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Lightning announce 2006 opening roster

March 29, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Lightning have established the team's first arenafootball2 opening roster in preparation for the 2006 season opening game, Lightning team president Dan Chapman announced today.

"We're excited about the complexion of this year's team and we're positive the tremendous work that Head Coach Richard Davis has done in preparing this team for the season will amount to significant on-field success," said Chapman.

The opening night roster, as the Lightning prepare for their first contest in franchise history against the Spokane Shock on Thursday, March 30, is dotted by 24 players, including 15 first-year personnel. Recently added to the roster was offensive specialist George Williams, who was assigned to the Lightning by the arenafootball2 league office.

"George has had a long, productive career in the Arena Football League and af2," said Lightning head coach Richard Davis. "It's neat that George and I have come full circle and that he can come home and play in front of his hometown friends."

Williams, 27, a local Stockton-area football product, participated in a flourishing college career at Kansas State University (NCAA), where after Williams moved onto a professional career built on Arena Football League experience with the Orlando Predators, Las Vegas Gladiators and most recently with the New York Dragons. His af2 credentials are dotted in experience with the Central Valley Coyotes, Manchester Wolves, Cape Fear Wildcats, Memphis Xplorers and Richmond Speed, reuniting with Davis as a former player under Davis' tutelage in Richmond. Williams ranked second in receiving yardage (891 yards) on the Speed in 2001, helping guide Richmond to a 2001 ArenaCup Championship game berth.

Most recently with the Coyotes in 2005, Williams ranked third in af2 scoring with 266 points. He pulled in 39 touchdown receptions, leading the Coyotes and finishing tied for fourth in the af2. Williams led the Coyotes in receiving with 1633 yards in 2005 (fourth in the af2), garnering 116 receptions in 15 games.

Receiver James Newson also adds talented credentials to the Lightning receiving corps, who is slated to make his arenafootball2 debut after previously spending time in National Football League training camps with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, and in NFL Europe with the Cologne Centurions.

A Stockton, California native and former high school football star at Stockton Edison High, Newson built a storied college football career at Oregon State University (NCAA), where he started 36 of 42 career games for the Beavers, finishing second all-time at Oregon State for career pass receptions (213), receiving yards (3,572), and sharing a tie for the program record with 20 career touchdown receptions. He tallied 1,306 receiving yards as a 2003 senior for the Beavers (third all-time in program history), while garnering 12 touchdown receptions in 2002, currently a single-season program record.

A 2003 All-Pac-10 first-team honoree, his marquee game perhaps came in 2002 as a junior against Oregon, where he posted 11 catches for 168 yards and one touchdown, guiding the Beavers to a 45-24 win over the Ducks.

Newson, who helped guide the Beavers to a 41-9 victory over Notre Dame in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl, also tallied 81 receptions in 2003 (third all-time at OSU). The aforementioned Oregon State individual season and career statistics were program records at the time.

The quarterback position is well-stocked with additions of Josh Blankenship, a former 2005 rookie star with the Tulsa Talons, and Josh Wallwork, a former college football star at Wyoming who has spent previous time in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm, Portland Forest Dragons and Grand Rapids Rampage.

Wallwork, a Tracy, California native, spent two years in the football program with the University of Wyoming, earning the AT&T Long Distance Award, given annually to college football's individual national leader in total offense (besting marks by NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Michael Vick). He established the school record for touchdown passes (54) and broke single-season program records in his senior season in passing yardage (4,090), total offense (4,209 yards) and touchdown passes (33).

Blankenship, a former product of University of Tulsa and Eastern Washington, completed a decorated rookie campaign by finishing near the top in nearly every significant quarterback ranking. Blankenship guided the Talons to an 11-5 record, a West Division title and a National Conference semifinal berth in the 2005 ArenaCup Playoffs. He appeared in 16 games, ranking tied for second in the league with 89 touchdown passes, 12th in the league in total offense (3,591 yards), fifth in total offensive touchdowns (94), and sixth in pass rating (113.3).

The defensive efforts are headlined by rookie defensive back Jamal Wallace, a product of Temple University (NCAA). Previous to a 2005 stint with the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul where he registered two tackles, Wallace starred at local Temple, garnering ECAC Division I-A All-Star Honorable Mention honors in 2002 and Temple's Defensive Player of the Year honors. Wallace led the Owls with 96 tackles (65 solo) as a 2002 senior and finished his college career with 34 consecutive starts at the free safety position after beginning his college tenure as a wide receiver. His collegiate efforts were awarded with a free-agent contract signing with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 2003.

Jerome Dennis is also slated for a major contribution to the defensive attack, a 2006 af2 rookie defensive back who previously starred at Utah State University (NCAA). Previous to spending time in the NFL's Indianapolis Colts training camp in 2005, Dennis served as a team captain at Utah State, where he earned the team's 2004 John Hill Award for overcoming serious injury, after missing all but three games in 2003 from a blood-clot injury in his shoulder. Dennis garnered team's most inspirational player award in 2002 and also ranked seventh in the NCAA in average return yardage (27.7) in 2002, which placed him second in program history.

The Lightning open the season on the road against the Spokane Shock at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 30, the opening game of the 2006 af2 season.

Season tickets for the upcoming Lightning season are on sale now. Tickets for the Lightning April 29 home opener against the Bakersfield Blitz can currently be purchased as part of a full season package. 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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