Manchester Wolves notebook
June 29, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Manchester Wolves News Release
Game 12 Wrap-up - Wolves Fall For 2nd Time In 2005, 41-39; 10-Game Win Streak Snapped vs. Quad City
On "Not your typical team photo giveaway night," the Manchester Wolves put together a not so typical performance of their own Friday, losing 41-39 to the Quad City Steamwheelers in front of 6,807 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Friday night's game snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Wolves (10-2). Quad City pulled off the upset of the league's top-ranked team to even its record at 6-6. After a back-and-forth affair that the Wolves led most of the night, Quad City's Travis Burns scored from two yards out to give the Steamwheelers a two-point lead, 41-39, with 39 seconds left. Manchester had one last opportunity to put together a game winning drive, but failed to move the ball up the field after three straight incompletions. Quad City took over after Wolves kicker Rick Ehmke missed a go-ahead 46-yard field goal wide left with 13 seconds left in the game. In defeat, Manchester's J.J. McKelvey earned Offensive Player of the Game honors with eight catches for a game-high 119 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Burns was exceptional for the Steamwheelers, scoring two rushing touchdowns and returning a kickoff 55-yards for a touchdown. Quad City QB Sam Clemons was 28-of-41 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns (one INT) on the night. Clemons helped bring his team back from a 12-point second-half deficit to outscore the Wolves 28-14 in the game's final 30 minutes.
On the other side, Wolves star signal caller Jake Eaton wasn't his usual self in the first half, throwing a season-high two interceptions. In spite of all the miscues and dropped passes, however, the Wolves still held a 25-13 advantage at the half thanks to four Eaton touchdown tosses. He finished the night with 258 yards in the air with six touchdowns on 23-of-46 attempts. On the defensive side of the ball, Manchester's William Haith was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game for his 8.5 tackles (seven solo), one sack, and one pass breakup. Marc Bacote completed the sweep of game awards for the Wolves, earning U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors with five catches for 57 yards, one touchdown and one interception on defense.
Next Home Game - Friday, July 8 vs. W-B/Scranton Pioneers - "T-Shirt Night & Nascar Night"
Fans, come join us on Friday, July 8 for "T-Shirt Night & Nascar Night," presented by Rock 101 and WGIR AM 610. The first 2,000 fans through the doors that night will receive a FREE Wolves "Keep Poundin" t-shirt. That night's festivities will also include having the official Rusty Wallace #2 Miller Lite Dodge car parked outside on the plaza for display. The 168 Magazine pre-game concert series starts things off at 6:00 p.m. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. To get in on the fun, purchase your tickets today at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office or through Ticketmaster at 603-868-7300, at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Adult seats start as low as $14.25 in the upper bowl while youth (12-and-under) and senior (65-and-over) tickets start at just $9.75.
Game 13 Preview - Wolves vs. W-B/S Pioneers - 7:30 PM (Verizon Wireless Arena) - Radio: 1370 AM
The W-B/Scranton Pioneers enter next Friday's game with a 7-5 record and are tied for third place in the East Division. The Pioneers are playing well at this point in the season, having won three of their last four games. W-B/Scranton's most recent victory was a 65-46 triumph at S. Georgia this past Saturday, June 25. Veteran QB Bryan Snyder, who took over the starting job from Kyle Rowley officially two weeks ago, leads the offensive unit. His two main targets of late have been Rocco Forgione and Thomie Venisee. Forgione leads the Pioneers in all major pass catching categories, including receptions (77), receiving yards (963) and touchdowns (23). Six of Venisee's 11 touchdown grabs on the season have come in the past two weeks. He has 35 receptions overall for 413 yards. On defense, DS Jamie Hattley ranks second in the league in tackles with 81.5 and ranks among the af2 leaders in passes defended with 23. As a group, The Pioneers defense is very good, ranking fifth overall in the league in scoring defense at 44.0 points per game allowed. W-B/Scranton leads the all-time series 6-4. In their only other head-to-head encounter this season, the Wolves defeated the Pioneers 38-24 on May 27.
This Week's Community Events Calendar
On Wednesday, June 29th, Manchester Wolves mascot "Blitz" will be making an appearance at Bob's Discount Furniture in Nashua for a blood drive held by The River 92.5 and the Red Cross. The event will be held from 4 - 6 PM.
On Thursday, June 30th, Manchester Wolves mascot "Blitz" will be making an appearance at the Verizon Wireless corporate office on Industrial Park Drive in Manchester. The "Kids at Work Day" event will be held from 12 - 1 PM.
On Sunday, July 3rd, Manchester Wolves mascot "Blitz" will be making an appearance at a "Salute the Troops Rally" from 6 - 7 PM at Arms Park in downtown Manchester. The event will honor the troops of the current war and feature a pig roast and then fireworks at 9 PM.
(Very) Good Eaton
Despite his recent sub-par performance against Quad City on June 24, Manchester QB Jake Eaton has shown all season long that he's arguably the most efficient quarterback in the entire league. The former Maine standout has completed over 70 percent (league-best 71.5) of his passes and has thrown just six interceptions in 400 attempts. To compliment that, Eaton's thrown for 3,101 yards and 65 touchdowns. With four games to play, he's just one touchdown pass shy of tying Chris Sanders' team record of 66 TD passes in a season. Eaton is also on pace to finish with over 4,000 yards passing and could approach Sanders' team mark of 4,184.
J.J. Is Dyno-mite!
Manchester Wolves WR/LB J.J. McKelvey is in the midst of an all-star caliber season. After a solid rookie campaign last season in which he played just six games, the former Clemson standout has started to blossom into a big-time Arena Football player in 2005. Through 12 games, McKelvey has already broken seven Wolves franchise records and is closing in on a host of others.
These Defensive Players Are Special (ists)
Despite all the attention that the Wolves offense may get, the defense deserves a lot of credit for the team's success this year as well. Manchester has one of the best overall defensive specialist combinations in the af2 in William "Roc" Haith and Allistair Sebastien. They are a big reason why the Wolves defense allows just 38.2 points per game. Haith, who has started all 12 games, broke the team record for most tackles in a season in Manchester's recent loss to Quad City. He now has a league-leading 94.0 stops on the season, surpassing Carlos McLaurin's previous team best total of 92.0. "Roc" is also approaching the team record for most passes defended in a season. His current total of 28 is just two shy of Sebastien's team record total of 30, which he set in 2003. Speaking of Sebastien, he has 16 career interceptions for the Wolves, including six this season. He needs one more interception in 2005 to own the single season interception record outright.
Doctor's Notes
The Wolves came out on the losing side for just the second time in 2005 this past Friday against Quad City. On the injury side, however, there was good news as the team heads into the bye week with no major injuries to report. FB/LB Mark Kimener's knee contusion, which forced him to be placed on the short term injured reserve list, should be healed enough in time for him to return to action for the Wolves next game on July 8 vs. W-B/Scranton.
Wolves players currently on the injured list are as follows:
Short Term: Mark Kimener (FB/LB) - Knee; Anton McKenzie (DS) - Knee Long Term: Kelvin McClinton (OL/DL) - Lower Back
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