Nighthawks Take Out Steam in Big Way For Fifth Straight
July 15, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Norfolk Nighthawks News Release
Norfolk, VA - Nighthawks quarterback Chris Wallace threw seven touchdowns, including four to WR/LB Travis Burns, to lead the Norfolk Nighthawks to a 68-33 over the Roanoke Steam in front of 4,402 fans at the Norfolk Scope.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Nighthawks (8-6) and seventh in a row at home. Norfolk finished the 2002 season 7-1 at home and have been assured a .500 mark with their seventh win in their last eight games. Roanoke (7-8) dropped their third straight at the Norfolk Scope and fifth out of six attempts versus the Nighthawks in three seasons.
Norfolk WR/DB Antwon Robinson earned IronMan of the Game honors as he broke up seven passes, grabbed 4.5 tackles, recorded an interception, and hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Burns finished a stellar game as well, catching six passes for 123 yards and four touchdowns, rushing for nine yards, returning kicks for another 27 yards and amassed 4.5 tackles on defense.
Roanoke played three quarters of the game without their kicker, Josh Jones, who was hit and suffered what was believed to be a broken leg. WR/DB Anthony Hines led all receivers with nine catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Hines also recovered a fumble for a score while totaling one total tackle.
Wallace completed passes to six different receivers, and touchdowns to four teammates on the night. Along with Burns and Robinson, Anthony Stringfield and Dominic Banks each pulled in scores. Stringfield set the tone for the night when he ran back the opening kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown before Roanoke even had the ball.
ADT Defensive Player of the Game Chris Pointer recorded eight tackles (seven solo) and six pass breakups. Banks, Chris Lawrence, Farrel Payton and Abdul Shabazz-Wiggins all recovered fumbles for the Nighthawks, who won despite being called for 16 penalties. Twenty-seven yellow flags were thrown between the two teams tonight, in a game that took 3 hours and 16 minutes.
Roanoke used two quarterbacks to try and move the ball against Norfolk, neither one finding much success. Both Michael Thomas and Sean Peterson completed eleven passes each, but Thomas accounted for all four Roanoke touchdowns on the night (3 passing, 1 rushing).
Wallace tied the Nighthawks all-time record for touchdown passes in a career/season. He now has 45 scoring tosses in just nine games, tying the mark set by Mickey Fein in 2001. Burns' four scores moves him closer to Stringfield's mark of 21 receiving touchdowns in a season, he now has 19 in 2002.
The Nighthawks will look for their sixth straight win next week at New Haven. They are trying to finish the season 10-6 and tie the best regular season record in team history.
(7/13/02) OS Anthony Stringfield earned his first Built Ford Tough Player of the Game award of 2002. Stringfield, playing in his first game inside the Norfolk Scope since the 2001 season, took the opening kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for the rest of the game. It was Stringfield's sixth career return for a touchdown and first of the 2002 season. He finished the game with 56 yards receiving (1 TD) and 81 total return yards. Stringfield currently ranks 5th all-time in af2 receiving yards (2,708) and 4th in all-purpose yards (4,886).
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