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Orlando Predators game notes

March 9, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release


Georgia (3-2) at Orlando (2-3)
Date: Friday, Mar. 12, 2004
Toe-to-Leather Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: TD Waterhouse Centre (13,692)
Officials: Referee: Bill LeMonnier; Umpire: Rick Podraza;
Head Linesman: Dale Newhouse; Line Judge: R.G. Detillier;
Back Judge: Rich Wilborn
Radio: WQTM 740 The Team (Marc Daniels and Dan Pearson)
TV: None
Streaks: Both teams enter the contest with two-game winning streaks.
Series Record: Georgia Leads the all-time series, 3-1.
Coaches: Orlando: Jay Gruden (7th season, 45-25, .643); Georgia: Marty Lowe (3rd Season, 17-15, .531)

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Predators: Dan Pearson -- Office: 407-447-3303,
Cell: 407-489-5711; Home: 407-846-0076; E-Mail: dpearson@orlandopredators.com

Georgia: Jason Gilham – Office: 770-813-7510,
Cell: 678-548-6430; Home: 678-546-8198; E-Mail:
Jason@georgiaforce.com

THE STAKES: The Orlando Predators open the second quarter of the 2004 season at home with a key contest against a Southern Division rival. Both teams enter the campaign on two-game winning streaks and both are trying to gain ground on division leaders New Orleans (4-1) and Austin (3-1).

Throughout the season, Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden has stressed the importance of protecting home turf. Austin has already handed the Predators a home division loss and the Orlando can ill-afford a second home division loss this early in the season. With a road game coming up with 4-1 Chicago, it is imperative that Orlando keeps building on the momentum they have established with back-to-back wins.

It will not be an easy task. Not only have the Force won two straight games and own a one-half game lead on the Predators for third place, but they have also beat the Predators in three of the last four meetings, including both games in the TD Waterhouse Centre.

"They are a well coached team with lots of weapons on both sides of the ball," Gruden says. "We'll have to play our best game of the season to keep this winning streak alive."


Orlando Predators (2-2-0) *All Times Eastern
Date Opponent W/L Score
Feb. 8 At Tampa Bay L 41-52
Feb. 13 Austin L (OT) 48-49
Feb. 28 At Carolina W 59-32
Mar. 6 Indiana W 50-38
Mar. 12 Georgia 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 21 At Chicago 12 Noon
Mar. 27 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 4 At Columbus 12 Noon
Apr. 9 New Orleans 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 18 At Georgia 3 p.m.
Apr. 25 New Orleans 7:30 p.m.
May 2 Tampa Bay 3 p.m.
May 9 At New Orleans 3 p.m.
May 16 At Austin 3 p.m.
May 23 New York 3 p.m.
May 30 At Los Angeles 4 p.m.

Georgia Force (3-2)
Date Opponent Result Score
Feb. 7 New York L 28-54
Feb. 13 At Tampa Bay W 70-62
Feb. 22 New Orleans L 52-55
Mar. 1 At Los Angeles W-OT 53-52
Mar. 7 Las Vegas W 55-40
Mar. 12 At Orlando 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 20 At Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Mar. 27 Tampa Bay 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 1 At Detroit 7:30 pm.
Apr. 11 At Austin 3:00 p.m.
Apr. 18 Orlando 3:00 p.m.
Apr. 25 San Jose 12 Noon
May 9 At Columbus 3:00 p.m.
May 15 At New Orleans 8:00 p.m.
May 23 Austin 3:00 p.m.
May 30 Carolina 4:00 p.m.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE
"I think we schemed him as well as you can scheme a guy like that. He's pretty elusive and we knew that coming in. We were able to keep him off-balanced early and build a lead. I don't think I would want to chase a quarterback like that every week."
--FB/LB Rupert Grant on Indiana QB Adrian McPherson

PREDS HEAD COACH JAY GRUDEN
After spending the last two seasons as the team's quarterback, JAY GRUDEN returned to the bench as the team's head coach in 2004. Gruden began his coaching career in 1997, serving as offensive assistant for the Nashville Kats. One season later, the Predators made him the youngest head coach in the AFL. Gruden would go on to lead the Predators to three consecutive appearances in the ArenaBowl and a pair of championships. After guiding the Predators to a fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs, Gruden shocked the AFL world by announcing his intentions to resign in order to return to the playing field. In two seasons, Gruden directed the Predators to the semifinals twice. In 2003, he recorded a 10-0 record with 49 touchdown passes and two interceptions as a starting quarterback during the regular season. Off-season surgery, combined with the tragic loss of former Head Coach Fran Papasedero in a June 19 traffic accident, resulted in Gruden returning to the sideline. Gruden will take a 45-25 (.643) all-time coaching record into the Georgia game. He is 37-23 in regular season games (.616) and 8-2 as a head coach in playoff games (.800).

ORLANDO PREDATORS
HEAD COACHING RECORDS
Coaches, Years Record Pct.
Jay Gruden, 1998-2001, 2004 45-25 .643
Fran Papasedero, 2002-03 22-13 .629
Perry Moss, 1991-97 67-31 .684
Georgia Force Coach Marty Lowe
Marty Lowe concluded his second season and first full year as Head Coach of the Georgia Force in 2003, guiding the team to a club record eight wins and leading the team to its first AFL playoff appearance. At 32-years-old, he remains the youngest head coach in the league.

Counting a 3-2 start to the 2004 season, Lowe has compiled an all-time AFL coaching record of 17-15 (.531 winning percentage). Against the Predators, he is 2-1, having defeated Orlando once in 2002 and splitting a pair of games last season.

Lowe began his AFL career as offensive assistant for Nashville in 2000, helping guide that team to a berth in ArenaBowl XIV against Orlando. He played quarterback at the University of Louisville from 1991-95, and played in the AFL for both St. Louis and Texas. Previous coaching experience includes stops at the University of Texas-El Paso (running backs coach) and the University of Louisville (quarterbacks coach).

LOWE'S ARENA FOOTBALL COACHING RECORD
2002 Georgia 5-4 .556
2003 Georgia 9-9 .500
2004 Georgia 3-2 .600
NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY
Although the Georgia Force leads the all-time series with the Predators, 3-1, the two teams have a much deeper history. Georgia played as the Nashville Kats from 1997-2001. As the Nashville Kats, the franchise played in the Southern Division with the Predators. The teams met at least twice every season and also played each other in two post season games (1998 and 2000). When the team was sold and moved to Georgia after the 2001 season, the team elected to discard the records of the Nashville Kats and start over as the Georgia Force, even though they retained the entire Nashville roster. When the 12 games played as the Nashville Kats are counted in the series record, the Force leads the all-time series with Orlando 9-7.

SERIES RECORDS
As the Georgia Force (Georgia leads series 3-1)
Date ORL GEO
Apr. 20, 2002 (A) 49 67
July 13, 2002 (H) 40 41
March 23, 2003 (H) 36 38
Apr. 26, 2003 (A) 38 27

As the Nashville Kats (Series Tied, 6-6)
Date ORL NASH
May 30, 1997 (H) 36 46
July 25, 1997 (A) 55 74
May 22, 1998 (A) 48 62
July 10, 1998 (H) 37 22
August 7, 1998 (H) 58 43*
April 23, 1999 (A) 49 40
July 23, 1999 (H) 41 51
May 19, 2000 (A) 71 54
July 7, 2000 (H) 41 45
Aug. 9, 2001 (H) 41 38**
April 13, 2001 (A) 25 50
May 13, 2001 (H) 34 30
*AFL Quarterfinals
**ArenaBowl XIV

SERIES NOTES: As quarterback of the Orlando Predators (2002-2003), Jay Gruden had three of his best passing days ever, throwing for 331, 364, and 300 yards against the Force...he missed the first game of the 2003 season with an injury...Orlando split with Georgia last season, losing 38-36 at home and winning 38-27 on the road...in the home loss last season, Orlando had the ball and a lead with less than 20 seconds remaining, but Georgia's Darryl Hammond stripped Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor of the ball and Steve McLaughlin booted 30-yard field goal on the final play of the game as Georgia walked away with the win...Orlando rallied from a 14-13 halftime deficit to earn a split of the season series with a 38-27 win in Week 13...Cory Fleming (11-102) and Travis McGriff (8-98) played key roles in the win...Predators OL/DL Jermaine Smith played two seasons with the Force and earned All-Arena last year; while Force OL/DL William Carr and DS Kevin Gaines are former Predators players...in addition, Force Asst. Coach Rob Davis played for the Predators last season; while WR/LB Dialleo Burks was a member of the 2001 Orlando Rage (XFL) football team.

IFs:
If the Orlando Predators defeat the Georgia Force on Saturday, it would:

...Give the Predators three straight wins
...Give the Predators a 3-2 record and drop Georgia to 3-3
...Give Jay Gruden an all-time coaching record of 46-25
...Give Orlando an all-time home record of 74-30-0
...Give Orlando an all-time record of 135-69-0
...Give Orlando 10 wins in last 13 home games

How The 2004 Predators Were Built

Retained From 2003 (9): Travis McGriff*, Connell Maynor, Cory Fleming, Kenny McEntyre, Fred Ray, Justin Cleveland, EJ Burt, Doug Miller and Reggie Lee

Veteran Free Agents Signed (6): Bret Cooper, Rupert Grant, William Gaines, Cecil Caldwell, Jermaine Smith, and Sean Riley.

Obtained by Trade (1): James Bowden

Rookie Free Agents (11): Idris Price, Jay Taylor, Joe Hamilton, Lin-J Shell, Marlon Moye-Moore, Arkee Thompson, Paul Young, Buck Gurley, Michael Brown.

Released/Traded Players No Longer on Roster:
Waived: Kevin McLeod, Antwuan Wyatt, Chris Sanders, Roy Stabler, Nate Bandy, Barry Hall, Anthony Bright, Tavares Jurineack, Joe Crear, Anthony McKenzie, Abdullah Wiggins, Paul Miranda, LaVar Glover, George Williams Traded: Thabiti Davis (Detroit)


PREDS NEWS, NOTES, TRENDS

McENTYRE CAN BECOME AFL'S ALL-TIME INTERCEPTION LEADER IN 2004:
With an interception in Week 5 against Indiana, Predators DS Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre continues to inch forward in his efforts to become the Arena Football League's all-time leader in that category. McEntyre now has 48 interceptions and trails former Orlando Predators DS Durwood Roquemore by just two for the most in Arena Football League history. McEntyre is closing in on the record in just five+ seasons; while Roquemore played 10 years in the AFL. McEntyre has played his entire Arena Football League career with the Predators and is the team's all-time leader in interceptions. With 10 interceptions in the post-season, McEntyre now has 58 picks in just 92 career games. Interestingly, four of the top five players in AFL history have spent the majority of their AFL careers with the Predators.

AFL ALL-TIME LEADERS
INTERCEPTIONS
Name No. Years With Preds
Durwood Roquemore 50 1987-96 1991-96
Kenny McEntyre 48 1998-04 1998-04
Barry Wagner 40 1992-04 1992-99 Tracey Perkins 37 1991-01 ---
Chris Barber 35 1992-00 1996-98

PREDATORS AILING
Orlando will go into the Georgia game at less than full strength. OL/DL Justin Cleveland is definitely out with a broken thumb sustained in practice last week...OL/DL Reggie Lee also sustained a thumb injury during the Indiana game and his status is not known...OS Travis McGriff, the 2003 Arena Football League Rookie of the Year" has yet to play this season as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

McENTYRE IS TRUE IRONMAN: Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre has been one of the toughest competitors to ever wear a Predators uniform. Despite numerous injuries in his career, McEntyre has yet to miss a start since coming to the Predators in the tail end of the 1998 season. Counting the last game against Carolina, McEntyre has now answered the bell for 92 consecutive games -- a team record.

JERMAINE SMITH'S DOMINATING PERFORMANCE EARNS HIM LEAGUE HONORS
OL/DL Jermaine Smith was named Arena Football League's "Ironman of the Week" for his play against Indiana in Week 5 of the season. Smith had three tackles, a quarterback sack and a blocked kick on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, he anchored a make-shift line that did not allow a sack of Joe Hamilton. He also caught two passes for 28 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown reception and a 17-yard pass where he almost scored a second touchdown.

HAMILTON LEGEND CONTINUES TO GROW
Predators fans continue to marvel at the emergence of Joe Hamilton as a quarterback. Hamilton did not step on an Arena Football field until seven days before the team's opener when he participated in a scrimmage with Tampa Bay on Feb. 1. Although he threw his first interception of the season against Indiana, he was impressive on the night, completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 222 yards, 4 touchdowns and no sacks. Hamilton has not been sacked in his last two games and takes a two-game winning streak into the Georgia game. "His learning curve has been phenomenal," Head Coach Jay Gruden says. "For a guy who has never played Arena Football before, he makes few mistakes and when he makes a mistake he doesn't make the same mistake twice."

HAMILTON'S GAME-BY-GAME STATS

Opponent A-C-I Pct. Yards TD Sacks
Tampa Bay 40-23-0 57.5 270 4 1
Austin 33-23-0 69.7 296 5 2
Carolina 29-19-0 65.5 212 6 0
Indiana 27-18-1 66.7 222 4 0
Season 129-83-1 64.3 1000 19 3

TAYLOR STRINGS ENDS
Rookie kicker Jay Taylor string of consecutive extra points ended at 21 when he had a kick blocked in the fourth quarter of the Indiana game. Still, Taylor has been a breath of fresh air for a team that has had its kicking troubles over the last three or four seasons. Taylor is now 21 of 22 on point after attempts .955 and also hit a key 42-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter that put the Predators up by 17 points.

GRUDEN'S PREDICTION APPEARS SOLID
When asked about the implications of only having eight teams make the playoffs in 2004, Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden remarked that league officials better plan on "studying the tie-breaking formula." Gruden added that because of league parity, there may be as many as 6-8 teams tied with the same record for the last couple of playoff spots. Here are where all teams stand after Week 5 in terms of losses:

No Losses
None
1 Loss
(6) Chicago, Colorado, San Jose, Dallas, New Orleans and Austin
2 Losses
(5) Georgia, Orlando, Arizona, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Detroit

3 Losses
(5) Las Vegas, Carolina, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay


MILESTONES
Cory Fleming
...With 1,760 all-purpose yards, Fleming has moved past Joe Douglass for eighth place on Predators all-time career list and needs 20 yards to pass Jeff Parker for seventh place and needs 217 yards to pass Alex Shell (1,976) for sixth place on the Predators all-time list.

...With 1376 yards, he needs 264 receiving yards to move past Alex Shell (1939) for 6th place on Predators career receiving yards list.

...With 38, he needs 3 TD receptions to move past Clif Dell (40) for 5th on Orlando's all-time list, needs 6 to move past Siaha Burley (43) for 4th on the all-time Preds list and 15 to move past Herkie Walls (52) for third on Orlando's all-time list.

Joe Hamilton
...With 19 TD passes, needs 4 TD passes to move past Reggie Collier (22) for eighth place on Predators career list.


PLAYERS TO WATCH
GEORGIA AT ORLANDO

Predators WR/DB Sean Riley
Head Coach Jay Gruden replaced WR/LB George Williams on the roster with veteran WR/DB Sean Riley, hoping to put more speed on the field while OS Travis McGriff continues to recover from a hamstring injury. The move paid dividends last week, as Riley caught several deep balls (3 for 73 yards, 24.3 average), including a 26-yard touchdown pass and a second pass that covered 38 yards.

Georgia QB Leon Murray
Like Orlando's Hamilton, Georgia's Leon Murray has been an extremely impressive quarterback for not having a lot of experience. Murray stepped into the starter's role midway through the 2003 season after beginning the year as the team's #3 signal caller. Last season, he earned Force "Rookie of the Year" honors by throwing for 1,737 yards and 33 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Murray is off to another great start this season, having already engineered impressive wins over defending AFL champion Tampa Bay (70-62), a huge overtime road win over Los Angeles (53-52) and a 15-point dismantling of Las Vegas last week. Murray has completed 62.9 percent of his passes this year with 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Orlando OL/DL Jermaine Smith
After a relatively quiet first two games, Jermaine Smith has dominated in the last two weeks, recording four tackles, two quarterback sacks, a blocked kick and two receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown. Smith was named AFL Ironman of the Week for Week 5 and has started to show the form that made him a first-team All-AFL performer with Georgia last season.

Georgia DS Kevin Gaines
Kevin Gaines began his career in Orlando and has steadily progressed since leaving the Predators after the 1999 season. He currently leads the Force with 26 tackles with one interception and two pass defenses. After picking off just eight passes in his first four seasons, Gaines has 17 in the last two years.

Predators OL/DL Josh McKibben
A natural defensive lineman, Josh McKibben was thrown into the first last week – moving to the difficult center position from guard to replace the injured Justin Cleveland. McKibben, who had not played the position since high school, will have to continue to play well at center as Cleveland is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Georgia OS Markeith Cooper
Markeith Cooper is finally starting to find a home in the Arena Football League after being discovered at a free agent tryout camp last year. Cooper, who played sparingly last season, leads the Force in receptions (29), yards (384), receiving touchdowns (8), scoring
(66), kick return yardage (493) and all-purpose yards (892). Cooper's outstanding speed will present a severe challenge to the Predators defensive backs.

PREDATORS PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Tue., Mar. 8 9-11 a.m. Thunder Field
Wed., Mar. 9 9-11 a.m. Thunder Field
Thur., Mar. 10 9-9:45 a.m. Thunder Field

All Practices Open to the Media

NEXT WEEK: The Predators will take to the road for a nationally televised game with Chicago on Sunday, March 21 (12 Noon start); Georgia will go on the road to face the Indiana Firebirds on Saturday, March 20 (7 p.m. start).

2004 ORLANDO PREDATORS LEAGUE WIDE AWARDS:
QB Joe Hamilton
AFL Rookie of the Month – February

OL/DL Jermaine Smith
Ironman of the Week - Week 5 (Indiana)




GAME MVPS/IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media):
Week Opp. Player
1 At Tampa Bay O: Shane Stafford (TB)D: Shea Showers (TB)I: TT Toliver (TB)
2 Austin Wranglers O: Cory Fleming (O)D: Tom Briggs (A)I: Charlie Davidson (A)
3 Bye Week
4 At Carolina O: Joe Hamilton (O)D: Jermaine Smith (O)I: James Bowden (O)
5 Indiana O: Cory Fleming (O)D: Rupert Grant (O)I: Jermaine Smith (O)

2003 ROSTER MOVES
Date Action Player

1/31 Waived FB/LB Kevin McLeod, QB Chris Sanders, DS Marcus Smith, OL/DL Nate Bandy, OL/DL Barry Hall, OS Anthony Bright, OS Antwuan Wyatt, OL/DL Anthony McKenzie,DS Roy Stabler. Placed OL/DL Derrick Ham, WR/LB Michael Brown on IR
1/31 Trade Received WR/DB James Bowden from Carolina Cobras in exchange for future considerations
2/3 Placed on IR OS Travis McGriff
2/16 Waived DS Paul Miranda, DS LaVar Glover
2/23 Signed DS Sam Young, DS Arkee Thompson, OL/DL Josh McKibben
2/23 Activated from IR OL/DL Derrick Ham
2/23 Waived OL/DL Derrick Ham
2/25 Placed on IR OL/DL Cecil Caldwell and DS Arkee Thompson
2/25 Activated from IR DS Michael Brown
3/2 Waived WR/LB George Williams
3/4 Signed WR/DB Sean Riley

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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