Sports stats

Groefsema too much for Lightning

May 20, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif.. - Coyotes QB Clay Groefsema threw for seven touchdown scores on 314 yards passing and WR Jason Barnes collected four touchdowns as the Stockton Lightning (2-5) fell to the Central Valley Coyotes (4-3) in a 76-55 decision before 5,025 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday night in week 8 of arenafootball2 play.

Evan Gray threw for seven touchdown passes on the Lightning end, throwing for 293 yards while counterpart Clay Groefsema went 24-for-42, tallying 314 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Kenyatte Morgan, the reigning U.S. Army Ironman of the Week, tallied 195 return yards on seven tries, his fourth-best output in a Lightning uniform.

Gray lifted Stockton to an early 14-0 advantage in the opening quarter as his first two pass attempts on the night connected with WR Clarence Cunningham to give Stockton the lead. Gray hit Cunningham on back-to-back drives with 32-yard and 41-yard touchdown strikes respectively, to get Stockton off to fast-paced start.

Groefsema cut the Lightning lead in half at the 8:51 mark of the quarter as he found Barnes over the middle for a 31-yard touchdown pass that made the score 14-7. The Lightning would respond with less than 1 minute remaining in the period as Gray hit WR Sale Key for an 8-yard score to put Stockton up 21-7 thru 15 minutes of play.

Jason Barnes' second touchdown reception of the contest 2 minutes into the second quarter brought the Coyotes to within one score of leveling the game, but Gray would stall the Central Valley momentum on the ensuing drive. The Stockton quarterback found Key unmarked along the sideline.

Key proceeded to barrel his way into the Coyotes end zone to re-establish the Lightning 14-point advantage at 28-14. Central Valley would respond in the final 5 minutes of the frame with two unanswered scores. Coyotes WR Weston Borba capped a trick-play with a 6-yard touchdown pass to WR Tomae Martin with 4:08 remaining in the half. Minutes later, Borba caught a Groefsma pass and fought his way into the Lightning end zone from 13 yards out to make the score 28-27 with only 7 seconds to go in the frame.

Central Valley jettisoned ahead with a 21-14 third quarter, centered on Wes Borba's six-yard touchdown reception, followed by an unusual fumble by Kenyatte Morgan that Aaron Miller found in the end-zone for a go-ahead score at 41-35.

Stockton rallied on the opening drive of the fourth quarter as Gray connected with Key from 9 yards out for the wide receiver's third touchdown catch of the contest. Key's score restored the Stockton lead at 49-48. Central Valley responded with a touchdown score of its own with 7:31 remaining the frame as a Groefsema pass attempt found a wide-open Borba to restore the Coyotes lead. Borba's third touchdown reception on the night put Central Valley in front 55-49.

The Coyotes would regain possession off an interception and proceed to score as Groefsema hit Barnes over the middle with a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Central Valley a 62-49 advantage. Key would collect his 4th touchdown reception on the night with 45 seconds remaining in the frame to narrow the Coyotes lead to 62-55, but Central Valley would score twice late in the game to secure the victory. Groefsema's bootleg touchdown marker was followed by a 15-yard interception touchdown return by DB Aaron Miller with 26 seconds remaining in the frame to give Central Valley the win.

Schutt Offensive Player of the Game: Clarence Cunningham (Central Valley)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game: Aleric Clark (Central Valley)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Ty Johnson (Stockton)

Cutters Catch of the Game: Jason Barnes (Central Valley)

Attendance: 5,025

Before the game, the Lightning announced WR/DB James Newson was activated off the "refused to report" list and DB's York Frierson and Diamond Francies were placed on team suspension.

The Lightning return to action at Qwest Arena for week 9 on Saturday, May 26, facing the Boise Burn at 6:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on radio at 1420-AM KSTN and on the internet through www.stocktonlightning.com, with the online video feed available at a $6 "pay-per-view" charge courtesy of B2 Networks.



arenafootball2 Stories from May 20, 2007


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.

Other Recent Stockton Lightning Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central