Interconference Powers Collide

Published on April 26, 2002 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

MACON, Ga. – Two of af2's top teams tee it up in Georgia on Saturday when the Tennessee Valley Vipers visit the Macon Knights.

Both teams sit undefeated and in first place in their respective divisions. The 3-0 Knights have outscored opponents 140-93, while the 2-0 Vipers have been just as dominating, allowing only 56 points against 109 scored.

The Knights and Vipers are two of the hottest teams in af2. Dating back to last season, the Vipers (14-2 in 2001) have won nine straight games on the road. A 10th consecutive road win would tie the league record (Quad City, 2000-01). It won't be easy, though. The Knights (10-6 last year) have not lost in the Macon Coliseum since May 5, 2001. Overall, the Knights have won 11 of their last 13 regular season games.

Last week, the Vipers pasted expansion Mobile 72-28, but it was a costly victory for the Snakes as WR/LB RONALD BONNER, OL/DL CHRIS BELL and OL/DL CURTIS JETER each left the game with knee injuries. Bonner and Bell are out of this week's contest.

Under center for the Vipers is rookie QB WES COUNTS. Last week against Mobile, Counts had a hand in eight of his team's scores, tossing four touchdown passes and rushing for four more. Macon counters with former AFL QB JOHN RAYBORN. After shipping QB MIKE GLUSKI to Cape Fear this week, the Knights were assigned Rayborn, who recently was waived by the AFL's Indiana Firebirds. Rayborn's professional experience includes one year with the Firebirds as a backup QB and two years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.

Learning a new offense in midseason is tricky for any QB, but Rayborn should have an advantage. Knights' Offensive Coordinator TRES SULLIVAN coached Rayborn at the University of Texas-El Paso. Additionally, having a receiving corps that includes OS JAQUEZ RUMPH (42 points, seventh in af2) and WR/DB GABE AMEY (five catches for 96 yards and three TDs at Carolina) should make life easier for Rayborn.

Defensively, the Knights need to exploit the weakened Tennessee Valley offensive line. After giving up a league-low six sacks last season, the Vipers have struggled in pass protection in 2002, giving up six in two games. Despite the O-line problems, the Vipers' defense continues to look impressive. Last week against Mobile, Tennessee Valley held Mobile to three offensive scores, intercepted four passes and recorded five sacks.

This is the first-ever meeting between these two teams. They hook up again in the final weekend of the regular season.

The streaking Mohegan Wolves visit the New Haven Coliseum on Saturday to battle the Ninjas in the first Arena Football game ever played between two teams from Connecticut. The Wolves come in as winners of two straight and are looking to keep pace with the Conquest in the Northeast Division. New Haven is trying to earn its first win and keep within striking distance in the division. QB CABLE DAVIS leads the Wolves' offense, passing for a league-high 357 yards last week in Rochester. The Ninjas, on the other hand, have a new man under center this week as starting QB PHIL STAMBAUGH is expected to sign a deal this weekend with the NFL's New York Giants. Backup QB JARROD ROUANZOIN will take the snaps for the Ninjas. The former New England Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year has seen limited action thus far in 2002, completing four passes for 21 yards.

Bitter rivals tee it up in Richmond on Saturday as the Norfolk Nighthawks travel north on I-64 to battle the undefeated Speed. The winner of this one takes a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, with one matchup remaining this season. Richmond is 4-0 and has been unstoppable through the early going. QB BOB BEES is 173 yards away from the 1,000-yard mark and has thrown only one interception on the season. Norfolk enters this game well-rested, having had a bye last week. The Nighthawks struggled in their first two games, getting outscored 116-47 by two expansion teams. Rested and ready, Norfolk plans to test the Speed secondary with 6-foot-5, 220-pound WR/LB JASON BLEVINS and swift OS MERCURY HAYES.

It's Round 2 for the Rochester Brigade and Albany Conquest. The New York State Lottery Cup is up for grabs once again when the teams meet in Albany on Saturday. The Brigade, loser of two straight, hopes to get back to the .500 mark and stay close to the front-running Conquest (3-0). QB MATT D' ORAZIO leads the Brigade offense, which is 10-for-12 in the red zone this season. All 10 conversions have been touchdowns. Out of 10 expansion teams, only Albany and Bakersfield remain unbeaten. The Conquest hopes to keep that streak alive in its rematch with the Brigade, and has a good chance if QB RYAN VENA can repeat his MVP performance from the teams' first meeting two weeks ago. Coming off the bench in the second half, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound rookie completed 12-of-18 passes for 108 yards and four scores. The final regular season matchup between these clubs is slated for June 20.

The unbeaten Augusta Stallions open their home schedule on Saturday as they host the winless Carolina Rhinos. A win helps Augusta keep pace with the Knights in the Eastern Division and puts Carolina into a deeper hole. The Stallions are sure to come out firing behind the arm of QB GLEN GAUNT. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound field general has looked solid in his first two outings, completing 40-of-69 passes for 527 yards and 11 touchdowns against only one interception. The Rhinos will try to build on the momentum garnered last week when they rallied late and nearly pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win against Macon. Offensively, Carolina needs a jolt. The Rhinos have yet to score more than 35 points, while giving up around 45 per game.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers and Greensboro Prowlers meet for the second time this season on Saturday in Greensboro. The Prowlers took the first meeting 42-28, but have lost two consecutive games since. Last week, they fell 59-56 in an overtime thriller against Roanoke. The Pioneers also had a close game last week, coming up six points short against division front-runner Albany. Greensboro QB CHRIS WEIBEL, who got on track against Roanoke with 25-of-47 passing for 288 yards and four touchdowns, will look for OS ANTOINE CALLOWAY, who had 13 catches for 177 yards against the Steam. The Pioneers hope QB TYLER TOMICH can get them victory No. 1. Tomich has had success against the Prowlers, connecting on 37-of-61 for 394 yards and six strikes in two starts.

The winless Louisville Fire heads to Roanoke to battle the Steam on Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center. On paper, the Fire and Steam offenses are an even matchup. Louisville averages 32 points a game to the Steam's 33. The Steam averages 219 yards per game against the Fire's 220. Roanoke got an offensive boost last week, however, as QB CHRIS SANDERS came off the bench to lead the Steam to a thrilling 59-56 overtime win over Greensboro. The backup tossed five touchdowns on 16-of-34 passing for 211 yards, earning league Offensive Player of the Week honors in the process. In their one meeting last season, the Fire burned the Steam 83-41. Saturday's game is the only regular season contest between these two clubs.

The big question when the 1-2 San Diego Riptide travels to 2-1 Arkansas Saturday is: Are the Twisters simply that good or is their No. 1 scoring defense ranking a product of the competition they've faced? Arkansas allows just 21 points per game, including back-to-back routs of Wichita in which the low-scoring Stealth managed just 13 points both times. San Diego, despite last week's 54-34 loss to Tulsa, could provide a truer test. The Riptide averages 48.7 points per game. In addition to the potent defense led by OL/DL GREG TAYLOR (5.0 sacks – second in af2), Arkansas boasts the last two af2 Ironmen of the Week in FB/LB DARNELL SMALL and WR/DB LENNIE JOHNSON. Small keys the ground attack (43 yards) and has two of the Twisters' league-high 14 sacks. Johnson ranks second on the team with 194 receiving yards to go with his team-best three INTs. San Diego relies on the duo of QB KANE CLAUNCH and OS/KR MARTY GRAHAM. Claunch ranks fourth in af2 with 712 passing yards – he has 14 TD passes on the year, seven of them to Graham, whose 802 all-purpose yards lead the league.

They say every dog has his day ... it just won't be Saturday for one of these teams. The Columbus Wardogs and Birmingham Steeldogs square off in an interconference tilt. Columbus (1-1) looks for the second win in team history – the Wardogs got their first last week against Jacksonville after 17 consecutive losses. Birmingham (2-1) beat Columbus 64-14 last year and wants to make sure the visitors don't get too used to the thrill of victory. Steeldog OS WAYNE THOMAS ranks second in the league with 54 points (he's caught 20 passes for 296 yards and nine TDs). His QB, MONTRESSA KIRBY, has 687 yards and 13 TDs through the air, but he's also dangerous on the ground, leading af2 with 74 rushing yards (with three TDs). Columbus counters the home Dogs' duo with the top total defense in the league and the fourth-best unit in scoring (27.0 ppg allowed). Offensively, QB JEROME WEAKS and OS MATT BURSTEIN pace Columbus.

No need for a color TV in Bossier City. A pair of black-and-silver clad teams meet when the Peoria Pirates (2-1) visit the Battle Wings (1-2). Bossier City ran into the Memphis buzzsaw last week, losing 61-51. Their two losses are to teams that are a combined 6-0. Peoria stomped Fresno 55-12 behind another outstanding performance by OS/KR CORNELL CRAIG. Craig caught 13 passes for 195 yards and 5 TDs; he ranks third in af2 with 342 receiving yards. Bossier City's top threat is WR/DB/KR KEVIN STEVENSON. He has 20 receptions for 256 yards and four TDs this season, including 103 yards and two scores last week at Memphis.

No one likely would have pegged Saturday's game between Florida and Memphis as a battle of unbeatens before the season began. But that's just what this interconference matchup is. The 2-0 Firecats come off a 7-9 season while the 3-0 Xplorers went 3-13 a year ago. Both teams are hard to stop inside the 20 – Florida is 7-of-7 in the red zone, including five TDs. Memphis is 12-of-13, scoring 11 touchdowns. The Xplorers are incredibly deep offensively. WR/DB CARLOS McNEARY and WR/LB KEITH SPANN both have had breakout games, but the primary offensive catalysts are QB TIM LESTER and OS RUSSELL COPELAND. Copeland leads the league in scoring (56 points), receptions (32) and receiving yards (428) while Lester leads in passing yards (897) and total offense, throwing 18 TD passes in the process. Florida FB/LB JOHNNY FROST (2.5 sacks) will try to pester Lester hoping to shut down the Memphis attack. KENNY CAUSEY (167 yards, 4 TDs) is the Firecats' go-to guy while ANTHONY DIXON is working on an 18-game receptions streak.

One of the week's more intriguing matchups takes place Saturday in Tulsa when the 3-0 Bakersfield Blitz tangles with the 2-1 Talons. The expansion Blitz heads east for the first time after a narrow 28-23 escape against visiting Louisville last week. Bakersfield's CHAD ELLIOTT is af2's third-most prolific passer with 808 yards (11 TDs, 2 INTs) while OS STEVE WOFFORD (318 yards, 5 TDs) and WR/DB RYAN SLOTH (305 yards, 2 TDs) both rank in the league's receiving top 10. QB ANTHONY BUICH triggers the Tulsa attack, passing for 539 yards (10 TDs, 3 INTs) and rushing for a team-high 30 yards (with 2 TDs). WR/LB MITCH ALLNER (16 catches, 169 yards) leads a pass-catching corps needing to pick up the slack for OS (and top receiver) WES CASWELL, out for the season with a knee injury. Checking the common opponent ... Tulsa thumped San Diego 54-34 last week; Bakersfield trailed the Riptide 27-3 in Week 2 before rallying for a 49-43 overtime win.

The Hawaiian Islanders take flight this week to play the Wichita Stealth (an 8,714-mile round trip flight, to be exact). The expansion Islanders (1-2), whose 8,564-mile round trip to Quad City last week resulted in a 69-39 loss, try to break a two-game losing streak against the Stealth, which hasn't exactly gotten up to Mach speed this year. Wichita has scored a league-low 47 total points, a deadly number in a league that often requires at least that many points per game for victory. Hawaii QB DARNELL ARCENEAUX ranks among the league leaders with 64 yards and five TDs rushing, but the Islanders' star is OS/KR DARRELL JONES, whose 707 all-purpose yards rank second in af2. Despite Wichita's scoring woes, the Stealth has a talented receiving trio in PASCAL VOLZ, XAVIER PATTERSON and WILLIE GRISSOM (49 catches, 499 yards combined).

Quad City (3-0) heads to 0-3 Fresno Saturday with a 40-1 all-time record and a 16-game winning streak. The expansion Frenzy, meanwhile, quickly must pick up the pieces after last week's 55-12 debacle at Peoria. The Steamwheelers, the two-time league champs, found their offensive stride last week in the 30-point over Hawaii. QB TONY ZIMMERMAN had his best game of the year, totaling 298 passing yards with nine TDs (seven passing, two rushing). The always-stout Quad City defense is led by FB/LB/DL FRANK TRENTADUE, who has 4.0 sacks, three blocked kicks and two safeties this year. Fresno, which averaged almost 50 points per game before last week, needs big games from OS/KR LAMONT WEBB (444 all-purpose yards; return TDs in back-to-back weeks) and WR/DB EDDIE KLANESKI (303 all-purpose yards, 10.5 tackles, interception, forced fumble).

arenafootball2 Stories from April 26, 2002

• Barracudas Blast Mobile for First Win of Season - Pensacola Barracudas
• Interconference Powers Collide - af2
• Wolves Battle for Constituation Cup - Mohegan Wolves

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