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Kicking Great Alex Walls Back With Lightning

February 15, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Lightning of the arenafootball2 league have been assigned veteran all-af2 kicker Alex Walls by the af2 league office, Lightning head coach Doug Murray announced today. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We're amazed Alex was available this off-season, given his ability on the football field and we're excited to bring him back," said Murray. "He's proven to be one of the greatest af2 kickers of all time and we're confident he'll another great job this season with his accuracy and ability to come through in the clutch."

Walls, 27, is back for his second season in a Lightning uniform and garnered his first all-af2 honor last year, ranking among a throng of af2 top-10 leaders. The University of Tennessee (NCAA) product led the league with a 73.9 field goal percentage, ranked second with 139 points, eighth with an 83.8 point-after kick percentage and tying for second with a career-high 17 field goals.

Walls hammered two buzzer-beating 39-yard field goals last year, helping the Lightning upend rival Central Valley in a 50-47 triumph in the week 3 home opener, followed by a 55-54 victory on May 14 at Everett. Walls shattered his career-long mark last year with a 49-yard boot at Boise in a 57-33 Lightning win on May 26.

Slated to enter his fifth year of professional football after stints with Tennessee and Birmingham of the af2, Walls currently stands second on the af2's all-time active field goal list and third overall with 41 field goals.

Walls, who garnered one game of NFL preseason experience with the Chicago Bears in 2007, was a Football News, collegefootballnews.com and The Sporting News second team All-American with the Volunteers program in his college career and was part of two teams that advanced to the 2000 Fiesta Bowl and 2002 Peach Bowl. During the span of his career, he tied the Tennessee program record (with Alan Duncan in 1978 and Fuad Reveiz in 1982) by making five field goals against the Florida Gators on kicks of 36, 19, 29, 19 and 42 yards.

"I'm really excited to come back to Stockton - I've been following the transactions this off-season and it looks like our coaching staff has put a really good team together for this year," said Walls. "I've never got a chance to play in the playoffs and it felt like we left something out on the field at the end of last year - with the new faces we have this year, it feels like we have a really great shot at the playoffs."

Walls returns to an offense that recently added veteran quarterback Chad Elliott, who enters his first season as Lightning signal caller ranking second in af2 all-time history 17,066 career passing yards and fourth all-time with 315 touchdown passes. WR/DB Atnas Maeko also returns for his second stint with the Lighnting after garnering 2006 af2 International Player of the Year and all-af2 (second team) honors.

The Lightning returns to play for the third season in Stockton beginning March 28, taking the road against the Tri-Cities Fever. The 2008 Lightning home opener is Saturday, April 12 against the Boise Burn, beginning at 7:00 p.m. from Stockton Arena.

Season tickets for the 2008 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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