Rochon Placed on Injured Reserve

April 17, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Texas Copperheads News Release


The Texas Copperheads have placed league leading receiver Sean Rochon on IR. Rochon will miss a minimum of 4 weeks with an undisclosed injury. "This is a blessing because we thought it would be a season ending injury" said Copperheads Head Coach Ollie Guidry.

Week 4 GAME PREVIEW: Texas Copperheads @ Lubbock Renegades

The Copperheads travel to Lubbock for their 1st road game of the 2008 season. Texas is in search of its first victory in four tries. Lubbock enters the game 2-0 and boasts the league's #1 scoring offense.

Though QB Rudy Carlton leads the league in passing yards per game, the Texas offense has struggled to protect the ball. Carlton has thrown 8 interceptions in jus three games. The Copperheads offense has lost 2 fumbles. Three of Carlton's picks have been taken back for TDs while 1 fumble has been returned for a TD. The Copperheads will have to protect the ball against a Lubbock defense that ranks 5th in total defense. The Copperheads rank last in turnover margin at -7 while Lubbock ranks second with +3.

Texas' offense was dealt a serious blow in week 3 as af2 leading receiver Sean Rochon went down with an undisclosed injury on the Copperheads last play of the first half. Rochon was placed on IR 4/16/08. Armar Watson filled in well for Rochon catching 4 passes for 80 yards and two TDs. Watson, who also starts at DB and returns kicks for Texas, ranks 9th in the af2 with 151.0 all purpose yards per game. Watson ranks 2nd for the Texas defense with 8.5 tackles. Watson has returned a kick off for a TD.

The Copperheads rank 28th in scoring defense. Lubbock enters the game averaging 69 points per game which is tops in the league. Robert Kent is a double threat. He ranks 4th in the af2 with 267.0 yards of total offense per game. Kent has passed for 12 TDs while running for 3 in Lubbock's only 2 games of 2008.

Last season against Texas, Kent completed a combined 32 of 59 passing attempts for 473 yards and 14 TDs. Nine of Kent's TD throws were recorded when Lubbock visited Texas on 6/30/07. Kent rushed 6 times for 41 yards and two TDs when the teams met on 4/29/07. Kent also ran for a TD in the 6/30/07 meeting. In total, Kent was responsible for 17 TDs against the Copperheads in 2007.

Defensively the Copperheads must contain Kent and limit Lubbock's third down, fourth down and red zone conversion success. Last season against Texas, Lubbock scored on 9 of 9 red zone opportunities. This season the Renegades have scored on 5 of 5 red zone tries which ranks first in the league. Lubbock also ranks 3rd and 9th respectively in fourth down and third down conversions.

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2007 SERIES RESULTS: 4/29/07 Renegades 65 - Copperheads 27 (@ Lubbock) 6/30/07 Renegades 74 - Copperheads 44 (@ Texas)

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match up who rank among af2's statistical leaders:

COPPERHEADS Player Rank Category Stat Rudy Carlton T-1 Pass Yds PG 278.7 Rudy Carlton 3 Total Off PG 274.3 Shaun Rochon 1 Receptions PG 10.67 Bryan Carroll 8 Receptions PG 8.0 Shaun Rochon 3 Rec yards PG 123.7 Armar Watson 9 All purp yds PG 151.0 RENEGADES Player Rank Category Stat Robert Kent 6 Pass Yds PG 253.3 Robert Kent 4 Total Off PG 267.0 Robert Kent 5 Pass efficiency 120.9

WEEK 4 QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH OLLIE GUIDRY:

On the Copperheads' offensive production against last week's opponent, Bossier-Shreveport: "We put up some pretty good numbers, unfortunately for us, we turned the ball over too many times. We can compete with the best; but we need to protect the football."

On the Copperheads' defensive goals: "Defensively, we need to get more stops in critical situations. Those critical situations are third downs and in the red zone."

Shares his optimism about the Copperheads overall progress: "I'm excited about this football team. Overall I know we are going in the right direction. We will continue to work the guys hard until we get it right."

On DB/KR Armar Watson who will be playing in place of the injured Shaun Rochon: "If he needs to play every snap on both sides of the ball, he's capable. He's in great shape. He came to training camp in great shape. He'll be capable of going on both sides of the ball for 4 quarters."

On starting QB Rudy Carlton's interceptions against Bossier-Shreveport: "The thing I love about Rudy is that he's a very aggressive QB. He takes chances but those are learning experiences he's going to go through. This is only his third game of indoor football. Sometimes he feels so strong about his arm that he thinks he can get the ball there and takes chances. I like his aggression; we just need to cut back on the mistakes."

On the Lubbock Renegades: "They're an opportunistic football team on all sides of the ball. Defensively, they're quick; they're fast. Offensively, they have a QB that's very mobile with his legs, he's very accurate, he's a double threat."

DROPBACK (Week 3 results for both teams): Texas: The Copperheads were defeated by the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 67-41 at the Berry Center in Houston. Lubbock: The Renegades defeated the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 63-43 at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City at the City Bank Coliseum in Lubbock.

FORWARD MOTION: Texas: Texas travels to Idaho for a 4/26/08 contest with Boise before returning home to host the Arkansas Twisters on 5/3. Lubbock: The Renegades will host Tulsa on 4/26/08 and Spokane on 5/3/08 at the City Bank Coliseum in Lubbock.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: The Copperheads have lost 13 consecutive games dating to the 2007 season. Lubbock is looking for their third consecutive victory over the Copperheads.

COPPERHEADS '08 STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing GP ATT-CMP-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Rudy Carlton 3 71-133-8 53.4 836 12 278.7

Receiving GP NO YDS AVG TD AVG/G Shaun Rochon 3 32 371 11.6 5 123.7 Bryan Carroll 3 24 280 11.7 5 93.3

Rushing GP ATT GAIN NET AVG TD AVG/G V. Kennebrew 3 7 29 25 3.6 1 8.3

Kick Returns GP NO YDS AVG TD Long Armar Watson 3 19 373 19.6 1 58

Tackles: James Todd (12), Armar Watson (8.5) Sacks: Marcus Bacon (1), Julian Hill (.5) Interceptions: James Todd (1)

TICKETS

Tickets are on sale for all five remaining 2008 Copperheads home games. The Copperheads next home game will be on May 3, 2008 against the Arkansas Twisters. Kick off at the Berry Center is 7:30pm. Single game seats start at just ten dollars. Group tickets begin at five dollars. You can purchase tickets by calling the Copperheads front office at 281-807-6000 or at www.ticketmaster.com. On game day, tickets are available at the Berry Center box office. You can also visit our new website at www.txcopperheads.com for more details.



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