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Talons Drown Riptide, 65-38

May 11, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


Tacoma Fontaine and Craig Strickland led the Tulsa Talons to their 21st consecutive regular season victory, a 65-38 triumph over the San Diego Riptide before 5,116 fans at the Tulsa Convention Center.

Fontaine caught four of Strickland's seven touchdown passes and finished with 302 all-purpose yards, his highest total as a Talon and the third-best total in franchise history. Fontaine had eight receptions for a game-high 135 yards and added 167 yards on kick returns and was named as the game's Most Valuable Player.

The victory was the Talons' second in as many meetings against the Riptide and lifted Tulsa to 5-1 on the season and maintained their two-game lead over the Arkansas Twisters.

Strickland threw four of his scoring strikes in the first half and was 17-of-29 passing for 263 yards. Strickland has thrown 14 TD passes over his last two games.

After allowing San Diego to turn a 20-7 deficit into a 28-27 halftime lead, the Talons dramatically tightened their defense in the second half, allowing a 35-yard field goal by Ryan Geisler in the third quarter and one touchdown pass after the game had been decided. The Talons forced four turnovers, three of those being interceptions.

A key factor was Tulsa's work against Riptide OS Marty Graham, who ranked eighth in af2 in all-purpose yardage (709) entering the game but netted just 28 yards against Tulsa.

Strickland found Fontaine with touchdown passes of 19 and 48 yards and Al Hunt on a 15-yard pass as Tulsa built a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.

San Diego quarterback Kane Claunch capitalized on several Tulsa defensive mistakes as the Riptide built a 28-27 halftime lead. Claunch hit Eddie Miller with touchdown passes of 42 and 25 yards in the final 2:26 of the second quarter.

Strickland found Fontaine with touchdown passes of nine and 16 yards early in the third quarter as Tulsa took a 42-31 lead. On the first play following an Al Hunt interception, Strickland teamed up with Mitch Allner for a 45-yard touchdown with 12:52 left in the game, giving Tulsa a 48-31 lead.

Claunch was 15-of-34 passing with two interceptions for 253 yards and five TDs for the Riptide, who fell to 2-5 with their third straight loss.

Tulsa's Hunt was the Ironman of the Game, catching three passes for 34 yards with two touchdowns along with making four tackles and his clutch interception. Talons defensive back Brandon Daniels was the ADT Defensive Player of the Game with 6.5 tackles, four of those unassisted, plus an interception.

The Talons return to Central Division action this week by hosting the Bossier Battle Wings on Saturday night at 7:30.

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