Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes
July 14, 2003 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Tennessee Valley Vipers (14-0) at Quad City Steamwheelers (12-2)
Date: July 19, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: The Mark (9,200)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Tony Canella (Referee), Pat Bayers (Umpire), Ed Pevonka (Head Linesman), Donald Rager (Line Judge), Larry Orrico (Back Judge)
Radio: WUMP 730 (Doug Franz & Art Clarkson)
TV: None
Series Record: Steamwheelers lead 4-2
Last Meeting: The Vipers beat the Steamwheelers 62-59 in Huntsville on April 11, 2003.
Streaks: Vipers W13, Steamwheelers W11
Coaches: Kevin Guy (27-3; 0-1 playoffs, Second season) Rich Ingold (22-8, Second Season)
THE STAKES: The Vipers have a chance to go 15-0 on the season for the first time in team history and go 7-0 on the road. They can remain the only undefeated team in af2 and secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
THE SERIES: The Steamwheelers lead the all-time series 4-2. The Vipers are 1-1 in regular season game in Moline.
THE IFs:
If Tennessee Valley defeats Quad City, it would ...
· Give Tennessee Valley an 3-4 record vs Florida
· Give Tennessee Valley an 7-0 road record in 2003
· Give Tennessee Valley a 15-0 record for the first time in team history
· Extend the Vipers longest winning streak in team history to 15 games
· Give the Vipers their 22nd road win in last 23 games
· Give the Vipers their 42nd win in their last 47 games
HEAD COACHES: Viper head coach Kevin Guy is in his second season and the helm. He has led the Vipers to a 27-3 regular season record. He is 13-1 on the road and 14-2 at home. Quad City's Rich Ingold is 22-8 in his second season as head coach for the Steamwheelers
LAST SERIES MEETING: Tony Zimmerman and Matt Sauk put on an offensive show as the Vipers pulled out a 62-59 win in Huntsville on April 11. Sauk completed 21-35 passes for 309 yards and five touchdowns and Zimmerman completed 22-38 passes for 370 yards and eight touchdowns. Jeff Hewitt caught 10 passes for 209 yards and six touchdowns for Quad City. The game turned for the Vipers in the fourth quarter when Ernest Ross returned an interception 49-yard for a touchdown.
SERIES NOTABLES: The Steamwheelers are 4-2 all-time against the Vipers but the series is even at 1-1 in Moline.
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Kevin Guy, on the Quad City game: "This reminds me of the Miami Dolphins trying to protect their undefeated record against the Chicago Bears in 1985. Hopefully I can try and keep my guys focused a little better because we are playing in Moline, Illinois not South Beach."
MILESTONES:
Reggie Worthy needs 12 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.
Calvin Hall is 87 yards receiving away from 1,000 in his career.
Jerrian James is four receptions away from 100.
DROPBACK: The Viper defense held the Firecats to 110 total yards of offense and forced three turnovers to win the 14th straight game 41-36. Ronney Daniels caught seven passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Reggie Worthy and Jerrian James both caught touchdown passes. Eugene Phillips and Bruce Adrine both recorded safeties and Joe Todd and Kenny Bailey both intercepted passes. Bailey returned his interception 15 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
FORWARD MOTION: The Vipers will travel to Macon on July 26 and host a second-round playoff game on Friday, August 8.
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 14 games he has thrown 76 and has a completion percentage of 61.0. He has a 110.9 quarterback rating. He is five touchdown passes behind Quad City's, Tony Zimmerman for the league lead.
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 caught 49 passes for 603 yards and 10 touchdowns. He needs just 12 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 48 passes for 771 yards and 17 touchdowns, returned 28 kickoffs for 620 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown two passes, both to Andy Fuller for touchdowns. He has recorded 40.0 tackles, one interception, eight pass break ups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
Fumble: Tennessee Valley fullback/linebacker, Jimmy Freeman, has forced six fumbles and recovered five. He has also rushed for 28 yards and two touchdowns, recorded 4.0 sacks and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
Welcome back Bailey: After missing the first three games with a broke foot, Bailey leads the team in tackles with 68.5, has four interceptions, three returned for touchdowns and 17 pass break ups.
Ronney is dandy: Wide Receiver/Linebacker, Ronney Daniels has been impressive in his first season in af2. He has 51 receptions for 831 yards and leads the team with 22 touchdowns. He has recorded 17.0 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 over the last four games. He has caught 14 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. He missed the Memphis game with bruised ribs. Defensive Ernest: WR/DB Ernest Ross moved from his defensive specialist position two weeks ago to a WR/DB spot and played one of his best games at Memphis. He caught one pass for 23 yards and a touchdown and recorded 2.0 tackles and broke up a career-high five passes. He is currently tied for fifth in interceptions in af2 with six and is fifth in pass break ups with 29.
Yo Joe!: In his first three games with the Vipers, defensive specialist Joe Todd has intercepted a pass in all three games and broke up eight. He has been the ADT Defensive Player of the Game in the last two. 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: Chris Bell almost didn't return with the Vipers this season. Bell went to camp with the Carolina Cobras earlier this season.
Good luck David: Vipers' center David Sucura has left the team to become a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Michigan State. With Sucura coaching at MSU, he has converted a few more SEC fans into Michigan State fans.
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 42 of his last 45. He leads af2 in scoring for kickers and extra points made. He also made seven straight field goals.
Turnover: After being in the negative numbers for much of the season in turnovers, the Vipers broke into the positive side over the last few games. They are +8 for the season.
Third Down: Here is a break down of third and fourth down on the season:
Player Third Down Fourth Down
Vipers 38-84 (45%) 12-26 (46%)
Opponents 31-101 (31%) 18-34 (53%)
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 four 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 69-88 opportunities will 61 touchdowns and eight field goals. They turned the ball over on downs eight times, threw five interceptions and fumbled four times. They have held their opponents to 51-82, giving up 45 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 17.0
Wes Stephens 14.0
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 15h in af2 in total defense, the Vipers are not giving up many points. In nine the 14games the Vipers have held their opponents to 36 points or under and are third in scoring defense at 39.6 points per game.
Turnover Streak: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have forced a turnover in 34 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 106 receptions for 1,515 yards and 31 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, the Tennessee Valley Vipers became just the second franchise in af2 history to win 50 games. The Quad City Steamwheelers are 53-9 while the Vipers are 51-11.
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:
Vipers Defense vs Steamwheeler Offense: The Steamwheelers enter with top scoring offense in af2 at 56.2 points per game and top touchdown passers in QB Tony Zimmerman. The Vipers enter with the number three scoring defense at 39.6 and have intercepted 11 passes in the last six games.
Vipers Offense vs Firecats Defense: The Vipers enter with the second ranked scoring offense in the league at 54.9 points per game and the Steamwheelers enter with the number four scoring defense at 40.8 points per game.
Vipers DS, Joe Todd: Todd has only played in three games for the Vipers, but has recorded three interceptions and broke up eight 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
Interceptions in a season: 16, Matt Sauk
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.
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