Phantoms, Fury ready to battle

by Campbell Blake
April 24, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)

With their victory in Tampa last weekend, the Toronto Phantoms look to continue their winning ways Thursday night in there home opener against the Detroit Fury. The Phantoms also want to put on a show for their fans to make sure they come back for more. The Fury hope to spoil the show after losing a hard fought contest with Grand Rapids in their debut game of the 2002 season.

Once again the Phantoms will have Chad Salisbury at the helm. Last weekend in the Phantoms 51-37 victory over the Storm, Salisbury was spectacular completing 10 straight passes to open the game. The MVP finished the night with four touchdown throws while completing 24 of his 33 passing attempts for 279 yards.

The Fury, on the other hand, lost a hard fought battle to the defending Arena Bowl Champions Grand Rapids Rampage, 49-45. Detroit made up for a dismal first half of football with a dominant third quarter, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Rampage. After giving up 42 points in the first half, the Fury gave up only seven after the intermission.

A sour note on the evening was the play of kicker J.R. Jenkins who missed three extra points. As a result of his performance, the Fury waived him following the game. Chuck Levy led all Fury receivers with five catches for 93 yards and three scores. Rickey Foggie finished the evening with seven touchdowns and 265 yards on 16-of-38 passing with one interception.

Against Detroit the Phantoms will once again have to find the endzone consistently. A victory is a definite possibility for Toronto, a club with an experienced receiving corps. With Damion Harrell leading the way with his lightning quick speed and the veteran leadership of Ty Law and Charlie Davidson, Toronto's group of receivers will be a handful for the Fury defensive troops.

Rickey Foggie, after an average outing in last week's game against Grand Rapids, wants to lead Detroit to its first win of the season at the Phantoms expense. As everyone knows, the quarterback position is the key to wins in the AFL, so Foggie will may need to out-perform Salisbury. Foggie is an experienced AFL vet who is known for finding the open man and getting him the ball. With a great slew of receivers on the team, including Chuck Levy and Robert "Flash" Gordon, the Fury is a team that the Phantoms cannot take lightly.

There are several familiar faces on the Fury that Toronto football fans will recognize, with head coach Darrel "Mouse" Davis leading the way. The innovator of the "Run and Shoot" offense made his pro coaching debut as the offensive coordinator of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 1982.

Foggie, Levy, Gordon, Ty Grovesteen and Kelvin Kinney also have ties to the Argos. Foggie was a member of the 1991 team that won the Grey Cup. Gordon spent two seasons in an Argo uniform beginning in 1993, while Levy, Grovesteen and Kinney all played with the Double Blue during the second half of last year following the conclusion of the Fury season.

With the possibility of a second straight win on the horizon, the Phantoms look to knock off the Fury on Thursday night. Chad Salisbury will try to follow up last week's performance with another great outing. But the Fury is also an explosive offensive outburst just waiting to happen. The Phantoms hope that explosion can wait just another week.

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