Steeldogs Weekly Report

Published on April 29, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Alabama Steeldogs News Release


Steeldogs Notebook:

STEELDOGS HEAD NORTH TO FACE THE FIRE: After three games, Birmingham finds itself winless for the first time in team history. However, two of Birmingham's American Conference South Division opponents are also 0-3, meaning that the Steeldogs are not far away from where they desire to be, especially having played just one division team thus far. This week, the Steeldogs travel to Louisville, Ky., a city once hailed by native son Muhammad Ali as "the greatest in the world," to face the red-hot Fire (3-0).

BELL'S BACK: Former OS Herman Bell has returned to the Birmingham Steeldogs in time for this week's game at Louisville. Bell, who played in only 11 games with the Steeldogs in 2002, caught 59 passes for 708 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has spent the past two seasons playing in the AFL with teams in Detroit, Denver and Orlando. Bell will play at WR/DB.

GETTING OVER THE HUMP: Head Coach Bobby Humphrey's next victory will be his 50th overall and his 48th in the regular season. Humphrey is currently the all-time winningest head coach in the league, surpassing former Macon head man Kevin Porter in 2004 with his 46th win.

ROSTER MOVES: Aside from the assignment of Herman Bell, the Steeldogs have also been assigned FB/LB Tawfiq Ramsey (6-2, 240, R) out of Savannah State and QB Tim Gallahan (6-3, 230, R) from Jacksonville State. Both players attended workout camps with the Steeldogs in the preseason.

QB Andrew Zow has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury during last week's game against the Memphis Xplorers. FB/LB Patrick Billings remains on injured reserve following an ankle injury sustained in Birmingham's game against Macon on April 14.

Defensive specialists Chris Cole and Darius Ellison have both been placed on re-assignment, as have linemen Troy Johnson and James Malone.

FIRE ON FIRE: Few af2 teams are as hot as the Fire, so to speak. A win this weekend over the Steeldogs will equal Louisville's best start ever at 4-0.

FIRE NOTES (Courtesy: Adam Luken, Louisville Fire): RUSHING: The Fire has the number one ranked defense again the rush allowing just 5.7 yards a game. The Steeldogs rank first in the league in rushing offense averaging 43.0 yards a game.

DROPBACK: The Fire held off a furious comeback by Wilkes-Barre last week picking up a 58 – 50 victory. Matthew Sauk threw for five touchdowns and WR/LB rob Mager was on the receiving end of three of those. DS Rob Green sparked the defense once again with a 37 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

FORWARD MOTION: Next week the Fire will travel to Manchester, NH to battle the Wolves in an East Division showdown. Last season the Fire lost in Manchester 49-28. This will be the second meeting between the two teams.

TEAM TRENDS:

BOOKENDS... The Fire is dominating the first and fourth quarters of games. Currently the Fire has outscored their opponents 87-55 in the first and fourth quarters combined. Overall in the second half the Fire is outscoring teams 68-48.

WHERE YOU RUNNING TO? The Fire is currently leading the league in rush defense allowing just 5.7 yards a game.

SPECIAL TEAMS... The Fire is making the most of their kick returns by averaging 20.7 yards per return (sixth in the league). Tony Stallings is leading the way from the Fire averaging 24.8 yards a return good for fourth in the league.

MILESTONES:

MATT SAUK... Sauk added five more touchdown passes against Wilkes-Barre, giving him 260 for his career. Sauk needs 40 touchdown passes to reach the 300 touchdown pass mark.

JAMES SCOTT... James Scott found the end zone once at Wilkes-Barre raising his career touchdown mark to 91 and leaving him just nine short of 100 all-time.

STEELDOGS-FIRE SERIES

This is the fifth meeting between Birmingham and Louisville, dating back to Louisville's second game in team history. Birmingham won the first three meetings between the two teams, including two at Freedom Hall.

In the first game, the Steeldogs came back from an early second quarter deficit to defeat the Fire, 39-21, at Freedom Hall on April 14, 2001. Birmingham shut out Louisville in the third quarter, 13-0, to take command of the game. Three Steeldogs players recorded interceptions in the game.

On June 7, 2002, Louisville made their first of two trips to the BJCC Arena, falling 45-32 in another sloppy match-up that saw each team go scoreless in the second quarter. The Steeldogs relied on the trusty arm of QB Montressa Kirby, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns. OS Wayne Thomas caught nine balls for 116 yards and two scores.

Later in the year, on July 27, Birmingham made their most recent trip to The Bluegrass State, dousing the Fire, 77-34, in each team's regular-season finale. Kirby completed 17 of 24 passes for 234 yards and scored eight touchdowns. OS Herman Bell caught seven passes for 116 yards and three scores. Louisville opened the game with a 57-yard kickoff return for a score by Anthony Shelman.

On May 10, 2003, the Fire won their first game against the Steeldogs, 40-37 at the BJCC Arena. QB Josh Rogers had a monster outing, completing 22 of 34 passes for 221 yards, five touchdowns and two picks. Marc Samuel's 26-yard FG with three seconds remaining in the game sealed the win.

SERIES BY THE NUMBERS
Record vs. Louisville: 3-1
Last regular season game: Fire, 40-37 at BIR (5/10/03)
Steeldogs' largest margin of victory: 43 (77-34 at LOU (7/27/02))
Louisville's largest margin of victory: 3 (40-37 at BIR (5/10/03))
Current streak: Louisville won the last meeting
Steeldogs' longest win streak vs. Louisville: 3 (4/14/01 to 5/10/03)
Louisville's longest win streak vs Steeldogs: 1 (5/10/03 to present)
Most points, Steeldogs: 77 (77-34 at LOU (7/27/02))
Most points, Louisville: 40 (40-37 at BIR (5/10/03))
Most points, both teams: 111 (BIR 77-34 at LOU (7/27/02))
Fewest points, Steeldogs: 37 (37-40 at BIR (5/10/03))
Fewest points, Louisville: 21 (39-21 at LOU (4/14/01))
Fewest points, both teams: 60 (BIR 39-21 at LOU (4/14/01))

STEELDOGS BESTS VS. LOUISVILLE
Most rushing yards: 31, Chris Windsor (4/14/01 at LOU)
Most receiving yards: 116, Wayne Thomas (6/7/02 at BIR)
Herman Bell (7/27/02 at LOU)
Most passing yards: 234, Montressa Kirby (7/27/02 at LOU)
Most touchdowns: 8, Montressa Kirby (6 p. 2 r.) (7/27/02 at LOU)
Most tackles: 7.5, Michael Feagin (7/27/02 at LOU)

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