Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes
Published on July 7, 2003 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Florida Firecats (8-5) at Tennessee Valley Vipers (13-0)
Date: July 12, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
National Anthem: Margie Cumbie
Coin Toss: Brooke Smith, "The Bachelor"
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: Vipers lead 1-0
Last Meeting: The Vipers beat the Firecats 41-32 in Fort Myers on April 5, 2003
Streaks: Vipers W13, Firecats W5
Coaches: Kevin Guy (25-3; 0-1 playoffs, Second season) Ben Bennett (8-5, First Season)
THE STAKES: The Vipers have a chance to go 14-0 on the season for the first time in team history and go 8-0 at home for the first time in team history. They can remain the only undefeated team in af2 and only have to win one more game to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
THE SERIES: The Vipers lead the all-time series 1-0. This will be the first ever meeting in Huntsville.
THE IFs:
If Tennessee Valley defeats Florida, it would ...
- Give Tennessee Valley an 2-0 record vs Florida
- Give Tennessee Valley an 8-0 road record in 2003
- Give the Vipers their first perfect regular season record at home
- Give Tennessee Valley a 14-0 record for the first time in team history
- Extend the Vipers longest winning streak in team history to 14 games
- Give the Vipers their 41st win in their last 46 games
HEAD COACHES: Viper head coach Kevin Guy is in his second season and the helm. He has led the Vipers to a 25-3 regular season record. He is 13-1 on the road and 12-2 at home. Florida's Ben Bennett is 8-5 in his first season as head coach for the Florida Firecats. He served as the offensive coordinator last season.
LAST SERIES MEETING: Calvin Hall caught a career-high seven passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns as the Vipers left Florida with a 41-32 win. Matt Sauk completed 21-35 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns but did throw three interceptions. The Vipers also lost two fumbles but forced three Firecat fumbles and intercepted one pass.
SERIES NOTABLES: The Vipers are 1-0 vs Florida. This will be the first meeting in Huntsville.
TENNESSEE VALLEY INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OS Michael James Right Calf Out
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Kevin Guy, on the next three games: "We've got to treat the next three games like playoff games. It's going to tough from here on out. We've got to get ready and play like we're going into the playoffs."
MILESTONES:
Reggie Worthy needs 10 yards rushing to reach 200 yards for his career. He reached the 1,000 yard receiving mark 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.
Matt Sauk is 244 yards passing away from 8,000 and 10 attempts away from 1,000 in his career.
Calvin Hall is 87 yards receiving away from 1,000 in his career.
Jerrian James is nine receptions away from 100.
DROPBACK: Matt Sauk completed 21-42 passes for 221 yards and five touchdowns as the Vipers beat the Memphis Xplorers 51-36. Reggie Worthy caught six passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Jerrian James, Ronney Daniels and Ernest Ross also caught touchdown passes. Marvin Strong and Jimmy Freeman both added one-yard touchdown runs and Mark Lewis nailed a 43-yard field goal. Joe Todd intercepted a pass on defense.
FORWARD MOTION: The Vipers will travel to Quad City on July 19 to battle the Steamwheelers and wrap-up the regular season at Macon on July 26.
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 13 games he has thrown 72 and has a completion percentage of 61.0. He has a 112.3 quarterback rating. He is just one touchdown pass behind Quad City's, Tony Zimmerman.
We're Not Worthy: WR/DB Reggie Worthy has not had a sophomore slump in his second season with the Vipers. Despite missing three games, he has 193 yards rushing, 1,421 yards receiving and is now second in Viper history with 29 touchdown receptions. He needs just 10 yards rushing to become the first Viper to have 200 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving.
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 two times this season.
JJ is "Dynamite": James has done a little bit of everything in his first season with the Vipers. He has rushed for 28 yards and four touchdowns, caught 43 passes for 691 yards and 16 touchdowns, returned 25 kickoffs for 562 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown two passes, both to Andy Fuller for touchdowns. He has recorded 38.0 tackles, one interception, eight pass break ups, one fumble recovery 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 101 yards and six touchdowns, caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, recorded 30.0 tackles, 5.5 sacks, five pass break ups, 10 quarterback hits, five fumble recoveries and six forced fumbles.
Welcome back Bailey: After missing the first three games with a broke foot, Bailey has recorded 38.0 tackles, three interceptions, 13 pass break ups and one forced fumble in his last five games. He has returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns.
Ronney is dandy: Wide Receiver/Linebacker, Ronney Daniels has been impressive in his first season in af2. He has 44 receptions for 726 yards and leads the team with 20 touchdowns. He has recorded 16.5 tackles, two interceptions, four pass break ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He has recorded an interception in every game except one.
"X" Factor: After not being much of a factor in the early part of the season, Xavier "X-Man" Patterson has come alive the last three games. He has caught 13 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns. He missed the last game with bruised ribs. Defensive Specialist: DS Ernest Ross continues to improve each week. He is tied for fifth in af2 in interceptions with six and sixth in pass break ups with 24.
Yo Joe!: In his first two games with the Vipers, defensive specialist Joe Todd has intercepted a pass in both games and broke up six passes. The former Mississippi Valley State star started in the secondary for the Grand Rapids Rampage on their championship team in 2001 before missing all of last season with a wrist injury.
Road Sweet Road: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have only lost one road game in the past three seasons compiling a 21-1 record over that time. Matt Sauk is a perfect 14-0 on the road as the Vipers quarterback, 8-0 in 2001and 6-0 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 vs Wichita that forced fumbles that the Vipers recovered.
Hall's Career Year: Calvin Hall is in his third season with the Vipers and has already had a career year. He currently has 43 receptions for 577 yards and 12 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 five games. He has caught five passes for 77 yards and three touchdowns.
Lewis having record year: In his first season with the Vipers, Mark Lewis has tied or broken two Viper kicking records. He tied the 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 also broke Proctor's record of consecutive extra points made. Proctor set the mark in 2000 when he made 27 straight. Lewis broke the record last week and extended in to 32 before his next miss. He has made 38 of his last 40. He leads af2 in scoring for kickers and extra points made. He has also converted six straight field goals.
Turnover: After being in the negative numbers for much of the season in turnovers, the Vipers broke into the positive side when they forced 16 turnovers the last four games. They are +10 for the season.
Third Down: Here is a break down of third and fourth down on the season:
Player Third Down Fourth Down
Vipers 36-77 (47%) 11-24 (46%)
Opponents 31-95 (33%) 16-32 (50%)
Spreading the Ball Around: Six different receivers have caught 30 or more passes for the Vipers this season making them the first team in af2 history to have six receivers with 30 receptions. The Vipers had five in 2000 and 2001 and four in 2002 that caught more that 20. There are also three receivers that have double figures in touchdown receptions and another that has seven. The team only had one in 2000, three in 2001 and two in 2002. They currently have four with 40 or more. The Wichita Stealth had five with 40 or more receptions in 2002. The Red Zone: The Vipers have converted 68-86 opportunities will 61 touchdowns and seven field goals. They turned the ball over on downs seven times, threw five interceptions and fumbled four times. They have held their opponents to 48-79, giving up 42 touchdowns and five field goals, intercepting 10 passes, recovering four fumbles, and holding on downs eight times.
Sack Record: Three Vipers are chasing the current Viper sack leader Eugene Phillips:
Player Sacks
Eugene Phillips 16.0
Wes Stephens 13.5
Curtis Jeter 13.0
Heath Springer 12.5
Andy Fuller 12.5
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.
Defense: Despite being ranked 19th in af2 in total defense, the Vipers are not giving up many points. In eight of the 13 games the Vipers have held their opponents to 36 points or under and are third in scoring defense at 39.9 points per game.
Turnover Streak: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have forced a turnover in 33 consecutive games. The last time the Vipers failed to forced a turnover was on June 23, 2001 vs the Roanoke Steam.
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 78 receptions for 964 yards and 14 touchdowns, while the Auburn group has 94 receptions for 1,329 yards and 28 touchdowns. Watch for this rivalry to be as intense as the college game.
No Turnovers: After going 14 consecutive games with a turnover, the Vipers went back-to-back games without giving the ball up on June 14 and 21.
The Big 50: With the win over Memphis last week, the Tennessee Valley Vipers became just the second franchise in af2 history to win 50 games. The Quad City Steamwheelers are 52-9 while the Vipers are 50-11.
Scoreless 1st Quarter: The Tennessee Valley Vipers were held scoreless in the first quarter last week at Memphis. It was the first time the Vipers failed to score in any quarter of any game this season. They had scored in 48 straight quarters.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Viper OS, Reggie Worthy: Filling in for the injured Michael James as offensive specialist, Reggie Worthy has caught 20 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns over his last four games. He is averaging 12.6 yards per reception.
Vipers Offense vs Firecats Defense: The Vipers enter with the top scoring offense in the league while the Firecats enter with the number two scoring defense in the league. The Firecats have won their last five games including two wins over Macon and one over Cape Fear.
Vipers DS, Joe Todd: Todd has only played in two games for the Vipers, but has recorded two interceptions and broke up six passes.
Viper Records Broken or Tied in 2003:
Most Completions in a career: Matt Sauk 543. 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).
Tackles in a Game: 12.0 Kenny Bailey vs Wichita 6/7/03.
Tackles in a Career: 128.5 Kenny Bailey
Sacks in a Game: 3.0 Jimmy Freeman vs Columbus 5/31/03 tied Eugene Phillips (at Bossier City 6/16/01) and Andy Fuller (vs Memphis 7/20/02).
Most Consecutive Extra Points Made: 32 Mark Lewis (2003), Old Record Michael Proctor, 2000
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.
June 28, 2003: Vipers defeat Birmingham 60-58 to win the South Division of the American Conference and secure a playoff spot.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from July 7, 2003
- Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes - Tennessee Valley Raptors
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