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New York Dragons game notes

February 8, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release


New York Dragons (1-1)
@ Utah Blaze (1-1)

Date: Friday ▪ February 4, 2006
Kickoff: 9:00 PM (EST)
Site: Delta Center (13,143)

Radio: WLIE 540 AM: Peter Schwartz (play-by-play) and Wayne Morris (analyst)
TV: AFL Net

Coaches Record:
Dragons ▪ Weylan Harding (11-7, 2nd year)
Utah ▪ Danny White (122-56, 14th year)

Officials: Referee: Pat Garvey (6), Umpire: Paul King (79), Head Linesman: Rusty Baynes (71), Line Judge: David Meslow (26), Back Judge: Barry Anderson (39)

ABOUT THE GAME
The Dragons continue on their three-game road swing as they head to Salt Lake City to face the expansion Utah Blaze. Its the second of three consecutive road games on their schedule. After a Week Two victory over Chicago, the Dragons head into the game with a overall record of 1-1 and a 1-0 record on the road. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs and will take place at the Delta Center.

NEXT WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dragons conclude their three-game road swing against the Philadelphia Soul. The Dragons have won the last three consecutive games against the Soul for an all-time record of 3-1. So far this season, the Soul are 2-0 at home. A loss for them in Week Three and a win for the Dragon's would mean an even record going into their Week Four game.

DRAGONS' WEEK TWO PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Tuesday (2/7): 12:00-2:00 at Mitchel Field Practice Facility
Wednesday (2/8): 12:00-2:00 at Mitchel Field Practice Facility
Thursday (2/9): 12:00-2:00 at Mitchel Field Practice Facility
Friday (2/10): 12:00 Walk Through at Mitchel Field Practice Facility

To confirm the Dragons' practice schedule/time or to receive directions, please contact Kerri Griesbeck at 516-501-6889.

IF THE DRAGONS WIN, IT WOULD GIVE...
- The team a 2-1 record for the season and a 2-0 record on the road.
- The Dragons their 95th regular season victory and their 101st of all-time.
- The team their 40th victory since moving to Long Island in 2001.
- QB Aaron Garcia his 62nd victory with the team.
- The Dragons an all-time record of 1-0 versus Utah and a 1-0 regular season record.

DEFENDING THE EAST
Last season, the Dragons won the Eastern Division for the third consecutive season (2003-2005). The Dragons swept all of their Eastern foes (Columbus, Dallas and Philadelphia) with a perfect 6-0 record in divisional play. The Dragons face their first Eastern Division rival Sunday, February 19th when they play the Philadelphia Soul.

SWAYNE NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
In Week Two versus the Chicago Rush, OS Kevin Swayne came out strong, catching 9 passes for 108 yards. He scored four of the six touchdowns and was named offensive player of the game.

Since returning to the Dragons in 2004, the team is 8-2 in games that OS Kevin Swayne has played in. That stat includes a 1-1 record this season and a 6-0 record in 2005. In Week 1, Swayne caught nine passes for 91 yards and a game-high three touchdowns. Swayne was activated off the Dragons Exempt List on April 7, 2004.

DRAGONS ON THE ROAD
The Dragons are away this week against Utah, continuing the road portion of the 2006 schedule. This is the second of a three-week road swing, which is the longest the Dragons will be away from the Coliseum this season. After already playing the Rush in Week Two and now Utah in Week Three, the Dragons will travel to Philadelphia in Week Four before returning home to host Orlando in Week Five.

GARCIA AN ALL-TIME GREAT
It was already known by most, but QB Aaron Garcia is now enshrined as one of the top-20 all-time great players in AFL history. During training camp, the league came out with their top-20 players from the first 20 years of the AFL. Garcia ranked 11th, one spot ahead of fellow former Iowa Barnstormer QB Kurt Warner. After Warner left the franchise, Garcia supplanted him as the franchise's star quarterback and the Dragons - or Barnstormers - have never looked back.

IN SEARCH OF No. 800
Entering this week, QB Aaron Garcia has 735 touchdowns after throwing for six more in Week Two against Chicago. He started the season with 725. If he keeps on his pace of 5.7 touchdowns per game (based on his last two seasons touchdown totals), then Garcia will reach the 800-touchdown plateau in Week 13. His current average is 5.0 touchdowns per game.

In 2005, Garcia became the first player in professional football history to record 700-or-more career passing touchdowns. The score came on a 37-yard toss to OS Kevin Swayne in week Fourteen at Dallas.

RETURNING DRAGONS
The Dragons have 11 players on their roster from their final 2005 roster. QB Aaron Garcia is the longest returned Dragon at eight seasons. The complete list includes: WR/LB Chris Anthony, FB/LB Jamaal Cherry, DS DaShane Dennis, WR/DB Angel Estrada, OL/DL Stacy Evans, WR/LB Mike Horacek, WR/DB Will Holder, OL/DL Joe Laudano, OL/DL Marcus "Snowball" Owen, OL/DL Steve Scifres and OS Kevin Swayne along with Garcia.

NY-UTAH CONNECTIONS:
FB/LB Kevin Clemens of the Utah Blaze played for the New York Dragons in the 2005 season. During his Dragon's career, he recorded eight rushes for 19 yards with one touchdown.

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GARCIA FIRST IN TD'S, SECOND IN COMPLETIONS AND YARDS:
Dragons QB Aaron Garcia is in his 12th AFL season and remains one of the league's top passers. He's first all-time with 735 touchdowns and is second in all-time passing yards with 35,164 and in completions with 2,992.

The All-Arena QB became the first player to reach the 700-touchdown plateau last season on April 29 at Dallas.

ARENA ROOKIES
The Dragons will have eight rookies on their roster to start the 2006 season. The list includes: OL/DL Bruce Blue, K Jesse Obert, DS Dahnel Singfield, FB/LB Jeremiah Pharms, WR/DB Mathew Thomas, OL/DL Andrew Tippins, OL/DL Paul White and QB Juston Wood.

DRAGONS WITH af2 EXPERIENCE
The Dragons have 10 players on their roster who have played in af2 at one point in their career. The list includes: WR/LB Chris Anthony, WR/LB Maurice Brown, OL/DL Jamaal Cherry, WR/DB DaShane Dennis, OL/DL Jon Hall, OL/DL Joe Laudano, FB/LB Richard McCleskey, K Jesse Obert, DS Dahnel Singfield, OL/DL Andrew Tippins, OL/DL Paul White and QB Juston Wood.

SWITCHING POSITIONS
DaShane Dennis and Jamaal Cherry have switched positions from last season and will now line up at defensive specialist and offensive/ defensive linemen, respectively. Bruce Blue began training camp as a lineman and has since converted to fullback/linebacker.

Although Cherry was listed at FB/LB last season, he played primarily as a defensive lineman in his rookie season.

ARENA-BRED COACHES
The Dragons are the only team in the league to have their entire coaching staff comprised of former AFL players. In total, the Dragons' coaching staff has a combined 22 years of AFL playing experience and another combined 18-plus years as coaches.

ORIGINAL DRAGONS
QB Aaron Garcia is a New York Dragon through thick and thin. He is the only player to be a part of the team for each of its first five seasons on Long Island. Garcia made the move when the Iowa Barnstormers relocated to New York prior to the 2001 season. Garcia was traded to Iowa from New Jersey on June 2, 1998 for WR/DB Chris Spencer and OL/DL John Dixon. This is Garcia's 12th AFL season and ninth with the franchise.

OS Kevin Swayne has been the property of the Dragons for all six seasons, however he spent two seasons on the exempt list from 2002-2004. After a successful 2001 campaign, he was signed by the NFL's New York Jets and stayed there for three seasons. He returned to the Dragons mid-way through the 2004 season. Swayne also suited up for the Barnstormers from 1998-1999.

WR/LB Mike Horacek is the only other player to have played for both the Barnstormers and the Dragons. From 1997 to 2000, Horacek split time as a WR/DB and an OS with Iowa. He was the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2000, his last with the team until he was selected in 2004 Dispersal Draft. The 2006 season is his second with the Dragons, but sixth with the franchise.

TOUCHDOWN MACHINE:
Just because QB Aaron Garcia is getting older it doesn't mean he's slowing down. Going back to the 2004 season, Garcia has thrown the second highest amount of the touchdowns in the AFL with 191. He currently trails Philadelphia Soul QB Tony Graziani by one, who has 192 over the past three seasons (2004-2006).

TOUCHDOWN LEADERS
Player Touchdowns
Tony Graziani (PHI) 192
Aaron Garcia (NYD) 191
Andy Kelly (KCB) 179
Clint Dolezel (DAL) 164
John Kaleo (CMB) 164

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LIVING YOUNG:
The Dragons are led by one of the great defensive coaches in the AFL and he also happens to be the youngest in professional football. Weylan Harding enters the 2006 season at 34 years old -- 14 months and 13 days younger than the second-youngest head coach - Los Angeles' Ed Hodgkiss. However, Harding does not hold the distinction of being the youngest coach in league history. That honor goes to Kevin Guy of the 2000 New Jersey Red Dogs, who was 27 years old.

Team Coach DOB Age
NYD Harding 1/5/1972 34
LAA Hodgkiss 10/23/1970 35
PHI Munsey 8/19/68 37

FOUR DRAGONS TO WATCH:
QB Aaron Garcia: One of the most prolific passers in the history of the AFL always gives his team a chance to win. He currently has 735 career touchdowns and started the 2006 season with 725.

OL/DL Marcus "Snowball" Owen: An All-Ironman selection in 2005, Owen will once again anchor the offensive and defensive line of the Dragon. Linemen sometimes go unnoticed, but watch out for Owen's contributions on the offensive side.

OS Kevin Swayne: When he remains healthy, Swayne is one of the best receivers in the league. He's a big target for Garcia and one of his favorites, too. In Week One, Swayne caught three of the four touchdowns thrown by Garcia.

DS DaShane Dennis: Dennis has started the 2006 season off with two interceptions in two games. In Week 2, he recorded his second interception, which topped his 2005 season of one.

INSIDE THE HEADSET:
Every week, Dragons head coach Weylan Harding lets the fans get inside his headset in an open question and answer forum. Here's this week's journal.

Congratulations on the first win of the season! What was the locker room like after the game?
WH: The locker room was a mess! Pads, helmets and tape were everywhere in celebration of a hard fought game that could have gone either way.

Coach, how was the team's first road trip of the season?
WH: It was a business trip just like any other, but you have to love the fact that it ended with a win.

What did the team improve upon from Week One to Week Two?
WH: Our overall effort was the key. The players fought through the good and the bad of the game. We still are making costly mistakes that we must improve on in order to get to where we want to go. The effort was outstanding, but the execution can be much better. We are improving each week.

How does traveling through multiple time zones (as in the case with Utah this week) affect the team?
WH: I can't say that there's an answer to this question. I believe the game starts at 6:00 pm, which would feel like 9:00 pm to us because of the time change. I don't go to sleep until midnight every night, so who's to say what the effects are. When the lights come on it won't matter.

Coach, can you give us a scouting report on Utah?
They're a solid team with a core of veterans who are familiar with each other. I don't see them as an expansion team. They've beaten a very good San Jose team and took Dallas to the wire. We must be ready to play a full four quarters against this team.

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 2006 TRANSACTIONS ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

02/6/06 ▪ Released: WR/LB George Williams, FB/LB Michael Blair and OL/DL Ralph Horton.

01/30/06 ▪ Signed: OL/DL Steve Scifres... Released: WR/LB Derrick Tatum and OL/DL Tyronn Johnson.

01/26/06 ▪ Signed to Practice Squad: WR/LB Latrez Harrison.

01/25/06 ▪ Signed: WR/LB Maurice Brown... Placed on Injured Reserve: WR/LB Chris Anthony.

01/23/06 ▪ Signed to Practice Squad: WR/DB Tom Anthony, DS Atcheson Conway, OL/DL Ralph Horton... Placed on Other League Exempt: DS Billy Parker.

1/22/06 ▪ Placed on Injured Reserve: DS Derrick Tatum, WR/DB Matthew Thomas.

1/21/06 ▪ Waived Injured: OL/DL Damien Bauman... Waived: WR/DB Tom Anthony, QB Ian Butler, WR/DB Atcheson Conway, WR/DB Golden Goodwin, WR/LB Latrez Harrison, OL/DL Ralph Horton, OL/DL David Hurst, FB/LB Joe Massey, WR/DB Taqiy Muhammad... Released: OL/DL Steve Scifres.

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