Lubbock Renegades Weekly Notes
May 28, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Lubbock Renegades News Release
GAME #9
WHEN: 7:00 PM (CST), SATURDAY, 6/2/07
WHERE: ALLTEL ARENA, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR
VS: ARKANSAS TWISTERS (6-2)
BROADCASTS: RADIO: KKAM 1340 AM
The Lubbock Renegades ended a two-game winless streak last weekend with a 71-44 win over the Laredo Lobos to improve to 3-5 and now they hit the road for a two-game roadtrip beginning Saturday night against the Arkansas Twisters. The Twisters did something no other team in the af2 has done, and that is knock off the af2 Coach's Poll #2 Tulsa Talons, completing the task 36-19 on the road last weekend. Lubbock is 0-3 on the road this season, while the Twisters are 2-1 at home. The Renegades are just 1-4 against Northern Conference Central Division foes, while the Twisters are 3-0 in division play. This is the second match-up of the season between the two teams, as Arkansas picked up a 51-48 win over the Renegades on April 15th at Lubbock.
RENEGADES RECAP
Lubbock, TX - The Lubbock Renegades went on a 36-0 run to break away from the Laredo Lobos and garner a 71-44 win in front of 3,001 fans at City Bank Coliseum Saturday night. The win improves the Renegades record to 3-5 and keeps the Lobos winless (0-8) on the season.
The run started late in the first quarter after the Renegades found themselves trailing 15-7 as the Lobos produced points on their first three possessions. Lubbock's win was aided by an equal balance of dominance and with not much needed offense. The Lubbock offense only ran 32 plays compared to Laredo's 53, and none of Lubbock's seven offensive led touchdown drives lasted more than four plays. Aiding the route was a combination of special team plays following Victor Mann's one-yard rushing touchdown to begin the second half scoring in the third quarter. Charles Ealy forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by John King for a Renegades touchdown, and the following kickoff also turned into a Renegades touchdown after Preston Hartfield came up with a loose ball off the rebound net before the Lobos could get to it and scored. Laredo attempted a rally in the third quarter with consecutive touchdowns after a fumble by Lubbock in their own endzone was recovered by Sabree Anderson. The touchdown by Anderson cut Lubbock's lead to 43-29, which was as close as they would get before the Renegades surged with a trio of consecutive scores beginning midway through the third quarter.
Individually, Jason Tezeno produced 324 all-purpose yards in the win with 105 receiving yards and with two touchdowns on five catches, seven kickoff returns for 180 yards and a missed field goal return for 39 yards. Fullback and Lubbock native Victor Mann produced the sixth best rushing performance in af2 history and the second best in the league this season with 80 yards on nine carries and a pair of scores. Kicker Chris Balseiro also completed some marks going 9-for-9 on PATs, which ties the af2 season single-game high for successful PAT kicks in a game and for successful kicks in a game without a miss.
The game featured a lot of ground game with teams combining for 160 yards on 30 carries. Laredo tied an af2 season single-game high with 17 carries.
PASSING: Kent, Robert (LUB): 10-18-175-4; Johnson, Jason (LAR): 22-33-226-3
RECEIVING: Tezeno, Jason (LUB) 5-105-2; Shawn Rochon (LAR): 10-123-2
Cutter's Catch of the Game: Chris Highshaw (LUB)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Charles Ealy (LUB)
Schutt Offensive Player of the Game: Jason Tezeno (LUB)
US Army Ironman of the Game: Preston Hartfield (LUB)
RENEGADES RIVAL RUNDOWN
Arkansas, who lost in the National Conference championship game last season, is seeking another crack at a long postseason. They have a 6-2 record through the first half of the season and this week opens a two-game homestand with three of the next four games at home. The Twisters have lost Brian Villianueva for several weeks with a broken foot and Davon Vinson has started in his place in two prior games. Vinson has been shaky in his two starts, but last week's win over Tulsa was aided by great defensive work. The Twisters, who lead the league with 22 interceptions, grabbed six against Tulsa last week. Arkansas leads the af2 in pass defense efficiency.
ARKANSAS' LAST GAME RECAP
Arkansas 36, Tulsa 19
Courtesy of Mike Brown, Tulsa World
Tulsa, OK - Everything that hadn't gone wrong for the Talons in their first seven games went wrong in the same game Saturday night, and Tulsa's seven-game losing streak fizzled under a pile of mistakes and turnovers.
The arch-rival Arkansas Twisters intercepted Talons quarterback Josh Blankenship six times and won 36-19 before a season-best crowd of 5,261 at the Convention Center Arena. Twisters defensive back Tanner Varner made a diving interception in the back of the end zone to start the game and ended it by taking a ball off the net 52 yards for an insult-to-injury score in the final minute.
Varner also broke up four passes and was named as the game's defensive MVP. Kevin Williams picked off two passes and Jason Simpson and Pierre Thomas intercepted one each. Twisters kicker David Carlton thrilled many friends and relatives in the stands by booming franchise-record 55- and 58-yard field goals in the first half. The Bishop Kelley High standout and former Talons kicker added a 24-yard field goal in the third.
Arkansas beat the Talons for the fifth straight time to even one of af2's fiercest and oldest rivalries at 8-8. The Twisters (6-2) also pulled to within a game of the Talons (7-1) in the Central Division.
Tulsa lost six turnovers in the first half and seven total in scoring its second-lowest point total in franchise history. The lowest came in a 27-14 loss at Bossier City in 2002. The Talons were averaging an af2-best 62.9 points per game. Tulsa's defense held Twisters rookie QB Davon Vinson to 125 passing yards and three touchdowns on just 11-of-27 completions, but got little help from the Talons' erring offense.
Tulsa played without star receiver Donovan Morgan, who signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills, and couldn't make its passing game work. Blankenship completed 22-of-50 passes for 203 yards and three scores. What the Twisters didn't intercept, they slapped down. They deflected 10 passes. Blankenship also overthrew several open receivers and kicked the ground in disgust after missing an open Jeff Hughley in the second quarter. Hughley caught two TD passes and Jermaine Landrum had eight catches for 68 yards and one TD in his first action of 2007 replacing Morgan.
af2 WEEK 9 REVIEW
Everett Hawks 66, Bakersfield Blitz 61
Stockton Lightning 51, Boise Burn 33
Rio Grande Valley Dorados 49, Amarillo Dusters 44
Lubbock Renegades 71, Laredo Lobos 44
Arkansas Twisters 36, Tulsa Talons 19
Tri-Cities Fever 77, Texas Copperheads 60
Spokane Shock 66, Cen. Valley Coyotes 63
S. Georgia Wildcats 60, Bossier Battle Wings 46
Alabama Steeldogs 65, Cincinnati Jungle Kats 33
Fort Wayne Fusion 56, Tenn. Valley Vipers 33
Quad City Steamwheelers 57, Louisville Fire 51
Manchester Wolves 50, Mahoning Val Thunder 40
WB/Scranton Pioneers 71, Albany Conquest 46
af2 WEEK 10 PREVIEW
Friday, June 1, 2007
Tulsa at Manchester 6:05 p.m.
Tennessee Valley at Quad City 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Fort Wayne at Albany 3:00 p.m.
Green Bay at Louisville 6:00 p.m.
Mahoning Valley at Cincinnati 6:30 p.m.
Corpus Christi at South Georgia 6:30 p.m.
Alabama at Florida 6:30 p.m.
Lubbock at Arkansas 7:00 p.m.
Everett at Spokane 7:00 p.m.
Laredo at Oklahoma City 7:05 p.m.
Bossier-Shreveport at Texas 7:30 p.m.
Tri-Cities at Stockton 9:30 p.m.
Bye: Amarillo, Bakersfield, Boise, Central Valley, Rio Grande Valley, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13.7 - Passing Yards Per Completion - Lubbock leads the af2 in passing yards per completion with an average completion of 13.7 yards.
30 - Rushing First Downs - The Renegades lead the af2 in first downs obtained by rushing plays with 30.
39.5 - Rushing Yards per Game - With Robert Kent and Victor Mann each approaching 200 yards each rushing, the Renegades are averaging 39.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks second in the af2. Lubbock is the only team in the af2 with two individuals with more than 100 yards rushing.
RENEGADES PRACTICE TIMES
All practices this week are inside City Bank Coliseum:
Tue-Thurs: 10-11:30 a.m.
Thursday night: Midnight - team departs for Arkansas
THE RECORDS
Victor Mann produced the sixth best rushing performance in af2 history and the second best in the league this season with 80 yards on nine carries against Laredo Saturday. The af2 record for single-game rushing is 96 by Kenyatta Spruill for Charleston in 2001.
Kicker Chris Balseiro went 9-for-9 on PATs, which ties the af2 season single-game high for successful PAT kicks in a game and for successful kicks in a game without a miss.
NEXT HOME GAME
The Renegades next home game isn't until June 23rd when they will host the Amarillo Dusters at City Bank Coliseum. Individual tickets for the game and all other home games are already on sale. Season ticket packages and advertising opportunities are still available by contacting the Renegades offices at 806-744-5858. Additional info can also be found by visiting the Renegades online at www.lubbockrenegades.com.
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