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Louisville Fire game notes

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


THE STAKES: Now that the Fire has clinched a playoff spot they are fighting for position. Green Bay currently holds the head-to-head advantage over the Fire for the third spot in the American Conference.

THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

THE IFs:

If Louisville defeats Oklahoma City, it would ... -Make the Fire 1 - 0 against OKC.
-Keep the Fire in at least fourth in American Conference
-Make the Fire 3-1 against the National Conference this season
-Give the Fire a 6-10 record all-time in July

LAST SERIES MEETING: This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

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.

DROPBACK: The Fire jumped on San Diego early with two Lawrence Matthews interceptions. The defense held the Riptide scoreless in the second and third quarters and defeated San Diego 62-40.

FORWARD MOTION: The Fire will return to the friendly confines of Freedom Hall next week for a rematch with the division leading Manchester Wolves.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: SAUK vs. STRICKLAND: Fire QB Matthew Sauk became the second QB in af2 history to reach 300 touchdown passes earlier this season, Oklahoma City's Craig Strickland was the first earlier this season. Sauk and Strickland rank in the top five of several af2 passing categories all-time and this season.

TEAM TRENDS: SPREADING THE BALL AROUND: It took Matthew Sauk no time at all to find new target Wendell Williams last week. So far this season Sauk has thrown at least one touchdown pass to nine different receivers.

BROKEN RECORDS: The Fire has broken several team records this season: Cesare Manning: Receiving TD's in a game: 7, 6/24/05 Cesare Manning: Points in a game: 42, 6/24/05 Danny Kight: Longest field goal: 61 yards, 6/24/05 Demetrius Forney: Rushing TD's in a game: 5, 5/27/05 Dennis Fryzel: Receptions in a game: 14, 5/21/05 Matthew Sauk: Pass Completions in a game: 36, 5/21/05 Matt Sauk: Passing Yards in a game: 396, 6/18/05 Matt Sauk: Total Offense: 397, 6/18/05 Rob Mager: Receptions in a game: 16, 6/18/05 Rob Mager: Receiving TD's in a season: 29 Rob Mager: Scoring in a season: 176 points Team: Total Offense: 405, 6/18/05



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