AFL Arena Football League

Saturday Night Matchups

Published on April 17, 2010 under Arena Football League (AFL) News Release


CLEVELAND GLADIATORS (0-2) AT OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (0-1)

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010 - Cox Convention Center (10,585) 8:05 P.M. ET; Broadcast via AFL Live Online

Week 3 action continues Saturday night when the Cleveland Gladiators travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Yard Dawgz. The result of this game will be one less winless franchise in the league, as neither has pulled out a victory yet this season. Last week, the Gladiators fell to the undefeated Chicago Rush 56-59 on a last second field goal. QB John Dutton has had a bit of a shaky start so far this season, only completing 67% of his passes and throwing seven interceptions after two games. However, Dutton's 666 yards in total pass offense so far is third most in the league. The Gladiators also have the fifth highest total offense per game average with 338 yards. Last week's loss to Chicago came after a back-and-forth scoring game, with neither team pulling ahead more than a touchdown. Despite their lack luster statistics, the Gladiators performance versus Chicago shows they have potential once they find their rhythm. This weekend, the Yard Dawgz should be wary of Brent Holmes. Holmes is leading the league in kick returns, so far tallying 12 for 114 yards. Carlos Campbell has also tallied one kick return of a touchdown. The winless Yard Dawgz have stumbled out of the gates as well. In their only game of the season so far, Oklahoma City was held to a mere 38 points by the Jacksonville Sharks. QB Tommy Grady completed only 64% of his passes against the Sharks but still managed four passes for scores. Two of those scoring passes went to WR Timon Marshall, who leads the team in overall receptions with six for 63 yards. While the offense worked on finding their rhythm, the defense held off the Sharks rather well. They limited Jacksonville to only 225 yards, the second lowest total defense in the league. The Week 2 bye could bode negative or positive results for the Yard Dawgz - either it was a time to stew in the tough loss, or it was an extra week to work on errors. Either way, both teams are sure to come out swinging in hopes of tallying their first win of the 2010 campaign.

ALABAMA VIPERS (1-1) AT UTAH BLAZE (0-1)

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010 - The E Center (9,888) 9:05 P.M. ET; Broadcast via AFL Live Online

In the second game of the evening, the Alabama Vipers will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on the Utah Blaze in the first ever meeting of the two franchises. Alabama has started off their season well, sitting at .500 after a loss to Bossier-Shreveport and last week's victory over Jacksonville. Offense is the name of the game for the Vipers, who have several offensive players sitting at or near the top of the league in their averages. Dan Alexander is currently the top rusher in the league with his 57 rushing yards and a phenomenal nine touchdowns. Alexander's statistics have propelled the Vipers to hold the second highest rushing offense per game (30 yards) in addition to the most accumulated rushing yards so far (60 yards). The 51.5 point average Alabama is holding their opponents to is the third lowest in the league. WR Michael Johnson is averaging 361 all-purpose yards per game, while CJ Johnson is averaging 328both top-5 averages in the league. Both Johnsons are major contributors to Alabama's high ranking offense. Michael Johnson has the fourth most receptions with 22 for 312 yards and surprisingly no touchdowns. CJ Johnson has the fifth most kick-off returns with 10 for 222 yards. Utah will have their work cut out for them as the Vipers have a strong offensive presence, both on the ground and in the air. The Blaze aren't feeling as fortunate as the Vipers just yet this season. They are winless with their one loss coming from the hands of the Spokane Shock, 68-34 last weekend. While Alabama's offense is strong, the Blaze did not seem to have found their rhythm yet in last week's game. The game saw action from two QBsMichael Affleck and Brett Elliot. Elliot replaced Affleck after Affleck completed only a third of his passes and was intercepted. Elliot had a 59% completion rate throughout the game and earned himself a top-10 quarterback ranking, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Shock. Utah will have a tough time controlling the Vipers, as they are extremely strong on both sides of the offense. Don't be surprised if this game is a continuation of Alabama's offensive dominance.

BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLEWINGS (2-0) AT SPOKANE SHOCK (1-1)

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010 - Spokane Arena (10,775) 10:00 P.M. ET; Broadcast via AFL Live Online

Two former arenafootball2 foes are set to face off for the first time ever in Saturday's last game of the night. Bossier-Shreveport will travel to the west coast to take on the Spokane Shock. The Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings have emerged as a legitimate player in the game this season, currently undefeated after going under the radar in most preseason rankings. The BattleWings have proven to have strength both offensively and defensively, wreaking havoc on their opponents so far this season. Despite giving up 67 points to the Orlando Predators in last week's victory, Bossier-Shreveport's defense is still ranked as one of the top in the league. DBs Roshawn Marshall and Roland Cola are top-5 in the league. Marshall has 18 total tackles this season along with two pass breakups. Cola has 16 tackles and six pass breakups. DB Nick Ward is also a contributor, with 10 tackles and four pass breakups so far. But the headliner of the BattleWing franchise is the QB Raymond Philyaw -to-WR PJ Berry connection. Philyaw and Berry have put on shows for the spectators in the first two games of the season. So far, Berry leads the league in all-purpose yards (540) and in receptions (24). He has the second most receiving yards (286) and the most receiving touchdowns (9). Philyaw has the second highest quarterback rating in the league, behind Milwaukee's Chris Greisen. When Philyaw can't find an open receiver, FB/LB Bryon Douzart can be counted on to move the ball on the ground. Douzart has the third most rushes in the league with 10 for 32 yards and a touchdown. The Spokane Shock were surprised by the Milwaukee Iron in the first week, but redeemed their loss versus the Utah Blaze last weekend, pulling out a 34 point victory. QB Kyle Rowley has his pick between three receivers who have proven themselves so far this season - Raul Vijil, Markee White, and Huey Whittaker. Whittaker has accumulated 197 all-purpose yards so far this season and has the third most receptions in the league (24). His six touchdowns are second most, behind BattleWing star Berry's nine. While the Shock showed improvement last week in their first victory of the season, Bossier-Shreveport is on a roll and will play hard to continue to show they are not a team to sleep on.

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