Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes

Published on June 2, 2003 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Wichita Stealth (6-3) at Tennessee Valley Vipers (8-0)
Date: June 7, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
National Anthem:
Coin Toss: Darth Vader
Officials: Marc Curles (Referee), Chris Hughes (Umpire), Dirk Bell (Head Linesman), Andy Britton (Line Judge), Rob Skelton(Back Judge)
Radio: WUMP 730 (Doug Franz & Dan Back)
TV: None
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Streaks: Vipers W8, Stealth W2
Coaches: Kevin Guy (21-3; 0-1 playoffs, Second season) Sean Ponder (2-0 Overall)

THE STAKES: The Vipers have a chance to go 9-0 on the season for the first time in team history and 5-0 at home. They can remain the only undefeated team in af2.

THE SERIES: This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

THE IFs:

If Tennessee Valley defeats Wichita, it would ...
- Give Tennessee Valley a 1-0 record vs Wichita
- Give Tennessee Valley a 5-0 home record in 2003
- Give the Vipers their fifth straight home win.
- Give Kevin Guy his 22nd win
- Keep Tennessee Valley as the only undefeated in af2
- Give Tennessee Valley a 8-0 record for the first time in team history
- Extend the Vipers longest winning streak in team history to nine games
- Make the Vipers only the second team in af2 history to start a season 9-0

HEAD COACHES: Viper head coach Kevin Guy is in his second season and the helm. He has led the Vipers to a 21-3 regular season record. He is 11-1 on the road and 10-2 at home. Wichitas' Sean Ponder is 1-0 in his third game as Interim Head Coach for the Stealth. He took over when Bob Cortese resigned.

LAST SERIES MEETING: This is the first meeting between the two teams.

SERIES NOTABLES: This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Kevin Guy, on the Vipers rushing offense: "We're going to learn how to run block and that's my fault. Our running game is horrendous right now."

Jerrian James, on the win over Columbus: "Columbus is better than people think. We lost our focus a little bit and made some mistakes, but we got it back together and were able to pull off the win."

Jimmy Freeman, on the win over Columbus: "Coach Guy told us not to overlook these guys, but sometimes you can't control it. We knew we were going to get their best shot, but we came out flat and gave them some confidence."

MILESTONES:

Reggie Worthy needs four yards rushing to reach 200 yards for his career. He reached the 1,000 yard receiving mark two weeks ago at Louisville. When he gets 200 yards rushing, he will become the first Viper to have 1,000 yards receiving and 200 yards rushing and just the third player in af2 history to reach both marks. He also needs 10 receptions to reach the 100 mark.

DROPBACK: Matt Sauk completed 20-33 passes for 230 yards and six touchdowns as the Vipers become only the second team in af2 history to start a season 8-0 with a 61-55 win over Columbus. Jerrian James caught four passes for 58 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 56 yards for a touchdown. Ronney Daniels and Andy Fuller also added touchdown receptions. Curtis Jeter forced a fumble on a sack and recovered it at the Columbus 1-yard line to set up a score.

FORWARD MOTION: The Vipers will host the Columbus Wardogs on June 14 and travel to Birmingham on June 21 to take on the Steeldogs

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

AFL Experience: Nine members of the 2003 Vipers have experience in Arena Football League, either in a game, in training camp or on the practice squad.

Touchdown Matt: Viper quarterback, Matt Sauk, has picked up where he left off the 2001 season when he threw an af2 record 86 touchdown passes. Through eight games he has thrown 42 and has a completion percentage of 63.1. He has a 110.14 quarterback rating.

We're Not Worthy: WR/DB Reggie Worthy has not had a sophomore slump in his second season with the Vipers. He now has 196 yards rushing, 1,169 yards receiving and is now second in Viper history with 24 touchdown receptions. He needs just four yards rushing to become the first Viper to have 200 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving. He has missed the last two games with an injured shoulder.

Sauk not Sack: Viper quarterback, Matt Sauk, was only sacked only five times in 2001 and two of those he tripped and fell. He has only been sacked one time this season.

JJ is "Dynamite": The last two weeks have been very productive for Vipers WR/DB Jerrian James. He was named Ironman last week at Columbus and Player, Ironman and Defensive Player of the Game vs Cape Fear two weeks ago. In the two games he has rushed for a score, caught a four touchdown passes, threw for a score and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. On defense he recorded 11.0 tackles, one pass break up and one forced fumble.

FB/LB Production: The Tennessee Valley Vipers are getting plenty of production from the fullback/linebacker position. The trio of Jimmy Freeman, Marvin Strong and Dedric Maffet has rushed for 56 yards and four touchdowns, caught two passes for 41 yards, recorded 24.0 tackles, 2.0 sacks, four pass break ups, six quarterback hits, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

Welcome back Bailey: After missing the first three games with a broke foot, defensive specialist Kenny Bailey has returned with 28.5 tackles and six pass break ups in five games.

Ronney is dandy: Wide Receiver/Linebacker, Ronney Daniels has been impressive in his first season in af2. He is third on the team with 25 receptions, leads the team with 455 yards and leads the team with 11 touchdown receptions. He has recorded 9.0 tackles, two interceptions, three pass break ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Road Sweet Road: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have only lost one road game in the past three seasons compiling a 18-1 record over that time. Matt Sauk is a perfect 12-0 on the road as the Vipers quarterback, 8-0 in 2001and 4-0 this season.

Center of Attention: David Sucura and Chris Bell are the first Viper centers in three years to return although both almost didn't. Bell went to camp with the Carolina Cobras and Sucura went to camp with the Buffalo Destroyers earlier this season.

Hall's Career Year: Calvin Hall is in his third season with the Vipers and is already setting himself up for a career year. He currently leads the Vipers in receptions with 33, second in receiving yards with 435 and second in touchdowns with 10. He has already passed his career highs in receptions 31(2002), yards (293-2002) and touchdowns (6-2002).

Playmaker is back: Andy "Playmaker" Fuller has lived up to his nickname over the past three games. He has caught four passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.

Lewis ties a Viper record: Mark Lewis tied the Viper record for field goals made in a game with three at Bossier City. The record was set by Michael Proctor on April 7, 2000 against the Norfolk Nighthawks in the first ever home game for the Vipers. He has made four field goals on the season and all but one of his missed has come form over 40 yards. He has made 42-50 extra points.

Fumble!!!: The Vipers have fumbles the ball 11 times and lost nine this season. They are -1 in the turnover margin.

Flag on the Play: After only being flagged six times the last two games, the Vipers were penalized 15 times for 112 yards last week in the win over Cape Fear and seven times for 47 yards in the win over Columbus.

Third Down: Here is a break down of third and fourth down on the season:
Player Third Down Fourth Down
Vipers 22-48 (46%) 6/14 (43%)
Opponents 16/50 (32%) 7/19 (37%)

The Red Zone: The Vipers have converted 35-45 opportunities will 31 touchdowns and four field goals. They turned the ball over on downs twice, threw three interceptions and fumbled four times. They have held their opponents to 26-40, intercepting four passes, recovering one fumble, and holding on downs four times.

Sack Record: Three Vipers are chasing the current Viper sack leader Eugene Phillips:
Player Sacks
Eugene Phillips 16.0
Curtis Jeter 13.0
Heath Springer 12.5
Andy Fuller 11.5
Wes Stephens 9.0

Sack Streak ends: Tennessee Valley Vipers defensive end, Wes Stephens sack streak ended at five games last week at Columbus. He leads the Vipers with 5.0 sacks and is tied for third in af2.

Completion Record: Matt Sauk broke the Viper career completions record at Florida. He now owns every Viper passing record including the longest completion, which he broke with a 49-yd touchdown pass to Calvin Hall. At Louisville he completed his 400th pass, went over the 5,000-yard mark in passing and went over the 100 touchdown mark.

Auburn vs Alabama: Five members of the Vipers played in one of the most intense college rivalries in the country, Auburn vs Alabama. Calvin Hall and Michael James played at Alabama while Reggie Worthy, Ronney Daniels and Andy Fuller played for the Tigers. The Bama group has 65 receptions for 732 yards and 11 touchdowns, while the Auburn group has 54 receptions for 794 yards and 13 touchdowns. Watch for this rivalry to be as intense as the college game.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Vipers WR/DB Jerrian James: James has been on fire the last two weeks. He has rushed for a score, caught four touchdowns, threw for a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score. He has recorded 11.0 tackles on defense and broke up a pass. He was named Ironman of the Game last week at Columbus and Player, Ironman and Defensive Player of the Game two weeks ago vs Cape Fear.

Vipers DL Curtis Jeter: After going the first six games without a sack, Jeter has recorded one in his past two games. Last week at Columbus, he forced a fumble on a sack and recovered the ball at the Columbus 1-yard line. The Vipers scored on the next play and went up by two scores.

Viper Records Broken or Tied in 2003:
Most Completions in a career: Matt Sauk 492. Old Record: Bryan Snyder 354.
Longest Completion: Matt Sauk 49-yards at Florida 4/5/03
Longest Reception: Calvin Hall 49-yards at Florida 4/5/03
Field Goals Made in a Game: Mark Lewis tied Michael Proctor (vs Norfolk 4/7/00) with 3 at Bossier City 5/9/03.
Longest Winning Streak: 8 Games (April 5, 2003-May 31, 2003), Old Record 7 (May 25, 2001-July 7, 2001).

KEY DATES IN VIPER HISTORY:

March 31, 2000: Vipers get first ever win with a 59-18 victory over Birmingham.

April 8, 2000: Vipers get their first home win over Norfolk 48-15.

August 10, 2000: Vipers fall 68-59 to the Quad City Steamwheelers in the ArenaCup Championship.

April 7, 2001: Vipers get their first win in the 2001 season with a 55-14 win over Memphis.

July 21, 2001: Vipers rally from a 34-point deficit in the 4th quarter to beat Arkansas 56-55.

July 30, 2001: Vipers beat Tallahassee 70-52 in the first round of the af2 playoffs.

August 4, 2001: Vipers fall 51-50 to the Richmond Speed in overtime in the af2 semifinals.

April 6, 2002: Vipers beat Arkansas 37-28 for their first win of the 2002 season.

April 11, 2002: Vipers win their 11th straight road game 57-46 at Memphis to break the af2 record.

May 24, 2003; Vipers beat Cape Fear 57-54 to go 7-0 for the first time in team history.

May 31, 2003: Viper beat Columbus 61-55 to become only the second team in af2 history to start a season 8-0.

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