Swamp Foxes Set for First of Final Two
July 17, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Charleston Swamp Foxes News Release
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC â With a team-first playoff berth on the line, the Charleston Swamp Foxes are prepared to host the Columbus Wardogs this Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Foxes (7-7) know exactly what they must to in order to make the arenafootball2 post-season for the first time in the team's four years â win. But even then, the Swamp Foxes will need help by Cape Fear, Greensboro, and Norfolk losing in a certain pattern to create havoc atop the American Conference's Atlantic Division.
Charleston currently holds the tiebreaker over both Cape Fear and Norfolk in head-to-head points spreads, which bodes well for the Foxes down the stretch.
But head coach Rik Richards and his staff are quick to point out that the visiting Wardogs are no pushover.
Sure, on paper the 4-10 âDogs seem to be outmatched against the Swamp Foxes. Columbus hasn't won a road game all season long, and in the two teams' first meeting in May, the Foxes won handedly, 56-40.
The Wardogs rank next to last in scoring offense only managing 33.4 points per game while surrendering over 47 points per contest, ranking 20th in the league. Twice have the Wardogs been held under 10 points, scoring nine in an April loss at Peoria and seven on the road at Florida in mid-May. And as if that weren't enough, Columbus ranks 24th in total offense, only mustering an anemic 216 yards per game while ranking dead last in turnover margin with a â23 mark.
Yet, the struggling âDogs will come to Charleston basking in the afterglow of a one-point upset win over playoff-minded Birmingham last week. The victory snapped a two-game losing skid and was only the second in the past 12 games.
Columbus boasts arguably the best quarterback in arenafootball2 history in the form of Sherard Poteete. The âDogs signal caller, who started the season with Bossier City, has thrown for over 10,000 yards in his career and is a mere 51 yards shy of becoming the first player to rush for over 1,000 yards in a career.
Fox fans are probably also very familiar with Poteete's back up, Kyle Rowley. The rookie out of Brown University started the season in Charleston where he saw action in four games, completing 6-of-11 passes for 79 yards. Since making the move to western Georgia, Rowley has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes, going 35-for-59 for 415 yards with only one interception and nine touchdown strikes.
Offensive specialist Michael Scott poses a triple-threat for the Swamp Foxes fourth-rated defense. He enters Saturday night's game with 647 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns, a 17.5-yard average on missed field goals, and averages just under 22 yards per kickoff return. In the first meeting in Columbus, Scott hauled in a game-high six passes for 89 yards and two scores to lead the Wardogs.
Charleston will also have to contend with another familiar face in the form of Mesiah Porter. The receiver/linebacker spent the 2002 season catching passes and running the ball for the Tallahassee Thunder. In the meetings with the Foxes in '02, Porter caught five passes for 85 yards and a pair of scores. Back in May, he was limited to a pair of catches for 25 yards, but did rush once for four yards and a touchdown.
The Columbus Wardogs are a lot stronger defensively, at least when compared to other teams around the league. The âDogs rank second in total defense â two spots higher than the Swamp Foxes, who led the league in total defense for nine-consecutive weeks mid-season. Columbus ranks third against the pass and sixth against the run.
Turnovers will be the key for the Swamp Foxes to pick up their second-consecutive victory. Charleston ranks second in the league in turnover margin with a +17 differential. On the year, the Foxes have created 44 total takeaways, including 29 interceptions, seven away from an af2 league record.
Offensively, the Swamp Foxes have reached the half-century scoring mark in seven of their past eight games, including the past three in a row. Charleston's offense has charged from worst to near first since the first week of the season. The "O" currently ranks fourth in the league with an average of 265 yards of total offense per game.
If the Swamp Foxes can take care of the football, create turnovers, and click offensively like they have for the past eight weeks then they will be well on their way towards a playoff berth.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm this Saturday, July 19 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Pre-game festivities kickoff at 5:00 pm with the Tailgate Zone, featuring face painting, balloons, jump castles for the kids, and live music from the group, "Flat Front Tire." Also, the Swamp Foxes are proud to announce $2.00 beer pricing for the game.
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