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Phantoms Game Notes

May 14, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Toronto Phantoms News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Toronto Phantoms (3-1) @ Buffalo Destroyers (2-2)
Date: Saturday, May 18th
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Site: HSBC Arena (18,457)
TV: Rogers Sportsnet Ontario (Jamie Campbell, Leif Pettersen & Paul Hendrick)
Officials: Bill LeMonnier (Referee), Dan Ferrell (Umpire), Allen Baynes (Head Linesman), David Meslow (Line Judge), Billy Beckett (Back Judge)
Series Record: 1-1
Last Meeting: Toronto 61 Buffalo 26 (July 6, 2001)
Streaks: Toronto and Buffalo each won its most recent game
Coaches: Toronto - Mark Stoute (11-7, 2nd year); Buffalo – Ray Bentley (13-15, 3rd year)

THE STAKES: Toronto (3-1) currently sits in 1st place in the AFL's Eastern Division, one game ahead of both Buffalo (2-2) and New Jersey (2-2). A Toronto win would give the Phantoms a leg up on a key divisional rival and some breathing room atop the division standings.

THE SERIES: Toronto and Buffalo have split their previous two meetings, with each team winning in the other's arena. Buffalo spoiled Toronto's 2001 home and season opener, defeating the Phantoms 61-54 on April 14, 2001. Toronto gained a measure of revenge with a 61-26 win in Buffalo on July 6, 2001. In that game, Toronto scored 47 unanswered points in just over 30 minutes of regulation time.

THE IFs:

If Toronto defeats Buffalo, it would ...
· Give Toronto a 4-1 record overall
· Give Toronto a 2-1 road record in 2002
· Give Toronto a 1-0 record within its division
· Give Toronto an 8-1 all-time record against Eastern Division opponents.

HEAD COACHES: Toronto's Mark Stoute is spending his 2nd season as the Head Coach & General Manager of the Toronto Phantoms, after serving as an assistant in the AFL for the previous 6 years. In his first year at the helm, Stoute led the Phantoms to an 8-6 regular season record, an Eastern Division Championship and a playoff victory.

Ray Bentley heads up the Destroyers fleet as the Vice President, Head Coach and General Manager. He moved into coaching after a 10-year playing career.

2002 IN REVIEW: The Toronto Phantoms Arena Football club has built on the success of a 5 game win streak to close 2001, by racing out to a 3-1 record to start 2002.

The Phantoms kicked off the new season with a 51-37 win over Tampa Bay (4/20). Chad Salisbury threw for 4 scores to earn MVP honours. Ty Law was named as the Ironman after hauling in two of those scoring strikes and making an interception to kill a 4th quarter Tampa Bay rally. Steve Konopka set a new Phantoms single game high with 3 sacks. On the last of those 3 sacks, Konopka knocked Tampa quarterback John Kaleo out of the game with what was later revealed to be a season-ending knee injury.

On Thursday, April 25th, Toronto staged its home opener in front of 7,107 phans at Air Canada Centre. The Phantoms made good on their President's guarantee, rolling the Detroit Fury 50-30. Team President & CEO Rob Godfrey had guaranteed a win to the phans of Toronto – a guarantee backed by the promise of a free ticket to another Phantoms home game, in the event of a Phantoms loss. Salisbury was brilliant on "Guaranteed Win Night" throwing for 5 touchdowns without an interception. The Toronto QB was named as the MVP for the 2nd consecutive week, while Charlie Davidson earned Ironman honours. Davidson made a pair of touchdown catches and led his team with 4½ total tackles.

The Phantoms 7 game regular season winning streak was snapped in a 58-47 road loss in Phoenix (5/4). Sherdrick Bonner threw for 362 yards and 7 touchdowns earning MVP honours in leading Arizona past Toronto. The Ironman of the game, WR/DB Chris Horn, caught two of those touchdown passes. Damian Harrell, Kerry Brown and Anthony Derricks all turned in strong individual showings in the loss. Harrell and Brown each scored a pair of touchdowns, while Derricks recorded 214 kickoff return yards taking one kick back 56 yards for a score.

Toronto set a new team rushing record in an impressive Week 4 win over the visiting Indiana Firebirds (5/9). Game MVP Jermaine Younger scored 2 of Toronto's 3 rushing touchdowns, as the Phantoms out gained Indiana 43-23 along the ground. The Phantoms built an early 14-0 lead but actually head to the 4th quarter trailing by 2.

Toronto outscored Indiana 14-3 in the final frame as Younger and Kerry Brown each scored the 2nd of their 2 touchdowns respectively to clip the wings of the Firebirds. Damian Harrell matched his own single game club record with 10 receptions, piling up 121 receiving yards with 1 touchdown. Charlie Davidson was selected as the Ironman after making 3 tackles and 2 receptions.

2001 IN REVIEW: In the team's inaugural season in Toronto, the Phantoms posted a record of 8-6 capturing the Eastern Division championship. The Phantoms won just 3 times in the club's first 9 games, but rallied to win the final 5 games on the regular season schedule surging to the top of the division.

Toronto emerged a winner in the first playoff game in team history, defeating the New York Dragons 64-57 on July 27, 2001. Toronto thus completed a unique 4-game sweep of the Dragons having won 1 preseason game, 2 regular season games and 1 post-season game with New York.

The Phantoms 2001 campaign came to a disappointing end on August 3 in Nashville. The hometown Kats scored a touchdown with 1 second remaining in regulation time to defeat the Phantoms 45-38.

Charlie Davidson enjoyed a most successful season in 2001, being named as a 2nd Team All-Arena WR / DB. The team captain missed 5 games due to injury during the season. In his absence the Phantoms struggled with a 1-4 record. Toronto was 7-2 in the games in which Davidson appeared. Anthony Derricks further confirmed his status as one of the league's most dangerous kick return specialists racking up 1606 kick return yards. Derricks finished in the AFL's top 10 in all-purpose yardage, interceptions, passes defended, tackles and fumbles recovered.

Damian Harrell emerged as the unquestioned leader of the Phantoms' receiving corps. Harrell scored a team-high 20 touchdowns and finished among the league leaders in receiving yards and receiving yards per game.

2001 MEETINGS:

April 14, 2001 – Buffalo 61 Toronto 54
Toronto (ON): A late touchdown and an untimely interception cost the Toronto Phantoms a victory in the first game in team history. The Buffalo Destroyers, who had trailed by as many as 14 points, rallied to win 61-54 getting the game-winning touchdown on a 22 yard pass from Jim Kubiak to Eddie Brown with 1 minute left in regulation time. Carlos James clinched the victory for the visitors with the second of his 2 interceptions with 36 seconds remaining. Toronto quarterback Pat O'Hara completed 20 passes for 315 yards earning MVP honours in the loss. He threw 7 touchdown passes, completing a pair to the game's Ironman Charlie Davidson. Damian Harrell also had a strong game making 8 receptions for 130 yards and 3 scores

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Buffalo Destroyers 14 14 13 20 61
Toronto Phantoms 21 14 7 12 54

Individual Statistics RUSHING: Buffalo - MOTTON, John 3-8; LATTA, Willie 2-3; BURSE, Tony 1-minus 6. Toronto - YOUNGER, Jermaine 2-8; BLUE, Melvin 1-4; O'HARA, Pat 1-minus 2.

PASSING: Buffalo - KUBIAK, Jim 29-38-0-365; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 5. Toronto -O'HARA, Pat 20-31-2-315; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 6.

RECEIVING: Buffalo - OLIVE, Bobby 11-137; MASON, Kevin 10-128; LATTA, Willie 3-20; JAMES, Carlos 2-44; BROWN, Eddie 2-35; LUSTER, Ramon 1-1. Toronto - HARRELL, Damian 8-130; DAVIDSON, Charlie 5-91; BROWN, Kerry 5-59; LAW, Ty 1-26; BLUE, Melvin 1-9.

INTERCEPTIONS: Buffalo - JAMES, Carlos 2-2 Toronto - None

July 6, 2001 – Toronto 61 Buffalo 26
Buffalo (NY): The Toronto Phantoms ran off 47 unanswered points to crush the Buffalo Destroyers 61-26. The Phantoms dominated the Destroyers on both sides of the ball getting 3 touchdown passes from MVP Chad Salisbury and defensive touchdowns from Ironman Kerry Brown and Anthony Derricks.

Salisbury completed 22 passes in 31 attempts for 160 yards and also ran 1 yard for a score. Brown made 5 receptions for 74 yards and 1 touchdown and added another score on a 43-yard interception return.

With its 3rd straight win, Toronto improved its record to 6-6 making its first return to the "500 mark" since early May.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Toronto Phantoms 14 21 19 7 61
Buffalo Destroyers 14 0 0 12 26

Individual Statistics RUSHING: Toronto - WHITE, David 4-17; WILLIAMS, Daren 5-16; SALISBURY, Chad 2-2. Buffalo - LATTA, Willie 2-4; LONG, Juan 1-1; ALLEN, Reggie 1-minus 1; MOTTON, John 1-minus 2.

PASSING: Toronto - SALISBURY, Chad 13-22-1-160; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 4. Buffalo - KUBIAK, Jim 16-33-3-215; MASON, Kevin 3-11-1-36; TEAM 0-0-0-minus 21.

RECEIVING: Toronto - HARRELL, Damian 5-85; BROWN, Kerry 2-31; LAW, Ty 2-21; LEVERSON, Luke 2-16; DAVIDSON, Charlie 2-7. Buffalo - BROWN, Eddie 5-74; LATTA, Willie 5-54; MASON, Kevin 3-46; ALLEN, Reggie 3-35; PROBHERBS, Hassan 2-29; MOTTON, John 1-13.

INTERCEPTIONS: Toronto - DERRICKS, Anthony 2-48; BROWN, Kerry 1-43; DAVIDSON, Charlie 1-12. Buffalo - PROBHERBS, Hassan 1-37.

FUMBLES: Toronto - None. Buffalo - TEAM 1-0.

SERIES NOTABLES: Damian Harrell has sparkled in two games against Buffalo with 215 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns...Toronto scored 54 points in the loss to Buffalo in last season's home opener, marking the only time in club history that the Phantoms have scored 50 points or more in a game and lost...Toronto is 10-1 as a team when it hits or passes the 50-point plateau...Toronto has given up just 7 rushing yards to Buffalo in 2 games played.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

"The game is designed for the wide receivers and you hope sometimes they get tackled inside the five so you can punch it in" Phantoms FB/LB Jermaine Younger who scored on a pair of short TD runs in the win over Indiana, giving him 20 rushing TDs in his AFL career.

"When we got the ball in the red zone I was hell bent on getting the ball in" Younger on his 2 yard TD run with 9:59 remaining in regulation time. That score stood up as the game-winning touchdown.

"We are the type of team that can blow other teams out when we are clicking – it was good for us to be in a dogfight." Younger on the importance of the win over Indiana.

"When we jumped out and got control but (Indiana) came back. It was like a tennis match – they served an ace and we returned it with an ace of our own." Phantoms Head Coach & GM Mark Stoute on the nature of the win over Indiana. The game featured 5 lead changes.

"We have had a good start going 3-1. It will be a tough game but it is great to go into (the game) with three wins." Stoute's response when asked about the game that lies ahead in Buffalo with the Destroyers.

TORONTO PHANTOMS LAST WEEK:

May 9, 2002 – Toronto 46 Indiana 36
Toronto, Ont. – "When we got the ball in the red zone I was hell bent on getting the ball in", Jermaine Younger said of his two yard plunge in the fourth quarter, his 20th rushing touchdown of his AFL career. The late score was the deciding factor in the Phantoms' 45-36 win over the Indiana Firebirds Thursday in an Arena Football League game at the Air Canada Centre.

Younger rushed for 16 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. As a team, Toronto piled up 47 yards on the ground – a new team record. That total eclipses the record of 40 set in the Phantoms most recent home victory, a 50-30 win over Detroit in the home opener.

"The game is designed for the wide receivers and you hope sometimes they get tackled inside the five so you can punch it in," Younger said, "We are the type of team that can blow other teams out when we are clicking – it was good for us to be in a dogfight."

The Phantoms jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead courtesy of a Chad Salisbury to Kerry Brown 6-yard touchdown pass and an Anthony Hicks 1-yard plunge into the end zone.

But Indiana came back quickly. First it was Raymond Philyaw launching a 41-yard bomb to wide receiver Van Johnson for the touchdown but they missed the convert and trailed 14-6. Then Philyaw found offensive specialist Eddie Brown from 8 yards out to cut the Phantom lead to 14-13.

"When we jumped out and got control but (Indiana) came back," Head Coach Mark Stoute said. "It was like a tennis match – they served an ace and we returned it with an ace of our own."

The offensive back and forth continued in the 2nd quarter of play as Salisbury drove the Phantoms down to the one yard line setting up Younger's first touchdown of the game. But the Toronto's score was quickly answered by a 9-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Gary Compton. Indiana missed the extra point again and trailed by two points 21-19 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Firebirds came out quickly as Philyaw found Brown for a 23-yard touchdown putting Indiana up 26-21. Then the offensive pendulum swung back towards the Phantoms as they answered with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Salisbury to offensive specialist Damian Harrell. That gave Toronto the 28-26 lead.

Harrell led all receivers with 10 receptions. He accounted for 121 yards through the air, marking the 3rd consecutive week he surpassed the 100-yard receiving plateau. The 10 receptions matches Harrell's single game team record set last year in a win over the New York Dragons.

Indiana answered again as Philyaw drove the Firebirds down to the three yard line then took it in on the quarterback keeper for the 33-28 Indiana lead. After a field goal cut the Indiana lead to two, Younger scored his second TD of the game, tying a franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a single game – that score put Toronto in the lead for good. The Phantoms added a late touchdown and won the game 45-36.

The back and forth game was what Arena Football is all about according to Stoute. "That is the nature of the game. It is never over until the final whistle."

Younger echoed the sentiments of his coach. "It's not over till the last whistle. A team can be up 21 at the half and lose by 21. It is never over." Salisbury bounced back from arguably the worst outing of his career (3 interceptions & 1 fumble in the loss to Arizona) with a fine game. He completed 22 of his 33 passing attempts for 223 yards and 3 scores.

Kerry Brown scored 2 touchdowns for the 2nd consecutive week finishing with 6 catches covering 38 yards.

The win has to be especially gratifying to Toronto considering the number of players missing in action. Ty Law, Steve Konopka, John Summerday, Luke Leverson and Jerald Long – all Phantoms regulars – all sat out with an assortment of injuries With the win the Phantoms move to 3-1 for the season. The Ghosts of the Gridiron will now head to Buffalo for their next game - a pivotal inter-divisional match according to Stoute. "We have had a good start going 3-1. It will be a tough game but it is great to go into (the game) with three wins."

TORONTO PHANTOMS NEXT WEEK: The Toronto Phantoms return home to face the New Jersey Gladiators on Thursday, May 23rd. The Phantoms swept its 2-game series with the Gladiators in 2001. The action from Air Canada Centre will be shown live on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario and can be heard on MOJO AM 640 – Talk Radio for Guys.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

THE BEASTS OF THE EAST: The Phantoms enjoyed great success within its division in the club's inaugural season. Toronto won all but 1 of its 8 divisional games, sweeping New York, New Jersey and Carolina while splitting with Buffalo. Carolina has since been moved to the Southern Division under the 2002 re-alignment plan.

DATE OPPONENT RESULT
4/14/01 Buffalo L 61-54
4/21/01 @ New York W 68-58
4/27/01 @ New Jersey W 28-25
6/23/01 New York W 66-49
6/30/01 Carolina W 62-56
7/6/01 @ Buffalo W 61-26
7/14/01 New Jersey W 52-45
7/20/01 @ Carolina W 53-50

Toronto will face each of its 3 Eastern Division opponents over the next 3 weeks sandwiching road trips to Buffalo (5/18) and New York (6/1) around a home game against New Jersey (5/23).

QUARTERLY REPORTS: The Phantoms continue to enjoy great success in the 2nd quarter of play, outscoring the opposition by 29 points during that frame. It's worth noting that Toronto has matched or outscored its opposition in all 4 quarters thus far this season.

Points For/Against:
QTR. TORONTO OPPOSITION
1 41 40
2 76 47
3 45 43
4 31 31
Totals 193 161

GALLOPING GHOSTS: The Phantoms have set new team rushing records in each of the club's two home games thus far this season. Toronto's only loss this season came in the only game where it was out-gained on the ground by its opponent. Net Rushing Yards

DATE TORONTO OPPOSITION RESULT
4/20 23 9 W 51-37
4/25 40 -7 W 50-30
5/4 12 31 L 58-47
5/9 43 23 W 45-36
Totals 118 56 3-1

THE POLLS ARE IN!: Anthony Derricks, Toronto's kick return specialist finished a close second in a recent poll conducted by arenafootball.com that asked, "Who is the most dangerous return man in the game today?"
The results:
Hunkie Cooper, Arizona - 26%
Anthony Derricks, Toronto - 25%
Lamont Cooper, Buffalo - 16%
Steve Papin, New York - 15%
Other - 10%
Ron Carpenter, Georgia - 8%
No doubt voters were swayed by the fact that "A-D" has piled up 359 kickoff & missed field goal return yards in just the past 2 games.

PHANS LIKE THE PHANTOMS: The Toronto Phantoms are faring quite well in the Power Poll voting conducted by registered users of the arenafan.com website.

RANK TEAM POINTS
1 San Jose (4-0) 88.7
2 Arizona (3-1)) 82.1
3 Toronto (3-1) 80.8
4 Chicago (2-2) 73.1
5 Indiana (2-2) 72.7
9 Buffalo (2-2) 61.6

CHICAGO CASHES IN: For the second time in as many weeks, an opposing team has signed away a player from Toronto's practice squad. The Chicago Rush has plucked WR/DB Larry Casher from Toronto's roster. Says Head Coach & GM Mark Stoute, "The Phantoms wish Larry all the very best in his move to Chicago. We're glad to see him get a chance to play and we're quite sure he's going to become a solid player in this league someday soon."

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

KR Anthony Derricks vs. KR Lamont Cooper This game will feature some special players on special teams. Derricks and Cooper are two of the most dangerous kick return specialists in the game today. Cooper missed Buffalo's most recent game after being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer. It's not certain whether he'll be ready to play in Saturday or not.

Phantoms Rushing Game vs. Destroyers D The Phantoms lead the league in rushing yards with 29.5 yds/g. Buffalo, meanwhile, is surrendering just 9.8 rushing yds/g – 2nd best in the league. If the Phantoms can establish a ground game to support its aerial circus, the Buffalo defence might be stretched past its limit.

Fred McNair vs. Phantoms D The Destroyers QB (and older brother to NFL star Steve McNair) struggled in a pair of losses to Toronto last season, while starting for the Carolina Cobras. McNair had a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns in those games. He'll have to avoid costly mistakes like that if Buffalo hopes to succeed against the AFL's top ranked defence.

KEY DATES IN TORONTO PHANTOMS HISTORY:

May 19, 2001 Ty Law and Anthony Derricks lead Toronto to the first home win in franchise history, as the Phantoms lasso the Oklahoma Wranglers 72-38. Law sets team records with 5 touchdown receptions, 30 points scored and 154 yards receiving. Derricks, meanwhile, registers 219 kickoff return yards taking two kicks all the way back for scores.

May 26, 2001 The Florida Bobcats score 14 points in the last 35 seconds of regulation time to upset Toronto 51-44. The improbable comeback overshadows a fine 2-touchdown performance by Phantoms rookie and Miami native Luke Leverson.

WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS & NOMINEES:

BUILT FORD TOUGH AWARD (selected by coaches) The Built Ford Tough Award is a national recognition award given after every game to the player or players on each team best demonstrating determination and toughness in that game. The award honors the players who made a game-saving tackle or score-saving tackle, threw a key block on the big play or exhibited physical sacrifice or consistent tough blocking and tackling on both sides of the ball. The honored players receive a helmet sticker that recognizes the Built Ford Tough Player of the Game.

Week Opp. Phantoms Nominees
1 @Tampa Charlie Davidson, Ty Law. Jermaine Younger, Anthony Derricks & Steve Konopka
2 Detroit Chad Salisbury, Charlie Davidson, Anthony Hicks, Anthony Derricks & Del Lee
3 @Arizona Charlie Davidson, Anthony Derricks, Kerry Brown, Del Lee & Jermaine Younger
4 Indiana Damian Harrell, Del Lee, Kerry Brown, Jermaine Younger & Charlie Davidson

GAME MVP AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 @Tampa Chad Salisbury
2 Detroit Chad Salisbury
3 @Arizona Sherdrick Bonner (Arizona)
4 Indiana Jermaine Younger

GAME IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 @Tampa Ty Law
2 Detroit Charlie Davidson
3 @Arizona Chris Horn (Arizona)
4 Indiana Charlie Davidson

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (selected by coaching staff)
Week Opp. Player
1 @Tampa Chad Salisbury
2 Detroit Chad Salisbury
3 @Arizona Damian Harrell
4 Indiana Damian Harrell

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (selected by the coaching staff)
Week Opp. Player
1 @Tampa Ty Law
2 Detroit Del Lee
3 @Arizona Charlie Davidson
4 Indiana Del Lee

RECENT ROSTER MOVES:
Date Action Player
5/13 Awarded to Chicago from Practice Squad Larry Casher
5/8 Signed from Practice Squad Pending Original Nakia Jenkins
5/8 Placed on Injured Reserve Ty Law
5/3 Activated from Injured Reserve Kerry Brown
5/3 Activated from Injured Reserve Connell Spain
5/3 Placed on Injured Reserve John Summerday
5/3 Placed on Injured Reserve Jerald Long
4/30 Awarded to New Jersey from Practice Squad Chris Pointer

TORONTO PHANTOMS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
WR/LB Ty Law Quad Strain Injured Reserve
WR/LB Jerald Long Sprained Wrist Injured Reserve
OL/DL John Summerday Sprained Knee Injured Reserve

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