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Home Opener Thursday

February 4, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Detroit Fury News Release


The walls are set, and the nets are hung. The jerseys and helmets have been set out. It is time to kick-off the 2004 Arena Football season this Thursday, when the San Jose SaberCats head to the Motor City to battle the Detroit Fury at 7:30 p.m. at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Fans will be able to catch all the action live on Fox Sports Net Detroit and on WDFN 1130 AM.

This will be the second meeting between the Detroit and San Jose. Last season, the Fury defeated the SaberCats, in San Jose, 45-42 snapping the SaberCats' 18-game home winning streak.

When the Fury kick off on Thursday, they hope to keep their unbeaten record against the SaberCats in tact, but San Jose has never lost a season opener under current head coach Darren Arbet. Detroit is also winless (0-3) in season openers.

For both teams, the game will be a good barometer of where the strengths and weaknesses lie. Detroit completed an AFL record-tying turnaround in 2003, improving from 1-13 in 2002 to 8-8 in 2003. The franchise also recorded its first playoff win in Grand Rapids, and the Fury were one play away from defeating the eventual ArenaBowl Champion Tampa Bay Storm.

San Jose finished the 2003 season as one of the team's top teams, losing to the Arizona Rattlers in the Semifinal round of the AFL playoffs, and the SaberCats hope to get another shot at the ArenaBowl.

The SaberCats return a very large part of last season's team, and they will bring of the league's most offenses to Detroit.

The Fury return 10 players from 2003, including quarterback Andy Kelly, defensive specialist Ron Carpenter, and linemen Curtis Eason, Jon McCall, Matt Norwood and Angel Rubio. Offseason acquisitions of defensive specialists Reggie Doster and John Williams will greatly improve the Fury's defensive backfield.

"San Jose is a very good team, and this game will be a tough test for us," said Fury Head Coach Tom Luginbill. "We have a much more talented roster compared to a year ago, and I know we match-up well with them. Our guys will play hard, and hopefully that will translate into a win."

Another big change in the Fury's roster comes in the receiving corps. While Herman Bell and Junior Lord are returning to Detroit, the majority of the receivers are new to the team, and they all possess size and speed. AFL veterans Thabiti Davis and Andre Cooper will compete with rookie Mike Bush for a spot as a wide receiver / linebacker, and David Hill will make the start at offensive specialist.

Also, Jeff Russell will come back to the playing field after nearly a three-year absence. Last season, Russell served as the Fury's wide receivers and defensive backs coach, while he continued to rehabilitate an ACL tear suffered in 2001. He is a six-year veteran of the AFL, and he will make an immediate impact as a receiver and a defensive back.

"We made it an offseason priority to not only upgrade our defense, but we wanted to get receivers who were playmakers," said Luginbill. "We know Junior and Herman can play, but we wanted to surround them and Andy with the best talent possible. Our guys be good downfield targets this year, and they should be able to go up and get the football over the defensive backs."



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 4, 2004


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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