Swamp Foxes Host Speed in Season Finale
Published on July 25, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Charleston Swamp Foxes News Release
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC â Guaranteed at worst a .500 record â the best in the team's four-year history â the Charleston Swamp Foxes are set to conclude the 2003 regular season as they play host to the Richmond Speed.
The game is scheduled for this Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 pm at the North Charleston Coliseum. Pre-game festivities in the tailgate zone start at 5:00 pm with live music from the group, "Yeehaw Junction."
A victory over the Atlantic Division rival would mark the third-straight win in a row for the Foxes when coupled with last two victories over Bossier City and Columbus. Couple a victory over Richmond with the 49-44 win over the Speed at home in 2002 and the 52-29 win in Virginia back in June and it would mark the third-consecutive win over the foe in the six-game series.
And to top it all off, a win over Richmond could land the Swamp Foxes in a three-way tie with Norfolk and Cape Fear for the top spot in the American Conference's Atlantic Division.
The Speed (6-9) has been slowed this season by numerous problems in the front office, including its most successful coach, Richard Davis, being released midway through the year. Finding a suitable replacement has been difficult for the management as interim head coach Billy Jarvis brings his squad to the Lowcountry.
Since taking over the reigns, the Jarvis-led Speed have gone 1-2, with the lone victory coming over playoff-bound Mohegan 44-41 two weeks ago.
Richmond, will not make the ArenaCup playoffs for the first time in three years, are much better than the record indicates. The Speed boasts four players among the af2's Top Ten statistical categories.
Offensive specialist Damon Thompson, who ranks third in receiving yards per game and ninth in scoring, leads the Speed's offensive attack. He is averaging just under 120 yards per game receiving and has scored 180 points (29 touchdowns). In the two teams' first meeting back in June, Thompson caught six passes for 70 yards. He did score, however, on a 56-yard kickoff return, tallying 192 all-purpose yards.
Another offensive weapon for the Speed is WR/DB Jeff Townsley. He currently ranks sixth in the af2 in kickoff return average at just under 25 yards per attempt, but the Foxes limited him to just one kickoff return of 18 yards in the first meeting. Townsley did, however, manage to lead the team in receptions, hauling in seven passes for 63 yards in the loss.
Richmond has been employing a duel-headed quarterback system. Rookie Joel Gordon, and one-year veteran Roy Johnson have both split time under center, seeming to trade the starting job back-and-forth. The two had nearly identical numbers in the first meeting as Gordon completed 12-of-18 passes for 110 yards and Johnson was 10-for-17 for 107 yards, both with one TD pass. Gordon did add a rushing score to open the second quarter.
The Swamp Foxes battle the Speed this Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 pm at the North Charleston Coliseum.
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