Swamp Foxes Head North with Playoff Hopes

June 26, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Charleston Swamp Foxes News Release


NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - The Charleston Swamp Foxes, who stand a game out of their first arenafootball2 post-season appearance, travel northward to battle the Atlantic Division-leading Cape Fear Wildcats this Saturday night.

The game is scheduled for a 7:30 pm kickoff and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio, 1340 AM.

Charleston (5-6) will look to get back on the winning track following last week`s home defeat to the Macon Knights. Cape Fear (8-3) also stumbled last week, falling to arch-rival, the Richmond Speed, on the road.

The Swamp Foxes have a life-time road record of 8-22 (.267), which does include a pair of road wins in 2003. Charleston knocked off the Wardogs in Columbus on May 3 and bested the Richmond Speed in Virginia on June 14.

Whereas the Swamp Foxes have struggled with games played on the road, the Cape Fear Wildcats have excelled when playing at home. To date, Cape Fear is 10-2 (.833) in the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum, which includes a perfect 4-0 mark this season.

The `Cats own a 3-0 record versus Charleston as the teams meet for the fourth time on the gridiron. Last year, Cape Fear won decisions of 38-19 and 67-28 in the season-finale. Back on May 17, the Wildcats knocked off the home-standing Foxes by seven, 58-51, in the closest played match-up between the two budding rivals.

The two teams are very similar when sat side-by-side. Both have young and aggressive coaches; Charleston is led by the youngest of the young guns in Rik Richards in his first season. Chris Siegfried is in only his second season as a head af2 coach.

Statistically, the similarities continue. Both have defenses that rank in the af2`s Top Ten in scoring (tied for sixth) while countering with offenses that rank among the league`s elite as well.

Just as the two are the same, the tandem mat ch-up does pit strength against weakness. The Foxes` defense excells, ranking first in total defense, second versus the rush, and third against the pass. Cape Fear`s opposing offense ranks fourth in total offense, second in rushing, and 11th in passing.

Individually, when the two squads match-up, there will be great battles to tell about.

Cape Fear`s quarterback, Bryan Snyder, ranks ninth in the league in both passing yards and total offense. He will be pitted against Swamp Foxes` defense that leads the league with 19 interceptions. Michael Brown leads the attack with five picks of his own.

The Wildcats` Wilmont Perry is currently pacing the league in rushing yards, averaging nearly 26 yards a game. Charleston ranks second versus the rush on the season and limited Perry to six net yards and one score in the teams` first meeting.

Saturday night`s game is very crucial for the Swamp Foxes as they strive for the teams` first playoff appearance. If the Foxes are able to knock off Cape Fear by more than seven-points, they would own the tie-breaker over Cape Fear, for what it`s worth, down the stretch.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio, 1340 AM.



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