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Louisville Fire game notes

April 26, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Birmingham Steeldogs (0-3)
at #4 Louisville Fire (3-0)
Date: Saturday, April 30, 2005
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Site: Freedom Hall (15,646)
National Anthem:
Coin Toss:
Officials: Referee: Matt Austin; Umpire: Conrad Carney; Head Linesman: Greg Bradley; Line Judge: Tommy Walsh;
Back Judge: Todd Ransom
Radio: None
TV: None
Series Record: Birmingham 3 – 1
Streaks: Fire Won 3; Steeldogs lost 3
Coaches: Tommy Johnson - Fire (17-18; 1-1 playoffs, Third Season)

THE STAKES: The Fire is looking to equal their best start ever, 4 – 0 in 2004, with a victory over the Steeldogs. The Fire will also be looking for their first ever win against Birmingham in Freedom Hall. A victory would also allow the Fire to retain sole possession of first place in the East Division of the American Conference.

THE SERIES: The Steeldogs lead the all-time series 3 -1. However the last time the two teams met the Fire won on a field goal in the closing seconds 40 – 37 in Birmingham. The Fire is looking for their first ever home win against the Steeldogs.

THE IFs:
If Louisville defeats Birmingham, it would ...
· Give the Fire their second straight 4 – 0 start
· Allow the Fire to maintain sole possession of first place in the East Division.
· Give the Fire their second straight win over Birmingham
· Give coach Johnson a .500 record
· Give the Fire a 17 – 17 record in Freedom Hall
· Give the Fire 9 – 9 all-time in April

#4 LOUISVILLE (3 – 0)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/9 @ Rio Grande Valley W 56 – 42
4/15 SOUTH GEORGIA W 48 – 46
4/22 @WB/Scranton W 58 – 50
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 BIRMINGHAM 7:30 W 1 BIR 3 – 1
5/6 @ Manchester 7:30 L 1 MAN 1 – 0
5/14 @ Green Bay 8:00 W 3 FIRE 3 – 1
5/21 FLORIDA 7:30 -- 1st Meeting
5/27 ALBANY 7:30 L 1 Tied 1 – 1
6/4 @ Quad City 8:30 W 1 QC 6 – 2
6/11 @ Birmingham 8:00 W 1 BIR 3 – 1
6/18 GREEN BAY 7:30 W 3 FIRE 3 – 1
6/24 @ Albany 7:30 L 1 Tied 1 – 1
7/9 SAN DIEGO 7:30 L 1 SAN 1 – 0
7/16 @ Oklahoma City 8:30 -- 1st Meeting
7/23 MANCHESTER 7:30 L 1 MAN 1 – 0
7/30 QUAD CITY 7:30 W 1 QC 6 -2

BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS (0 – 3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/9 SAN DIEGO L 58 – 57
4/14 @ Macon L 67 – 50
4/23 MEMPHIS L 60 – 24
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 LOUISVILLE 7:30 L 1 BIR 3 – 1
5/7 SOUTH GEORGIA 8:00 L 1 SGA 1 – 0
5/14 @ San Diego 10:00 L 1 SD 1 – 0
5/21 @ Arkansas 8:00 W 1 BIR 4 – 3
5/28 GREEN BAY 8:00 W 1 BIR 1 – 0
6/4 @ Florida 7:30 L 1 BIR 3 – 2
6/11 LOUISVILLE 8:00 L 1 BIR 3 – 1
6/18 @ Memphis 8:00 W 3 BIR 3 – 0
6/24 @ Green Bay 8:00 W 1 BIR 1 – 0
7/9 MACON 8:00 W 3 BIR 4 – 2
7/16 @ South Georgia 7:30 L 1 SGA 1 – 0
7/23 ARKANSAS 8:00 W 1 BIR 1 – 0
7/30 FLORIDA 8:00 L 1 BIR 3 – 2

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Fire and Steeldogs last played on May 10, 2003 in Birmingham. The Fire pulled out a narrow 40 – 37 victory on Marc Samuel's field goal late in the game.


SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:
Record vs. Birmingham: 1 – 3
Last regular season game: Fire 40 Birmingham 37, May 10, 2003 in Birmingham
Current streak: Fire won the last meeting.
FIre longest win streak vs. Steeldogs: 1 (5/10/03 to present)
Steeldogs longest win streak vs. Fire: 3 (4/14/01 to 5/10/03)
Most points, Fire: 40 (LOU 40 – 37 at BIR, 5/10/03)
Most points, Steeldogs: 77 (BIR 77 – 34 at LOU, 7/27/02)
Most points, both teams: 111 (BIR 77 - 34 at LOU, 7/27/02)
Fewest points, Fire: 21 (BIR 39-21 at LOU 4/14/02)
Fewest points, Steeldogs: 37 (LOU 40 - 37 at BIR 5/10/02)
Fewest points, both teams: 60 (BIR 39-21 at BIR (4/14/02)

HEAD COACH:
Tommy Johnson
Louisville Fire head coach Tommy Johnson, was born in Rome, Ga., and raised in Niceville, Fla. He began his football career as a player at DeFuniak Springs (Fla.) High School. He later transferred to Niceville High School. Johnson then attended the University of Alabama, where he played defensive back. His senior class at U of A was known for having the most wins in a four-year time period (45-5-1). In 1992, he played on the Crimson Tide squad that defeated the University of Miami for the National Championship. Johnson then continued his football career with the Jacksonville Jaguars for a year. He also was given the opportunity to compete in NFL Europe. He started his Arena football career with the Albany Firebirds, and moved on to the Carolina Cobras. Johnson presently holds the record for the longest interception return for a touchdown in AFL history. In 2001, Johnson began his coaching career with the Fire as defensive coordinator. After two seasons as defensive coordinator Johnson was named head coach three games into the 2003 season, when the Fire made the late run winning two of those three games. In 2004, Johnson led the Fire to its first winning season (9-7), first af2 play-offs appearance and first play-off victory over Quad City 52-47.

Bobby Humphery
Coach Humphrey returns for his sixth season as the head coach of the Birmingham Steeldogs. He is the longest-tenured coach in af2 football, as well as the all-time winningest. In 2004, Humphrey surpassed friend and long-time rival Kevin Porter as the league's most victorious head man with his 46th win. Humphrey's next win will be his 50th career victory, another af2 milestone.
Bobby is a 2004 inductee into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He currently resides in Birmingham with his wife Barbara and their five children.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Cesare Manning FIRE
3 South Georgia Adrian Cockfield SGW
4 @ WB/S Matthew Sauk FIRE

U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Marquis Floyd RGV
3 South Georgia Tony Stallings FIRE
4 @ WB/S Ameer Riley WB/S

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Tony Stallings FIRE
3 South Georgia Rob Green FIRE
4 @WB/S Rob Green FIRE

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from the Fire and Steeldogs who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
FIRE
Player Rank Category Stat
GREEN, Rob 8 Tackles 19.5
GREEN, Rob T – 6 Pass Defended 6
GREEN, Rob T – 4 Fumbles Recovered 1
KIGHT, Danny T – 4 Field Goal % 50%
KIGHT, Danny T – 3 Field Goal Att. 8
KIGHT, Danny T – 2 Field Goals Made 4
KIGHT, Danny 5 PAT Attempts 22
KIGHT, Danny 7 PAT Made 16
KIGHT, Danny 5 Scoring (Kick) 28
KNAPP, Willie T – 4 Fumbles Recovered 1
SAUK, Matthew 7 Pass Yards/Game 229.7
SAUK, Matthew T – 3 Completion % 70.7
SAUK, Matthew 4 Pass Rating 127.2
SAUK, Matthew 8 Passing Yards 689
SAUK, Matthew T – 5 Pass Completions 55
SAUK, Matthew 9 Total Offense 689
SAUK, Matthew 10 Offensive TDs 14
SAUK, Matthew 8 Passing TDs 14
SAUK, Matthew 9 Total Off. Yards 689
STALLINGS, Tony T – 7 Rush Attempts 12
STALLINGS, Tony T – 6 Interceptions 2
STALLINGS, Tony T – 3 Rushing TDs 4
STALLINGS, Tony 4 Kick Return Avg. 24.8
STALLINGS, Tony T – 2 Kick Returns TDs 1

STEELDOGS
Player Rank Category Stat
BILLINGS, Patrick 6 Rushing Yards 50
BILLINGS, Patrick T – 3 Rushing TDs 4
CIRRINCIONE, Vi T – 4 Field Goal Pct. 50%
HARRIS, Detronn 2 Kick Returns 15
HARRIS, Detronn 6 All-Purpose Yards 499
HOLMES, Delvin 1 Yards Per Catch 25.2
NELSON, Ray 7 Rushing Yards 47
NELSON, Ray T – 6 Yards Per Catch 14.3
NELSON, Ray T – 6 Had Intercepted 3
NELSON, Ray 4 Yards Per Rush 5.2
WALLS, Alex T-10 Field Goals Made 2

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Fire and Steeldogs stack up:
Statistical FIRE STEELDOGS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 5 54.0 9 43.7
Scoring Defense 11 46.0 18 61.7
Total Offense 12 239.0 4 276.7
Total Defense 9 252.0 8 242.0
Pass Offense 11 225.7 10 233.7
Pass Defense 14 246.3 9 222.3
Rushing Offense 13 13.3 1 43.0
Rushing Defense 1 5.7 12 19.7
Scoring (Non-Kick)
Scoring (Kicking) 4 28 T – 10 19
Pass Rating 3 127.0 19 83.7
Pass Def. Rating 4 92.8 14 114.2
Kickoff Returns 6 20.7 10 18.6
MFG Returns T – 13 0.0 T – 13 0.0
Turnover Margin T – 3 +5 19 -7
Field Goals T – 7 50% T – 2 75%
PAT Kicking 14 73.3% 12 76.9%
Sacks By T – 18 1 T – 15 2
Sacks Against T – 6 3 T – 13 7
First Downs 12 52 10 56
Opp. First Downs T – 13 58 T – 4 46
Penalties 10 173 yds 11 177 yds
Opp. Penalties 17 138 yds T – 7 194 yds

MATCH-UPS:
RUSHING: The Fire has the number one ranked defense again the rush allowing just 5.7 yards a game. The Steeldogs rank first in the league in rushing offense averaging 43.0 yards a game.

DROPBACK: The Fire held off a furious comeback by Wilkes-Barre last week picking up a 58 – 50 victory. Matthew Sauk threw for five touchdowns and WR/LB rob Mager was on the receiving end of three of those. DS Rob Green sparked the defense once again with a 37 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

FORWARD MOTION: Next week the Fire will travel to Manchester, NH to battle the Wolves in an East Division showdown. Last season the Fire lost in Manchester 49-28. This will be the second meeting between the two teams.

TEAM TRENDS:
BOOKENDS... The Fire is dominating the first and fourth quarters of games. Currently the Fire has outscored their opponents 87-55 in the first and fourth quarters combined. Overall in the second half the Fire is outscoring teams 68-48.

WHERE YOU RUNNING TO? The Fire is currently leading the league in rush defense allowing just 5.7 yards a game.

SPECIAL TEAMS... The Fire is making the most of their kick returns by averaging 20.7 yards per return (sixth in the league). Tony Stallings is leading the way from the Fire averaging 24.8 yards a return good for fourth in the league.

MILESTONES:
MATT SAUK... Sauk added five more touchdown passes against Wilkes-Barre, giving him 260 for his career. Sauk needs 40 touchdown passes to reach the 300 touchdown pass mark.

JAMES SCOTT... James Scott found the end zone once at Wilkes-Barre raising his career touchdown mark to 91 and leaving him just nine short of 100 all-time.

FIRE ALL-TIME RECORDS

All-Time Record 26-43

All-Time Home Record 16-17

All-Time Road Record 10-26

All-Time March Record 1-0

All-Time April Record 8-9

All-Time May Record 7-11

All-Time June Record 5-12

All-Time July Record 4-10

All-Time August Record 1-1

All-Time In Playoffs 1-1

All-Time Record in Openers 3-2

All-Time Record on Fridays 9-6

All-Time Record on Saturdays 17-37

All-Time Against 2005 Opponents 11-14



arenafootball2 Stories from April 26, 2005


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