Riptide Game Notes
May 1, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
QUICK FACTS:
San Diego Riptide (1-3) vs. Louisville Fire (0-4)
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2002
Kickoff: 7:00 pm (PDT)
Site: SD Sports Arena (12,000)
Officials: Frank White (referee); Phil Akana (umpire); George Gusman, Jr (head linesman); Matt Sumstine (line judge); Mike Goshima (back judge); Douglas Awana (alternate)
Radio: KSDO 1130 AM (Scott Kaplan, Billy Ray Smith)
By Phone: 1.800.846.4700 Team Code: 4101
COACHES:
Fire: Jeff Brohm (0-4, 1 st year)
Riptide: Cree Morris (1-3, 1 st year)
This week's opponent â Louisville Fire
The Riptide come home to face the Fire, who have dropped seven straight games dating back to last season and are 6-14 in two af2 seasons. Louisville is leading the af2 in attendance, averaging over 11,000 fans a game. The Riptide enter tonight second to the Fire in attendance with an average of 8,550 fans per contest.
Last week at Arkansas â Twisters 75, Riptide 51
The San Diego Riptide (1-3) showed little defense in Little Rock Saturday evening, losing to the Arkansas Twisters (3-1) 75-51. The Twisters scored touchdowns on 11-of-13 possessions and were 4-of-4 on third down conversions.
Twister QB Ricky Hebert tossed eight scores and 325 yards en route to Game MVP honors. Riptide QB Kane Claunch countered with a five TD effort, but completed just 15-of-29 for 199 yards.
Riptide WR/DB Ryan Smith returned eight kickoffs for 227 yards (sixth best in af2 history), caught two passes which both went for scores and defensively had an interception, broke up two passes and recorded two tackles.
The teams traded touchdowns for their first two possessions before the Twisters jumped to a 35-19 lead with little less than two minutes left in the first half. The Riptide pulled within eight with 43 seconds left in the half after Curtis hit Smith on an eight-yard pass and Claunch connected with Rico Curtis for the two -point conversion. However, the Twisters drove down the field and scored as the first half ended to go up 41-27 at halftime.
The final minute of the game saw three touchdowns scored within 20 seconds. Ryan Smith grabbed his second receiving score of the night, a 10-yarder, with 56 seconds left. The Riptide then tried and failed an onside kick, giving the Twisters the ball at the Riptide six. Nine seconds later, Twister FB/LB Darnell Small rumbled in for his third rushing score of the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Smith returned it 54 yards for a touchdown.
SCOUTING REPORT ON LOUISVILLE
Jeff Brohm â Head Coach Brohm, enters his first season as Louisville's head coach. Brohm played with the Chargers (1994), 49ers (1995-97) and from 1997-2000 was with the Buccaneers, Broncos and Browns. In 2001, he was an All-XFL First Team selection with the Orlando Rage.
Matt Pike - Quarterback In his second season in the af2, Pike has complied 60 passing TDs and 6 rushing scores in 18 games played. This year Pike has completed just 43.2% of his passes for 971 yards with 15 TDs and 9 INTs for a passer rating of 63.07. He is the team's leading rusher with 23 yards and has scored two TDs.
Anthony Payton â WR/LB Leads the team in receptions (22), receiving yards (321), all-purpose yardage (373), TDs scored (7) and overall scoring (42 pts). Payton is also in his second season with the Fire. Last year caught 13 TDs and returned an interception for a score.
Delvecchio Walls â Defensive Specialist/Kick Returner This 5'9" 170-pound player leads the Fire in numerous categories and is perhaps Louisville's best overall player. He has both of the team's interceptions, leads them in tackles (21.5), has forced a fumble, returned a fumble for a score and has 11 pass breakups. Walls is the team's kick return and is averaging 19.2 yards per kick return and 23.7 on missed field goals.
First 2 games vs. last 2
The Riptide have dramatically had a defensive breakdown in the past two games compared to their first two in these three categories. The yards and points in the games are similar, but not these statistics. never gained possession of the ball off the rebound nets and Berg scooped up the loose ball for six points.
KICKIN' IT
Ryan Smith had his finest performance of the year last week against the Twisters. Not only did he come up with the Riptide's lone turnover, a interception, he caught two passes both for touchdowns, broke up a pass and registered two tackles. However, his biggest contribution come returning kicks. On eight returns, Smith compiled 227 yards, including a 54-yard return for a touchdown. His 227 yards rank sixth all-time in af2 single history. Below is a list of all six top kickoff return yardage games in af2 history.
RICO SAUVE
Through four games, Curtis has recorded 30.5 tackles, which is good for third in the af2. Last week at Arkansas, he notched seven total tackles, but five were assisted stops so his game total was just 4.5.
SUAVE PART II
Curtis' defensive efforts against the Talons earned him ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors. He had a game-high six stops, returned a fumble 12 yards to set up a Claunch-to-Greetis touchdown and also a pass breakup.
A TRUE IRONMAN
Brian Berg scored the Riptide's first franchise points on a seven-yard run against Bakersfield. The following two weeks he was forced to be the team's starting center due to an injury to Jason Henry. Last week at Arkansas, Berg returned to his FB/LB duties and scored the Riptide's first points of the night on a 1-yard rushing TD.
ANOTHER TEAM FIRST FOR BERG
Brian Berg registered the team's first points on a 7-yard run against Bakersfield (4/06) and vs. Tulsa (4/20) became the first to tally a special teams touchdown when he recovered a fumble off a Brad Bohn missed field goal. The Talons returner never gained possession of the ball off the rebound nets and Berg scooped up the loose ball for six points.
WHAT A RUSH
The San Diego Riptide rank among the af2 leaders in rushing yards averaging 40.5 yards per contest, 4.0 yards per attempt and have scored eight touchdowns (by five different players).
GETTING "MISI"
OL/DL Trevor Misipeka had a monster game against Tulsa. Before the game, he recorded just a half tackle in two total games. Against the Talons, he tallied 5.5 tackles and recovered a fumble.
arenafootball2 Stories from May 1, 2002
- af2 Influence in AFL Increasing - af2
- Fire Game Notes - Louisville Fire
- Riptide Game Notes - San Diego Riptide
- Out and about with the Blitz - Bakersfield Blitz
- Spencer Named Built Ford Toughman by af2 - Rochester Brigade
- Brigade Participate in United Way Day of Caring - Rochester Brigade
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.
