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Louisville Fire game notes

June 8, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release


QUICK FACTS: Louisville Fire Football (7-2) at Peoria Pirates (3-6) Date: Saturday, June 12, 2004 Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. EST Site: Peoria Civic Center (9,772) Officials: Tony Canella (R); Pat Bayers (U); Chad Green (HL); Justin Larrew (LJ); Donald Shouse (BJ) Radio: 1080-AM WKJK; Play-by-Play: Paul Wilman Series Record: Louisville leads (4-2) Coaches: Tommy Johnson, Louisville (11 – 12; Second season) Bruce Cowdrey, Peoria (30 – 31; Fourth Season)

THE STAKES: The Fire will look to continue their winning streak and stay atop the Midwest Division. Peoria is looking to get back on the winning track after dropping in Green Bay last Saturday night. This is the first of back-to-back games with Peoria.

THE SERIES: This is the fourth straight season in which the two teams have met. The Fire currently holds the advantage in the series 4-2. Last time the two teams met the Fire came out on top 58-38 in the Peoria Civic Center.

THE IFs: If the Fire defeats the Pirates it would ... · Extend the Fire's winning streak to three games · Give Tommy Johnson a 12-12 record as a head coach · Keep the Fire alone in first place in the Midwest Division · Guarantee the Fire at least a .500 record for 2004. · Make the Fire 6-9 all-time in June · Make the Fire 8-21 all-time on the road · Make the Fire 15-32 all-time on Saturdays

Louisville (7-2, Won 2) Date Opponent Result Score 4/10 HAWAII W 37-35 4/16 MACON W 78-42 4/24 @Albany W 62-56 5/1 @Wilkes/Barre-Scranton L 59-51 5/8 @ Memphis W 70-63 5/15 ALBANY L 60-56 5/22 @Green Bay W 59-54 5/29 WB/SCRANTON W 48-47 6/5 QUAD CITY W 62-61 Date Opponent Time Streak Series 6/12 @ Peoria 8:00 W-2 Fire 4-2 6/19 PEORIA 7:30 W-2 Fire 4-2 6/25 @ Manchester 7:30 -- 1st meeting 7/10 COLUMBUS (GA) 7:30 L-1 Columbus 1-0 7/17 @ Hawaii 12:30 W-1 Tied 1-1 7/24 GREEN BAY 7:30 W-1 Fire 2-1 7/31 @ Quad City 8:30 W-1 Quad 4-1

Peoria (3-6, Lost 1) Date Opponent Result Score 4/3 @ Wichita L 33 – 13 4/10 ARKANSAS W 22 – 13 4/17 WICHITA L 47 – 26 4/24 @ Tulsa L 66 – 47 5/1 @ Central Valley W 34 – 33 5/7 QUAD CITY L 47 – 20 5/15 WB/SCRANTON L 33 – 30 5/29 ALBANY W 44 – 24 6/5 @ Green Bay L 57 – 29 Date Opponent Time Streak Series 6/12 LOUISVILLE 8:00 L – 2 Fire 4 – 2 6/18 @ Louisville 7:30 L – 2 Fire 4 – 2 7/2 @ Quad City 8:30 L – 3 Quad 5 – 2 7/9 @ Bossier-Sher. 8:00 L – 3 Bossier 3 – 0 7/17 COLUMBUS 8:00 W – 2 Peoria 2 – 0 7/24 @ Birmingham 7:30 W – 1 Peoria 2 – 1 7/31 GREEN BAY 8:00 L – 1 Peoria 2 – 1

HEAD COACHES: Tommy Johnson is in his first full season as head coach of the Louisville Fire. Coach Johnson went 4-10 in 2003 after taking over before the third game of 2003. Once the team adjusted to his system the Fire won two of their final three games in 2003. Coach Johnson has been with the Fire since the team's inception in 2001. As a defensive back in college, he helped lead Alabama to the 1992 NCAA Title. He also holds the AFL record for longest interception return for a TD.

Bruce Cowdrey returns for his 3rd season as head coach of Peoria and his 4th in af2. In 2002, Coach Cowdrey led the Pirates to an 11-5 record and a 4-0 post-season record to claim the 2002 ArenaCup championship. Prior to the af2, Coach Cowdrey was the head coach of the Pirates in the Indoor Football League (IFL) and led them to a 17-0 record and the IFL's Gold Cup championship.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from each team who rank among af2's statistical leaders:

LOUISVILLE Player Rank Category Stat FRYZEL, Dennis T – 3 Fumbles Recovered 3 SAMUEL, Marc 2 PAT Kicking 55-62 SAMUEL, Marc 1 Scoring (Kick) 81 SAMUEL, Marc T – 4 Field Goals 6 SAMUEL, Marc 2 Extra Points 63 SAUK, Matt 1 Passing Yards Per Game 290.8 SAUK, Matt 1 Total Offense 290.7 SCOTT, James 7 Receptions 64 SCOTT, James 10 Receiving Yards 840 THOMAS, Justin 1 Passes Defended 20 THOMAS, Justin 10 Tackles 41.5

Peoria Player Rank Category Stat URLACHER, Casey 7 Rushing 120 AGUIAR, Louie T – 2 Field Goals 7 BOUIE, Ken T – 7 Fumbles Recovered 2 URLACHER, Casey T – 8 Fumbles Forced 2 URLACHER, Casey T – 3 Tackles For Loss 6.5

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Louisville and Quad City match up: Statistical Fire Pirates Category Rank Stat Rank Stat Scoring Offense 3 58.1 25 29.4 Scoring Defense T – 21 53.0 4 39.2 Total Offense 1 301.7 25 173.0 Total Defense 21 279.2 6 222.7 Pass Offense 1 288.8 25 142.2 Pass Defense 20 249.3 7 208.8 Rushing Offense T – 21 12.9 4 30.8 Rushing Defense 23 29.9 T – 5 14.4 Scoring (Non-Kick) 3 440 25 218 Scoring (Kicking) 1 81 19 47 Pass Rating 11 107.8 25 77.8 Pass Def. Rating 18 111.2 3 91.5 Kickoff Returns T – 16 18.4 8 20.7 MFG Returns 10 19.8 23 9.0 Turnover Margin 3 +9 T – 18 -4 Field Goal % 3 .429 T – 13 .286 PAT Kicking 1 .887 15 .742 Sacks By T – 19 8 T – 17 9 Sacks Against 1 3 21 19 First Downs 1 166 23 110 Opp. First Downs 20 144 5 118 Penalties T – 17 549 yds. 3 420 yds. Opp. Penalties 7 491 yds. 18 566 yds.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES: Fire Head Coach Tommy Johnson: On Last Week's Victory Over Quad City: "That was a big win because we now have the inside track in the division. We don't have to get help from other teams. We have to go out and keep playing our game."

On the Peoria Pirates: "This game is big because it's a divisional game. We have developed a good rivalry with Peoria and we know they are going to be ready for us."

DROPBACK: The Fire defeated Quad City last week 62-61. The Fire was led by OS Takuya Furutani and WR/LB Anthony Payton, who each had over 100 yards receiving.

FORWARD MOTION: Peoria will visit the Fire next week in Freedom Hall in the final match-up of the season for the two teams.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: ELUSIVE... Fire QB Matt Sauk once again is at the top of the league in sacks against. Through nine games Sauk and his offensive line have given up just three sacks.

SECOND HALF TEAM... in the second half this season the Fire is out scoring their opponents 278 to 210.

THIEVES... The Fire is currently in third in turnover margin at +9 for the season.

DON'T DROP IT... The Fire has forced 20 fumbles, recovering 18 of them.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: FIRE OFFENSE vs. PEORIA DEFENSE: The Fire's offense is ranked third in scoring this season with 58.1 points a game while Peoria is giving up just 39.2 points per game. The Fire is also averaging 301.7 yards per game and the Pirates are allowing only 222.7 yards a game.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY: 13 Expansion Teams Added for 2001: Louisville was among the 13 teams added for the 2001 af2 season. The 2001 expansion added the most teams of the af2's expansions.

April 6, 2001: The Fire plays their first game ever in the af2. The Fire lost at Wichita 43-6.

April 14, 2001: The Fire plays first ever-home game in front of 12,520 fans in Freedom Hall.

April 20, 2001: Fire records first ever victory, defeating Peoria 42-39 in front of 8,472 fans.

April 6, 2002: Fire sets franchise attendance record of 12,835 in Freedom Hall against the Memphis Xplorers.

June 21, 2003: Fire DS Arkee Thompson records his 26th career interception, an af2 record, breaking the old mark set by Richmond's Tyrone Laster. Thompson finished 2003 with 10 interceptions and is named first team All-af2 National Conference.

January 22, 2004: Fire holds press conference to announce exhibition game against All-Japan Samurai Warriors. March 21, 2004: Fire defeats All-Japan Samurai Warriors 36-26. The game marks the first time a team made up of entirely Japanese players plays on American soil.

May 8, 2004: Matt Sauk threw for 10 touchdown passes, making him only the second player in history to accomplish such.

May 22, 2004: Fire QB Matt Sauk throws for 362 yards against Green Bay Fire QB Matt Sauk giving him 10,255 yards in his career. Sauk become the fifth QB in af2 history to hit the 10,000-yard mark.

2004 AWARD WINNERS Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game: Week Opponent Player 2 Hawaii Tony Stallings (Fire) 3 Macon Matt Sauk (Fire) 4 Albany Matt Sauk (Fire) 5 Wilkes-Barre Tim Hicks (Wilkes-Barre) 6 Memphis Kevin Prentiss (Memphis) 7 Albany Anthony Payton (Fire) 8 Green Bay Matt Sauk (Fire) 9 W-B/Scranton J.R. Thomas (Wilkes-Barre) 10 Quad City Takuya Furutani (Fire)

US Army Ironman of the Game: Week Opponent Player 2 Hawaii Tony Stallings (Fire) 3 Macon Tony Stalling/Dennis Fryzel (Fire) 4 Albany Jamie Ware (Albany) 5 Wilkes-Barre Tony Stallings (Fire) 6 Memphis Takuya Furutani (Fire)* 7 Albany Takuya Furutani (Fire) 8 Green Bay DeRonn Finley (Green Bay) 9 W-B/Scranton Rocco Forgione (Wilkes-Barre) 10 Quad City Anthony Payton (Fire)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Week Opponent Player 2 Hawaii Justin Thomas (Fire) 3 Macon Justin Thomas (Fire)* 4 Albany Demetrius Forney (Fire)* 5 Wilkes-Barre Ameer Riley (Wilkes-Barre) 6 Memphis Justin Thomas (Fire) 7 Albany Justin Thomas (Fire) 8 Green Bay Joe Rivard (Green Bay) 9 W-B/Scranton Kyle Grover (Wilkes-Barre) 10 Quad City Chaz Moore (Quad City) * Denotes player won af2 league award for the week.

THE FIRE THIS SEASON When leading after the 1st Quarter: 2-0 When trailing after the 1st Quarter: 3-1 When tied after the 1st Quarter: 2-1 When leading at Half time: 3-0 When trailing at Half time: 4-2 When leading after the 3rd Quarter: 4-1 When trailing after the 3rd Quarter: 2-0 When tied after the 3rd Quarter: 1-1 At home: 4-1 On the road: 3-1 Against the Midwest Division: 2-0 Against the Northeast Division: 2-2 Against the West Division: 1-0 Against the South Division: 1-0 Against the Mid-South Division: 1-0 Against the Southwest Division: 0-0 Against the American Conference: 4-2 Against the National Conference: 3-0 SCHOOLS REPRESENTED ON THE 2004 FIRE ROSTER Louisville (2) Kentucky Kentucky Wesleyan Eastern Kentucky Campbellsville Cincinnati Utah St. (2) Valdosta St. West Virginia Tech Grambling St. West Liberty St. Emporia St. Michigan St. Kent St. Georgia Tech Doshisha University (Japan) Kansai (Japan) West Virginia Penn State

FIRE ALL-TIME RECORDS

All-Time Record 20-37

All-Time Home Record 13-16

All-Time Road Record 7-21

All-Time March Record 1-0

All-Time April Record 5-9

All-Time May Record 7-11

All-Time June Record 5-9

All-Time July Record 2-8

All-Time Record in Openers 2-2

All-Time Record on Fridays 6-5

All-Time Record on Saturdays 14-32

All-Time Record vs. American Conference 6-15*

All-Time Record vs. National Conference 9-15*

*Denotes record against active af2 teams



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