New York Dragons game notes

Published on May 25, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release


Quick Facts:
Philadelphia Soul (5-10) at New York Dragons (8-7)
Date: Sunday, May 30, 2004
Kickoff: 3:00 PM (EST)
Site: Nassau Coliseum (11,216)
Officials:
Referee: Riley Johnson
Umpire: Paul Frerking
Head Linesman: Darrel Leftwich
Line Judge: Paul Engelberts
Back Judge: Bud McCleskey
Radio: WLIE 540 AM Peter Schwartz (PxP) and Wayne Morris (Color)
Series Record: This is the second meeting of the season between the Dragons and the expansion Philadelphia Soul. The Soul defeated the Dragons 60-58 earlier in the season.
Last Regular Season Meeting:
New York 58 – Philadelphia 60
April 24, 2004 – Wachovia Center
Coaches:
Philadelphia – Michael Trigg (75-76, 11th Year, 5-10 1st Year as Soul Coach)
Dragons - Todd Shell (45-36, 6th Year 16-11, 2nd year as Dragons Coach)

Last Regular Season Meeting Recap:
New York 58 – Philadelphia 60
April 24, 2004 – Wachovia Center

A last second 52-yard field goal by Philadelphia decided the game as the Soul won 60-58 in Philadelphia. The game started off in traditional AFL-fashion with the teams scoring on all of their possessions. For Philadelphia, WR Ricky Ross caught both touchdowns for the Soul from 37 and 12-yards respectively. The Dragons sandwiched their score in between with Will Holder making the touchdown grab. After the first fifteen minutes of play, the Soul were leading 14-7.

Philadelphia opened up their first sustained lead of the game in the second quarter. First, Lincoln Dupree evened the score at 14 with his 13th touchdown of the season. But after the Soul scored on their next possession, they were able to hold the Dragons to an unsuccessful 32-yard field goal attempt. After the Soul's stop, the home team's offense struck quickly with a WR Sean Scott score to open up a 14-point lead, 28-14. In the waning minutes of the first half, the Dragons were able to get back on the board with a 45-yard pass from Garcia to WR Chuck Wesley. Unfortunately before the second quarter ended, the Soul scored with two seconds remaining to give them a 35-21 leading heading into halftime.

The Dragons came out strong in the second half as Holder made three exceptional plays. He started things off by catching a tightly placed 29-yard pass by Garcia for a touchdown. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Kicker Gary Kral booted the ball off the iron frame of the rebound nets and it took a tricky bounce and fell right into the hands of Holder for the recovery. Holder then completed a "hat trick" of touchdowns as he brought down his third of the game to tie the contest at 35 apiece.

New York's strong play continued as DS Donvetis Franklin stepped in front of QB Todd Hammel's pass for his second interception of the season. However, the Soul stepped up on defense and recovered a fumble by FB Rodney Filer. On their next play, they scored off a 26-yard strike to WR Derin Graham. But before the third quarter was out, Garcia led his troops down the field to tie the game once again at 43.

The stingy Dragons defense held the Soul to an unsuccessful 42-yard field goal attempt to start off the fourth quarter. FB Josh White punched the ball into the endzone on a one-yard rush to give the Dragons their first lead of the game, 50-43. Soul FB Chris "Soul Train" Ryan then matched White's one-yard rush for a score to tie the game at 50. On the Dragons' next possession, a Cosmo DeMatteo touchdown was called back for holding. On the very next play, Dupree fumbled the ball after a short catch to give Philadelphia possession back. They took advantage of the mistake as OS Tyronne Jones caught his second touchdown of the game to put the Soul back up by seven points.

With 15.3 seconds remaining in the game, Garcia connected with Lincoln Dupree for his third touchdown of the game. Down by one point, the Dragons gambled and faked the extra point conversion. Holder Chris Boden kept the ball after the snap and ran it into the endzone for two points, which gave the Dragons a one point, 58-57 lead.

However the Soul did not back down as their Kicker Ken Hinsley connected on a game-winning 52-yard field goal as time expired.


2004 Schedule

Date Opponent Time Result
February 8 At Georgia 3:00 W 54-28
February 14 Chicago 3:00 L 54-56
February 22 Dallas 3:00 L 44-56
February 29 At Arizona 3:00 L 41-53
March 7 San Jose 12:00 W 64-50
March 14 At Tampa Bay 12:00 W 40-35
March 20 Columbus 7:00 W 62-41
April 4 At Carolina 3:00 W 57-41
April 10 At Columbus 7:00 L 55-65
April 18 Colorado 3:00 W 52-49
April 24 At Philadelphia 7:30 L 58-60
May 2 At Dallas 3:00 W 44-20
May 8 Carolina 7:00 W 61-39
May 16 Los Angeles 3:00 L 53-58
May 23 At Orlando 3:00 L 41-65
May 30 Philadelphia 4:00

The IFS:...
If the DRAGONS defeat the Soul it would...
*Give the Dragons a 9-7 record this season.
*Give the Dragons a one-game home winning-streak.
*Give the Dragons a 5-3 home record.
*Give the Dragons a 1-1 record all-time vs. the Soul.

Dragon Tales:
Home Streak Snapped:
With the 58-53 home loss to the Los Angeles Avengers, the Dragons had their four-game home winning streak snapped. It was the first time since May 25 – June 3, 2001 when they won four straight. Since moving to Long Island in 2001, the Dragons are 14-16 at the Nassau Coliseum, including a home playoff win last season vs. the Chicago Rush. This season they are 4-3 at home.

Beaten on the Road:
With the 65-41 loss to the Orlando Predators, the Dragons dropped their road record to 4-4. Since Head Coach Todd Shell took over the Dragons on Feb. 24,2003 the team is 10-4 on the road in the regular season.

The Defense Rests:
Averaging 47.7 points allowed per game, which is eighth best in the AFL, 16.1 rushing yards, which is fourth best, the Dragons boast one of the League's best defenses. They rank number three in red zone defense. The Dragons are scoring 52.0 points per game, which is sixth in the League. The Dragons have won their eight games by an average score of 54-38.

Dragons Getting Stops: In the eight wins, the Dragons have recorded 37 stops and six made field-goals while in the six losses they've come up with 10. The Dragons stopped Chicago twice (missed field-goals), Columbus once (missed field-goal), the Soul twice (interception and missed field goal), Los Angeles twice (fumble and missed field goal) and Orlando three times (downs twice and an interception).

Taking it to the House:
Dragons KR Lincoln Dupree is topping the AFL charts as the special teams play has been successful in recent weeks. Dupree is tied for sixth in the AFL with 102-missed field-goal return-yards and tied for second with one touchdown. As a kick returner, Dupree ranks tied for seventh averaging 20.5 yards/return and tied for seventh with two scores.

Corey Johnson Ties Franchise Record:
With three interceptions at Dallas on May 1, Corey Johnson tied the franchise record for interceptions in a game previously set by Todd Harrington on July 5, 1997 and again by Mike Furrey on May 18, 2002. Donvetis Franklin added an interception in the game as the team recorded four INT's for the first time since that May 18 game at New Jersey. Johnson now has four interceptions on the year, ranking him tied for eighth in the League. He has recorded 17 interceptions for his career.


QB Aaron Garcia Continues to Lead AFL:
Dragons QB Aaron Garcia enters his tenth AFL season as one of the League's top passers. He ranks first all time with 630 touchdowns, third with 30,343 passing yards and fourth with 2,354 completions. On May 16 at Los Angeles, he went over 30,000 passing yards. On Apr. 18 vs. the Colorado Crush, Garcia became the first professional football player to throw for 600 career TD's. On Feb. 8 at Georgia, he recorded his 2100th AFL completion.

Aaron Garcia All-Time Rankings:
Rank TDs Yardage Completions
1st Aaron Garcia630 Andy Kelly31, 689 Andy Kelly2, 769
2nd AndyKelley615 Sherdick Bonner30,406 Shedrick Bonner2, 587
3rd Sherdick Bonner 607 Aaron Garcia30,343 Clint Dolezel2,423
4th Aaron Garcia2, 354

Johnson Named Week 13 Defensive Player of the Week:
Corey Johnson (5-9, 190, Georgia), who is in his seventh season, helped lead the New York Dragons (7-5) to a 44-20 victory over the Dallas Desperados (6-6) on Saturday. The former All-Rookie performer led the Dragons with 9.0 total
tackles, one pass breakup and a team record-tying three interceptions (twice, last by MIKE FURREY, May 18, 2002). This marks the first time that the former Bulldog has earned an AFL weekly honor.

Dupree Named Week 6 US ARMY Ironman of the Week:
The AFL following the Dragons 40-35 victory over Tampa Bay named rookie WR/DB/KR Lincoln Dupree the Week 6 US Army Ironman of the Week. The 5-11, 190-pound Dupree played college football at Eastern Michigan and was the 2002 arenafootball2 Rookie of the Year. He tallied two receptions for 28 yards and two touchdowns on offense, 1.5 total tackles and a fumble recovery on defense, and a 55-yard kickoff return and a 38-yard missed-field-goal return for two additional touchdowns. This marks the first time that the former Eagle has earned an AFL weekly honor.

Garcia Named Week 5 Offensive Player of the Week:
QB Aaron Garcia was named the AFL's Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Week after their 64-50 victory over the previously undefeated San Jose SaberCats (3-1). The 2001 Offensive Player of the Year led New York by completing 19-of-21 (90 percent) for 285 yards and nine touchdown passes and one interception. He connected with five different receivers for touchdowns and currently leads the AFL in touchdown passes (30). The former Hornet connected on three scoring strikes in the final quarter as the Dragons outscored the SaberCats 20-3 in the final 15 minutes. This marks the 10th time that the two-time All-Arena QB has earned an AFL weekly honor

Will Holder Named Week 1 Ironman of the Week:
Dragons WR/DB Will Holder was named the US Army Ironman of the Week following the team's 54-28 victory over the Georgia Force. As a wide receiver, Holder caught six passes for 81 yards along with two touchdowns. On defense, he came up with a key interception in the fourth quarter. Holder had an "Only in the Arena League" stretch of the fourth quarter where he caught a touchdown pass, recorded a special teams tackle and intercepted a pass in three consecutive plays.

Game Award Winners:
Week 1 at Georgia:
Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Garcia
Defensive Player of the Game: Will Holder
Week 3 vs. Dallas:
Offensive Player of the Game: Will Holder
Defensive Player of the Game: Donvetis Franklin
Ironman of the Game: Joey Dozier
Week 5 vs. San Jose:
Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Garcia
Defensive Player of the Game: Terrance Joseph
Ironman of the Game: Lincoln Dupree
Week 6 at Tampa Bay
Offensive Player of the Game: Lincoln Dupree
Defensive Player of the Game: Lincoln Dupree
Ironman of the Game: Rodney Filer
Week 7 vs. Columbus:
Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Garcia
Def. Player of the Game: Terrance Joseph Ironman of the Game: Richmond Flowers
Week 9 at Carolina:
Offensive Player of the Game: Lincoln Dupree
Def. Player of the Game: Terrance Joseph
Ironman of the Game: Richmond Flowers
Week 11 vs. Colorado:
Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Garcia
Def. Player of the Game: Donvetis Franklin
Ironman of the Game: Lincoln Dupree
Week 12 at Philadelphia:
Defensive Player of the Game: Jermaine Miles
Week 13 at Dallas:
Offensive Player of the Game: Will Holder
Defensive Player of the Game: Corey Johnson
Week 14 vs. Carolina:
Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Garcia
Defensive Player of the Game: Chuck Wesley
Ironman of the Game: Cosmo DeMatteo
Week 15 vs. Los Angeles:
Ironman of the Game: Josh White

Dragons Transactions:
5/14 – Placed DS Corey Johnson on IR. Signed DS Jerald Brown off practice squad.
5/7 – Placed Terrance Joseph on IR.
4/30 – Activated WR/LB Richmond Flowers off of IR. Signed OL/DL Will Burnett off practice squad. Placed WR/LB Curtis Fagan on IR.
4/27 – Placed OL/DL Richard Harris on IR.
4/16 – Activated WR/LB Chris Anthony and OL/DL Tim McGill from IR. Placed OS Kevin Swayne on IR.
4/14 – Waived OL/DL John Gillies from practice squad.
4/8 – Placed WR/LB Richmond Flowers on IR. Activated WR/LB Curtis Fagan.
4/7 – Re-signed OS Kevin Swayne.
4/7 – Waived and placed on practice squad DS Jerald Brown and FB/LB Kerry Taylor. Released OL/DL Corey Brannon
4/3 – Activated OL/DL Jerry Sharp off IR.
4/1 – Signed OL/DL John Gilles to practice squad
3/18 – Placed OL/DL Jerry Sharp and Tim McGill on IR. Activated OL/DL Jermaine Miles off IR.
3/12 – Signed OL/DL Ken Talanoa off IR. Signed FB/LB Kerry Taylor
3/9 – FB/LB Joey Dozier on IR
3/7 – Placed WR/LB Chris Anthony on IR
3/5 – FB/LB Chin Achebe on IR. Signed WR/LB Cosmo DeMatteo off of IR.
2/27 – Signed off practice squad WR/DB Chuck Wesley and DS Jerald Brown.
2/27 – Signed off IR FB/LB Chin Achebe.
2/27 – Placed on IR OL/DL Jermaine Miles
2/26 – Signed K Gary Kral
2/25 – Waived K Pete Elezovic
2/23 – Waived WR/LB Vinny Sutherland
2/21 – Activated WR/LB Richmond Flowers from IR
2/21 – Released WR/DB Sean Riley
Signed OL/DL Kelvin Ingram
Placed OL/DL Ken Talanoa on IR
2/17 – Placed WR/LB Curtis Fagan on IR
2/11 – Announced Retirement of Eddie Brown.


MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Terrance Joseph - 4 total tackles shy of 100 career total tackles
Jerry Sharp – 2.0 tackles shy of 100 total tackles
Kevin Swayne - 7 touchdown receptions shy of 100 touchdowns.

MILESTONES REACHED

Chris Anthony – 1,000th receiving yards (2-14 vs. Chicago)
100th AFL reception (5-8 vs. Carolina)
Lincoln DuPree - Made his AFL debut (2-8 at Georgia)
Recorded his first career AFL reception (2-8 at Georgia)
Recorded his first career AFL touchdown (2-8 at Georgia)
Curtis Fagan – Made his AFL debut (2-8 at Georgia)
Recorded his first career AFL reception (2-8 at Georgia)
Recorded his first career AFL touchdown (2-8 at Georgia)
Donvetis Franklin – 200th total tackle (4-18 vs. Colorado)
50th Pass Break-Up (4-18 vs. Colorado)
Aaron Garcia – 2100th AFL completion (2-8 at Georgia)
600th AFL touchdown (4-18 vs. Colorado)
2,300th AFL Completion (5-1 at Dallas)
30,000 AFL Passing Yards (5-16 vs. LA)
Will Holder – 1000th AFL receiving yard (3-20 vs. Columbus)
100th AFL reception (5-1 at Dallas)
Anthony Hutch – 20th AFL sack (4-10 at Columbus)
Corey Johnson – 200th solo tackles (4-4 at Carolina)
Terrence Joseph – 50th total tackle (2-8 at Georgia)
Richmond Flowers – Made his AFL debut (2-22 vs. Dallas)
Recorded his first career AFL reception (2-22 vs. Dallas)
Jerry Sharp – 100th games played (2-14 vs. Chicago)
Chuck Wesley – Recorded 200th receiving yard (4-24 at Philadelphia)

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 25, 2004


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