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Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz game notes

April 26, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (2-2)
At Tulsa Talons (2-1)
Date: Saturday, April 30, 2005
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Tulsa Convention Center
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Matt Loeffler (Referee), Michael Cooper (Umpire), Gerald Woodruff (Head Linesman), Keith Garmond (Line Judge), Walt Coleman (Back Judge)
Radio: KEBC-AM - 1340 AM - Robert Allen (Play-by-Play)
Webcast: www.kgff.com
Series Record: Oklahoma City leads the series 2-1
Streaks: Oklahoma City: L-1, Tulsa: W-2
Coaches: OKC: Jeff Jarnigan (2-2, 1st season); TUL: David Alexander (2-1, 1st season)

TEAM WEBSITES: Yard Dawgz: www.okcyarddawgz.com
Talons: www.tulsatalons.com

THE STAKES: The Yard Dawgz are trying to snap a one-game losing streak and the Talons are trying to extend their winning streak to three games.

THE SERIES: The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz lead this in-state rivalry 2-1. Oklahoma City won the only meeting in Tulsa last season 70-63 in overtime.

THE LAST MEETING: The last time these two teams met the Tulsa Talons defeated the Yard Dawgz 47-30 in front of 15,102 fans at the Ford Center on July 23, 2004.

THE Ifs:
If Oklahoma City defeats Tulsa, it would ...
· Give OKC a 3-1 series record with Tulsa
· Give Oklahoma City a 2-1 road record in 2005
· Give Jeff Jarnigan a 3-2 career record as head coach
· Give Oklahoma City a one-game win streak

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (2-1)
Date Opponent Result Score Record
4/1 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton L 47-59 0-1
4/9 @ Arkansas W 71-48 1-1
4/16 Central Valley W 48-41 2-1
4/23 Quad City L 43-61 2-2
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 @ Tulsa 7:00 W-2 OKC 2-1
5/7 @ Memphis 7:30 W-4 First Meeting
5/21 Bossier City 7:30 L-4 First Meeting
5/28 @ Quad City 7:30 W-2 QUA1-0
6/4 Rio Grande Valley 7:30 W-1 RIO 2-1
6/11 Amarillo 7:30 W-1 First Meeting
6/18 @ Bossier City 7:00 -- --
6/25 Memphis 7:30 -- --
7/10 @ Amarillo 3:00 -- --
7/16 Louisville 7:30 W-3 First Meeting
7/23 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 -- --
7/30 Tulsa 7:30 -- --

TULSA TALONS (2-1)
Date Opponent Result Score Record
4/1 @ Amarillo L 55-62 0-1
4/9 @ Bossier-Shreveport W 61-51 1-1
4/23 @ San Diego W 55-37 2-1
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00 L-1 OKC2-1
5/7 CENTRAL VALLEY 7:00 W-1 TUL 3-1
5/13 @ Bakersfield 7:00 L-1 First meeting
5/21 MACON 7:00 L-1 TUL 3-0
5/28 BAKERSFIELD 9:00 -- --
6/4 @ Central Valley 9:30 -- --
6/11 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 W-1 TUL 3-0
6/18 SAN DIEGO 7:00 L-2 TUL 3-0
6/25 ARKANSAS 7:00 L-3 TUL 8-3
7/9 @ Memphis 7:00 W-4 TUL 4-0
7/16 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:00 -- --
7/23 AMARILLO 7:00 W-1 AMA 1-0
7/30 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 -- --
(All times Central)

YARD DAWGZ HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE: Jeff Jarnigan served as the Defensive Coordinator in 2004 with the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League. The Wranglers were on of three expansion teams for the AFL and they finished their inaugural season at 8-8. Defensively, the Wranglers tallied 4.1 stops per game and finished 3rd in the AFL in sacks, 3rd in third downs allowed, 8th in turnover margin and 12th in total defense. After a slow start, the Wrangler pass defense held their opponents to an average of 210 passing yards over the final eight games of the season.
Jarnigan spent the 2001 –2003 seasons as the defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Tulsa Talons of af2. While with Tulsa, Jarnigan's defense was known for its hard-hitting, high-pressure defense that traditionally finished in the top third of the league in several defensive categories. During Jarnigan's three seasons with the Talons, they accumulated a 44-10 record, won two National Conference Central Division championships and won the ArenaCup in 2003.

TULSA HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE: David Alexander, a 40 year old native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma joins the Talons after serving a year as the Talons GM and ten years in the NFL. Alexander was drafted as a center in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. In the NFL (1987-1996), Alexander spent his first eight years with the Philadelphia Eagles and his last two years with the New York Jets. Alexander started 108 consecutive games and never missed one NFL game. A graduate of Broken Arrow High School, Alexander played college football at the University of Tulsa.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match-up who rank among af2's statistical leaders in 2005:
YARD DAWGZ
Player Rank Category Stat
Craig Strickland 1st Total Offense 296.0
Craig Strickland 1st Total Offensive Plays 158
Craig Strickland T-3rd Total Offensive TD's 24
Jarrail Jackson 5th Scoring 54
Brandon Daniels 6th Scoring 48
Dylan Pohlman 4th Scoring (Kick) 29
Craig Strickland 1st Total Offensive Yards 1184
Jarrail Jackson 2nd All-Purpose 784
Jarrail Jackson 5th Scoring (TDs) 9
Brandon Daniels T-6th Scoring (TDs) 8
Craig Strickland 2nd Passing Avg/Game 289.0
Craig Strickland 10th Passing Yds/Catch 13.4
Craig Strickland 1st Pass Attempts 153
Craig Strickland 2nd Passing TDs 24
Craig Strickland 1st Passing Yards 1156
Craig Strickland 1st Pass Completions 86
Jarrail Jackson 1st Receptions 35
Brandon Daniels 4th Receptions 26
B.J. Barre 5th Yards Per Catch 18.3
Jarrail Jackson 1st Reception Yards 468
Brandon Daniels 5th Reception Yards 361
TALONS
Player Rank Category Stat
Josh Blankenship 7th Total Offensive Touchdowns 16
Donovan Morgan 2nd Scoring 84
Josh Blankenship 1st Total Offensive Avg/Play 8.4
Aleric Clark 9th All-Purpose 404
Donovan Morgan 2nd Scoring (TDs) 14
Josh Blankenship T-7th Passing TDs 14
Josh Blankenship 6th Pass Rating 124.8
Josh Blankenship 3rd Pass yards/Att 10.2
Donovan Morgan 6th Receiving Yards 347
Donovan Morgan 6th Receiving Yards/Game 115.7
Donovan Morgan 2nd Receiving TDs 14

LOOKING BACK: After falling behind early in the first half, the Yard Dawgz took the lead over the Quad City Steamwheelers in the third quarter 31-27 but could not maintain that lead as two costly fourth quarter turnovers gave Quad City the 61-43 win in front of 8,544 fans at the Ford Center. With the loss, the Yard Dawgz fell to 2-2 on the young season.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how OKLAHOMA CITY and TULSA rank in the league this season:
Statistical YARD DAWGZ TALONS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 6th 52.2 T-3rd 57.0
Scoring Defense 14th 52.2 T-12th 50.0
Total Offense 2nd 295.5 6th 263.0
Total Defense 18th 282.8 10th 254.3
Pass Offense 2nd 280.8 4th 253.7
Pass Defense 19th 274.2 12th 243.0
Rushing Offense 11th 14.8 17th 9.3
Rushing Defense 4th 8.5 5th 11.3
Pass Rating 11th 106.4 9th 115.3
Pass Def. Rating 16th 117.6 11th 108.5
Kickoff Returns 2nd 23.0 11th 17.7
MFG Returns Yards 12th 9.0 3rd 18.7
Turnover Margin T-14th -3 T-11th -1
Sacks By T-9th 5 2nd 9
Sacks Against T-15th 7 T-15th 7
First Downs 1st 75 14th 47
Opp. First Downs 17th 65 T-11th 52
Penalty Yards 18th 278 5th 150
Opp. Penalty Yds 16th 145 11th 166
Red Zone Offense 1st 13-15 (86.7%) T-4th 11-13 (84.6%)
Red Zone Defense 15th 9-11 (81.8%) 4th 8-12 (66.7%)

OKC YARD DAWGZ INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
DS Orlando Green Long Term IR
FB/LB John Williamson Long Term IR

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: (Notable quotes):
JEFF JARNIGAN, On the loss to Quad City: "We were very disappointed. We got behind early and started pressing and turned the ball over at key times."

On the upcoming game against Tulsa: "A lot of the guys on the Yard Dawgz have either played for Tulsa or played in Tulsa and I was in Tulsa as a coach, so we are very excited about this game."

ADVANCE BOOKING: (A look at upcoming Yard Dawgz games):
The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz travel to Memphis, Tennessee next week to take on the undefeated and Midwest Division leading, Memphis Xplorers (4-0). The Yard Dawgz will then enjoy a bye week during the week of May 14th, before returning home on May 21st against the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings.

DAWG BONES: (A look at team trends and tidbits):
YARD DAWGZ RETURNERS: The Yard Dawgz return eight players from the inaugural squad in 2004. They return quarterback Craig Strickland, quarterback Josh Stewart, wide receiver/defensive back Al Hunt, wide receiver/linebacker Chris Archie, defensive specialist Gana Joseph, fullback/linebacker Chris Toney, offensive/defensive lineman James Landers, and offensive/defensive lineman Chuck Little.

DON'T I KNOW YOU: This week's game will feature a lot of familiar faces among the two teams. The Yard Dawgz have eleven players who have played for the Tulsa Talons at one point in their career, and Yard Dawgz head coach Jeff Jarnigan was once the defensive coordinator for the Talons.

FIRST DRIVE OF THE GAME: This season the Yard Dawgz have taken their first drive of the game and scored two out of four times and they have won every game they have scored on the first drive. Below is a chart detailing how the Yard Dawgz have fared on their first drive in each game thus far this season.

YARD DAWGZ FIRST DRIVE OF THE GAME
Date Opponent Result Game Outcome
4/1 @ Wilkes-Barre Turnover (Downs) LOST
4/9 @ Arkansas FIELD GOAL WON
4/16 Central Valley TOUCHDOWN WON
4/23 Quad City Missed Field Goal LOST

TALE OF TWO HALVES: This season, the Yard Dawgz have been outscored by their opponents 121-96 in the first half and they have outscored their opponents in the second half 113-88. The chart below details the point differential of the Yard Dawgz in each half of every game compared to their opponents.

YARD DAWGZ POINT DIFFERENTIAL BY HALF
Date Opponent First Half Second Half Game Outcome
4/1 @ Wilkes-Barre -5 -7 LOST
4/9 @ Arkansas -12 +35 WON
4/16 Central Valley +1 +6 WON
4/23 Quad City -9 -9 LOST



YARD DAWGZ PRACTICE PLAN: (A look at the Yard Dawgz schedule this week)
Tuesday: 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. (Ford Center)
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. PRACTICE (Univ. of Central Oklahoma)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 7:00 p.m. – KICKOFF at Tulsa Talons (Tulsa Conv. Center)
**All Times are central**

RECENT YARD DAWGZ ROSTER MOVES (most recent first):
Date Action Player


GAME AWARD WINNERS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 @ Wilkes-Barre JR Thomas –Wilkes Barre
2 @ Arkansas Craig Strickland-Oklahoma City
3 Central Valley Brandon Daniels-Oklahoma City
4 Quad City Jarrail Jackson-Oklahoma City

IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 @ Wilkes-Barre Demetrius Austrum – Wilkes Barre
2 @ Arkansas B.J. Barre-Oklahoma City
3 Central Valley Al Hunt-Oklahoma City
4 Quad City Tim Dodge-Quad City

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 @ Wilkes-Barre Ameer Riley – Wilkes Barre
2 @ Arkansas Al Hunt-Oklahoma City
3 Central Valley Clint Merz-Central Valley
4 Quad City Matt Forbes-Quad City

af2 WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Week Offensive Defensive Ironman
1 Julian Reese-Amarillo Demetrius Austrum-Wilkes-Barre Khreem Smith-Memphis
2 Kevin Prentiss-Memphis Ahmad Willis-Tulsa Tony Stallings-Louisville
3 Jake Eaton-Manchester Matt Forbes-Quad City Matt Jackson-Macon
4 Julian Reese-Amarillo Matt Forbes-Quad City Chris Robinson-Rio Grande Valley



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