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Offense On Rise With New QB Hicks

April 26, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings News Release


BOSSIER CITY - Coming off a record-setting 86-66 loss to the Amarillo Dusters, it might be easy to overlook the advances made by the Battle Wings offensive unit last Saturday at the Century Tel Center.

New quarterback Tim Hicks was a steady hand in his debut, throwing for 220 yards and four touchdowns while guiding the offensive unit to its best performance of the year (263 yarsd total offense). Hicks biggest addition was the re-assertion of the 'Wings ground game. The new milker ran for 31 yards and three touchdowns, including an impressive, rambling 29-yard scoring run. In just one game, his rushing numbers were good enough to put him in the league's top 10 in a number of ground categories.

"Considering he had three days of practice to learn our system and get in synch with a new cast of receivers, I thought Tim did an excellent job out there," said 'Wings head coach Keith Barefield. "He gave us an added dimension running the ball that we hadn't displayed in the first three games. It's exciting to think how good we can be the more comfortable he gets in the backfield."

Among those trying to help the new quarterback feel right at home is 'Wings offensive specialist Bo Smith, who continued his assault on the Bossier record book by crossing the 1,000-yard mark in career kick-off return yards. "The BOssier Bullet" returned five kicks for 136 yards, including a 56-yarder brought back for a TD, giving him 1,072 career return yards on 47 kick-off returns.

With Hicks' help, another milestone may be in the offing on Monday night. Bo needs 95 receiving yards to give him 2,000 yards in his career as a Battle Wing. Entering the Dorados game, Smith is 388 yards from the all-time receiving yards record in Battle Wings history, trailing only Kevin Stevenson (2,292 yards).

"Bo continues to prove himself as one of the most dangerous OS's in this league," Barefield said. "His speed and quickness make him such a threat every time he touches the ball."

While the 'Wings offense found a little extra pump in scoring a season-high 66 points, the defensive unit was the one full of questions after Saturday's loss to the Dusters. Amarillo's 474 yards of total offense was a new league record, while Duster QB Julian Reese' 424 passing yards was the second-best throwing performance ever recorded in the af2. The Battle Wings established a new franchise high for points allowed, having suffered a 76-67 to Wichita in 2001.

"For some reason, the secondary looked confused out there," Barefield said. "We didn't look confident, or we were confused, out-manned and/or outplayed. Whatever the combination of the above, we have to fix that. We just won't win many ballgames if we don't make any defensive stops."

The Battle Wings and Rio Grande Valley Dorados play Monday night in Hidalgo, TX. Kick-off at Dodge Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. The game will be aired live on KWKH, 1130 AM.

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