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Rio Grande Valley Dorados game notes

June 22, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release


Date: Saturday, June 24, 2006

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST

Site: Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena

Coin Toss: Head Official

Dorados Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 (KSOX); free online audio at doradosfootball.com

TV: Televisa (XERV-9, cable 19); streaming video at doradosfootball.com and af2tv.com

Season Series Record: 0-1

Streaks: RGV lost 1, OKC won 1

RGV Head Coach: Marty Hammond (1st Season)

THE SCENARIO: The Dorados continue to fight for a playoff spot, but can afford few mistakes down the stretch...Right now they are on the outside looking in behind Arkansas, Tulsa, Central Valley and Bakersfield (all 7-4) ....Division winners earn the No. 1 and 2 seeds in each conference, followed by the next four top teams. Spokane and OKC are the Division leaders in the National Conference.

THE SERIES: This is the seventh all time meeting...The Dorados are 2-4 all time and 2-1 vs. the Dawgz at home...Rio went 0-2 in 2004 and 2-1 in 2005 vs. the Dawgz...

OFF THE NET

- The Dorados are slated to start their third quarterback this season in Ryan Porter. The team used two QB's last season (Kellett and Davies) and three in 2004 (Abel Gonzalez, Will Burch and Caleb Slover.

- Dustin Bell set a franchise record with a 52-yard field goal last week at Arkansas.

- The Dorados coughed up a 10-point lead vs. the Twisters in the fourth quarter last week.

- The Dorados have six of seven road games this season. The only road win was at Birmingham in Week 3, a 44-43 OT decision.

- The Yard Dawgz have alternated wins and losses their last five contests. They are trying to win consecutive games for the first time since May 13-20.

- The Yard Dawgz had their second straight game go down to the last play and beat Bakersfield 64-63 last week. Al Hunt had four touchdown catches in the game, and Jarrail Jackson went over the 1,000 yard mark in receptions.

- OKC has the second-highest scoring average (59.2) in af2 and has scored the most TD's 91...The Dorados and Dawgz match up defensively with RGV allowing only 46.2 points per game (8th) and OKC allowing 45.7 (7th).

GOOD EATIN'

At each home game, the Rio Grande Valley Dorados will have tailgating outside the Dodge Arena sponsored by Budweiser and South Texas Dodge beginning at 4PM on game-days. Each tailgate event will feature a marquee food item for grillers and tailgaters to cook. Dorados players will judge the offerings and award prizes to the best. Check out doradosfootball.com each week for winners and what's on the menu for the next game.

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 Ryan Porter making his first start

"He's very capable. It took him a little time to learn the offense. It's still a small portion of the offense, but he's picked it up pretty fast and he's been improving at practice."

JR Davies on Ryan Porter making his first start

"It's understandable. A quarterback's got to win. If you don't win, they'll find somebody else to replace you. It's just the nature of the position."

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

FLORIDA RECLAIMS TOP SPOT IN WEEK 13 COACHES POLL

CHICAGO - The Florida Firecats have reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the Weekly Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. Florida collected 256 of a possible 264 points and 20-of-23 first place votes in securing the top position. The Firecats defeated the Macon Knights this past Saturday at home, 66-54, to improve to 8-2. Florida, winners of three straight games, also held the top spot in Week 8.

The Spokane Shock (8-2, 222 points, 2 first place votes) moved up one spot this week from No. 3 to No. 2. The Shock, who share the league's best record with Florida, enjoyed a bye week in Week 12. Oklahoma City (8-3, 202 points) also improved one position to No. 3 on the heels of the Yard Dawgz', 64-63, home win against sixth-ranked Bakersfield.

Filling out the top five in this week's poll are the Memphis Xplorers (8-3, 201 points, 1 first place vote) and W-B/Scranton Pioneers (8-3, 189 points).

The Xplorers, last week's top-ranked team, slipped three spots after losing on a last-second field goal to Birmingham, 43-42. The Week 13 schedule features three matchups of Top 12 teams. On Friday, the red-hot No. 9 Louisville Fire play at No. 12 Manchester. On Saturday, No. 5 W-B/Scranton plays at No. 11 Green Bay. On Sunday, No. 8 Arkansas plays at No. 6 Bakersfield.

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 13 TOP 12

RANK TEAM PTS

1 Florida 256 (20)

2 Spokane 222 (2)

3 Oklahoma City 202

4 Memphis 201 (1)

5 W-B/Scranton 189

6 Bakersfield 118

7 Tulsa 115

8 Arkansas 110

9 Louisville 104

10 Central Valley 100

11 Green Bay 60

12 Manchester 42

Other teams receiving significant votes this week include the Birmingham Steeldogs (40) and Albany Conquest (16).

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY - af2 PLAYOFF PICTURE: Six teams from each the American and National Conference qualify for the playoffs. The six qualifying teams in each conference consist of the two division champions and four Wild Cards, determined by best overall record. Seeding in each conference is based on overall record, with the top two seeds in each conference reserved for the division champions, regardless of record. In the First Round (August 4-6), the two division winners in each conference receive a bye. The top-seeded Wild Card team hosts the lowest-seeded Wild Card team, while the No. 2 seeded Wild Card team hosts the No. 3 seeded Wild Card team. In the Second Round (August 11-13), the division winners who had byes in the First Round host the winners from the First Round. The top seeded division champion plays the lowest seeded team advancing from the First Round, while the second-seeded division winner plays the other winner from the First Round. The winners of the Second Round will meet for the Conference Championships on the weekend of August 18-20. For this round seeding no longer matters, meaning the team with the better overall record hosts the Conference Championship. The winners of the Conference Championships face off in the 2006 ArenaCup on August 26 at a site to be announced.

American Conference Standings

1. Florida (8-2) - Current South Division Leader 2. W-B/Scranton (8-3) - Current East Division Leader 3. Memphis (8-3) 4. Louisville (6-5) - Currently holds SOS advantage over BIR and GBB 5. Birmingham (6-5) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than GBB (LOU, MAC, SGW) 6. Green Bay (6-5) 7. Manchester (5-6) - Currently has point differential advantage in HTH with ALB

8. Albany (5-6)

9. Macon (4-7) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than QCS (ALB, ARK, GBB, WBS)

10. Quad City (4-7)

11. Tennessee Valley (2-9)

12. South Georgia (1-10)

NATIONAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. Spokane (8-2) - Current West Division Leader 2. Oklahoma City (8-3) - Current Midwest Division Leader 3. Bakersfield (7-4) - Currently holds SOS advantage over CVC 4. Central Valley (7-4) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than TUL and ARK (BOS, RGV) 5. Arkansas (7-4) - Currently has HTH advantage over TUL

6. Tulsa (7-4)

7. Rio Grande Valley (5-6)

8. Amarillo (4-7) - Currently holds SOS advantage over STK

9. Stockton (4-7)

10. Everett (3-8)

11. Bossier-Shreveport (2-9)

NEW FACES

The Dorados had FB/LB RJ Luke assigned to the lineup prior to Week 13's game. He met up with the team in Little Rock after Week 12's loss and accompanied the team on the bus back to the RGV....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 had his cast removed this week and may be available July 1. He has been out since injuring his right throwing hand at Bakersfield on May 13. 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).

Ryan Porter is set to make his first pro start.

JR Davies matched Josh Kellett's Week 3 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 80 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 56 receptions and 15 TD's. Travis McAlpine has 50 receptions and 12 TD's.

DORADOS DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Brent Withers leads the team with 49 tackles, 42 of which are solo...Mel Long leads the team with three 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...Curtis Jeter has 4.5 sacks.

DECEIVING KICKING STATS

Dustin Bell is 4-for-15 on field goal attempts this season...Eight of those chances have been from 50 yards out or more...Bell has missed from 62 yards three times, in addition to missing from 57, 56 and 53... He set a team record with a 52-yard kick at Arkansas on June 17, 2006...He also hit a 47-yard field goal at Bakersfield on May 13, 2006.

SECOND HALF BLUES

The Dorados have been outscored in the second half 256-185, 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.

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