Tennessee Valley Vipers Game Notes
August 4, 2003 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Mohegan Wolves (11-6) at Tennessee Valley Vipers (14-2)
Date: August 8, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CDT
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: Tony Canella (Referee), Chris Hughes (Umpire), (Head Linesman), (Line Judge), Rob Skelton (Back Judge)
Radio: WUMP 730 (Doug Franz & Dan Back)
TV: None
Series Record: This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Last Meeting: This will be the first meeting between the two teams
Streaks: Vipers L2, Wolves W1
Coaches: Kevin Guy (27-4; 0-1 playoffs, Second season) Mark Stoute (10-6, 1-0 playoffs, First Season)
THE STAKES: The winner advances to the Conference Championship next weekend.
THE SERIES: This is the first ever meeting between the two teams.
THE IFs:
If Tennessee Valley defeats Mohegan, it would ...
· Give the Vipers a spot in the af2 American Conference semi-finals next Thursday night in Huntsville.
· Give the Vipers their fourth playoff win in team history.
· Give Kevin Guy his first playoff win as coach of the Vipers.
HEAD COACHES: Viper head coach Kevin Guy is in his second season and the helm. He has led the Vipers to a 27-5 regular season record. He is 13-3 on the road and 14-2 at home.
Mohegan's Mark Stoute is 10-6 in his first season as head coach of the Wolves. He also served as the head coach of the Toronto Phantoms in the Arena Football League.
LAST SERIES MEETING: This will be the first ever 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 playing Mohegan, who the Vipers have never played before: "I like to idea of playing someone who we have not played before. I am tired of playing the same teams all the time. When you have a league of 27 teams you shouldn't have to play the same team three times."
DROPBACK: The Vipers turned the ball over three times as they fell 51-42 to the Macon Knights in Macon on July 26.
FORWARD MOTION: If the Vipers win, they will host the winner of the Macon/Albany game in the American Conference Championship on Thursday, August 14 at 7:30
TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:
Playoff Time: The af2 playoffs have reached the second round and the only road team to win in the first round was the Mohegan Wolves. Macon, Arkansas and Hawaii all won at home and will now have to travel in the second round.
First Round Results
Mohegan 50, Cape Fear 47
Florida 35, Macon 42
Bakersfield 28, Arkansas 36
Wichita 30, Hawaii 57
Second Round Match-ups
Mohegan at Tennessee Valley
Macon at Albany
Arkansas @ Quad City
Hawaii @ Tulsa
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. He finished this season with 84 and now has 170 touchdown passes. In two playoff games in 2001, he threw 15 touchdowns.
We're Not Worthy: WR/DB Reggie Worthy has not had a sophomore slump in his second season with the Vipers. Despite missing four games, he has caught 51 passes for 635 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. The Vipers set an af2 record this season when the offensive line gave up just three sacks all season.
JJ is "Dynamite": James has done a little bit of everything in his first season with the Vipers. He has rushed for 36 yards and four touchdowns, caught 55 passes for 832 yards and 18 touchdowns, returned 35 kickoffs for 761 yards and a touchdown. He has completed three passes, all to Andy Fuller for touchdowns. He has recorded 45.5 tackles, one interception, eight pass break ups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
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 led the team in tackles with 81.0, had 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 led the team with 57 receptions for 868 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has recorded 18.0 tackles, two interceptions, four pass break ups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He had a receiving touchdown 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 five games. He has caught 21 passes for 259 yards and four 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 sixth in interceptions in af2 with seven and is tied for seventh in pass break ups with 30.
Yo Joe!: In four games with the Vipers, defensive specialist Joe Todd has intercepted three passes and broke up nine. 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 three road games in the past three seasons compiling a 21-3 record over that time. Matt Sauk is 14-2 on the road as the Vipers quarterback, 8-0 in 2001and 6-2 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 48 receptions for 604 yards and 13 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 two games. He has caught five passes for 47 yards and one touchdown.
Lewis having record year: In his first season with the Vipers, Mark Lewis has tied or broken five 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 and extended in to 32 before his next miss. He also broke the Vipers record for extra points made in a season with 99 and best field goal percentage in a season at 58.5. He also broke the record for points in a game with 16 at Bossier City.
Turnover: The Vipers finished the season at +7 in turnovers but are -4 in their last five games, turning it over 15 times and only forcing 11.
Third Down: Here is a break down of third and fourth down on the season:
Player Third Down Fourth Down
Vipers 42-98 (43%) 14-32 (44%)
Opponents 33-108 (31%) 19-36 (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 finished the season with five receivers with 40 or more and one with 39. The Red Zone: The Vipers have converted 71-93 opportunities will 63 touchdowns and eight field goals. They turned the ball over on downs eight times, threw five interceptions and fumbled five times. They have held their opponents to 58-90, giving up 52 touchdowns and five field goals, intercepting 10 passes, recovering five fumbles, and holding on downs eight times.
Sack Record: Three Vipers are chasing the current Viper sack leader Eugene Phillips:
Player Sacks
Eugene Phillips 18.0
Wes Stephens 15.0
Curtis Jeter 14.0
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.
Wes is new Sack man: Wes Stephens broke the Vipers record for quarterback sacks in a season last week at Quad City when he recorded 2.0. He now has 11.5 on the season breaking Curtis Jeter's record of 9.5 in 2001. He is just three sacks behind Eugene Phillips for first on the Vipers all-time list. He also set a new Viper record for fumbles forced in a season with 8 and led the af2 in that category.
Defense: Despite being ranked 14h in af2 in total defense, the Vipers are not giving up many points. In nine the 16 games the Vipers have held their opponents to 36 points or under and are seventh in scoring defense at 41.8 points per game.
Turnover Streak: The Tennessee Valley Vipers have forced a turnover in 35 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 had 91 receptions for 1,102 yards and 17 touchdowns, while the Auburn group has 118 receptions for 1,625 yards and 34 touchdowns.
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 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. They were also held scoreless in the first quarter at Macon two weeks ago
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Wolves Defense vs Vipers Offense: The Mohegan defense is ranked first in af2 in scoring at 38.7 points per game while the Vipers Offense in third at 52.8 points per game.
Vipers OL/DL: The Vipers broke the league for sacks against with three. The Mohegan defense has recorded 29 this season ranking them fourth in the league.
Vipers OL/DL, Wes Stephens vs Wolves OL/DL Charlie Cook: Stephens and Cook tied for second in af2 this season with 11.5 sacks each. Stephens led the league with eight forced fumbles, while Cook led the league with 10.5 tackles for loss.
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