Goodman, Hawkins and Newson Headline Returners for 2007

October 4, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Lightning of the arenafootball2 league announced WR/LB Phil Goodman, FB/LB Lyndell Hawkins, OL David Lose, OL/DL Stephen Bell, and WR/LB James Newson are scheduled to be assigned to the Lightning, pending approval from the af2 league office.

The five core players from the Lightning in 2006 are scheduled to be introduced to the media with Head Coach Doug Murray and sign their arenafootball2 contracts at Pietro's Restaurant in Lodi on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PT. The dinner event, open to the media, will begin at 6:00 p.m. PT.

TOP RECEIVER, VALLEJO NATIVE PHIL GOODMAN RETURNS

Goodman, 23, is slated to return to Stockton for his second professional football season after posting impressive numbers as the Lightning's main receiving threat, tallying a team-leading 91 catches for 1,227 receiving yards and a Lightning-best 30 touchdown receptions, averaging 81.8 yards per game as an af2 rookie in 2006.

The Vallejo, California native attended school and played college football for two seasons at NCAA-member Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.), appearing in 23 games while leading the Owls with 677 receiving yards in 2004 and 61.5 yards per game, with five touchdown receptions. As a 2003 junior, Goodman ranked eighth in the Big East Conference with 678 receiving yards.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound WR/LB spent two seasons (2001-02) at local Sacramento City College, where he captured All-Region I and All Northern California First Team Honors, and was ranked No. 19 JUCO overall and No. 3 among all wide receivers by Rivals.com.

STOCKTON-LOCAL JAMES NEWSON BACK FOR SECOND af2 SEASON

Newson, a local Stockton product of Edison High, is slated to return for his second af2 season after starting the 2006 season on the inaugural Lightning roster. The 26-year old Stockton native appeared in 11 games for Stockton last year, registering 15 catches for 123 receiving yards and 7 touchdown catches. Newson saved his best for the last game of the season, posting five catches for 46 receiving yards and a game-high four touchdown receptions against Central Valley on July 29.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound WR/LB has been signed to two National Football League contracts by the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, and was allocated to NFL Europe for the Cologne Centurions in 2005. Newson enjoyed a decorated four-year college career at Oregon State University (NCAA), finishing as the program's all-time leader in career pass receptions (213), receiving yards (3,572), single-season receiving yards (1,306), single-season touchdown receptions (12), and career touchdown receptions (20) at the time of his exit.

Newson was a 2003 All-Pac-10 first-team honoree, following his highlight game as a 2002 junior where he posted 11 catches for 168 yards and one touchdown in a 45-24 Oregon State win over Oregon and helped guide the Beavers to a 41-9 Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame as a 2000 freshman.

Before establishing his list of accomplishments at Oregon State, Newson starred at Edison High, where he garnered first-team All-San Joaquin Athletic Association honors and an MVP award of the SJAA league, adding first-team San Joaquin All-Area honors while being named the MVP of the Stockton Hall of Fame Lineman award.

Newson earned three letters in football at Edison and was a two-year starter, highlighted by a 1997 senior campaign with 52 catches for 952 yards (18.3 average), with 12 touchdowns, guiding the Vikings to its first winning season since 1983. As a junior, Newson also garnered All-Area and All-League honors in basketball and was a two-year starter, leading to first-team All-American Grid-Hoop player honors by Student Sports Magazine as a combo football and basketball player.

TRACY NATIVE LYNDELL HAWKINS BACK FOR SOPHOMORE SEASON

Hawkins, 24, is set for his second season in the arenafootball2 league after posting 17.5 tackles in 14 games while ranking second on the team with five sacks and three quarterback hurries, while chipping-in on the offensive end with five rushing carries and three rushing touchdowns. Hawkins' best defensive effort came on June 17, registering five tackles against the Everett Hawks.

The Tracy, California native spent time with the San Jose Sabercats practice squads of the Arena Football League, following four seasons of college football (2000-03) at Fresno State University (NCAA), where he earned a scholarship during his time at the school after walking on to the team as a freshman.

The 6-foot, 298-pound OL/DL was also honored with the "Bulldog Award" while at Fresno State while setting a career high 33 tackles during his junior season in 2002 and playing in all 14 games for the Bulldogs. He also helped guide the Bulldogs to four Silicon Valley Football Classic appearances in all four playing seasons, capping off his college career with a 17-9 Fresno State victory over UCLA in the 2003 game, collecting two tackles.

Hawkins was a four-year letterman and three-time team MVP while playing football at Tracy High.

SACRAMENTO NATIVE DAVID LOSE BACK IN THE FOLD

Contributing primarily on an offensive line while chipping in with the "little things" that rarely appear on a score sheet, OL David Lose returns to the Lightning following his first full af2 season helping protect Lightning QB Josh Blankenship, who threw for 4,052 yards and 82 touchdowns.

Prior to making his af2 debut in 2004 with the Bakersfield Blitz, the Sacramento, California native attended school and played college football at Oregon State University (NCAA), where he was a letterwinner for Oregon State's 2000 Fiesta Bowl championship team, and earned three letters (2000, 02-03) for a program that went a combined 27-11 and made three bowl game appearances in those three years.

Lose attended and played football at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California, where he was a first-team All-Metro League pick and was named best defensive tackle in the Metro League as a senior.

STEPHEN BELL CONTINUES WHERE HE LEFT OFF

A late addition to the Lightning roster in the 2006 season, Bell returns after appearing in five games, registering two tackles with the Lightning as a 6-foot-4, 315-pound rookie OL/DL.

A local product of Oakland, California, Bell previously played his college football career at Temple University (NCAA), joining former Owls Phil Goodman, Jamal Wallace, Chris Harris and Anthony Bolden on the Lightning roster in 2006. Bell started all 22 games for the Owls from 2004-05 and was used as a frontline piece that protected All-American quarterback and Big East Conference Player of the Year Walter Washington in 2004 (Temple's season leader in passing, rushing and total offense).

Prior to transferring to Temple, the 23-year old competed as a two-year starter on the offensive frontline at Sacramento City College and was a two-year starter at Fremont High (Calif.) under head coach Matthew Walker, where he participated in the 2000 Oakland/San Francisco All-Star Game.

The Lightning finished their inaugural 2006 arenafootball2 season with a 5-11 record, finishing fourth in the National Conference's West Division and recently hired Doug Murray as the second Head Coach in team history.

In their first season, the Lightning ranked third in af2 attendance with an average of 7,445 fans per home game. Season tickets for the 2007 Lightning regular season are on sale now. For more information on season tickets, merchandise, or other information, please call the Lightning at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.stocktonlightning.com.



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