Stealth to Face off Against Talons
April 11, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Wichita Stealth News Release
This weekend marks the fifth time that the Wichita Stealth and the Tulsa Talons will square off in arenafootball2, but it is just another game in a long line of sports rivalries between the two Midwest cities. Whether it is the Stealth versus the Talons, the Wichita Thunder versus the Tulsa Oilers (Central Hockey League), or the Tulsa Golden Hurricane versus the Wichita State Shockers (NCAA), one thing is always certain, it will be a highly emotional and hard fought battle.
As we embark on the second game in the 2003 af2 season for these two teams, they both look to be among the teams to beat in 2003. Tulsa beat the defending af2 champion Peoria Pirates 42-39 and Wichita beat the Arkansas Twisters 46-28 in their first games of the season.
The theme of the battle this time around seems to be familiarity and streaks. Members on both sides of the ball are very familiar with each other by a variety of reasons why. The Stealth will suit up three former Tulsa Talons; Anthony Buich, Cliff Holloman, and Kerry Linnear, and the Talons will suit up former Stealth player, Matt Walls.
As far as streaks go, Tulsa holds a 4-0 lead in the series with the Stealth and the Talons have an 18-game home winning streak to protect. The Stealth players hope to break both of these streaks in Saturday's game.
The Tulsa players have more experience with this rivalry than the Stealth players. Other than the aforementioned Stealth players, Jason Corse and Greg Kyler are the only Stealth players who have seen action in this series. For Tulsa, they have eight players who have been on the field in this rivalry. Included in that list is af2 Offensive Player of the Week for his week one performance against Peoria, quarterback Craig Strickland. Strickland played in both of the games in the 2001 season versus Wichita and was 37-of-58 for 504 yards and 9 touchdowns. "Craig is a very good quarterback," said Cortese. "He comes back after sitting out the 2002 season and wins Offensive Player of the Week honors, so that says it all."
In the four games that the Stealth and Talons have played, the Talons have outscored the Stealth 204 to 135. "That was in the past, we are more concerned with the present and future of this rivalry," said Stealth head coach Bob Cortese. "We have to go out and play better than we did against Arkansas." The Stealth come into this game with the 8th ranked defense in arenafootball2, allowing only 180 yards per game, while the Talons come in as the 7th best offense in the league.
The familiarity of the two teams doesn't stop on the field, it carries over into the coaching box as well. Tulsa head coach Skip Foster once coached at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, and defensive coordinator Jeff Jarnigan is a graduate of Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. Southwestern is also the alma mater of Stealth general manager Mike McCoy. Stealth head coach Bob Cortese was once the head coach of the Arena Football League's Oklahoma Wranglers who were located in Oklahoma City, which is only about 100 miles from Tulsa. Coach Cortese and Coach Foster also have ties from when they both coached at Kansas colleges.
"Coach Foster is a good friend of mine," said Cortese. "I have known him for a number of years. When I was at Fort Hays State, he was at Coffeyville and he sent me a number of good players. Then, when he was hired in Tulsa, he came to Oklahoma City to see how we were doing things and to learn more about arena football."
Even though this is a long season, this game is a huge one for the Wichita Stealth. "This will provide us with a barometer of where we are at," said Cortese. "This will see if the 2003 Wichita Stealth are pretenders or contenders."
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