Manchester Wolves weekly

May 3, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Manchester Wolves News Release


Wolves Grab First Home Win

Chris Sanders led the Manchester Wolves to their first home victory, 51-34, Friday night against the Albany Conquest before an enthusiastic crowd of 8,140 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Sanders earned Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game honors after an impressive showing in which he completed 17-of-22 passes for 271 yards and accounted for seven touchdowns (4 passing, 3 rushing). The ADT Defensive Player of the Game Award was split between Manchester's Reggie Robinson and Albany's Rob Green. Robinson earned the defensive achievement by swarming on the Conquest's key players. Robinson also played well on offense, catching a game-high eight passes for 105 yards. Green had 5.5 tackles (four solo, three assisted). The ARMY Ironman of the Game went to Kelvin Fuller of the Wolves. Fuller was not only an offensive contributor (one reception for 30 yards), but he also registered two tackles for a loss of 12 yards and had one sack for a loss of 11 yards. Other standouts for the Wolves on offense were WR/DB Ryan Soule (three catches, 71 yards, two touchdowns), WR/DB George Williams (three catches, 31 yards, one touchdown) and WR/DB Henry Frazier (two catches, 40 yards, one touchdown).

Wolves Set af2 Record; Sanders Ties Team Record

In Friday night's home win against Albany, the Wolves set a new af2 record for most yards penalized in one game with 194, eclipsing the old mark of 183 penalty yards set by Richmond in 2002. Manchester also tied an af2 record for most penalties by one team in a game with 23. All totaled, both teams combined to commit 37 penalties for a whopping 295 yards. On the brighter side of things, QB Chris Sanders tied a Wolves franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in one game with three against the Conquest.

Wolves Among League Leaders

As a Team: Individually:

1st in interceptions - 11 T-3rd in interceptions - 3 - Marvin Owens

2nd in first downs - 80 4th in receptions - 34 - George Williams

4th in missed field goal returns - 24.5 yds per game 4th in total offense - 1,225 yds - Chris Sanders

5th in rushing yards allowed - 9.8 yds per game 7th in rushing yds - 57 - Chris Sanders

T-7th in sacks - 8 9th in receiving yds - 412 - George Williams

8th in pass defense rating - 93.8 9th in all-purpose yds - 665 - George Williams

Wolves Show Community Support This Week

The Wolves are becoming an impact player not just on the field, but off the field as well. The team is reaching out to the greater Manchester community and beyond to help those in need. This week the team has a number of appearances planned, including:

Tuesday, May 4 (9:30 AM) - Team to appear at 4th Annual Early Childhood Parade down Elm Street

Tuesday, May 4 (6:30 - 8:30 PM) - Team mascot Blitz will be making a special appearance at Margaritas in Manchester to help with the restaurant's festivities for Full Moon Madness

Saturday, May 8 (Noon - 4 PM) - Team to appear at local Manchester walk for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The walk will be held at Arms Park.

Doctor's Notes

This past weekend Manchester welcomed back the services of starting center Matt Kier, who had been previously on short term injured reserve with a sprained MCL. Taking Kier's place on short term IR is WR/DB Mel Long. Long is still experiencing some pain in his ankle and the Wolves are hoping an extra two weeks on the mend will help last year's 2nd-team All-af2 performer return to form. Another promising return for the Wolves came from defensive specialist Allistair Sebastien, who looked to be moving around well on his sprained knee against Albany, tallying a game-high 7.5 tackles and three pass breakups. WR/LB Josh Liddell is also scheduled to be back in action this weekend. Liddell had been inactive in recent weeks due to ankle troubles. His return will surely help the team in their Saturday battle at division rival Cape Fear.

Wolves players on the injured list are as follows:

Mel Long (WR/DB) - sprained ankle - short term injured reserve

Josh Ison (FB/LB) - torn ACL - long term injured reserve

Vernon Crawford (OL/DL) - broken right hand - long term injured reserve

Next Home Game - Friday, May 21 vs. Birmingham Steeldogs - "Bangstix Night"

Fans are invited join the Wolves for their next home game on Friday, May 21 against the Birmingham Steeldogs at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Kick-off for this event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and all fans through the doors will receive a FREE pair of Bangstix, courtesy of Talarico Dealerships and 95.7 WZID. To get in the game, 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 in the upper bowl while youth (12-and-under) and senior (65-and-over) tickets start at just $9.50. Six-game season ticket packages are also available in select locations, starting as low as $84. For more information on season tickets for the Wolves, fans can contact the team at 603.627.WOLF (9653) or visit them on the web at www.manchesterwolves.com.



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