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Norfolk Nighthawks Game Notes

July 22, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Norfolk Nighthawks News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Greensboro Prowlers (8-7) at Norfolk Nighthawks (7-7)
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EST
Site: Norfolk Scope Arena (8,965)
National Anthem: TBA
Officials: TBA
Series Record: Nighthawks lead series 4-3.
Last Meeting: Greensboro defeated the Nighthawks at the Greensboro Coliseum 59-52.
Streaks: Nighthawks (L1), Prowlers (W4)
Coaches: Norfolk— Rick Frazier (6-5) Greensboro—Steven Jerry (8-7)

THE STAKES: The Nighthawks will be battling for what they have had their sites set on for four long seasons: The Playoffs. The Nighthawks have put themselves in a position to make the playoffs — and to win the American Atlantic Division Championship. That would be a first for the franchise. The Nighthawks have never won their division before and have only been to the playoffs in their inagural season of 2000. However, Greensborobegan its first ever four-game winning streak with a victory over Norfolk on June 28th and by facing divisional opposition in the last five games of the season, Greensboro has moved into a first place tie with the Nighthawks. This game will decide the fate of the Atlantic Division.

THE SERIES: With the series dating back to the 2000 season, Greensboro and Norfolk split the series, with each team winning at home until last year. It was then that Norfolk won 63-36 at the Scope, and would win 39-32 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

THE IFs:

If NORFOLK defeats the PROWLERS, it would ...
· Get NORFOLK into the playoffs
· Put the NIGHTHAWKS sole possession of the American Atlantic Division — the first time ever!

HEAD COACHES:

Rick Fraizer brings more than a quarter century worth of coaching experience to the Norfolk Nighthawks in his new capacity as the team's Head Coach. Frazier comes to Norfolk after spending the 2002 season with the Toronto Phantoms of the AFL. Frazier served the Phantoms as their Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.

Steven Jerry is in his first season as head coach of the Prowlers. Jerry joins the Prowlers from the now-defunct Roanoke Steam, where he finished 8-8 last season and 15-17 overall in his two years as head coach. Before that, Coach Jerry was the offensive coordinator for the af2's Norfolk Nighthawks. Coach Jerry played his college football at the University of North Carolina as a quarterback and receiver. He also played in the AFL as a WR/DB with the Albany Firebirds, Grand Rapids Rampage, and New England Sea Wolves.

LAST SERIES MEETING: There were many great performances for the Greensboro Prowlers 59-52 victory over the Norfolk Nighthawks, but two in particular were the showcase. Slover became the Prowlers all-time leader in touchdown passes, surpassing the record previously held by Travis Pender, on his second of eight touchdowns on the evening. As for Sippio, he made six receptions for 134 yards, five kickoff returns with a combined 125 yards, as well as pulling down an interception with a return of 22 yards to lead the Prowlers. The Prowlers (5-7) began their scoring after a Nighthawks drive that began the game at their own two-yard line. Bobby Sippio pulled down a 15-yard pass from Slover, that tied the Prowlers all-time record with Pender. Andrew Layton then caught a touchdown pass at the 1:45 mark of the first quarter, giving Greensboro a 14-7 lead, as well as setting the record for Caleb Slover. In the second, Greensboro lost momentum in the second when they allowed two consecutive Nighthawks (6-6) touchdowns by Travis Burns from 39-yards and 7-yards. This gave Norfolk a brief 21-14 lead at the 5:13 mark. Andrew Layton, a two-week veteran of the Prowlers, then responded with his second touchdown of the night on a 2-yard pass from Slover and knotted the game at 21-21 ending the first half. Greensboro took the first play of the second half to the end zone when Bobby Sippio made a 47-yard touchdown catch and streaked past the Nighthawk defenders to give Greensboro a lead it would never relinquish. Norfolk's Kevin Fuller caught a 15-yard pass from Aaron Sparrow, putting Norfolk within one game of the lead. Greensboro then answered with two consecutive scores, the first coming from Bobby Sippio on a 14-yard pass, and followed by a 21-yard field goal by James Thomas, gave Greensboro a 38-27 lead to end the third quarter.

FORWARD MOTION: In the last week of the season, Norfolk will face the Greensboro Prowlers. For the first time in franchise history, Norfolk has been given the opportunity to battle for a divisional championship as well as a playoff position PLAYERS TO WATCH:

NIGHTHAWKS: QB Chris Wallace Chris Wallace came to the Nighthawks after the end of a very interesting year with the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators. While he was there, Wallace spent most of his time on the bench, biding his time and waiting for a start. Now that he is back with his old team (when he played 10 games with the Nighthawks last season, he finished with 2529 yards and 50 touchdowns) he is splitting time with QB Aaron Sparrow and he is making the most of it. In his first three games alone, Wallace generated almost 400 yards of passing and threw nine touchdowns. Not bad for a guy just coming in. Look for Wallace (and Sparrow) to light up the skies with both high-percentage and highly-modified scrambling throws for electrifying scores.

PROWLERS: WR/DB Bobby Sippio In his first game with the Prowlers, Sippio recorded eight solo tackles. The second year player, who hails from Western Kentucky and played last season with the ArenaCup Champion Peoria Pirates is no stranger to big games. While with the Hilltoppers from 1999-2001, he recorded 107 solo tackles and 179 in his career. Sippio also made 19 career interceptions, and amassed 357 return yards for five TDs. In his junior campaign, Sippio was named Gateway Conference honors, as he blocked two field goal attempts of 49 and 50 yards against Southern Illnois. Also in the game against Southern Illnois, Sippio made two punt returns for 46 yards, recorded three tackles, and registered his only career sack.

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