Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes
June 9, 2003 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Columbus Wardogs (2-7) at Tennessee Valley Vipers (9-0)
Date: June 14, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Drew Myers (Referee), Chris Hughes (Umpire), Dirk Bell (Head Linesman), Andy Britton (Line Judge), Lee Midgett (Back Judge)
Radio: WUMP 730 (Doug Franz & Dan Back)
TV: None
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Streaks: Vipers W9, Wardogs L7
Coaches: Kevin Guy (21-3; 0-1 playoffs, Second season) John Fourcade (11-14 Overall, Second Season: 2-7 with Columbus, 3-1 Playoffs)
THE STAKES: The Vipers have a chance to go 10-0 on the season for the first time in team history and 6-0 at home. They can remain the only undefeated team in af2.
THE SERIES: The Vipers lead the all-time series 1-0. The only meeting came two weeks ago in Columbus with the Vipers pulling out a 61-55 win.
THE IFs:
If Tennessee Valley defeats Columbus, it would ...
· Give Tennessee Valley a 2-0 record vs Columbus
· Give Tennessee Valley a 6-0 home record in 2003
· Give the Vipers their sixth straight home win.
· Give Kevin Guy his 23rd win
· Give Tennessee Valley a 10-0 record for the first time in team history
· Extend the Vipers longest winning streak in team history to 10 games
· Make the Vipers only the second team in af2 history to start a season 10-0
HEAD COACHES: Viper head coach Kevin Guy is in his second season and the helm. He has led the Vipers to a 22-3 regular season record. He is 11-1 on the road and 11-2 at home.
Columbus' John Fourcade is 11-14 in his second season in af2 and 2-7 this season with Columbus. He was 9-7 last season at Florida and led the Firecats to the ArenaCup Championship.
LAST SERIES MEETING: Matt Sauk completed 20-33 passes for 230 yards and six touchdowns as the Vipers held on for a 61-55 win over the Wardogs in Columbus on May 31, 2003. Michael James caught nine passes for 100 yards and a touchdown and Jerrian James caught four passes for 58 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
SERIES NOTABLES: The Vipers are 1-0 vs Columbus. This will be the first meeting in Huntsville.
FAMILIAR FACES: Darrin Damron spent time with the Vipers last season and Charles Webb played in 2001.
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Kevin Guy, on the Vipers defense vs Wichita: "I challenged our defense this week. I can't say enough about our pass rush and how our secondary bounced back after the way they played last week."
Kenny Bailey, on his performance vs Wichita: "I hadn't been very productive the last five games. I had to come out and play better and I did that tonight. When I got the interception, I was going to try and get in the end zone because we don't get many chances."
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: The Vipers forced six Wichita turnovers and outscored them 28-7 in the fourth quarter to win 66-31 last week in Huntsville. Matt Sauk completed 12-18 passes for 247 yards and six touchdowns. Jerrian James rushed for a touchdown, caught two scores and intercepted a pass. Kenny Bailey recorded 12.0 tackles and returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown. Michael James caught three passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
FORWARD MOTION: The Vipers will travel to Birmingham on June 21 to take on the Steeldogs and host Birmingham on June 28.
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 nine games he has thrown 48 and has a completion percentage of 63.1. He has a 110.0 quarterback rating. He completed 12-18 passes last week and six went for touchdowns.
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 three weeks have been very productive for Vipers WR/DB Jerrian James. He was named Ironman last week vs Wichita, Player of the Game at Columbus and Player, Ironman and Defensive Player of the Game vs Cape Fear two weeks ago. In the three games he has rushed for two scores, caught a six touchdown passes, threw for a score and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. On defense he recorded 12.5 tackles, one interception, four pass break ups 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 53 yards and four touchdowns, caught three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, recorded 25.0 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 40.5 tackles, one interception and nine pass break ups in five games. He recorded 12.0 tackles, one interception and three pass break ups last week. He returned the interception 33 yards for a touchdown.
Ronney is dandy: Wide Receiver/Linebacker, Ronney Daniels has been impressive in his first season in af2. He has 27 receptions for 486 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has recorded 11.5 tackles, two interceptions, three pass break ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He had recorded a touchdown reception in every Viper game until last week when he failed to do so.
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. Both recorded sacks last week that forced fumbles that the Vipers recovered.
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 has 34 receptions for 464 yards and 11 touchdowns. 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 is 5-10 in field goals and all but one of his misses came from over 40 yards. He has made 58-68 extra points and leads the af2 in scoring for kickers.
Turnover: After being in the negative numbers for much of the season in turnovers, the Vipers broke into the positive side last week when they forced six Stealth turnovers. They are +3 for the season.
Third Down: Here is a break down of third and fourth down on the season:
Player Third Down Fourth Down
Vipers 23-50 (46%) 6/14 (43%)
Opponents 19/60 (32%) 11/23 (48%)
The Red Zone: The Vipers have converted 45-56 opportunities will 41 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 33-49, giving up 30 touchdowns and three field goals, intercepting five passes, recovering one fumble, and holding on downs five 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 10.0
Sack Streak ends/begins: Tennessee Valley Vipers defensive end, Wes Stephens sack streak ended at five games at Columbus, but he started a new one with his sixth sack against Wichita. He now has a sack in six of the last seven games.
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 69 receptions for 853 yards and 13 touchdowns, while the Auburn group has 56 receptions for 825 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 three weeks. He has rushed for two scores, caught six touchdowns, threw for a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score. He has recorded 12.5 tackles on defense, intercepted a pass and broke up four. He was named Ironman last week vs Wichita, Viper Ironman of the Game at Columbus and Player, Ironman and Defensive Player of the Game three weeks ago vs Cape Fear.
Viper Records Broken or Tied in 2003:
Most Completions in a career: Matt Sauk 524. 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: 9 Games (April 5, 2003-June 7, 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.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from June 9, 2003
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