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South Georgia Wildcats game notes

July 6, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
South Georgia Wildcats News Release


QUICK FACTS:
South Georgia Wildcats (2-10)
at Albany Conquest (3-9)
Date: Friday, July 8, 2005
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Pepsi Arena (13,901)
Officials: SCOTT McELWEE (Referee), MICHAEL RATTLEY (Umpire), JEFF MACONAGHY (Head Linesman), DALE SHAW (Line Judge), JAMES QUIRK (Back Judge)
Radio: WRAK Magic 97.3 FM (Robert Hydrick and Ryan Nicodemus)
Series Record: South Georgia leads the all-time series 5-1
Last Meeting: 4/30/2005: Albany 48 @ South Georgia 39
Streaks: Wildcats L6; Conquest L3
Coaches:
SOUTH GEORGIA: Donnie Davis (0-2 1st season with Wildcats)
ALBANY: Pete Costanza (18-20 overall; 3rd af2 season- 2nd with Albany (13-4 in 2003))

THE STAKES: The Wildcats are looking to end their longest losing streak in franchise history( 6 games) and are still trying to give head coach Donnie Davis his first win. The ‘Cats dropped their sixth straight to the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Pioneers on June 25, 46-65. The Conquest fell short to the Louisville Fire 63-73.

THE SERIES:
Albany 25 @ Cape Fear 33..........................................7/7/02
Albany 30 @ Cape Fear 46.........................8/10/02*
Albany 55 @ Cape Fear 70........................................4/10/04
Cape Fear 78 @ Albany 51..........................................6/6/04
Albany 37 @ Cape Fear 44........................................7/31/04
Albany 48 @ South Georgia 39..................................4/30/05
* Second Round- 2002 ArenaCup Playoffs


THE IFs:
If SOUTH GEORGIA defeats ALBANY, it would ...
- Give South Georgia an over record of 3-10
- Give South Georgia a 2-6 road record
- Give Head Coach Donnie Davis his first win
- Even the season series at 1-1

SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS (2-10, STREAK: L6)
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
6/18 @ ARKANSAS L 28-59
6/25 WILKES BARRE L 46-65
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
7/8 @ ALBANY 7:30 L3 5-1
7/16 BIRMINGHAM 7:30 L4 2-0
7/23 @ MACON 7:30 W3 3-1
7/30 GREEN BAY 7:30 W2 0-0


ALBANY CONQUEST (3-9, STREAK: L3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/8 @ Green Bay L 41-49
4/15 WB/SCRANTON L 37-55
4/23 MANCHESTER L 49-56
4/30 @ South Georgia W 48-39
5/7 @ Macon W 52-37
5/14 MANCHESTER L 47-48
5/21 MEMPHIS L 53-73
5/27 @ Louisville L 55-62
6/4 BOSSIER CITY W 68-53
6/11 @ WB/Scranton L 34-43
6/18 @ Quad City L 50-62
6/24 LOUISVILLE L 63-73
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
7/8 SOUTH GEORGIA 7:30 L6 1-5
7/15 GREEN BAY 7:30 W3 1-2
7/23 @ WB/Scranton 7:30 W1 6-4
7/29 @ Manchester 7:30 L1 6-4


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/OL/DL COACH: OSCAR STURGIS joins the Wildcats coaching staff after playing seven years in the Arena Football League. Sturgis played his collegiate ball at the University of North Carolina where he started as a tight end his first two seasons and moved to defensive end and outside linebacker his junior and senior season.

Sturgis was drafted in the 7th round of the 1995 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He saw his first action against the Arizona Cardinals. He played in four games a reserve defensive end and was a member of the 1996 Super Bowl championship squad. He has played for the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins.

He was a member of the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe where he totaled 26 tackles and two sacks and was in the CFL in 1998 with the Montreal Alouettes.

Sturgis joined the Arizona Rattlers (AFL) in 1998 where he played four seasons with them and joined the Georgia Force in 2002 and split time between the Force and the Los Angeles Avengers in 2003 and finished his career in 2004 as a member of the Force. In seven seasons in the AFL, Sturgis registered 38 tackles, three sacks, 26 pass break-ups, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception. He also had nine receptions for 95 yards.


LAST SERIES MEETING:
April 30, 2005: Albany 48 @ South Georgia 39

Wildcats quarterback BOBBY PESAVENTO hooked up with OS MATT BURSTEIN for a 36 yard touchdown strike with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter and the Wildcats had a 21-7 lead. However, the Conquest scored 28 unanswered points to go up 34-21. The Wildcats regained the lead 39-34 on a CHRIS MCKINNEY touchdown reception with 5:18 left in regulation. On the ensuing kickoff, Albany's JEFF HIGGINS returned the kickoff 51 yards for a touchdown and OS JEREMIAH POPE added a touchdown catch with :34 seconds left to give the Conquest the lead and eventually a win over the ‘Cats.

Pesavento finished the night 32-of-54 for 386 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions. Burstein earned Offensive Player of the Game with his 10 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns performance. ADRIAN COCKFIELD added six receptions for 64 yards and one score and McKinney ended with five catches for 63 yards and three touchdowns and also added five tackles.

Conquest quarterback D. BRYANT was 18-of-25 for 204 yards and four touchdowns with two picks. Pope caught seven balls for 99 yards and two touchdowns and MANWELL TALBERT also caught seven passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively the Conquest was led by TRAVIS COLEMAN and CY BUTLER who both had two interceptions. Coleman's two interceptions were returned for touchdowns. Current Wildcat DS DRAKUS LANGFORD led the Conquest with eight tackles.


TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the WILDCATS and CONQUEST stack up:
Statistical SOUTH GEORGIA ALBANY
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 17 44.1 11 49.8
Scoring Defense 12 50.8 16 54.2
Total Offense 4 282.4 yds 7 279.1 yds
Total Defense 1 216.0 yds 12 266.2 yds
Pass Offense 2 275.6 yds 8 254.6 yds
Pass Defense 1 184.4 yds 13 251.8 yds
Rushing Offense 20 6.8 5 24.5
Rushing Defense 19 31.6 3 14.4
Scoring (Non-Kick) 16 529 9 597
Scoring (Kicking) 20 57 14 65
Pass Rating 16 92.3 11 100.0
Pass Def. Rating 10 105.0 20 121.9
Kickoff Returns 20 13.4 T-7 20.4
MFG Returns 11 15.7 9 18.6
Turnover Margin 19 -1.00 15 -0.42
Field Goals T-16 .182 15 .188
PAT Kicking 18 51-72 15 56-77
Sacks By T-9 14 18 9
Sacks Against 13 15 14 17
First Downs T-7 231 4 238
Opp. First Downs 3 202 6 209
Penalties 12 57.8 6 49.6
Opp. Penalties 19 44.7 11 55.1


DROPBACK:
June 25, 2005: WB/SCRANTON 65 @ SOUTH GEORGIA 46

Offensive Player of the Game: Bryan Snyder WBS
Ironman of the Game: Rocco Forgione WBS
Defensive Player of the Game: Jamie Hattley WBS

ALBANY, GA- The Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Pioneers led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and did not look back, as they defeated the South Georgia Wildcats 65-46 in front of 6,187 fans at the Albany Civic Center.

Offensive Player of the Game, Pioneers quarterback BRYAN SNYDER led the attack going 23-of-30 for 306 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. WR/DB ROCCO FORGIONE led Pioneers receivers with five catches for 112 yards and three touchdowns and registered two tackles to earn U.S. Army Ironman of the Game. OS THOMIE VENISEE added nine receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns. WR/DB AMEER RILEY caught six balls for 66 yards and three touchdowns including a rushing score.

Defensively the Pioneers were led by ADT Defensive Player of the Game JAMIE HATTLEY who finished the night with seven tackles, one interception and three pass break-ups. The Pioneers defense forced and recovered three fumbles on the night.

Wildcats quarterback BRIAN ZBYDNIEWSKI ended the night 24-of-40 for 374 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. The Wildcats had three receivers with over 100 receiving yards with WR/LB CHRIS MCKINNEY leading the way with seven catches for 130 yards and one touchdown. OS ANTWONE SAVAGE totaled six catches for 113 yards and four touchdowns and WR/DB ADRIAN COCKFIELD chipped in with seven receptions and 106 yards.

The Wildcats defense sacked Snyder three times on the night with ERIC DAVIS registering two sacks and three tackles. DRAKUS LANGFORD had a team high nine tackles.


FORWARD MOTION: The Wildcats and the rest of the arenafootball2 league will have a bye week from June 25 to July 3. The ‘Cats will be back in action on Friday, July 8 as they will travel to Albany, New York to take on the Conquest. These two teams met in Week 5 with the Conquest defeating the Wildcats, 39-48.


TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

THREE'S COMPANY: Against the Pioneers last week, the Wildcats had three receivers go over 100 receiving yards. WR/LB Chris McKinney led the gang with 130 receiving yards, OS Antwone Savage had 113 yards and WR/DB Adrian Cockfield chipped in with 106 yards.

SOLID START FOR A ROOKIE: In his three starts, quarterback Brian Zbydniewski is 72-of-124 for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns with two interceptions. He has completed 58% of his passes and is averaging 296 passing yards per game.

BRUSHING THE DUST OFF: Adrian Cockfield returned to the Wildcats last week against the Pioneers and picked up where he left off catching seven balls for 106 yards. Before his departure, Cockfield had 40 receptions for 406 yards and eight touchdowns in five game for the ‘Cats.

CRITICAL STRETCH: At 2-10, you would think the Wildcats playoff hopes are done. Not so. The Wildcats still have a chance of securing a playoff spot if Macon (5-7), Albany (3-9) and Arkansas (3-9) lose their remaining games and the ‘Cats win out. In their final four games, the ‘Cats will face only one team with a winning record (Green Bay Blizzard 8-4) and the combined record of the remaining four teams is 17-31.


PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:


WILDCATS OS ANTWONE SAVAGE: Savage had six receptions for 113 yards and four touchdowns last week against the Pioneers. In 12 games, Savage has compiled 58 receptions for 687 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also has returned 14 kickoff returns for 255 yards and one score.

WILDCATS WR/DB CHRIS MCKINNEY: McKinney caught seven passes for 130 yards and one touchdown. In 10 games this season, he has 50 catches for 575 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also has totaled 30 tackles and four pass break-ups.

WILDCATS QB BRIAN ZBYDNIEWSKI: Zbydniewski was 24-of 40 for 374 yards and six touchdowns with one interception last week against the Pioneers. In eight games (3 starts), "Zeb" is 88-of-146 for 1,046 yards and 14 touchdowns with two interceptions. He is averaging 130 passing yards per game and has completed 56% of his passes.

WILDCATS DS ELLIOT BURKES AND DRAKUS LANGFORD: In seven games this season, Burkes leads the team in tackles with 33.5 (32 solo) and has two interceptions and eight pass break-ups. In two games with the Wildcats, Langford has 19.5 tackles (18 solo) to go with two interceptions and one pass break-up.


CONQUEST QB D. BRYANT: Bryant is 269-of-441 for 3,089 and 59 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. He is averaging 257 passing yards per game. He also has rushed for 145 yards on 55 carries and 12 touchdowns.

CONQUEST OS MANWELL TALBERT: Talbert is the Conquest leading receiver 1,065 receiving yards on 74 catches and leads the team with 22 touchdowns.

CONQUEST WR/DB JEREMIAH POPE: Pope leads the team in receptions with 83 for 911 yards and 21 touchdowns.

CONQUEST WR/DB CY BUTLER AND JEFF HIGGINS: Butler has 51 catches for 481 yards and seven touchdowns and Higgins has added 24 receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 29 kickoff returns for 663 yards and two scores.



2005 ArenaCup Playoff Race

AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Position Team W L
1 y-Manchester Wolves 10 2
2 x-Florida Firecats 10 2
3 y-Green Bay Blizzard 8 4
4 Louisville Fire 7 5
5 WB/Scranton Pioneers 7 5
6 Macon Knights 5 7
7 Albany Conquest 3 9
8 Arkansas Twisters 3 9
9 South Georgia Wildcats 2 10
10 Birmingham Steeldogs 1 11
y-clinched playoff berth
x-clinched South Division championship and first round bye

NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Position Team W L
1 Memphis Xplorers 10 2
2 Grande Valley Dorados 8 4
3 Amarillo Dusters 8 4
4 Tulsa Talons 8 4
5 Ok. City Yard Dawgz 7 5
6 Q.C. Steamwheelers 6 6
7 Central Valley Coyotes 6 6
8 Bakersfield Blitz 4 8
9 San Diego Riptide 4 8
10 Bossier City Battle Wings 3 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 Florida Magic Benton- Florida
12 Arkansas Kevin Feterik- Arkansas
13 WB-Scran. Bryan Snyder- WB-Scranton



U.S. ARMY 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
12 Arkansas Darnell Small- Arkansas
13 WB-Scran. Rocco Forgione- WB-Scranton



ADT 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
12 Arkansas CJ McLain- Arkansas
13 WB-Scran. Jamie Hattley- WB-Scranton



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