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Louisville Fire game notes

May 12, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release


QUICK FACTS:
#4 Louisville Fire (4-1) at
#5 Green Bay Blizzard
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2005
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
Site: The Resch Center
National Anthem:
Coin Toss:
Officials: Referee: Tony Canella
Umpire: Pat Bayers
Head Linesman: Donald Rager
Line Judge: Robert Smith
Back Judge: Don Shouse
Radio: 1080-AM WKJK; Paul Wilman Play-by-play
Series Record: Louisville 3-1
Streaks: Fire Lost 1; Blizzard Won 3
Coaches: Tommy Johnson - Fire (18-19; 1-1 playoffs, Third Season)

THE STAKES: The Fire will be looking to get back on the winning track following last week's 46-37 loss to Manchester. The winner of this game will at worst be in a tie for first place in the East Division. The Fire is also hoping to extend a three game winning streak over the Blizzard.

THE SERIES: The Blizzard and Fire have met four previous times with the Fire coming out on top in three of those meetings. The last time the teams met the Fire won 52-47 in front of 11,846 fans in Freedom Hall.

THE IFs:
If Louisville defeats Green Bay, it would ...
· Make the Fire 5-1 for the second straight season.
· Allow the Fire to stay atop the East Division.
· Give the Fire their fourth straight win over Green Bay
· Give the Fire an 8-12 all-time in record in May

#4 LOUISVILLE (4 – 1)
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
4/30 BIRMINGHAM W 48 – 46
5/6 @ Manchester L 46-37
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
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 2 BIR 3 – 2
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 2 MAN 2 – 0
7/30 QUAD CITY 7:30 W 1 QC 6 -2

#5 Green Bay Blizzard (4-1)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/8 ALBANY W 49-41
4/16 @ Manchester L 59-47
4/23 MACON W 28-18
4/30 @ WB/Scranton W 48-40
5/7 @ Arkansas W 48-35
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
5/14 LOUISVILLE 8:00 L 3 FIRE 3 – 1
5/21 QUAD CITY 8:00 L 4 QC 4 – 0
5/28 @ Birmingham 8:00 L 1 BIR 1 – 0
6/3 WB/SCRANTON 8:00 W 1 Tied 1 – 1
6/11 MANCHESTER 8:00 L 2 MAN 2 – 0
6/18 @ Louisville 7:30 L 3 Fire 3 – 1
6/24 BIRMINGHAM 8:00 L 1 BIR 1 – 0
7/9 @ Quad City 8:30 L 4 QC 4 – 0
7/15 @ Albany 7:30 W 2 GB 2 – 1
7/23 FLORIDA 8:00 -- 1st Meeting
7/30 @ South Georgia 7:30 -- 1st Meeting

LAST SERIES MEETING: The last time the Fire and Blizzard met the Fire came away with a 52-47 victory in Freedom Hall on July 24, 2004. The Fire jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Fire QB Matthew Sauk was just 10-22 with 154 yards but did throw for three touchdowns. Tony Stallings led the way with seven rushes for 42 yards and three touchdowns.

SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:
Record vs. Green Bay: 3 – 1
Last regular season game: Fire 52 Blizzard 47, in Louisville, July, 24, 2004.
Current streak: Fire won three.
Fire longest win streak vs. Blizzard: 3 (7/12/03 – Present)
Blizzard longest win streak vs. Fire: 1 (6/28/03 – 7/12/03)
Most points, Fire: 59 (FIRE 59 – 54 at GB, 5/22/04)
Most points, Blizzard: 68 (GB 68 – 34 at GB, 6/28/03)
Most points, both teams: 113 (FIRE 59 – 54 at GB, 5/22/04)
Fewest points, Fire: 34 (GB 68 – 34 at GB 6/28/03)
Fewest points, Blizzard: 18 (FIRE 36-18 at LOU 7/12/03)
Fewest points, both teams: 54 (FIRE 36-18 at LOU 7/12/03)

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.


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Cesare Manning FIRE
3 South Georgia Adrian Cockfield SGW
4 @ WB/S Matthew Sauk FIRE
5 Birmingham James Scott FIRE
6 @Manchester Jake Eaton MAN

U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Marquis Floyd RGV
3 South Georgia Tony Stallings FIRE
4 @ WB/S Ameer Riley WB/S
5 Birmingham Demetrius Forney FIRE
6 @Manchester Marc Bacote MAN

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player Team
2 @ Rio Grande Tony Stallings FIRE
3 South Georgia Rob Green FIRE
4 @WB/S Rob Green FIRE
5 Birmingham Terrance Harris BIR
6 @Manchester Williams Haith MAN

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from the Fire and Blizzard who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
FIRE
Player Rank Category Stat
KIGHT, Danny 6 Scoring(Kick) 37
KIGHT, Danny 7 FG Percentage 41.7
KIGHT, Danny 3 FG Attempts 12
KIGHT, Danny 5 FG made 5
KIGHT, Danny T-8 PAT Kick Att 31
SAUK, Matt 8 Total Offence 1235
SAUK, Matt 8 Tot. Off. Plays 173
SAUK, Matt 7 Tot. Off. Avg/P 7.1
SAUK, Matt 8 Tot. Off. Yards 1235
SAUK, Matt 5 Passing Avg/Game 249.4
SAUK, Matt T-7 Pass Comp. Pct. 66.7%
SAUK, Matt 6 Pass Attempts 168
SAUK, Matt T-8 Passing TD's 23
SAUK, Matt 5 Passer Rating 123.2
SAUK, Matt T-10 Pass Yds/Att 7.4
SAUK, Matt 6 Passing Yards 1247
SAUK, Matt 5 Passes Complete 112
STEELE, Joel T-9 Pass Yds/Catch 13
STEELE, Joel 1 Pass Comp. Pct. 100%
STEELE, Joel 1 Pass Yds/Att 13
STALLINGS, Tony 7 Rush Attempts 19
STALLINGS, Tony T-4 Rushing TD's 5
STALLINGS, Tony 6 Kick Return Avg. 23.9
STALLINGS, Tony T-4 Kick Return TD's 1


BLIZZARD
Player Rank Category Stat
ANDERSON, Nick T-8 Sacks 2.0
BOWERS, Ryan T-1 Interceptions 5
BOWERS, Ryan T-6 Tackles 31.5
BOWERS, Ryan T-10 Passes Defended 9
DAVIS, DaQuan T-3 Fumbles Forced 2
EGGLESTON, Chris T-4 Sacks 3.0
EGGLESTON, Chris T-6 Tackles for Loss 3.0
GARTH, Robert 9 Int. Return TD's 1
HUEBNER, Matt T-7 Rushing 58
HUEBNER, Matt T-4 Rush Attempts 23
HUEBNER, Matt T-8 Rushing Yards 58
JUUL-NIELSEN, Henrik T-10 PAT Kicking Pct. 80.6
JUUL-NIELSEN, Henrik T-8 PAT Kick Att. 31
JUUL-NIELSEN, Henrik T-8 PAT Kicks Made 25
MASON, Troy T-8 Scoring 60
MASON, Troy 6 All Purpose 679
MASON, Troy T-8 Scoring (TD's) 60
MASON, Troy 10 Receive Yds/game 99.5
MASON, Troy T-10 Reception TD's 9
TURMAN, Johnny T-10 Tot. Off. TD's 25
TURMAN, Johnny T-8 Pass Attempts 160
TURMAN, Johnny T-8 Passing TD's 23
TURMAN, Johnny T-4 Pass Intercepted 6

DROPBACK: The Fire suffered their first defeat of the season last week in Manchester 46-37. The loss dropped the Fire into a tie for first place with Manchester and Green Bay.

FORWARD MOTION: The Fire will return home next week on May 21 to take on the defending af2 Champion Florida Firecats. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. The Fire has played the defending af2 champion five times in franchise history going 2 -3 (Lost to Quad City twice in 2002, defeated Peoria twice in 2003 and lost to Tulsa in the playoffs in 2004).

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Fire and Blizzard stack up:
Statistical Green Bay Louisville
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 14 42.8 6 49.4
Touchdowns T-13 31 9 34
Total Offense 16 230.6 10 255
Total Defense 14 264.2 15 263.8
Pass Offense 14 213.8 8 245.8
Pass Defense 15 250.2 13 248.8
Rushing Offense 11 16.8 18 9.2
Rushing Defense 7 14.0 8 15
Pass Rating 12 103.12 4 123.1
Pass Def. Rating 3 93.6 9 105.1
Kickoff Returns 17 16.6 11 18.3
MFG Returns 10 25 9 3.3
Turnover Margin 4 +6 5 +4
Field Goals 19 1-7(143) 9 5-12(.417)
PAT Kicking 7 .806 17 .710
Sacks By 3 11 T-16 4
Sacks Against T-3 3 T-5 4
First Downs 20 68 4 99
Opp. First Downs 14 99 16 103
Penalties 10 51.0 9 50.5
Opp. Penalties 11 55.8 12 52.2

TEAM TRENDS:
STARTING HOT... The Fire is starting games off right this season, currently holding a 62-33 advantage in the first quarter.

SHUTOUT: This season the Fire defense has come up big in important situations. The defense opened Saturday's win with a first quarter shut out of Birmingham. So far in 2005 the defense has shutout teams in three different quarters, Birmingham in the first quarter, South Georgia in the third quarter and Rio Grande Valley in the fourth quarter (Wilkes-Barre & Manchester are the only two opponents to score in every quarter).

MILESTONES:
MATT SAUK... Sauk threw for three touchdown passes at Manchester raising his career total to 268. Sauk needs 32 touchdown passes to reach the 300 touchdown pass mark.

FIRE ALL-TIME RECORDS

All-Time Record 27-44

All-Time Home Record 17-17

All-Time Road Record 10-27

All-Time March Record 1-0

All-Time April Record 9-9

All-Time May Record 7-12

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 9-7

All-Time Record on Saturdays 18-37

All-Time Against 2005 Opponents 12-15

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