Georgia offensive coordinator Steve Thonn and Austin defensive coordinator Jon Norris were on the same coaching staff with the Dallas Desperados from 2003-2004...Wranglers QB Scott Dreisbach was in training camp with the Force in 2004 and QB Michael Wall was in camp Georgia in 2005...WR/LB Darrin Chiaverini appeared in 7 games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2002.


THINGS TO WATCH:

CLOSE SITUATIONS:

This season, the Force have shown a toughness for winning the close game. Of their seven wins on the year, five of those contests have been decided by 7 points or less and four have been by 3 points or less.

DATE OPPONENT RESULT SCORE
1/30 vs. New Orleans W 46-44
2/25 at Austin W 66-63
3/6 vs. Columbus W 55-48
3/19 vs. Orlando W 49-47
3/26 at New Orleans W 43-40


THUNDER AND LIGHTING:

Georgia's rookie tandem of WR/LB Derek Lee and OS Troy Bergeron have been tearing up the AFL. "Thunder and Lightning" lead the League with a combined 45 touchdown receptions. The following is the top five duos in touchdown receptions:

TOP FIVE TOUCHDOWN DUOS

PLAYERS TEAM TDS
1. Derek Lee & Troy Bergeron Georgia 45
2. Steve Smith & Sean Scott Philly 37
3. Siaha Burley & Randy Gatewood Arizona 36
4. Aaron Bailey & Thabiti Davis N. Orleans 35
5. Aaron Bailey & Jacques Rumph N. Orleans 32


RED ZONE TOUGHNESS:

Georgia is currently ranked 2nd in the AFL in points allowed per game (44.9) and 5th in red zone defense only allowing opponents to score on just 38-of-50 tries on the season inside in the 10 yard line.


FLAG ON THE PLAY:

The Force and Las Vegas Gladiators combined for 34 penalties in their game on February 20th to set a new AFL record. The previous mark for most penalties in a contest was 21, which had been done twice (once by the Georgia on 4/20/02 vs. Orlando). That next week, Georgia and Austin combined for 30 penalties in their game on February 25th for the second most penalties in League history.

Currently, the Force are the second most penalized team in the League averaging 65.4 yards per game in penalties while Georgia opponents are ranked first in the AFL in most penalty yards per game with a 73.6 average.


HOME COOKING:

For the first time in the team's four-year history, Georgia has started a season 4-0 at home. Currently, the Force are riding a team-record six-game winning streak at home dating back to last season.

Georgia has never finished the season with a winning home record.

YEAR RECORD VENUE
2002 3-4 Philips Arena
2003 3-5 Arena at Gwinnett Center
2004 3-5 Arena at Gwinnett Center
2005 4-0 Philips Arena


MAKING A HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE:

The Force have established a new record for home attendance in each of their first four home games this season.

DATE OPPONENT ATTENDANCE
March 19 Orlando 14,226
March 6 Columbus 14,104
Feb. 12 Arizona 13,297
Jan. 30 New Orleans 11,328

Before this season, the previous record for a Force home crowd was 11,200, which happened twice with home opener sell-outs at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in 2003 and 2004.


AND THE AWARD GOES TO:

The Force have been recognized for some of their achievements this season, both as a team and as players by being honored with the following awards:

AFL Rookie of the Month (February)
OS Troy Bergeron

AFL Defensive Player of the Week
DS Kevin Gaines- Week 3

AFLWA Top 8 Team Poll
# 1 ranking- Week 9
# 1 ranking- Week 10

AFLWA Player of the Week
WR/LB Derek Lee- Week 7



ACTION JACKSON- BY THE NUMBERS:

It is pretty amazing to look how much Chris Jackson has done in just five seasons. Here is a look at what he has done in his 71 career AFL games.

69 games with at least one TD
68 games with at least one receiving TD
48 games with at least 2 TDs
29 games with at least 3 receiving TDs
15 games with at least 4 receiving TDs
6 games with at least 5 receiving TDs
2 games with at least 6 receiving TDs
1 game with at least 7 receiving TDs
36 100-yard receiving games
17 games with 10+ receptions

* Only player to win the AFL Rookie of the Year, then later capture AFL Offensive Player of the Year.

* 8th all-time in AFL history in receiving touchdowns.

* 11th all-time in AFL history in scoring.

* 1,200+ yards in 4 of 5 seasons.


AMONG THE BEST:

Here is a break-down on where some of the Georgia Force players rank in the AFL in various categories:


PLAYER CATEGORY AFL RANK


OS- Troy Bergeron
Scoring 4th
All-Purpose Yards 2nd
Receptions 7th
Receiving Yards 4th
Receiving TDs 4th
Kickoff Returns 3rd
KO Return Yards 3rd
MFG Return 10th

DS- Kevin Gaines
Interceptions T-1st
Tackles 2nd

DS- Willie Gary
Tackles 8th

K- Nelson Garner
Scoring (Kickers) 6th
Field Goal % 3rd
PAT % 10th

WR/LB Chris Jackson
All-Purpose Yards 10th
MFG Returns 3rd
MFG Return Yards 4th

WR/LB- Derek Lee
Receptions 6th
Receiving Yards 8th
Receiving TDs 6th

QB- Matt Nagy
Pass Yards per Catch 10th
Pass Yards per Att. 8th

OL/DL- Jermaine Smith
Sacks 7th

OL/DL- Gillis Wilson
Sacks T-13th


HEAD COACHES:

DOUG PLANK, Georgia (7-3, 1st Year): On July 30, 2004, Doug Plank was announced as the new head coach of the Georgia Force becoming the fourth head coach in the team's history. Plank comes to the Force having served as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers from 2002-2004, which included three consecutive ArenaBowl championship game births.

Following a 3-5 start in 2004, the Rattlers turned their season around to finish with a league-tying best 11-5 record and secure the top seed in the AFL playoffs. In 2002, Plank helped guide the Rattlers defense to a number one regular season ranking in rushing defense and scoring defense. In his three years with the Rattlers, he coached four First Team All-Arena selections, two Second Team All-Arena players and four All-Ironman Team choices, including 2003 AFL Ironman of the Year Randy Gatewood.

A former member of The Ohio State University football team, Plank played in three consecutive Rose Bowls, 1973, 1974, and 1975. While at Ohio State, he played for legendary coach Woody Hayes.

Plank brings with him a wealth of football experience that includes an impressive career in the NFL. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 12th round of the 1975 NFL Entry Draft and started at safety for eight seasons. The "46 Defense" created by Buddy Ryan was named for Plank's jersey number and aggressive style of play. Plank was also the first Bears rookie to ever lead the team in tackles.

Following his playing career, Plank became a franchisee for the Burger King Corporation owning and operating 17 restaurants in three different states.


Plank's professional history also includes experience as a member of the Rattlers broadcast team. Prior to becoming defensive coordinator, he spent five years as the Rattlers' radio analyst and two seasons as their television color analyst.

His broadcasting experience also includes stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State University Football, Fox Sports Net, Westwood One and Sports USA Radio Network.


SKIP FOSTER, Austin (12-14, 2nd Year): Head Coach Skip Foster is entering his second AFL season with the Austin Wranglers. Foster, deemed the second most winning coach in arenafootball2 history with a 44-10 record including an ArenaCup Championship, will again act as the Wranglers offensive coordinator in addition to carrying the head coaching duties. He finished the team's 2004 debut season with an 8-8 record.

Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2-Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster lead the team to a 13-3 regular season record. During his three years with Tulsa, Foster made history when he led his team to the National Conference Central Division Championship for two straight seasons. Foster was the only af2 coach to go undefeated at home over three consecutive regular seasons.

Foster compiled a record of 82-39-2 at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before moving to arena football. Foster coached the Red Ravens to six conference championships during his 12 seasons as the head coach. In 1990, Foster led Coffeyville to a national championship and an undefeated season. He was selected as Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year in both 1990 and 1991.

After serving as an assistant to his father, Dick Foster, for four seasons at Coffeyville, Skip took over the head coaching duties where Dick won a national championship in 1983. They are the only father/son pair in the National Junior College Athletic Association to win a national championship at the same school. Skip played football for his father from 1979-1980 at Coffeyville.

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET:

AUSTIN, TX – Nelson Garner's 49-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Georgia Force to a 66-63 victory over the Austin Wranglers. With the win Georgia takes their record to a league tying best 4-1 and the best start in team history. Force QB Matt Nagy, who stepped in for injured started Jim Kubiak following a knee injury suffered in the second quarter, finished the game with seven touchdowns and 257 yards passing on 19-of-25 throws.

The late dramatics were set-up by touchdown drives by both teams with under a minute remaining in the game. Georgia WR/LB Derek Lee scored his career-high fifth touchdown of the game on a nine-yard reception with 45 seconds on the clock. Austin countered with a four-yard scoring rush by Henry Bryant with 11 seconds left showing. Force QB Matt Nagy was able to run two plays to move the ball up to the Force 17-yard line setting the stage for Garner.

The first half was dominated by the offenses with both teams scoring on all their possessions, as the Force took a 33-28 lead into the break. For Georgia, rookies OS Troy Bergeron and Lee each had two receiving touchdowns with FB/LB Chris Demaree rushing in from one-yard out for the Force's first score of the contest. Austin's offensive charge was led by WR/DB Kevin Nickerson, who caught two touchdowns of 45 and three-yards respectively.

Both teams traded scores in the third quarter with Nagy connecting with Lee and Bergeron, while Austin combated with an eight-yard pass from QB John Fitzgerald to WR/LB Darrin Chiaverini and a five-yard touchdown rush from Nickerson.

FORCE LAST WEEK:

TAMPA, FL – The Tampa Bay Storm (5-4) handed the Georgia Force (7-3) their first Southern Division loss of the season with a 48-38 victory. The Storm defense held the Force to just seven second half points and created five turnovers (three fumbles, one interception and one turnover on downs) to stay a perfect 5-0 at home on the year.

Storm QB Shane Stafford, who won the contest's Offensive Player of the Game, threw for 319 yards on 24-of-36 passing with five touchdowns and one interception. Georgia was led by WR/LB Derek Lee, who finished with a game-high 12 receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown.

The first half saw six lead changes and one tie as the Storm took a 38-31 advantage into the halftime break. Force QB Matt Nagy found WR/DB Luke Leverson for a 22-yard touchdown with 1:02 remaining in the second quarter to give Georgia a 28-24 lead, when the flurry of activity began. On the ensuing kickoff, the Force attempted on on-side kick which the Storm safety recovered and two plays later scored on an OS Freddie Solomon touchdown reception. Tampa Bay then attempted an on-side kick, which was recovered by Storm DS Lynaris Elpheage. Elpheage would complete the possession two plays later with a 30-yard touchdown reception and a 38-28 lead. Georgia closed gap to seven points before the half as K Nelson Garner connected on a 40-yard field goal as time expired.

The third quarter saw no scoring by either team as Tampa Bay held their seven point lead 38-31. Both teams turned the ball over on each of their two possessions in the period. The Storm pushed their lead to 17 points on a WR/DB Cliff Dell six-yard touchdown catch and a 22-yard field goal by K Matt George. Georgia was able to get their only score of the second half with 41 seconds remaining when OS Troy Bergeron hauled in a three-yard touchdown pass.

WEEKLY GAME AWARD WINNERS:



Offensive Player of the Game


WK TEAM PLAYER
1 GA Troy Bergeron
2 LA Remy Hamilton
3 GA Troy Bergeron
4 GA Jim Kubiak
5 GA Matt Nagy
6 GA Troy Bergeron
7 GA Derek Lee
8 GA Derek Lee
9 GA Troy Bergeron
10 TB Shane Stafford
11
12
13
14
15
16


ADT Defensive Player of the Game

WK TEAM PLAYER
1 GA Dialleo Burks
2 LA Antuan Simmons
3 GA Gillis Wilson
4 GA Kevin Gaines
5 GA Kevin Gaines
6 GA Gillis Wilson
7 NY Chris Angel
8 GA Kevin Gaines
9 GA Kevin Gaines
10 TB Mike Sutton
11
12
13
14
15
16


U.S. Army Ironman of the Game

WK TEAM PLAYER
1 GA Robert Thomas
2 LA Brian Sump
3 GA Ricky Parker
4 GA Derek Lee
5 GA Troy Bergeron
6 GA Chris Demaree
7 NY Corey Johnson
8 GA Ricky Parker
9 GA Derek Lee
10 TB Lynarise Elpheage
11
12
13
14
15
16


AFL WEEK 11 SCHEDULE (all times are EST):


Friday, April 8
Austin at Georgia, 7:30 pm
Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 pm
Columbus at Arizona, 10 pm
Grand Rapids at Las Vegas, 10 pm

BYE: New Orleans

Saturday, April 9
Orlando at Tampa Bay, 7:30 pm


Sunday, April 3
San Jose at Chicago, 1 pm
Philadelphia at Colorado, 1 pm
New York at Los Angeles, 3 pm


AFL ON TV (all times are EST):


Friday, April 8 Sunday, April 10
Austin at Georgia, 7:30 pm San Jose at Chicago, 1 pm
Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 pm Philadelphia at Colorado, 1 pm
Columbus at Arizona, 10 pm
Grand Rapids at Las Vegas, 10 pm

Saturday, April 9
Orlando at Tampa Bay, 7:30 pm

Sunday, April 10
New York at Los Angeles, 3 pm



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 5, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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