af2 arenafootball2

'Macon' some noise

Published on August 13, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


No head coach in af2 history has won more games than Kevin Porter. No single win is bigger than the one he is after this Thursday night.

Porter's Knights square off against the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the American Conference Championship Game Thursday night in Huntsville, Ala. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The winner goes to the ArenaCup. For the Knights and Porter, it would be the first trip to the af2 title game.

During the regular season, the Knights quietly went about their business, posting a 10-6 record and finishing third in the South Division. It seemed almost routine for the club that has posted 10 or more wins in each of the past three seasons. And just like the previous three seasons, many thought the Knights routine would include an early exit from the postseason.

That wasn't the case.

Maybe the last two games of the regular season should have served as a clue that the Knights weren't sticking to their normal regimen. In Week 17, the Knights went to Little Rock and beat the Twisters 57-45 in front of 8,547 hostile fans. In Week 18 they became only the second team all season to defeat the Vipers, topping them 51-42 in Macon.

Since then, they've continued to surprise people around af2 by extending their win streak to four games with playoff wins at home versus Florida (the 2002 American Conference Champions) and a road win at Albany, the Northeast Division Champions.

"I'm not surprised by the way that the team has performed," Porter said. "Over the last eight weeks we have gotten more consistent in all phases and we have continued to work hard and believe in each other."

Offensive specialist Jacques Rumph, who is in his second season, agrees with Coach Porter. "To me it's not a surprise and I don't think it is a surprise to my teammates," Rumph said. "We knew that as long as we got into the postseason we would surprise a lot of teams - and that's what we're doing right now."

The play of Rumph is one key to the Knights' success as he has enjoyed a breakout year this season. Rumph established career highs in receptions (131) receiving yards (1,704) and points scored (252). He led the league in receiving yards and was second in receptions and points scored. Rumph also earned an American Conference ALL-af2 First Team mention for special teams.

"Special is exactly what he is," Porter said. "He is a threat to score every time he's out there. It has been an honor for me to be a part of his development as an athlete. In my opinion he is one of the top players in the short history of this league."

Another ingredient to the Macon mix has been the play of quarterback Jermaine Alfred, who joined the team in June and threw 34 touchdowns in nine games during the second half of the regular season.

"Jermaine has brought stability and leadership not only to our offense, but to our team as a whole," Porter said. "When the quarterback plays well, the entire team gains confidence and that's what he has given us - confidence. Confidence in the fact that no matter what happens, we have the ability to score when he is on the field."

Rumph feels Alfred has been the difference for the Knights.

"Jermaine has brought a lot to the team," Rumph said. "If Jermaine wasn't here I don't think we would've even made the playoffs. He was a big acquisition for us. He's a smart guy and he knows where to throw the ball. He's going to be the key to us winning the championship."

With the Alfred to Rumph connection netting big points, it's easy to overlook some of the other guys responsible for Knights being in the position they are in this week, including fullback/linebacker Byron Douzart who earned ADT Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts in the win over Albany last Saturday.

"Our lineman and fullback/linebackers have been tremendous all year," Porter said. "They have really been the heart and soul of our team. You never hear about them unless they are making mistakes and that's why you probably haven't heard of any of them - because they don't make a lot of mistakes."

The Knights as a whole have not made many mistakes this postseason, and if they can keep it up this Thursday, they might leave Huntsville with a Conference Championship win and a shot at the league title.

"We've got to jump on them early and get the crowd out of the game," Rumph said. "Just play mistake-free football and that's what we've been doing for the last three or four games." If the Knights beat Tennessee Valley, they'll be the first team to do so twice in the same season since the Quad City Steamwheelers beat them three times during the 2000 season. Coach Porter thinks it's possible.

"We've already beaten them once this season," Porter said. "This has become one of the great rivalries in our league and our team understands what Tennessee Valley brings to the table. So knowing that, our club knows what type of effort it's going to take to get it done."

With a 2-2 all-time record against the Vipers, including two wins on the last three meetings, he may be right.

"This is the best Knights team that I have coached, but for different reasons than one might think," Porter said. "These guys have a soldier's mentality. We have gone through a lot of adversity this season. We've played a lot of tough games against some really good teams. Twelve games into the season people were counting us out, but these guys have continued to work hard, continued to fight and continued to believe in each other - and that spirit has carried us to this point."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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