Nighthawks 2002 Season In Review

August 12, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Norfolk Nighthawks News Release


The Norfolk Nighthawks 2002 season began amidst hopes of an ArenaCup Championship and talks of offensive explosion. With a veteran arena football quarterback in Will Burch, and a strong supporting cast of weapons that included former University of Michigan wide receiver Mercury Hayes, the Nighthawks looked poised to contend with the Richmond Speed for the American-Atlantic Division title.

Everything came to an abrupt halt on April 6, when the Nighthawks opened their season at home versus the Cape Fear Wildcats. The expansion team from Fayetteville, NC looked like anything but a first year franchise as they rolled over Norfolk 69-19 in front of about 6,600 fans at the Norfolk Scope. Burch was injured on the third play of the game and ended up playing only twelve snaps the entire season. Little did the Nighthawks know that Cape Fear would end up 13-3 and hosting the Speed in the first round of the af2 playoffs. At the time, all that Head Coach Tony Missick knew was his team had just lost to an expansion team in a fashion that was very unacceptable.

Following road losses to Mohegan and Richmond, The Nighthawks were returning home facing their second straight 0-4 start. On May 4, the Mohegan Wolves came to Norfolk for the second match-up between the two teams. The Nighthawks quarterback this time was former Hampton University standout Roy Johnson. Johnson would lead the team to their first victory, a 58-51 overtime thriller that gave the home crowd a glimmer of hope for the rest of the season. So sitting at 1-3 and gathering a little bit of momentum, the Nighthawks traveled to Roanoke, one of only two places they have won on the road during the first two seasons of play. After a poor display of execution, and giving the Steam 17 points off turnovers, Norfolk dropped a 27-23 decision to their in-state rivals and began questioning whether or not this season could be turned around.

Then it happened. On Tuesday following the Roanoke game, Nighthawks' Assistant Coach Keith Easley got a call from a quarterback who just got released by an Arena Football League team and was looking to come back to af2 to get some playing time. So staring at a losing record and looking for an immediate fix to their woes, Easley asked former Orlando Predators signal-caller Chris Wallace to come to Norfolk and help turn things around.

Unfortunately for Wallace his first start in almost two years would be in Fayetteville against the Wildcats, who at this time had lost just one game, an eight-point loss to Richmond. Though Wallace did some good things, things that hadn't been seen by this Nighthawks' offense thus far, it wasn't enough to defeat Cape Fear. Wallace would lose his first start 57-32, a great improvement from opening night.

Looking at their next six-out of-eight games at home, Missick knew that his team had to turn it up now in order to salvage their third season in af2. Wallace got his first win against his former af2 team, the Carolina Rhinos. Following a second consecutive home win, this one against Greensboro, and a three-point road loss at Charleston, the Nighthawks were facing a three-game home stand with a (3-6) record and preparing to take on the (8-1) Richmond Speed.

Richmond had never won a game in the Norfolk Scope, and nothing would be different this season. The Nighthawks tripped up the Speed, 55-48, behind great defense and stellar play from Wallace (5 Total TD) and their offensive line, who didn't allow a single sack to the top pass rushing defense in af2. Now riding some momentum, Norfolk would reel off five straight wins and get to (8-6), but had no shot at the playoffs because of Richmond and Cape Fear putting together winning streaks of their own.

So heading into their final two games, both on the road, Norfolk was looking to finish (10-6) and tie their best record ever. New Haven and Augusta, however, had other plans. New Haven took advantage of another turnover-laden contest and escaped with a 55-42 win, while Augusta scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter against the Wallace-less Nighthawks and won 60-45. Norfolk would finish the season (8-8) and the roller coaster ride finally came to an end.

Along with Wallace, who threw for 2,529 yards and 50 touchdowns in just ten games, some other players managed to overcome the team's disappointments to put together some spectacular individual performances. Rookie WR/LB Travis Burns established himself as an af2 superstar in 2002 when he became only the third player ever to amass 1,000 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in a single season. Burns finished with 64 catches for 1,098 yards (17.2 yards /reception), 153 yards rushing and 27 total touchdowns (6 rushing, 21 receiving). The Liberty University grad would also contribute with 32.0 tackles and an interception on defense.

Speaking of defense, two players for the Nighthawks consistently kept their team in games with their efforts on that side of the ball. Three-year Nighthawks veteran Jay Clarke led the team with 51.5 tackles and six interceptions from his WR/LB position. His six interceptions, two of which he ran back for touchdowns, unofficially rank as tops in the league for any player at his position. Clarke was also honored as Built Ford ToughMan of the Week when the Nighthawks defeated Richmond.

DS Desmond Washington was the only other team member to garner weekly league-wide recognition in 2002. Washington, who finished third in af2 with 41 pass breakups, was named af2 IronMan of the Week when they face the Carolina Rhinos. In that game "D. Wash" had 6.0 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups and returned a missed field goal 47 yards for a touchdown. Washington and Clarke battled all season long to try and become the team's all-time leading tackler. By season's end, Clarke would have the lead 128.5 to 126.0.

WR/DB's Dominic Banks and Antwon Robinson and DS Chris Pointer, who joined the team midway after spending some time in the AFL, handed in other fine individual performances. Banks became one of the top two-way players in all of af2. He finished the season with 59 receptions for 827 yards and 15 touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 40.0 tackles, four interceptions, 14 breakups, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries (T-2nd in af2). Banks may be best known for his clutch grabs in big third down situations over the course of the season and playing more minutes than any other member of the team. Banks was a true IronMan in 2002.

Robinson came to Norfolk when the Nighthawks got their first win against Mohegan. In that game, Antwon returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown, formally introducing himself to the Norfolk fans. He would finish with 27.5 tackles, three interceptions, 27 breakups (11th in af2) and one fumble recovery. After Pointer returned, Robinson was used on offense as well, where he averaged 17.4 yards per receptions and scored two touchdowns on only seven catches. Pointer would extend his all-time lead in interceptions to 13, after grabbing four in 2002, including two in the season finale at Augusta. He would finish with 35.5 tackles and 18 breakups, to go along with his four picks, in just eight games.

Finally, one can never forget the play of kicker Matt McNew in 2002. McNew was ranked 1st or 2nd in the league in PAT percentage for the majority of the season and finished in the af2 top ten in scoring (98 pts), field goals (12) and PAT's (62-75). Having never even attempted a field goal in a football game prior to this season, McNew improved every week and pleased the home crowd when he kicked a 19-yarder with :24 seconds to play in a 50-48 win over New Haven.

Many other players contributed this season, like OL/DL's Chris Lawrence (18.5 tackles and 3.0 sacks) and Abdul Shabazz-Wiggins (team-high 4.5 sacks). No fans will be able to forget the return of OS Anthony Stringfield, who ran back his first kickoff at the Scope for a touchdown against Roanoke in the final home game, or the hits that OL/DL's Trovaris Carnes and Lashawn Pugh laid on special teams.

So while other teams prepare for the af2 playoffs, the Nighthawks are already preparing for 2003. Some of the players may move up to the AFL, CFL or even NFL, and others may decide that $200 per game is just not worth it. However, if Norfolk can return the core of players that helped them finish 7-1 at home and win seven out their last ten, they can go through an off-season with some serious hopes of contending for their fist ever ArenaCup in 2003.



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