Rio Grande Valley Dorados game notes
June 15, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release
Rio Grande Valley Dorados (5-5) vs. Arkansas Twisters (6-4)
Date: Saturday, June 17, 2006
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Alltel Field at Alltel Arena (16,058)
Coin Toss: Head Official
Dorados Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 (KSOX); free online audio at doradosfootball.com
TV: none
Season Series Record: 1-0 RGV
Streaks: RGV won 1, ARK lost 1
RGV Head Coach: Marty Hammond (1st Season)
DORADOS MEDIA CONTACT:
Dorados: Rich Bocchini (O: 956-843-7825, C: 956-227-4940), media@doradosfootball.com
THE SCENARIO: The Dorados continue to fight for a playoff spot, and greatly improved their chances with last week's win over Amarillo...Right now they are on the outside looking in behind Tulsa and Bakersfield (both 7-3) and Arkansas and Central Valley (both 6-4)...Division winners earn the No. 1 and 2 seeds in each conference, followed by the next four top teams.
THE SERIES: This is the third all-time meeting...The series is tied at 1-1...RGV lost the first ever meeting in 2004, and the teams did not face each other last season...Both previous meetings have taken place in Hidalgo... RGV squeezed out a 57-55 win over the Twisters back on April 22 thanks to Curtis Jeter's last-second field goal block...Dwight Counter set two Dorados season-highs with 12 catches and 149 receiving yards vs. the Twisters in Week 4...Walter Church set opponent season-highs with 288 passing yards on 24 catches. His 42-yard toss to Jon Schoonover is the longest by an opponent this season.
OFF THE NET
- JR Davies tied Josh Kellett's season high with 27 completions vs. Amarillo last week. His seven TD passes were one short of the season-mark.
- RGV was down 28-7 by 12:46 of the second quarter last week. They never led in the game until Chris Canty's TD catch with 53 seconds remaining. The Dorados did tie the game three times (7-7, 35-35, 42-42).
- The Dorados have lost five of six road games this season. The only road win was at Birmingham in Week 3, a 44-43 OT decision.
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES courtesy of themonitor.com
Marty Hammond on the team's road struggles
"I don't think being on the road had that much to do with it. Some of those games we lost on the road we would have lost at home. We just need to execute."
Marty Hammond on JR Davies, prior to Week 11 vs. Amarillo
"We've got to get this win no matter what," Hammond said. "J.R. knows he could have played better the last two games. He's a smart guy. He knows he's got to get better. He has to step up. If he doesn't, I won't hesitate to put Porter in. We have to get a win."
Curtis Jeter on the team's 4-0 home record
"You can't go play Madden at somebody else's house, and grab their controller and the (thing) is all worn out," lineman Curtis Jeter said. "You've got to come home where your controller's nice."
WEEK 12 COACHES POLL
MEMPHIS RECLAIMS TOP SPOT IN WEEK 12 COACHES POLL
CHICAGO - The Memphis Xplorers have reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the Weekly Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today.
Memphis collected 255 of a possible 264 points and 16-of-23 first place votes in securing the top position. The Xplorers, who had a bye in Week 11, are 8-2 and tied for the best record in the league. Memphis also held the top spot for the first four weeks of the season.
The Florida Firecats (7-2, 235 points, 5 first place votes) moved up one spot this week from No. 3 to No. 2. The Firecats also enjoyed a bye week in Week 11. The Spokane Shock (8-2, 218 points, 2 first place votes), previously the top-ranked team for the past two weeks, slipped two spots to No. 3. The Shock lost for just the second time in 2006 this past Saturday on the road at Louisville, 79-69.
Rounding out the top five in this week's poll are the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (7-3, 181 points) and the Tulsa Talons (7-3, 175 points), both in-state rivals and Midwest Division foes. The two teams went head-to-head in Week 11 in Tulsa and the Talons prevailed in a classic, 59-58, complete with a last-second finish. The Week 12 schedule features two matchups of Top
12 teams. On Saturday night, No. 10 Louisville plays at No. 12 Albany and No. 6 Bakersfield plays at No. 4 Oklahoma City.
Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 12 teams in the league by ranking them one through 12 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 12 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 12th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 12 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification. The complete Top 12 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.
WEEK 12 TOP 12
RANK TEAM PTS
1 Memphis 255 (16)
2 Florida 235 (5)
3 Spokane 218 (2)
4 Oklahoma City 181
5 Tulsa 175
6 Bakersfield 166
7 W-B/Scranton 164
8 Central Valley 98
9 Arkansas 92
10 Louisville 61
11 Green Bay 41
12 Albany 39
Other teams receiving significant votes this week include the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (29) and Manchester Wolves (14).
NEW FACES
The Dorados added OL/DL Ahmad Bhatti and Frank Henson prior to Week 11's game vs. Amarillo, and released Will Goodloe and Tony Agee. Goodloe was re-assigned to the Dorados prior to Week 12's game at Arkansas after Landrick Brody was released. Bhatti is in his fifth af2 season and has spent time with Bakersfield and Fresno. Henson is a rookie out of Georgia Military and began the season with Everett.
DORADOS QB REPORT
Josh Kellett is out 4-6 weeks with an injured right throwing hand. He was among the leaders in af2 stats at the time of his injury. Kellett was first in pass attempts (261), 8th in pass TD's (32), and 3rd in completions (142).
JR Davies matched Josh Kellett's Week3 performance with 27 completions vs. Amarillo in Week 11. Davies threw seven TD passes, including a 37-yard bomb to Chris Canty to win the game with 53 seconds left in regulation. Davies is 88-for-142 with 15 TD's and seven INTs.
DORADOS RECEIVING LEADERS
Dwight Counter leads the team with 74 receptions and is among af2 leaders in that category. His 17 TD's are also a team high. Mel Long is right on Counter's tail 49 receptions and 13 TD's. Travis McAlpine has 46 receptions and 11 TD's.
DORADOS DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Brent Withers leads the team with 49 tackles, 42 of which are solo. He and Mel Long lead the team with two interceptions. Corl Bucknor's seven pass breakups lead the team. Bucknor sat out Games 8 and 9, but suited up for Game 10 due to Withers being out with a bruised knee.
DECEIVING KICKING STATS
Dustin Bell is 3-for-11 on field goal attempts this season, but six of those chances have been from 50 yards out or more. Four of his misses came from 62 (thrice) and 57 yards out. Two more were from 56 and 53 yards. Bell is 2-for-2 from 20-29 yards and 1-for-2 from 40-49 yards. His longest field goal was a 47-yard boot in Week 7 at Bakersfield that was three yards short of tying Eric Houle's 50-yard record on July 9, 2005.
SECOND HALF BLUES
The Dorados have been outscored in the second half 236-168, including a 112-82 margin in the fourth quarter. They were outscored 29-0 in the second half in Week 10 at OKC. Their biggest comeback of the season, however, happened in the second half vs. Amarillo in Week 11. The Dorados outscored the Dusters 21-10 after coming back from a 28-7 deficit in the second quarter. The Dorados won 49-45.
COUNTER FALLS JUST SHORT OF TYING FRANCHISE MARK
Dwight Counter's three TD receptions vs. Arkansas in Week 4 was one short of tying his own franchise record. He hauled in four TD's on June 11, 2005 vs. Tulsa, a feat duplicated by teammate Mel Long in Week 2 of this season vs. Tulsa.
KELLET THROWS FOR 345 YARDS VS. ARKANSAS
Josh Kellett went 27-for-44 vs. Arkansas in Week, throwing for 345 yards and six TD's. He nearly tied two of his own franchise single-game records (390 yards, eight TD's).
DORADOS FAIL TO TIE FRANCHISE WINNING STREAK WITH LOSS AT TULSA
The Dorados could have tied a franchise record for wins in a row at Tulsa. The franchise has strung together four wins a total of two times in the past. Both four-game win streaks came during the 2005 season (Week 5-8, Week 10-13). It was a 58-49 loss at Tulsa in Week 14 of last year that ended the team's second four-game run.
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