Louisville Fire game notes

August 2, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Louisville Fire News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Louisville Fire (9-7) vs

Spokane Shock (12-4)

Date: Saturday, August 4, 2007

Kickoff: 8:00 P.M.

Site: Spokane Arena (9,909)

Officials: Referee:; Umpire:; Head Linesman: ; Line Judge:; Back Judge:

Radio: 1080-AM; louisvillefirefootball.com; Play-by-play Paul Wilman

Series Record: Tennessee Valley leads 2-1

Streaks: Fire won 1, Vipers won 2

Coach: Tommy Johnson - Fire (45-37; 4-2 playoffs, Fourth Season)

THE SERIES: This is the 2nd meeting between the Fire and the Shock. The Fire lead the series 1-0. The two teams last met on June 10, 2006 in Louisville, the Fire won 76-69.

THE IFs:

If Louisville defeats Spokane it would ...

- Advance the Fire to the Conference Semi-Finals

- Give the Fire a 5-2 record in August

- Give the Fire a 41-50 record all-time on Saturdays

- Give the Fire a 19-37 record all-time on the road

- Give the Fire a 5-2 record in playoffs

LOUISVILLE (9-7), Won 1

Date Opponent Result Score

3/30 Boise L 52-57

4/7 @ South Georgia L 53-77

4/13 Cincinnati W 61-54

4/21 @Alabama L 47-63

5/5 @ Mahoning Valley W 52-34

5/11 @ Ft. Wayne W 48-42

5/19 Alabama W 53-35

5/25 @ Quad City L 53-59

6/2 Green Bay W 39-33

6/16 Ft. Wayne L 34-52

6/23 @ Cincinnati W 58-35

6/30 @ Albany L 53-44

7/7 Mahoning Valley W 57-32

7/14 Quad City W 54-42

7/20 @ Green Bay L 48-74

7/28 Tennessee Valley W 44-40

Spokane Shock (12-4), Won 5

Date Opponent Result Score

3/31 Stockton W 51-35

4/7 Quad City L 45-60

4/15 @ Ft. Wayne L 56-63

4/21 Lubbock W 63-26

4/28 @ Stockton W 58-55

5/12 Bakersfield L 28-44

5/19 @ Boise W 62-44

5/26 Central Valley W 66-63

6/2 Everett W 52-47

6/9 @ Bakersfield W 40-21

6/16 @ Tri-Cities L 34-39

6/23 Boise W 60-28

6/30 @ Central Valley W 76-57

7/14 Tri-Cities W 56-36

7/21 @ Amarillo W 55-19

7/28 @ Everett W 65-38

SCHUTT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD

(Selected by media)

Week Opp. Player Team

1 Boise Bart Hendricks BOI

2 @ S. Georgia D. Bryant SGA

3 Cincinnati Tiger Jones LOU

4 @ Alabama Markeith Cooper ALA

6 @ Mahoning Valley Tiger Jones LOU

7 @ Ft. Wayne Cody Hodges FWF

8 Alabama Tony Stallings LOU

9 @ Quad City Tom Anthony QCS

10 Green Bay Demetrius Forney LOU

12 Ft. Wayne Cesare Manning FTW

13 @ Cincinnati Tiger Jones LOU

14 @ Albany Ryan Hart ALY

15 Mahoning Valley Tiger Jones LOU

16 Quad City Joel Steels LOU

17 @ Green Bay Gino Guidugli GB

18 Tennessee Valley Tiger Jones LOU

US ARMY IRONMAN OF THE GAME

(Selected by media)

Week Opp. Player Team

1 Boise Lee Marks BOI

2 @ S. Georgia James Harris SGA

3 Cincinnati Demetrius Forney LOU

4 @ Alabama Demetrius Forney LOU

6 @ Mahoning Valley Eddie Yauch LOU

7 @Ft. Wayne Tony Stallings LOU

8 Alabama Eddie Yauch LOU

9 @ Quad City Jeff Macrea QCS

10 Green Bay L. Matthews LOU

12 Ft. Wayne Demetrius Forney LOU

13 @ Cincinnati Joel Steele LOU

14 @ Albany Chris Curd ALY

15 Mahoning Valley Tony Stallings LOU

16 Quad City Nikolas Kerr QCS

17 @ Green Bay Gerald Harris GB

18 Tennessee Valley Lawrence Matthews LOU

HEAD COACH:U

TOMMY JOHNSON, FIRE

Louisville Fire head coach Tommy Johnson, was born in Rome, Ga., and raised in Niceville, Fla. Johnson attended the University of Alabama, where he played defensive back. In 1992, he played on the Crimson Tide squad that defeated Miami for the National Championship. Johnson then continued his football career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and played 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. Johnson, who was named head coach of the Fire in 2003, led the Fire to the

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD

Selected by media)

Week Opp. Player Team

1 Boise Brandon Hazenburg BOI

2 @ S. Georgia Daryon Brutley SGA

3 Cincinnati Jerome Jones LOU

4 @ Alabama Willie Smith ALA

6 @ Mahoning Valley Nate Green LOU

7 @ Ft. Wayne Derek Brown FWF

8 Alabama Jerome Walker LOU

9 @ Quad City Jack Walker, Jr. QCS

10 Green Bay Nate Green LOU

12 Ft. Wayne Barry Drakeford FTW

13 @ Cincinnati Jerome Jones LOU

14 @ Albany Durrand Roundtree ALY

15 Mahoning Valley Nate Green LOU

16 Quad City Rusty Midlam LOU

17 @ Green Bay Ronnie Amadi GB

18 Tennessee Valley Matt Forbes LOU

CUTTERS CATCH OF THE GAME

(Selected by media)

Week Opp. Player Team

1 Boise Lonnell Dewalt LOU

2 @ S. Georgia James Harris SGA

3 Cincinnati Quorey Payne LOU

4 @ Alabama Not Named --

6 @ Mahoning Valley Chris Archie MVT

7 @ Ft. Wayne Tiger Jones LOU

8 Alabama Tony Stallings LOU

9 @ Quad City Tom Anthony QCS

10 Green Bay Tiger Jones LOU

12 Ft. Wayne Cesare Manning FTW

13 @ Cincinnati D. Washington CIN

14 @ Albany Chris Curd ALY

15 Mahoning Valley Chris Johnson MVT

16 Quad City Kris Peters QCS

17 @ Green Bay Markevius Woods GB

18 Tennessee Valley Tiger Jones LOU

ArenaCup championship game in 2005 and is the Fire's all-time leader in wins with 45. Off the field Johnson is active in the community staying busy with various speaking engagements and volunteering his time a Kentucky Country Day with their football team. Johnson is also a member of Southeast Christian Church.

THE CENTURY MARK: Fire rookie wide receiver Tiger Jones has been a standout in his first five games recording

100-yards receiving in each game and currently has had ten 100-yard receiving games. Jones had a career high 169 yards in the Fire's win over Mahoning Valley. Jones is currently tied for fifth in receptions per game at 8.5, third in receiving yards with 1717, third in receiving yards a game with 114.5, and third in receptions with 128.

TEAM TRENDS

RECORD'S BROKEN: The Fire set an af2 record and a team record in the Fire's opening game against Boise. Fire defensive back Matt Forbes set the af2's all-time interception record with his third quarter interception. Forbes now has 30 career interceptions.

Also against Boise, the Fire's Demetrius "The Freight Train" Forney set the team record for yards per rush averaging 2.5 yards per carry on his 10 carries. On June 2 against Green Bay, Forney set the single season rushing record.

On May 25, against Quad City, Eddie Yauch set the single season sack record for the Fire with 6.5 sacks on the season. Rusty Midlam set the rookie single season tackle record on July 20 against the Green Bay Blizzard.

Single Season Records:

Category Name Stat

Scoring MAGER, Rob, 2006 328

Passing Yards SAUK, Matt, 2005 5071

Passing TDs SAUK, Matt, 2005 112

Receptions MAGER, Rob, 2005 147

Receiving Yards MAGER, Rob, 2006 1918

Receiving TDs MAGER, Rob, 2006 54

100-Yd Receiving Gms JONES, Tiger, 2007 11

Rushing Yards FORNEY, Demetrius, 2007 243

Rushing TDs FORNEY, Demetrius, 2007 15

Interceptions THOMPSON, Arkee, 2003 10

Sacks YAUCH, Eddie, 2007 8

Tackles SIYKALA, Kabota, 2006 87.5

MFG Return Yards MCDONALD, Brian, 2001 325

Kickoff Return Yards MCDONALD, Brian, 2001 1879

Combined Return Yds MCDONALD, Brian, 2001 2204

Field Goals Made SAMUEL, Marc, 2003 12

Single Game Records:

Category Name Stat

Scoring MANNING, Cesare, 6/24/05 42

Passing Yards SAUK, Matt, 6/16/05 396

Passing TDs DIETZ, Brett, 6/17/06 12

Receptions MAGER, Rob, 6/16/05 17

Receiving Yards SCOTT, James, 5/8/04 201

Receiving TDs MANNING, Cesare, 6/24/05 7

Rushing Yards JONES, Pookie, 7/19/03 70

Rushing TDs FORNEY, Demetrius, 5/27/05 5

Interceptions THOMPSON, Arkee, 4/19/03 3

Sacks TIPPINS, Aaron, 7/23/05 3.5

Tackles GREEN, Nate, 7/7/07 11.5

Field Goals Made Two Players Tied 3

Longest Field Goal KNIGHT, Danny, 6/24/05 61

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Fire and Tennessee Valley stack up:

Statistical LOUISVILLE SPOKANE

Category Rank Stat Rank Stat

Scoring Offense 17 49.7 8 54.2

Scoring Defense 16 48.8 7 42.2

Total Offense 12 278.8 23 241.5

Total Defense 9 248.1 8 246.4

Pass Offense 16 244.6 25 215.8

Pass Defense 8 226.8 12 231.4

Rushing Offense 1 34.2 8 25.8

Rushing Defense 19 21.4 4 15.0

Pass Efficiency 20 95.6 5 115.6

Turnover Margin 16 -3 7 +12

Red Zone Offense % T-10 80.7 6 83.1

Red Zone Defense % 16 78.3 4 69.0

Sacks By T-7 28 T-24 19

Sacks Against 12 18 T-15 21

First Downs 10 304 12 298

Opp. First Downs T-15 286 21 290

Penalties 20 61.8 19 59.9

Opp. Penalties 24 53.0 2 69.5

Time of Possession 8 31:07 23 29:01

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

Player Rank Category Stat

FORNEY, Demetrius 7 Rushing/G 17.4

FORNEY, Demetrius T-6 Rushing Attempts 72

FORNEY, Demetrius T-4 Rushing TD's 15

FORNEY, Demetrius 6 Rushing Yards 243

STALLINGS, Tony 7 MFG Return Yards 153

JONES, Tiger 4 Receptions/G 8.9

JONES, Tiger 2 Receiving Yards 1897

JONES, Tiger 2 Receiving Yards/G 118.6

JONES, Tiger 3 Receptions 142

JONES, Tiger T-6 Receiving TD's 37

JONES, Tiger 9 Scoring (TD) 14.0

STEELE, Joel 9 Pass Comp. Pct 63.0

MIDLAM, Rusty 30 Tackles 72.5

FORBES, Matt 32 Tackles 70.0

GREEN, Nate T-34 Tackles 68.5

JONES, Jerome T-5 Forced Fumbles 5



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