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Nashville Kats game notes

January 23, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: Nashville Kats (0-0) at New York Dragons (0-0)
Date: Saturday, January 28
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Site: Nassau Coliseum (11,985)
Officials: R- Riley Johnson, U- Rick Podraza, HL- Julian Mapp, LJ- Paul Engelberts, BJ- Bud McCleskey
Television: UPN 30 (WUXP) - Nashville
George Plaster (Play-by-Play), Willy Daunic (Analyst)
Radio: Kats Radio Network. Flagship - 103.3 WKDF. Mike Keith (Play-by-Play), Larry Stone (Analyst).
Internet: Live stats online at www.arenafootball.com.
Series Record: New York (Iowa) leads 4-1.
Last Meeting: New York 62, Nashville 49 (2/19/05)
Series Streaks: New York has won the only meeting
Last Season: Nashville (6-9-1), New York (10-6)
Coaches: Pat Sperduto, NAS (5th season; 38-27-1 overall); Weylan Harding, NYD (2nd season, 10-6 overall).
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Nashville, Ryan Altizer (wk: 615.565.4282; cell: 615.330.6969; email: raltizer@titans.nfl.com).
New York, Corey Witt (wk: 516.501.6841; cell: 516.476.1877; email: cwitt@newyorkdragons.com).



OVERVIEW: The Nashville Kats get their 2006 slate underway in New York with a game against the defending Eastern Division-champion Dragons. New York features one of the most potent offenses in the Arena Football League, and after three consecutive Eastern Division titles, they feel primed for a shot at the ArenaBowl. The Dragons keep much of last year's squad intact, led by one of the AFL's all-time best quarterbacks in Aaron Garcia. The 11-year veteran became the first player in pro football history to throw for 700 career TD's last season. The big story for Nashville this week will be who the Kats will start at quarterback - returning starter Leon Murray or 2005 All-Rookie selection Clint Stoerner.

THE SCHEDULES:
2006 Nashville Kats (0-0)
Game Opponent Result Time/Score
Jan. 28 @ New York 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 3 COLUMBUS 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 12 @Chicago 2:00 p.m.
Feb. 18 COLORADO 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 25 GRAND RAPIDS 7:00 p.m.
Mar. 4 @ Arizona 8:00 p.m.
Mar. 10 @ Utah 8:00 p.m.
Mar. 17 CHICAGO 7:00 p.m.
Mar. 25 SAN JOSE 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 1 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Apr. 8 @ Las Vegas 9:30 p.m.
Apr. 14 PHILADELPHIA 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 21 KANSAS CITY 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 29 @ Grand Rapids 7:00 p.m.
May 6 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
May 13 TAMPA BAY 7:00 p.m.

2006 New York Dragons (0-0)
Game Opponent Result Time/Score
Jan. 28 NASHVILLE 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 3 @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 11 @ Utah 8:00 p.m.
Feb. 19 @ Philadelphia 12:00 p.m.
Feb. 26 ORLANDO 12:00 p.m.
Mar. 3 COLUMBUS 6:30 p.m.
Mar. 12 @ Austin 2:00 p.m.
Mar. 18 @ Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m.
Mar. 24 KANSAS CITY 6:30 p.m.
Apr. 1 GRAND RAPIDS 6:00 p.m.
Apr. 9 DALLAS 12:00 p.m.
Apr. 14 @ Columbus 6:00 p.m.
Apr. 22 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Apr. 29 PHILADELPHIA 6:00 p.m.
May 6 GEORGIA 6:00 p.m.
May 13 @ Dallas 7:00 p.m.

THE SERIES: Last season was the first meeting between the franchises, with New York winning 62-49. The Kats played the Dragons' forerunner - the Iowa Barnstormers - four times from 1998-2000. The Kats were 0-3 in the teams' three regular season meetings, but won the only postseason contest in 2000, 63-56. The win boosted Nashville into the 2000 AFL Semifinals and eventually to ArenaBowl XIV. The game was the last for the Iowa Barnstormers, who relocated to New York and became the Dragons the next season.

KATS INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Chris Angel Knee/Calf Out
Rupert Grant Knee Out
Ronald Jones Elbow Out
LAST SERIES MEETING:
New York 62, Nashville 49 (Feb. 19, 2005 @ New York) Aaron Garcia threw seven touchdown passes, five of which went to Kevin Swayne, as the New York Dragons downed the Nashville Kats, 62-49. Nashville scored on a pair of TD passes from Leon Murray to Jarrick Hillery and a pair of scoring runs by Murray, who was injured late in the game after going 19-of-31 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Tony Zimmerman completed four-of-seven passes for 72 yards and two TD's in relief. The Kats ran the ball 16 times for 43 yards and three scores as well. Both Murray and Hillery suffered injuries in the game that kept them out for several weeks.

KATS-DRAGONS TIES: New York signed four players that were recently waived by Nashville over the weekend. WR/LB Maurice Brown, QB Juston Wood and OL/DL Paul White were all inked by the Dragons just days after getting their release by the Kats... Kats DS Chris Angel, who is currently on the team's injured reserve list, was New York's leading tackler last season... Dragons WR/DB Angel Estrada played the first part of the 2005 season with the Kats, even intercepting an Aaron Garcia pass in Nashville's loss to New York last February. He was signed by the Dragons after being waived by the Kats in mid-season... Kats quarterbacks coach Chris Boden was the backup to Garcia for the last two seasons.

SERIES NOTABLES: In the past two meetings with New York/Iowa (once in 2005 and once in 2000 as the Iowa Barnstormers), Aaron Garcia combined for 15 touchdown throws and completed 47-of-70 passes with four interceptions for New York. A complete look at Garcia's performances against the Kats:

Garcia vs. Kats
Date Result Att-Com Yds Td Int
2/19/05 NY 62, NAS 49 18-26 232 7 1
6/30/00 IOW 31, NAS 56 24-35 258 7 0
6/6/99 IOW 64, NAS 63 22-32 272 6 1
5/15/98 NAS 46, NJ 42 17-25 163 2 3
6/22/98 IOW 46, NAS 43 24-44 266 5 0
Totals 105-162 1191 27 5

In last year's meeting, Kevin Swayne was the star of the game, catching five touchdowns and logging 115 receiving yards on nine grabs. A look at Swayne and fellow receiver Mike Horacek's stats in games against Nashville:

Horacek vs. Kats
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/19/05 NY 62, NAS 49 5 57 1
6/30/00 IOW 56, NAS 31 6 103 3
6/06/99 IOW 64, NAS 63 6 61 0
6/22/98 IOW 46, NAS 43 7 52 0
Totals 28 273 4

Swayne vs. Kats
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/19/05 NY 62, NAS 49 9 115 5
6/6/99 IOW 64, NAS 63 6 92 5
6/22/98 IOW 46, NAS 43 5 75 1
Totals 20 282 11

Kats quarterbacks Leon Murray and Clint Stoerner have not had much luck against the Dragons, going a combined 0-5 versus New York. Here is a look at what each QB has done in games against the Dragons:

Stoerner vs. Dragons
Date Result Att-Com Yds Td Int
2/6/05 NY 55, Dal 44 20-33 233 4 2
4/29/05 NY 65, Dal 57 26-38 338 6 1
Totals 46-71 571 10 3

Murray vs. Dragons
Date Result Att-Com Yds Td Int
2/19/05 NAS 49, NY 62 19-31 192 2 1
2/8/04 NY 54, GEO 28 22-41 220 1 2
4/12/03 NY 34, GEO27 21-37 281 2 0
Totals 62-109 693 5 3

Nashville receivers have a mixed history in games against New York. Here is a look at how Kats receivers have fared against New York in their careers:

Fleming vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds Td
4/15/05 ORL 72, NY 60 8 78 2
5/23/04 ORL 65, NY 41 9 88 0
3/2/03 ORL 72, NY 56 9 90 3
Totals 26 256 5

Hammond vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds Td
2/19/05 NY 49, NAS 62 3 15 0
4/12/03 NY 34, GEO 27 4 41 1
Totals 7 56 1

Toliver vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds TD
3/14/04 NY 40, TB 35 2 28 0
4/27/03 TB 59, NY 45 0 0 0
Totals 2 28 0

Hillery vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/19/05 NY 49, NAS 62 5 48 2
4/27/04 NY 57, NAS 41 1 4 0
4/12/03 NY 34, GEO 27 5 52 0
Totals 11 140 2

Lewis vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/19/05 NY 39, NAS 62 2 17 0
Totals 2 17 0

Bonner vs. Dragons
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/11/05 LV 41, NY 37 0 0 0
3/23/03 NY 54, CHI 51 0 0 0
6/30/02 CHI 55, NY 45 3 51 1
Totals 3 51 1

THE COACHES:
Nashville - Pat Sperduto, 5th season
37-27-1 (.586) overall
Pat Sperduto enters his 5th season as head coach of the Nashville Kats. After struggling to a 1-7 start in 2005, the Kats first year back in Nashville after moving to Atlanta in 2001, Sperduto pushed the Kats to win five of their last eight games to finish 6-9-1. He was at the helm of the original Kats team from 1999-2001. Prior to last year, he spent the last four seasons as an assistant on the staff of the Tennessee Titans. He joined the NFL club after spending five seasons with the old Nashville Kats. He compiled a 32-18 record as head coach the last three seasons and led his team to back-to-back appearances in the ArenaBowl in 2000 and 2001. Sperduto replaced Eddie Khayat as head coach in 1999 and posted the best record of seven AFL coaches who took over new teams in 2000. Sperduto spent his first two years as defensive coordinator for the Kats and was elevated to assistant head coach in 1998. He is a three-time ArenaBowl World Champion, winning twice as a player for the Tampa Bay Storm (1991 and '93) and once as an assistant coach with the Storm (1994). Sperduto began his professional career as a player with the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions before joining the Tampa Bay Storm in the AFL from 1991-93.

New York - Weylan Harding 2nd Season
10-7 (.588) overall
Harding begins his second season as the head coach of the Dragons. In 2005 he led the Dragons to a 10-6 regular season and took his team to the playoffs only to lose to Orlando 47-42. Harding spent 2002-2004 as the Columbus/Buffalo franchise's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. After his career as an AFL player concluded, Harding took his first coaching assignment with the Destroyers as their defensive backs coach for the 2000 season. Under his direct guidance, DS Prentice Taylor was an All-Rookie selection. The following season he mentored the defensive backs for the Rochester Brigade of arenafootball2. The Destroyers brought Harding back as their defensive coordinator in 2002. As a player, Harding was a defensive specialist for the Iowa Barnstormers - now the Dragons - Nashville and Portland before retiring as a player with Buffalo in 2000.

2005 TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Category Kats Dragons
Scoring Offense (Rank) 17th (41.8) 4th (53.9)
Scoring Defense 1st (44.7) 9th (49.9)
Total Offense 17th (262.1) 15th (266.9)
Total Defense 6th (271.1) 15th (304.5)
Pass Offense 16th (229.1) 12th (251.2)
Pass Defense 5th (251.8) 15th (280.2)
Rushing Offense 3rd (32.9) 11th (15.6)
Rushing Defense 8th (19.2) 14th (24.3)
Pass Rating 16th (95.7) 2nd (120.7)
Pass Defense Rating 10th (109.0) 1st (97.4)
Interceptions 3rd (20) 1st (28)
Turnover Margin t-2nd (+8) t-2nd (+8)
Kickoff Return Avg. 10th (17.4) 2nd (21.0)
Field Goal Return Avg. 13th (13.5) 3rd (23.3)
Sacks By t-1st (24) t-15th (10)
Sacks Against 11th (17) 15th (25)

NOTES:
ROAD WARRIORS - The Kats have always played on the road, particularly under Sperduto. Nashville is 27-15-1 (.640), all-time, away from home. That compares to a 25-18 (.581) mark at home. Under Sperduto, the Kats are 17-10-1 (.625) on the road, and they were 3-4-1 away from home last year, compared to 3-5 at home.

SEASON OPENERS - The Kats are 4-2, all-time, in season openers, winning games to start out the 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2005 seasons. Nashville dropped its first contests of the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The Kats are also 4-2, all-time, in road openers. Sperduto is 2-2 in openers as the Kats coach since taking over the top job in 1999. Nashville won last year's season opener, also on the road, at Columbus, 47-38. A complete look at the Kats' season openers through the years:

KATS SEASON OPENERS
Date Opponent Result Score
Jan. 28, 2005 @ Columbus W 47-38
Apr. 13, 2001 ORLANDO W 50-25
Apr. 13, 2000 ALBANY L 65-76
Apr. 23, 1999 ORLANDO L 40-49
May 01, 1998 @ Houston W 64-40
May 02, 1997 SAN JOSE W 47-21

OLD SCHOOL - This Kats team has a familiar look to it, as five players on this year's roster were also with the team in its previous version (1997-2001). OL/DL James Baron, WR/LB Cory Fleming, FB/LB Rupert Grant, WR/LB Darryl Hammond and WR/DB Jarrick Hillery all played with the old Kats, and all were on Nashville's back-to-back ArenaBowl squads in 2000 and 2001.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? - Nashville begins the 2006 season with a much different look than when it began the 2005 season. The biggest change is reflected in the years of AFL experience this year's roster has compared to last year's. When the Kats played their season opener at Columbus on Jan. 28, 2005, the active roster featured 24 players with a combined 46 years of AFL experience. When Nashville plays at New York exactly one year later, they will feature 23 players with a combined 80 years of experience. That is an improvement of 34 combined years, and that does not include the nine years of AFL experience between injured reserve players Rupert Grant and Chris Angel. The 2005 opening week roster had 11 rookies, where this year's opening roster has only one - lineman Tyrone Hopson.

WHO'S THE QB? - Much of the offseason talk surrounding the Kats centered on the quarterback position, where incumbent starter Leon Murray was competing with Clint Stoerner, an AFL All-Rookie choice with Dallas last season, for the starting job. Nashville traded for Stoerner in the offseason, and both players looked solid during training camp. After originally appearing that the Kats would be unable to keep both players due to salary cap restrictions, Nashville reworked contracts of several players to ensure that both Murray and Stoerner would be able to stick around. Now the question is: Who will start? No decision is expected until late in the week, or even game day. Murray is a three-year veteran who played two years with the Georgia Force prior to starting 13 games for the Kats last year. Stoerner played three seasons in the NFL before bursting onto the AFL scene with the Dallas Desperados last year. He was named to the All-Rookie squad and was runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting. Here is a comparison of the two players' numbers from last season:

Player G Att. Cmp. Pct. Yds. TD INT
Murray 13 416 250 60.1 2851 48 10
Stoerner 16 506 322 63.6 3918 77 16

BIG BOY FOOTBALL - While most teams in the Arena Football League tend to air it out, Nashville head coach Pat Sperduto loves to keep the ball on the ground. The original Kats, under Sperduto, perfected what the coach calls "Big Boy Football," highlighted by a pounding ground game. Nashville led the AFL in rushing in 2000 and 2001, averaging more than 35 yards per game on the ground in both seasons. Last year, the Kats ranked third in the AFL in rushing, averaging 32.9 yards per game.

SECOND(ARY) TO NONE - The Kats have put together one of the most formidable secondaries in the league, adding to a group that already helped Nashville post the third-best turnover margin (+8) in the AFL in 2005. In addition to returning stars Khalil Carter (a second-team All-Arena standout last season), Reggie Stephens and Rober' Freeman, the Kats added two-year veteran Monty Montgomery from New Orleans and six-year vet Cornelius Bonner from Las Vegas. Montgomery was an All-Rookie choice in 2004, and he is widely respected as one of the best defensive specialists in the league. Bonner is a two-way player, whose 12 INT's over the last two years is second only to three-time AFL Defensive Player of the Year Kenny McEntyre during that span. As is true with the rest of the team, this year's defensive backfield is a much more veteran unit than the one Nashville fielded in 2005. Coming into '05, the Kats had four natural defensive backs with a combined three years of experience in the AFL. This season, Nashville's five primary DB's on the active roster have a combined 12 years of experience. Those five (Carter, Freeman, Montgomery and Stephens), plus WR/DB Jarrick Hillery, had a combined 18 interceptions in 2005.

SACK ATTACK - Nashville finished tied for the league lead in sacks last season with 24. The Kats had six players who had at least three sacks on the year, while no other team had more than three players reach that mark. Of those six players, the Kats return four (James Baron, Rupert Grant, Aaron McConnell, Joe Minucci), plus they have added FB/LB Frank Carter, who tied for second in the league with nine sacks a year ago.

GETTING DEFENSIVE - In addition to leading the AFL in sacks and finishing third in turnover margin, the Kats' defense had one more key stat in 2005 - a league-leading 44.7 points allowed per game. Nashville, which also led the AFL in scoring defense in 2001 (the last year of the old Kats franchise) held opponents to 40 points or less five times last season.

NEW FACES - Nashville made some significant roster additions over the offseason, resulting in several new faces on this year's squad. One of the most notable is WR/LB Cory Fleming, who rejoins the Kats after a year in Carolina and three seasons with Orlando. He was the AFL Ironman of the Year in 2004. Nashville also signed first-team All-Arena FB/LB Frank Carter, as well as veteran WR/DB Cornelius Bonner, both of whom played for Las Vegas last season. The Kats also traded for QB Clint Stoerner, who started all 16 games for Dallas in 2005, and they signed defensive specialist Monty Montgomery, who was an AFL All-Rookie choice in 2004. A list of the new faces to the 2006 Kats:

Player Pos. Exp. Spent 2005...
Chris Angel DS 2 New York
Cornelius Bonner WR/DB 6 Las Vegas
Frank Carter FB/LB 4 Las Vegas
Cory Fleming WR/LB 9 Orlando
Anthony Herron OL/DL 1 NFL-Atlanta
Tyrone Hopson OL/DL R ----
Ronald Jones OL/DL R ----
Monty Montgomery DS 2 New Orleans
Clint Stoerner QB 1 Dallas

TITANS CONNECTIONS - Five of the 23 players on Nashville's active roster have spent time with the Tennessee Titans organization. FB/LB Dan Alexander and saw extensive playing time with the NFL club, while DS Rober' Freeman, WR/LB Jermaine Lewis, OL/DL Aaron McConnell and OL/DL Joe Minucci were all in camp with the Titans at some point. Head coach Pat Sperduto also served on the Titans' staff the four seasons between his stints with the Kats.

AMONG THE GREATEST - The Kats had two players on the recently-announced AFL's 20 Greatest Players of All-Time list. Lineman James Baron, who is widely considered the most dominant lineman to ever play the game, was ranked sixth. That is higher than any other non-quarterback or receiver. WR/LB Cory Fleming was tied for 14th on the list. Darryl Hammond, who was on the voting committee, also received votes. Nashville and Arizona were the only two teams to have two active players on the list.

FLEMING RETURNS - One of the AFL's all-time greats, WR/LB Cory Fleming returns to the Kats in 2006 after spending the last three years with the Orlando Predators. He has posted 39 games with 100 or more receiving yards and 23 games with 10 or more catches in his nine-year career. Fleming has earned first unit All-AFL honors four times, including 1997, 1998, 2004 and 2005, and he was named AFL Ironman of the Year, signifying the Arena Football League's best two-way player in 2004. He was tabbed AFL Rookie of the Year in 1997. His 798 career receptions ranks him third, all-time, behind Barry Wagner and Edie Brown. He ranks fourth on the all-time lists for career touchdowns (196) and receiving yards (9,658). Fleming has averaged 89 receptions, 1,073 receiving yards and 25 receiving touchdowns in his previous nine seasons in the AFL, despite missing all but five games in 2001 and the final four games of the 2000 season with injuries. He has caught at least one TD pass in each of the last 40 games in which he has played. Last season, he was named to the first-team All-Arena squad, catching 96 passes for 1,089 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Orlando Predators, and helping to lead the team to the AFL semifinals. Saturday's game will mark Fleming's first game as a Kat since ArenaBowl XV, played on Aug. 21, 2001.

BARON OF DEFENSE - OL/DL James Baron is widely known as one of the AFL's all-time greatest linemen, and he showed why in his return to the Kats last season. After sitting out the first two games of the year with an ankle injury and having his streak of 131 consecutive games played come to an end, Baron returned, registering 11 tackles, four stops for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a safety in his 14 games. Baron was recently named no. 6 on the list of the league's 20 greatest players, and he has been named the league's defensive player of the year once and lineman of the year twice. The former Virginia Tech standout earned all-Arena honors six times (1997-2002), including the first-team five times. He is a two-time member of the all-Ironman team (1999, 2001), and he has 39.5 career sacks - tied for fourth-most in AFL history. With his next full sack, he will jump into third place on the career list, and he could move into second with four sacks in 2006. His 24.5 career tackles for loss is the second-highest total in AFL history, and he was named to the AFL's 15th Anniversary all-time team at the 2001 ArenaBowl. Baron, who played three seasons with Chicago between stints in Nashville, was one of only two players to play in all 80 games with the previous Kats franchise, including 10 postseason contests (joining quarterback Andy Kelly). He is Nashville's franchise leader in sacks (39.5), and he also holds team records for sacks in one season (7.0) and sacks in one game (2.5).

SWEET 16 - Kats WR/LB Darryl Hammond will begin his 16th year in the AFL (the longest tenure in Arena Football League history) on Saturday at New York. He continues to defy Father Time in 2005, earning a selection to the league's All-Ironman team. He had 66 receptions for 632 yards, eight TD's and 42.5 tackles in 14 games played last season. In 2005, he became just the second player in league history to have 8,000 receiving yards and 30 interceptions in a career. San Jose WR/LB Barry Wagner is the only other player to have accomplished the feat. Hammond now has 8,459 receiving yards and 30 INT's. He is one of only three players in AFL history to surpass 600 stops (Wagner and Grand Rapids' Damon Mason are the other two). He is fourth in AFL history with 791 career receptions and ranks eighth on the league's all-time receiving-yards gained in a career with 8,459 yards. Hammond has returned six interceptions for touchdowns in his career, tied for third-most in the AFL, and he ranks third in the league for career tackles with 630.

T.T. MEANS TWO TOUCHDOWNS - OS T.T. Toliver, who was acquired by the Kats in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay in 2005, was an excellent addition to the team last year. In fact, he was named Offensive MVP in each of his first three games he played with the team, and he scored two or more touchdowns in six of the seven contests he played in since the trade. Toliver, who was named to the league's All-Ironman squad as a WR/DB in 2004, had 55 receptions for 768 yards and 17 TD's with Tampa Bay and Nashville last season. He also had 14 rushes for 57 yards and three TD's, and he ran in a pair of key two-point conversions as well. The Bethune-Cookman product was a member of Tampa Bay's 2003 ArenaBowl championship squad, and he has spent time on NFL practice squads with the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Bucaneers and St. Louis Rams. Toliver will move to offensive specialist this season after being a two-way player for his first four seasons.

FIVE-WAY THREAT - WR/DB Jarrick Hillery is one of the Arena Football League's top Ironmen, having excelled in all facets of the game in his first five years in the league. He has showed his versatility in the first three weeks, catching 19 passes for 156 yards and three TDs, while also carrying the ball twice for five yards on offense. Defensively, he has intercepted one pass, broke up another and is third on the team with 9.0 stops. He also has had six kickoff returns for 112 yards in the game. The former Tennessee State star was selected to the All-Ironman team in 2001 and was an All-Rookie selection in 2000, while with the old Kats. He played with the Georgia Force in 2002 and 2003, and played last season with the Carolina Cobras. In his first five years in the league, Hillery made 186.5 tackles, caught 231 passes for 2,483 yards and 36 TD's, rushed for 311 yards and 24 more TD's on the ground and accumulated more than 1,900 yards and scored four times on kickoff and missed field goal returns.

SCOUTING NEW YORK
The Dragons have won three consecutive Eastern Division titles, and believe 2006 could be the year they break through to the ArenaBowl. New York returns most of its team from last season, including QB Aaron Garcia, who is the only quarterback in pro football history to have thrown for more than 700 TD's in his career. He boasts one of the best stables of receivers in the league as well. Offensive specialist Kevin Swayne torched the Kats for five touchdowns in the teams' last meeting and WR/LB Mike Horacek is a former AFL Offensive Player of the Year. WR/LB Chris Anthony is also one of the best at his position. While featuring a load of veterans in the skill positions, New York is a very young group up front and at fullback/linebacker. The Dragons return only three vets to a line that allowed 25 sacks in 2005, ranking them 15th out of 17 teams in that category. Defensively, they only had 10 sacks, tying them for 15th in that category as well. In the secondary, the Dragons are also rather inexperienced after losing Chris Angel and Corey Johnson to free agency and 2005 All-Arena DS Billy Parker to the NFL.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
WR/LB MIKE HORACEK - In 2000 he was named the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year and has been a league leader in receptions during multiple seasons. In 2005, Horacek led the Dragons with 93 receptions for 1,210 yards and 31 TD's.

QB AARON GARCIA - Dragons QB Aaron Garcia is entering his ninth year with the organization and his 12th AFL season as one of the League's top passers. He remains first all-time with 725 touchdowns and moved ahead of Sherdrick Bonner to second in all-time passing yards with 34,685. Garcia remains fourth all-time with 2,403 completions. He was recently named to the AFL's 20 Greatest Players of All Time list, and in 2005 he completed 346 of 515 passes (67.2%) for 4,115 yards, 90 TD's and 13 INT's.

OS KEVIN SWAYNE - Swayne is an electric receiver who has repeatedly victimized the Kats, having posted two five-touchdown games against Nashville, including one last year. He has 339 career receptions for 5,094 yards and 106 TD's.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from January 23, 2006


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