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Southern Discomfort

May 17, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – First place in the National Conference Southern Division is up for grabs Saturday night when the Tennessee Valley Vipers (5-0) host the Birmingham Steeldogs (5-1). Both teams bring five-game winning streaks into the showdown, with the Steeldogs' only blemish a 55-42 opening-night loss at Tulsa.

The Vipers come into the game fresh off a 57-46 win at Memphis in which WR/DB REGGIE WORTHY caught three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores. Worthy earned recognition as af2's Week 8 Offensive Player of the Week for his role in Tennessee Valley's record 11th-straight road victory. The Vipers are first in af2 with a +10 turnover margin, forcing 14 turnovers while committing only four. All 14 turnovers have been interceptions, led by KELLY SNELL's seven pickoffs, the most in the league. Snell has an interception in every game this season.

He'll be on the lookout for any errant passes from Birmingham QB MONTRESSA KIRBY. Kirby struggled last week with three interceptions on a 116-yard, four-touchdown night, but he still led the 'Dogs to a 48-40 win over pesky Pensacola. For the year, Kirby has 1,244 passing yards and 31 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. OS WAYNE THOMAS gives his QB a primetime go-to guy. Thomas leads af2 with 18 touchdown catches and 108 points, a big reason why Birmingham ranks third in scoring at 54.2 points per game.

Thomas and Tennessee Valley OS KELLY FIELDS have managed to keep most of af2 's receiving records in the state of Alabama. Fields ranks first in the league with 302 career receptions and 3,597 receiving yards. His 59 receiving touchdowns are second all-time behind Thomas' 91.

The Vipers led the all-time series 4-0, but they needed last-second heroics to keep the streak alive last season. ANDY FULLER caught a one-yard touchdown pass from MATT SAUK with no time left on the clock for a 52-48 win in Huntsville (7/7/01). Sauk, now with the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers, finished the game with a Viper-record 401 yards passing.

These teams meet again July 13 in Birmingham and could be on a collision course for a first-round playoff clash. They'll meet in the postseason unless 2-3 Pensacola or 0-6 Mobile can overtake one of these powerhouses.

The Jacksonville Tomcats and Charleston Swamp Foxes each will try to reach the .500 mark Saturday night when they battle at the North Charleston Coliseum. Swamp Foxes Head Coach JIMMY DUNN has two solid choices at QB in RAY ISAAC and MIKE BATH. The signal-callers have combined to throw just one interception (Isaac) this season. WR/DB MICHAEL BROWN leads Charleston in tackles (22.0) and interceptions (5) and had two picks in the first meeting with Jacksonville. He'll try to help the Foxes bust their three-game losing streak. Jacksonville comes in having won two of its last three games, but is still looking for a spark on offense. The Tomcats average 38.8 points per game (24th in af2) and were held to 23 passing yards last week in their win at Florida. QB RASHARD CASEY was injured in the game and is questionable for this weekend. Tomcat OS LAWRENCE PULLEN has been slowed by injury the past few weeks as well, but is expected to go against the Foxes. Defensively, the Tomcats fare much better, as they are ranked ninth in the league allowing only 36 points per game. Last week, Jacksonville's defense caused four fumbles, which led to 27 points.

Louisville (0-5) hosts Columbus (1-4) Saturday in one of two Week 8 interconference games. The Fire leads the league in attendance, averaging 11,479 fans per game and hopes the home crowd can help the team break into the win column. Louisville played top teams Memphis, Quad City and Bakersfield tough, but things fell apart the last two games in big losses at Roanoke and San Diego. The Fire has lost eight straight games dating back to last year. Columbus has lost 16 of its 17 contests in team history, with three consecutive losses since its breakthrough win over Jacksonville (4/20/02). Two quality receivers battle in this one ... in just two games, the Wardogs' PHIL TAYLOR has 17 catches for 296 yards and six TDs. He was the first-ever Wardog to have back-to-back 100 yard receiving performances. Louisville counters with ANTHONY PAYTON, who has 30 receptions for 433 yards and eight touchdowns, with at least one TD in each of the Fire's five games.

The Wilkes-Barre Pioneers, still in search of their first win, travel to New Haven Saturday night for a clash with the red-hot Ninjas at the Coliseum. This is the first of three meetings between these two first-year clubs. Since starting the season 0-3, the Ninjas have won two games in a row and have climbed back into the Northeast Division race. They are 2-1 against division foes, having defeated Rochester and Mohegan. During the two-game winning streak, the Ninjas' offense is averaging 48.5 points, compared to 24.6 for the first three games of the season. Head Coach RICK BUFFINGTON considers WR/DB ANTHONY COMER to be one of the most consistent performers on his squad. Comer leads the team in touchdowns, scoring, receiving yards and tackles. FB/LB KERRY TAYLOR has been another plus for the Ninjas. Taylor leads the team with 50 rushing yards, including a 39-yard night against Mohegan. He's been named Ironman in both games he has played for the Ninjas. The Pioneers, with newly-signed veteran af2 QB BRYAN SNYDER, got a step closer last weekend, falling 57-52 to second-place Rochester, but they still rank 30th in the league in total offense.

In another matchup of division foes with identical records, the Florida Firecats head to Tallahassee to battle the Thunder. Even though they are tied in the standings, these teams are heading in different directions. The Firecats started the season 3-0, but have dropped their last two games, while the Thunder opened the season 0-2 and have since won two straight. The winner of this game grabs sole possession of first-place in the tight Southern Division. Both teams boast strong defenses. Florida holds opponents to less than 35 ppg, while the Thunder defense has been strong of late and held Columbus to 81 total yards last week. TYRONNE JOHNSON is coming off a spectacular defensive effort which saw him register four sacks against the Wardogs. He now has 6.5 for the season, the fifth-highest total in af2. The 'Cats and Thunder meet one more time in the regular season on June 22.

In one of the more anticipated games of the weekend, the Roanoke Steam looks for its fifth-straight win against first-place Albany at Pepsi Arena. They say good teams find ways to win even when they are struggling, and Roanoke proved that point last week as they came from behind to beat Norfolk despite not having a single passing touchdown. The 4-2 Steam can find out just how good it is against the 4-1 Conquest, which has been strong all season. Albany gets the job done defensively, holding offenses under 30 points per game (third in af2). BRANDON TINSON is fourth in the league with 37.5 tackles and ALEX HOUSTON is fourth in af2 with 7.0 sacks. Roanoke QB CHRIS SANDERS still is bothered by a sprained ankle, but should be ready to go against the Conquest. Sanders has thrown 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in the three games he's played.

The Norfolk Nighthawks head to Fayetteville to conclude the season series with the Cape Fear Wildcats Saturday night at Cumberland Crown Coliseum. The Nighthawks, who have matched their dismal start from a season ago, have added a QB with AFL experience in an effort to get some wins. CHRIS WALLACE served as the Orlando Predators backup most of last season and would have had the same role this year, had JAY GRUDEN not come out of retirement and regulated Wallace to third-string. He becomes the first QB in Nighthawks' history to have appeared in an AFL game. The Wildcats got back in the win column last week, thanks in part to the play of new QB MIKE GLUSKI. Gluski started for the first time as a Wildcat, and improved to 4-0 as an af2 starter this season. The first time these teams met, Cape Fear blew out the Nighthawks 69-19. E.J. BURT, af2's sack leader with 8.5, had three sacks in the first meeting with the Nighthawks. The Wildcats have the second-best defense in the league, holding opponents to 27.8 points per game. Norfolk only averages 28.2 points per contest.

Can the Augusta Stallions match the sensational start they had in 2001? They will with a win over Carolina on Saturday at the BI-LO Center. The bigger question is if they can avoid the collapse of last season that saw them lose seven of their last 10 games and miss out on the playoffs. Last week, the 5-0 Stallions exorcised some of those demons by beating the Macon Knights (the team responsible for knocking them out of the playoff race in 2001). The Rhinos come into this one on a two-game high, having beaten Greensboro twice. QB CALEB SLOVER continues to lead the way for the Rhinos. Last week, he passed for four touchdowns and rushed for three more. GLEN GAUNT continues to be the man for the Stallions and is eighth in af2 with 108.3 passer rating. The Stallions and Rhinos have split their only two meetings, with the home team winning both times.

After a bye week, the Richmond Speed (6-0) returns to action Saturday night, teeing it up with the slumping Greensboro Prowlers. BOB BEES and company look to reignite an offense that averages more than 60 points per contest, but was held to 36 in its last game. The Speed front lines have gotten the job done thus far, allowing only four sacks while burying opposing QBs 21 times. WR/DB KEVIN HARVEY is looking to start a new touchdown streak against the Prowlers as his 11-game scoring run came to an end against Cape Fear two weeks ago. The Prowlers (2-4) find themselves in a slump, having dropped two straight games to Carolina. Greensboro still is without the services of QB CHRIS WEIBEL, who broke his hand a few weeks back. OS ANTOINE CALLOWAY will provide a challenge for the Speed DBs. He is ranked third in the league with 50 catches and 611 yards. This is the first of two regular-season meetings between these teams. They battle again on July 13.

Two weeks ago, Memphis at Arkansas looked like a potential "Game of the Week." But two straight losses by the 3-3 Twisters and a loss last week by the 4-2 Xplorers took off some of the luster. This still is a key battle in the Central Division, with the teams vying for position behind front-running Tulsa (5-1). The league's two most prolific quarterbacks take the field. Memphis' TIM LESTER (1,659 yards) and Arkansas' RICKY HEBERT (1,472) are one-two in total offense. Lester's 32 touchdown passes and 1,651 passing yards also lead the league. The QBs' antagonists are pretty good, too. Twisters WR/DB LENNIE JOHNSON and Xplorers DS GENO HENDERSON each have four interceptions this season, good for fifth in af2.

With losses in five of its first six games, the last thing Wichita probably wanted was for Quad City (41-2 all-time) to lose the week before the Stealth traveled to Moline. The 4-1 Steamwheelers lost for the first time in 18 games last week at Peoria, and hopes to start another streak on Saturday. Quad City is 24-0 all-time at home. Wichita led Fresno in the last 10 seconds last week, but gave up two late TDs to lose 61-52. WILLIE GRISSOM led the Stealth with 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns at Fresno, and will be more of a target in Week 8 with leading receiver PASCAL VOLZ leaving the team. Quad City plays pitch-and-catch with QB TONY ZIMMERMAN (1,257 passing yards, 30 TDs), OS IRA GOOCH and WR/LB CHRIS ANTHONY. Gooch and Anthony have combined for 986 yards and 23 touchdowns. Gooch had 356 all-purpose yards in a losing cause last week.

Two weeks ago, Tulsa OS/KR MITCH ALLNER won af2 Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 281 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in the Talons' 70-42 win at Hawaii. The 1-5 Islanders travel to 4-1 Tulsa Saturday hoping to keep Allner in check after he put up 259 all-purpose yards and seven TDs against Arkansas last week. Tulsa is averaging 68 points over the last three games, including last week's 85-42 win. Hawaii lost a heartbreaker in Week 7, falling 52-50 to San Diego on a last-play field goal. Hawaii pins its hopes on DARRELL JONES, who switched from OS to WR/DB last week. His 1,104 all-purpose yards are third in af2. This is a 7,888-mile roundtrip for the Islanders.

After last week's win over Quad City, 4-2 Peoria can't afford a letdown in Saturday's game at 4-1 Bakersfield. The Blitz comes off a bye week and has one of af2's top QBs in CHAD ELLIOTT (his 284.6 passing yards per game lead the league). His last time out, Elliott passed for 356 yards and seven TDs in the Blitz's 64-41 win over Fresno in Week 6. Lost in the Pirates' defensive dominance down the stretch of last week's victory was the solid play of QB WALTER CHURCH. Church passed for 245 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, with three TD passes going to af2 Ironman of the Week LINCOLN DUPREE.

Both San Diego (3-3) and Fresno (1-5) experienced last-second highs in Week 8. San Diego beat Hawaii 52-50 on RYAN GEISLER's last-play field goal while the Frenzy edged Wichita 61-52 thanks to two TDs by LAMONT WEBB in the final eight seconds. Webb is second in the league with 1,245 all-purpose yards. These teams met in Week 3, also in Fresno, with San Diego winning 69-52 behind KANE CLAUNCH's seven touchdown passes. Single-game all-purpose yards record-holder MARTY GRAHAM has been in and out of the Riptide lineup with a hamstring injury, but RYAN SMITH has filled in nicely, reeling off 506 total yards in the two games he's played in Graham's place. Fresno QB RICKY RAY had one of his best games of the year last week, passing for 165 yards and seven TDs.

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Week 8 Schedule (all times EST)
Friday, May 17
Pensacola at Macon, 7:30 p.m.
Rochester at Mohegan, 7:30 p.m.
Bossier City at Mobile, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Jacksonville at Charleston, 7:00 p.m.
Columbus at Louisville, 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at New Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Florida at Tallahassee, 7:00 p.m.
Roanoke at Albany, 7:30 p.m.
Norfolk at Cape Fear, 7:30 p.m.
Augusta at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Richmond at Greensboro, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Arkansas, 8:00 p.m.
Wichita at Quad City, 8:00 p.m.
Birmingham at Tennessee Valley, 8:30 p.m.
Hawaii at Tulsa, 8:30 p.m.
Peoria at Bakersfield, 10:00 p.m.
San Diego at Fresno, 10:30 p.m.

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