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Louisville Fire game notes

June 1, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release


QUICK FACTS:
#7 Louisville Fire (5-3) vs.
Quad City Steamwheelers (3-5)
Date: Saturday, June 4, 2005
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. ET
Site: OS Field @ The Mark
Officials: Referee: Pat Miles;
Umpire: Fred Bryan; Head Linesman: Rick Kruger
Line Judge: Matt Kukar; Back Judge: Tom Wohlleber
Radio: 1080-AM WKJK Play-by-play Wayne Kraus
Series Record: Quad City leads 5-2
Streaks: Fire Won 1; Steamwheelers Lost 4
Coaches: Tommy Johnson - Fire (19-21; 1-1 playoffs, Third Season)

THE STAKES: The Fire is currently alone in third place in the East Division just one game behind Green Bay for second. A victory at Quad City will keep the Fire in third in the East and in fourth in the American Conference playoff race.

THE SERIES: This will be the eight meeting between the Fire and the Steamwheelers (the most of any team the Fire has played). Last season the Fire defeated the Steamwheelers twice, 62-61 on June 5 at Freedom Hall and 53-48 at the Mark in the opening round of the playoffs. The Fire is looking to improve their all-time record against Quad City to 3-5.

THE IFs:
If Louisville defeats Quad City, it would ...
· Make the Fire 6-3.
· Keep the Fire alone in third place in the East Division.
· Make the Fire 3-5 against Quad City
· Give the Fire a 7-12 all-time in record in June.
· Give the Fire their second straight win over Quad City.

#7 LOUISVILLE (5 – 3)
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
5/14 @ Green Bay L 49-65
5/21 FLORIDA L 43-47
5/27 ALBANY W 62-55 (OT)
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/4 @ Quad City 8:30 W 1 QC 5 – 2
6/11 @ Birmingham 8:00 W 2 BIR 3 – 2
6/18 GREEN BAY 7:30 W 3 FIRE 3 – 2
6/24 @ Albany 7:30 L 1 FIRE 2 – 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 5 -2

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (3 – 5)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/10 @ WB/Scranton L 64-28
4/16 Bossier W 36-29
4/23 @ Oklahoma City W 61-43
4/30 MEMPHIS W 45-42
5/7 @ Amarillo L 58-48
5/14 WB/Scranton L 63-55
5/21 @ Green Bay L 56-49
5/28 OKLAHOMA CITY L 56-49
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/4 LOUISVILLE 8:30 L 1 QC 5-2
6/11 @ Memphis 8:00 W 3 QC 3-0
6/18 ALBANY 8:30 -- 1st Meeting
6/24 @ Manchester 7:30 W 2 QC 2-0
7/9 GREEN BAY 8:30 L 1 QC 4-0
7/16 AMARILLO 8:30 L 1 AMA 1 – 0
7/23 @ Bossier 8:00 W 3 QC 3 – 1
7/30 @ Louisville 7:30 L 1 QC 5-2

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Fire and the Steamwheelers last met on August 7, 2004 at Quad City in the first round of the ArenaCup Playoffs. Just one week after the Steamwheelers beat the Fire 66-38 to secure the Midwest Division title. The game went back and forth with the Fire having a chance to win the game on a Danny Kight field goal with three seconds left. Kight's field goal missed to the right and bounced off the iron into lineman Derrick Shepard arms at the 10 yard line. Shepard ran the ball 10 yards for the 53-48 victory, the Fire's first ever at Quad City.

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
7 @ Green Bay Matt Huebner GBB
8 Florida Rob Mager FIRE
9 Albany D. Bryant ALB

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
7 @ Green Bay Matt Huebner GBB
8 Florida Cainon Lamb FLO
9 Albany Demetrius Forney FIRE

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
7 @ Green Bay Ryan Bowers GBB
8 Florida Kelly Snell FLO
9 Albany Rob Green FIRE

DROPBACK: The Fire defeated Albany 62-55 in overtime on Friday May 27. The Fire was led by Demetrius Forney, who set a Fire team record and tied the af2's record with five rushing touchdowns including the game winning 21-yard scamper in overtime.

FORWARD MOTION: The Fire will go to Birmingham next Saturday, June 11 for a rematch with the Steeldogs. The Fire won the first meeting of 2005 48-46.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from the Fire and Steamwheelers who rank among af2's statistical leaders:

FIRE
Player Rank Category Stat
Matt Sauk 4 Total Offense 2130
Matt Sauk 4 Total Off. Plays 310
Matt Sauk T-10 Total Off. Avg/P 6.9
Matt Sauk 3 Passing Avg/G 268.6
Matt Sauk T-2 Pass Complete % 67.8
Matt Sauk 1 Pass Attempts 301
Matt Sauk T-9 Passing TD's 39
Matt Sauk 3 Passer Rating 110.6
Matt Sauk T-10 Pass Yards/Attempt 7.1
Matt Sauk 3 Passing Yards 2149
Matt Sauk 1 Passes Complete 204
Matt Sauk T-9 Passes Intercepted 7
Rob Mager T-9 Scoring 104
Rob Mager T-9 Receptions 54
Rob Mager 10 Rec. Yards 673
Rob Mager T-8 Rec. Yards/Game 96.1
Rob Mager T-7 Rec. TD's 17
Danny Kight 3 Scoring (Kick) 59
Danny Kight 5 FG Attempts 15
Danny Kight 5 FG's Made 6
Danny Kight T-4 PAT's Attempted 52
Danny Kight 5 PAT's Made 41
Tony Stallings T-9 Rushing TD's 6
Tony Stallings T-10 FG Return TD's 1
Demetrius Forney T-9 Rushing TD's 6
Rob Green T-3 Fumbles RCVD 2
Rob Green T-6 Passes Defended 14
Rob Williams T-3 Fumbles RCVD 2

STEAMWHEELERS
Player Rank Category Stat
Sam Clemons 3 Total Offense 2170
Sam Clemons T-5 Total Off. Plays 309
Sam Clemons T-7 Total Off. TD's 44
Sam Clemons T-6 Tot. Off. Avg/P 7
Sam Clemons 4 Pass Avg/Game 268.2
Sam Clemons T-2 Pass Comp. % 67.8
Sam Clemons 5 Pass Attemps 196
Sam Clemons T-6 Pass TD's 40
Sam Clemons 2 Passer Rating 110.7
Sam Clemons 6 Pass Yrds/Att. 7.4
Sam Clemons 4 Passing Yrds. 2146
Sam Clemons 2 Passes Complete 196
Nick Gatto 6 Scoring (Kick) 55
Nick Gatto 6 FG% 25%
Nick Gatto 4 FG Att. 16
Nick Gatto T-8 FG's Made 4
Nick Gatto 4 PAT% 84.3
Nick Gatto 6 PAT Attempts 51
Nick Gatto 3 PAT's Made 43
Travis Burns 5 All Purpose 1316
Travis Burns T-1 Kick Returns 35
Travis Burns 3 Kick Return Yrds. 747
Travis Burns T-10 Kick Return TD's 1
Jeff Hewitt T-7 MFG Returns 3
Matt Forbes T-3 Interceptions 6
Matt Forbes 1 Int. Return Yrds. 118
Matt Forbes 8 Tackles 45
Matt Forbes T-6 Passes Defended 14
Fred Barr T-7 Sacks 3
Fred Barr T-5 Forced Fumbles 2


TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Fire and Steamwheelers stack up:
Statistical Louisville Quad City
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 6 50.1 13 46.4
Scoring Defense 12 49.6 15 51.4
Touchdowns T – 7 56 T – 12 52
Total Offense 4 280.8 3 285.6
Total Defense 16 278.9 17 281.0
Pass Offense 3 267.1 2 272.5
Pass Defense 15 253.9 18 266.4
Rushing Offense 14 13.6 15 13.1
Rushing Defense 16 25.0 4 14.6
Pass Rating 2 110.8 3 110.0
Pass Def. Rating 6 101.2 15 105.9
Kickoff Returns 15 17.3 10 19.7
MFG Returns 17 8.2 13 14.7
Turnover Margin 5 +5 15 -4
Field Goals 7 .400 T – 11 .250
PAT Kicking 12 .788 1 .843
Sacks By T – 18 5 T – 9 10
Sacks Against T – 2 4 T – 13 12
First Downs 1 175 5 161
Opp. First Downs T - 18 158 15 149
Penalties 6 51.8 5 51.0
Opp. Penalties 14 55.8 8 59.4

QUEST FOR 300:
MATTHEW SAUK... Sauk threw four touchdown passes against Albany raising his career total to 285. Sauk needs 15 touchdown passes to reach the 300 touchdown pass mark.

TEAM TRENDS:
BUTTERFINGERS: The Fire defense has taken advantage of fumbles caused this season. The defense and special teams have forced 14 fumbles recovering 11 of them.

SPREADING THE BALL AROUND: Fire QB Matthew Sauk has gotten all of his receivers involved this season. So far this season Sauk has thrown at least one touchdown pass to six different receivers.

PUNCHING IT IN: Once the Fire gets close to the end zone they have had success running the ball in for the touchdown. The Fire is tied for fourth in af2 with 15 rushing touchdowns and five different people have scored at least one rushing touchdown this season.



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