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South Georgia Wildcats game notes

June 16, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
South Georgia Wildcats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
South Georgia Wildcats (2-8)
at Arkansas Twisters (1-9)
Date: Saturday, June 18, 2005
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m.
Site: ALLTEL Arena (16,058)
Officials: DREW MYERS (Referee), CHAD WALKER (Umpire), KARL LANE (Head Linesman), MARK BAILEY (Line Judge), DAX HILL (Back Judge)
Radio: WRAK Magic 97.3 FM (Robert Hydrick)
Series Record: South Georgia leads the all-time series 1-0
Last Meeting: May 14, 2005: Twisters 48 at Wildcats 62
Streaks: Wildcats L4; Twisters L3
Coaches:
SOUTH GEORGIA: Donnie Davis (0-0 1st season with Wildcats)
ARKANSAS: John Gregory (1-9; 1st season with Twisters)

THE STAKES: The Wildcats look to get their first win under new head coach Donnie Davis along with snapping their four game losing streak. The ‘Cats still have a shot at making the playoffs as the Wildcats final six opponents have a combined record of 21-39. The Twisters are coming off a 33-36 loss to the Bakersfield Blitz and are tied with the Birmingham Steeldogs with a 1-9 record.

THE SERIES:
Arkansas 48 at South Georgia 62.............................5/14/05

THE IFs:
If SOUTH GEORGIA defeats ARKANSAS, it would ...
- Give South Georgia an over record of 3-8
- Give South Georgia a 2-4 road record
- Give South Georgia a 2-0 series lead over the Twisters
- Give Head Coach Donnie Davis his first win as the Wildcats new head coach
- Give the Wildcats a 3-3 record against South Division opponents

SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS (2-8, STREAK: L4)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/9 MACON L 41-52
4/15 @ LOUISVILLE L 46-48
4/23 @ FLORIDA L 35-42
4/30 ALBANY L 39-48
5/7 @ BIRMINGHAM W 69-49
5/14 ARKANSAS W 62-48
5/20 @ MANCHESTER L 21-46
5/28 RIO GRANDE L 37-39
6/4 @AMARILLO L 63-69
6/11 FLORIDA L 40-45
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/18 @ ARKANSAS 8:00 L3 1-0
6/25 WILKES BARRE 7:30 W1 1-3
7/8 @ ALBANY 7:30 W1 5-1
7/16 BIRMINGHAM 7:30 L1 2-0
7/23 @ MACON 7:30 L1 3-1
7/30 GREEN BAY 7:30 L2 0-0

ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-9, STREAK: L3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/9 OKLAHOMA CITY L 48-71
4/15 @ Memphis L 13-54
4/23 @ Central Valley L 41-71
4/30 FLORIDA L 50-68
5/7 GREEN BAY L 35-48
5/14 @ South Georgia L 48-62
5/21 BIRMINGHAM W 61-60
5/28 @ Macon L 45-67
6/4 MEMPHIS L 33-35
6/10 @ Bakersfield L 33-36
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/18 SOUTH GEORGIA 8:00
6/25 @ Tulsa 8:00
7/9 @ Florida 7:30
7/16 MACON 8:00
7/23 @ Birmingham 8:00
7/30 AMARILLO 8:00


WILDCATS COACHING STAFF:

HEAD COACH: DONNIE DAVIS was named the Wildcats second head coach in the team's four-year history on June 14, 2005.
Davis served as the Offensive Coordinator for the Georgia Force (AFL) during the 2004 season. In his first game as Offensive Coordinator, Davis guided the Force to a 72-51 victory snapping a six game losing streak. During the remaining four games the Force averaged 58.3 points per game.
Davis began his Arena Football League career with the Arizona Rattlers in 1997 and guided them to an Arena Bowl XI championship and earned MVP honors. After three seasons with the Rattlers, Davis joined the Milwaukee Mustangs for a season and then went on to play two seasons with the Georgia Force before retiring in 2003. He finished his AFL career 701-of-1,108 passes for 8,192 yards and 138 touchdowns. He also rushed for 155 yards on 46 carries and 12 touchdowns.
Davis ended his collegiate career in 1995 at Georgia Tech in fifth place on the Yellow Jackets career passing list with 3,261 yards and touchdown passes with 22. He also rushed 96 times for 390 yards and four touchdowns.
Donnie and his wife Telsie and have two daughters, Chloe and Charlee.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: TROY BILADEAU rejoins the Wildcats after spending the 2004 season with the Wichita Stealth as a defensive coordinator. The Stealth ranked seventh in the af2 in allowing 43 points per game and 229-total yards per game (fourth in af2).
In Biladeau's first season with the Wildcats he guided the Wildcats to the best defense in the af2 allowing only 29 points per game and 186-total yards per game. Prior to joining the Wildcats, he served as the fullback/linebackers coach for the two-time ArenaCup champion Quad City Steamwheelers.
Biladeau was the head coach of the Indoor Football League's Wichita Warlords in 2000. He also worked as a graduate assistant and wide receivers coach at Division II Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas from '96-'98.

OL/DL COACH: TRAVIS CRUSENBERRY enters his fourth season with the Wildcats after spending 2002 and 2003 as an offenseive/ defensive lineman. In 2004, the Wildcats totaled 25 sacks last season and allowed only six sacks (second in af2) under Crusenberry's guidance.
Crusenberry began his coaching career in 2003 with Pikeville College (Pikeville, Kentucky) where he served as the assistant and defensive line coach. The Bears defensive line held opponents to 97 rushing yards per game and totaled 46 sacks.
In two seasons with the Wildcats, Crusenberry appeared in 25 games. He totaled 17 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Crusenberry holds a degree in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University. He lettered for four years and started every game for three years as an offensive lineman for the Bucs. He earned second-team All Southern Conference as a senior in 1995. He was a standout at Sullivan Central High School, receiving all-state and all-conference awards and was runner up for Mr. Football in Tennessee.

LAST SERIES MEETING:
May 14, 2005: Twisters 48 at Wildcats 62

Wildcats WR/DB ROB KEEFE recovered the opening kickoff in Arkansas' endzone to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead and they never looked back after that. Keefe scored again late in the first quarter on a one yard run to put the ‘Cats up 14-0.

Wildcats quarterback BOBBY PESAVENTO led the attack with six touchdown passes on 21-of-30 passing for 180 yards. Pesavento hooked up with WR/DB CHRIS MCKINNEY five times for 65 yards and two scores, he also finished with 2.5 tackles, WR/DB ANTWONE SAVAGE caught six passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns and OS ARCHIE TURNER had six receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Turner also retuned a 56 yard kickoff for a score to open up the second half.

Keefe earned the ADT Defensive Player of the game finishing the night with 1.5 tackles, one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups. He also added three catches for 13 yards and rushed twice for two yards and a score. DS ELLIOTT BURKES led the team with 5.0 tackles.

The Twisters were led by WR/DB KEVIN WHITLEY who had 11 catches for 119 yards and one touchdown; he also added 2.5 tackles and one fumble recovery. OS KEVIN WILLIAMS caught seven balls for 68 yards and two scores and ROBERT KILOW added three catches for 32 yards and one touchdown.

FB/LB DARNELL SMALL rushed for 14 yards on four carries and two touchdowns and finished with 3.5 tackles. Arkansas' quarterback TRAVIS MOTLEY was 24-of-37 for 233 yards and four touchdowns.








TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the WILDCATS and TWISTERS stack up:
Statistical SOUTH GEORGIA ARKANSAS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 15 45.5 pts. 19 40.7 pts.
Scoring Defense 10 48.6 pts. 17 57.2 pts.
Total Offense 5 282.1 yds. 19 229.5 yds.
Total Defense 1 210.5 yds. 5 240.5 yds.
Pass Offense 1 275.0 yds. 18 217.9 yds.
Pass Defense 1 182.7 yds. 4 216.2 yds.
Rushing Offense 20 7.1 yds. 17 11.6 yds.
Rushing Defense 17 27.8 yds. 15 24.3 yds.
Scoring (Non-Kick) 14 455 pts. 18 407 pts.
Scoring (Kicking) 20 49 pts. 19 51 pts.
Pass Rating 16 91.4 19 80.3
Pass Def. Rating 11 104.8 13 105.2
Kickoff Returns 20 13.2 yds. 3 22.3 yds.
MFG Returns 10 16.6 yds. 8 17.4 yds.
Turnover Margin 18 -11 14 -4
Field Goals 15 2-10/.200 12 5-20/.250
PAT Kicking 17 43-61/.705 5 36-44/.818
Sacks By 11 11 13 10
Sacks Against 5 8 19 21
First Downs 5 196 16 162
Opp. First Downs 2 164 1 156
Penalties 11 58.0 yds. 9 56.5 yds.
Opp. Penalties 18 47.9 yds. 20 42.7 yds.


DROPBACK:
June 11, 2005: Florida 45 at South Georgia 40
Attendance: 6,567
Offensive Player of the Game: Magic Benton FLA
Ironman of the Game: Antwone Savage SGW
Defensive Player of the Game: Cainon Lamb FLA

The Wildcats fought back from a 13-33 deficit at halftime to take a 40-39 lead with 4:24 remaining in the game. Beginning at their 5 yard line, Florida marched down the field and Firecats quarterback CHRIS WALLACE hooked up with WR/DB CAINON LAMB on an 11 yard strike with: 06 seconds remaining to take a 45-40 lead. Two attempts by Wildcats quarterback BRIAN ZBYDNIEWSKI failed as did a comeback victory by South Georgia.

Starting his first game and for the injured BOBBY PESAVENTO, Zbydniewski finished 24-of-39 for 273 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and rushed for 12 yards and one touchdown. His main target on the night was OS ANTWONE SAVAGE who caught nine passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Savage also returned a 52 yard kickoff for a touchdown. WR/DB TOREY DAY added four catches for 37 yards and ROB KEEFE chipped in with 32 receiving yards, one rushing touchdown and three tackles.

Defensively the Wildcats were led by DS ELLIOTT BURKES who finished the evening with 8.5 tackles and one interception and two pass break-ups.

Wallace finished 22-of-33 for 255 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. OS MAGIC BENTON led all receivers with eight catches for 135 yards and four touchdowns. Lamb ended the night with eight receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns. WR/DB ANTHONY SNEAD added three catches for 27 yards and one touchdown and also had 2.0 tackles.

DESMOND WASHINGTON had 8.5 tackles and two pass break-ups for Florida and KELLY SNELL added 6.0 tackles and one interception.


FORWARD MOTION: The Wildcats will be back at the Albany Civic Center on Saturday, June 25 to play host to the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Pioneers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers lead the all-time series 3-1.

The Twisters will travel to Oklahoma to take on the Tulsa Talons on Saturday, June 25 at 8:00 p.m.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

PLAYING LIKE A VET: Wildcats quarterback Brian Zbydniewski got his first start of his af2 career against the defending ArenaCup champion Florida Firecats last week. In a game that was decided in the final seconds, Zeb led the Wildcats from 20 down to take the lead, but fell short with the Firecats winning 45-40. Zbydniewski finished the evening 24-of-39 for 273 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for 12 yards on six carries and one score.

ANOTHER FIRST TIMER: OS Antwone Savage had his try at offensive specialist for the Wildcats last week against Florida and made the very most of it. Savage ended the night with nine catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a 52 yard kickoff for a touchdown. Savage was starting for the injured Matt Burstein, Savage will remain the Wildcats OS after the departure of Burstein.

NOT A RECORD YOU WANT: With their defeat to the Firecats last week, this season marks the most losses during the regular season. The previous mark was 10-6 (10-7 overall) set during the 2003 season.



HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU: QB Bobby Pesavento, OS Matt Burstein, OL/DL Tanaka Scott and OL/DL Brian Devine were released by the Wildcats this week. In eight games, Pesavento was 196-of-329 for 2,055 yards and 43 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. He averaged 256 passing yards per game. Burstein saw action in five games and had 35 catches for 491 yards and 12 touchdowns. Scott was the led the team in sacks with 3.5 and totaled two tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one blocked kick and one safety. Devine saw action in five games and recorded 3.5 tackles

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

WILDCATS OS ANTWONE SAVAGE: Savage had his first try at OS last week and finished the night with nine catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a 52 yards kickoff for a score. In 10 games, Savage has 42 receptions for 427 yards and nine touchdowns. He also has returned 10 kickoffs for 189 yards and one touchdown.

WILDCATS WR/DB ROB KEEFE: Keefe has 24 tackles and one interception and eight pass break-ups on the season. He also has added 16 receptions for 112 yards and has rushed for six yards and two touchdowns.

WILDCATS WR/DB CHRIS MCKINNEY: McKinney has totaled 39 catches for 411 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is leading the team in tackles with 27 and has three pass break-ups.

WILDCATS QB BRIAN ZBYDNIEWSKI: In his first start last week, Zeb finished 24-of-39 for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 12 yards and one score. In six games, he has thrown for 430 yards on 34 completions and six touchdowns. He has rushed for 13 yards and one score.



ARKANSAS QB KEVIN FETERIK: Feterik is 31-of-44 for 298 yards and six touchdowns in two games this season. He is averaging 149 passing yards per game and has rushed for 13 yards and one touchdown.

TWISTERS FB/LB DARNELL SMALL: Small has carried the ball 16 times for 40 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 23 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

ARKANSAS WR/DB ROBERT KILOW: Kilow has 47 receptions for 610 yards and eight touchdowns and has recorded 24.5 tackles and one interception.

FIRECATS WR/DB KEVIN WILLIAMS AND TED ALFORD: Williams and Alford have combined for more than 900 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns. Williams has 40 catches for 482 yards and 12 touchdowns and Alford has added 39 receptions for 454 yards and nine touchdowns.

2005 ArenaCup Playoff Race

AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Position Team W L
1 Florida Firecats 9 1
2 Manchester Wolves 9 1
3 Green Bay Blizzard 6 4
4 Louisville Fire 6 4
5 WB/Scranton Pioneers 6 4
6 Macon Knights 4 6
7 Albany Conquest 3 7
8 South Georgia Wildcats 2 8
9 Arkansas Twisters 1 9
10 Birmingham Steeldogs 1 9


NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Position Team W L
1 Memphis Xplorers 9 1
2 Tulsa Talons 7 3
3 Amarillo Dusters 6 4
4 Okla. City Yard Dawgz 6 4
5 Grande Valley Dorados 6 4
6 Central Valley Coyotes 5 5
7 Quad City Steamwheelers 4 6
8 Bakersfield Blitz 4 6
9 San Diego Riptide 4 6
10 Bossier City Battle Wings 2 8


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
2 Macon Adrian Cockfield- South Georgia
3 Louisville Adrian Cockfield- South Georgia
4 Florida Magic Benton- Florida
5 Albany Matt Burstein- South Georgia
6 Birmingham Matt Burstein- South Georgia
7 Arkansas Bobby Pesavento- South Georgia
8 Manchester Heyward Skipper- Manchester
9 Rio Grande Matt Burstein- South Georgia
10 Amarillo Matt Burstein- South Georgia
11 South Georgia Magic Benton- Florida

IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
2 South Georgia Derrick Lloyd- Macon
3 South Georgia Tony Stallings- Louisville
4 Florida Steve Gorrie- Florida
5 Albany Jeff Higgins- Albany
6 South Georgia Herman Bell- Birmingham
7 Arkansas Rob Keefe- South Georgia
8 Manchester Kelvin Fuller- Manchester
9 South Georgia Marquis Floyd- Rio Grande Valley
10 South Georgia Joe Massey- Amarillo Dusters
11 Florida Antwone Savage- South Georgia

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
Week Opp. Player
2 South Georgia Hosea Laney- Macon
3 South Georgia Rob Green- Louisville
4 Florida Kelly Snell- Florida
5 Albany Travis Coleman- Albany
6 Birmingham Rob Keefe- South Georgia
7 South Georgia Darnell Small- Arkansas
8 Manchester Allistair Sebastian- Manchester
9 South Georgia Norman Mason- Rio Grande Valley
10 South Georgia Kendrick Walker- Amarillo Dusters
11 Florida Cainon Lamb- Florida

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