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Tennessee Valley Vipers game notes

May 19, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Tennessee Valley Vipers (5-1)
vs. Florida Firecats (3-3)
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
National Anthem: Bob Smith
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: R-Terry Brown, U – Daryl Keckler, HL – Kirk Lewis, LJ – Victor Pettus, BJ – David Smith,.
Radio: WUMP 730 (Thom Abraham)
TV: None
Series Record: Vipers lead 2-0
Last Meeting: Vipers 41, Florida 36 (7/12/03 in Huntsville, Ala.)
Streaks: Vipers W4, Firecats L1
Coaches: Kevin Guy (32-6; 1-2 playoffs, 3rd season);
Ben Bennett (13-10; 0-1 playoffs, 2nd season).

THE STAKES: The Vipers look to go 6-1 on the season and extend their franchise-record home win streak to 12 games.

THE SERIES: The Vipers lead 2-0. Here's the history:
4/5/03 Vipers 41, Battle Wings 32 (Estero, Fla.)
7/12/03 Vipers 41, Florida 36 (Huntsville, Ala.)


American Conference Mid-South Standings
W L Pct.
Tennessee Valley 5 1 .800
Memphis 2 3 .400
Bossier City 2 5 .333
Arkansas 1 5 .200


FLORIDA FIRECATS (3-3)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/10 Bossier City W 46-31
4/17 @ Memphis L 54-51
4/24 Cape Fear L 55-35
5/1 @ Macon W 58-23
5/8 @ Columbus W 62-33
5/14 @ Birmingham L 55-34
Date Opponent Time CST Streak Series
5/22 @ Tennessee Valley 7:30 L1 0-2
5/29 Memphis 6:30 3-2
6/4 @ Macon 6:30 4-3
6/12 Columbus 6:30 5-0
6/19 @ Cape Fear 6:30 2-2
6/26 Macon 6:30 4-3
7/10 Birmingham 6:30 1-3
7/17 Laredo 6:30 0-0
7/26 @ Columbus 6:30 5-0
7/31 Tennessee Valley 6:30 0-2

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (4-1)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/3 Bakersfield W 60-35
4/17 @Quad City L 47-29
4/23 @ Laredo W 68-43
5/1 Memphis W 43-33
5/8 @ Arkansas W 53-36
5/15 Bossier City W 52-14
Date Opponent Time CST Streak Series
5/22 Florida 7:30 W4 2-0
5/29 @ Birmingham 7:30 8-0
6/5 Arkansas 7:30 6-0
6/12 @ Macon 6:30 2-2
6/19 Birmingham 7:30 8-0
6/26 @ Memphis 7:00 6-0
7/10 Quad City 7:30 2-6
7/17 Macon 7:30 2-2
7/24 @ Bossier City 7:00 4-1
7/31 @ Florida 6:30 2-0


HEAD COACHES: Vipers coach Kevin Guy (32-6 regular season) is in his third season at the helm. He led the Vipers to a 14-2 record last season and a 1-1 showing in the playoffs. Guy was named af2 Coach of the Year and he placed OL/DL Wes Stephens – the af2 Lineman of the Year - on the American Conference first team all-af2 squad. Five others were named to the American's second squad. Ben Bennett (13-9 regular season) is in his second season with Florida.

LAST SERIES MEETING: The Vipers won 41-36 over the Firecats at the Von Braun Center on July 12 of last season. Quarterback Matt Sauk threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns and Ronney Daniels caught 7 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS
Player Rank Category Stat
Henry Freeman T-2 Interceptions 4
Bryan Snyder 10th Pass Rating 106.3
Ronney Daniels 3rd Scoring (Pts.) 102
3rd Scoring (TDs) 17
Alex Walls 7th Scoring (Kick) 37
8th PAT Kicking 73.7
Jerrian James 4th KO ret. Avg. 25.2
FLORIDA FIRECATS
Player Rank Category Stat
Cainon Lamb 10th Scoring (TD) 13
9 Receptions 45
10th KO Ret. Avg. 22.5
Ken Mastrole 10 Pass rating 110.2
10th Total Offense 238.0
Quincy Sorrell 5th Tackles 33.0

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Vipers and Firecats are stacking up against the rest of the league.
Statistical VIPERS FIRECATS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 9 50.8 14 47.7
Scoring Defense 2 34.7 8 41.8
Total Offense 12 263.2 7 273.2
Total Defense 4 204.5 2 204.5
Pass Offense 10 246.5 15 233.8
Pass Defense 3 191.8 1 178.7
Rushing Offense 14 16.7 2 39.3
Rushing Defense 6 13.7 22 25.8
Scoring (Non-Kick) 9 268 10 256
Scoring (Kicking) 7 37 21 30
Pass Rating 13 105.0 7 110.2
Pass Def. Rating 3 87.4 10 101.0
Kickoff Returns 24 16.3 9 20.3
MFG Returns 8 21.8 22 11.0
Turnover Margin 2 +9 24 -6
Field Goals 7 37.5 23 20.0
PAT Kicking 13 73.7 8 79.4
Sacks By 8 10 18 6
Sacks Against 8 4 1 2
First Downs 13 90 3 105
Opp. First Downs 7 76 9 79
Penalties 23 76.2 25 88.3
Opp. Penalties 2 42.0 10 56.5
Red Zone Off. 1 87.1 10 76.2
Red Zone Def. 1 54.8 10 71.4

TENNESSEE VALLEY INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status



MILESTONES: Guy's 32 overall wins makes him the Vipers' winningest coach, ahead of Bret Munsey who notched 15 during the 2001 season.


FORWARD MOTION: The Vipers play at Birmingham on May 29. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES (most recent first):
Date Action Player

4/22 Assigned OL/DL Jermaine Hoyt
4/19 Traded to Cape Fear OS Rodney Brown
4/19 Traded to Peoria OL/DL Desmon Baker
3/30 Traded to Cape Fear Chris Wallace, QB
3/26 Reassigned Kareem Bland WR/DB
3/26 Reassigned Curtis Daniely OL/DL
3/26 Reassigned Sheldon Durham FB/LB
3/26 Reassigned Juwan Jackson, OL/DL
3/26 Reassigned T.J. Stallings WR/DB
3/20 Reassigned Michael Sims, WR/ DB
3/20 Traded to Macon James Dickerson, WR/DB


Last Time Out: The Tennessee Valley Vipers continued to thrive at the Von Braun Center and took control of arenafootball2's Mid-South Division. The Vipers won their team-record 11th straight home game in easy fashion as they dominated the Bossier City Battle Wings 52-14 before a crowd of 4,609 fans last Saturday at the VBC. Former Decatur High and Samford standout Josh Kellett threw for171 yards and five touchdowns in his first home start and offensive specialist Ronney Daniels had a pair of touchdown receptions as Tennessee Valley improved to 5-1 on the year.

The Vipers dominated Bossier City (2-5) from the start. Kellett's 10-yard pass to Jerrian James and Alex Walls' extra point put the Vipers ahead 7-0 with just more than three minutes elapsed in the opener, and then Marquis Floyd followed up Daniels' 46-yard missed field goal return with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:53 left in the first quarter. At the end of the first period, the Vipers were cruising with a 14-0 lead.

Bossier City's early struggles continued in the second quarter. Defensive Player of the Game Travis McAlpine intercepted a pass inside the Viper 20 and raced 24 yards to the Bossier City 10. The Vipers scored four plays later on a 1-yard run by Kellett. Walls' kick gave Tennessee Valley a 21-0 lead with 11:03 left in the half. After yet another Battle Wings fumble less than a minute an a half later, Kellett completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andy Fuller. The point-after kick failed, but the Vipers led 27-0.

The two teams then traded a pair of touchdowns, and Bossier City finally put points on the board. Battle Wings quarterback Sherard Poteete snuck in from one yard out to cut the Vipers lead to 27-7. The Vipers needed only four plays to score again, as the drive was capped by a Kellett-to-Daniels 21-yard pass for a 34-7 Viper lead. After a 39-yard pass by Poteete to Bo Smith for Bossier City the Vipers led 34-14. But the Vipers would need only 28 seconds to score the final points of the first half. Walls kicked a 44-yard field goal, and the Vipers led 37-14 at the intermission. The second half was mostly uneventful, compared to the first. Bossier City didn't score again, and the Vipers managed only two touchdowns - both of those in the third quarter. Michael Caraway snagged an 18-yard touchdown pass from Kellett, and Daniels pulled in a 15-yard score from Kellett. With 45 seconds left in the third quarter, the Vipers led 52-14.


1 2 3 4 F
Bos.City 0 14 0 0 14
TEN 14 23 15 0 52


1 TEN Jerrian James 10 pass from Josh Kellett (Alex Walls kick)
1 TEN Marquis Floyd 2 run (Walls kick)
2 TEN Kellett 1 run (Walls kick)
2 TEN Andy Fuller 34 pass from Kellett (kick failed)
2 BOS Sherard Poteete 2 run (Jason Ball kick)
2 TEN Ronney Daniels 21 pass from Kellett (Walls kick)
2 BOS Bo Smith 39 pass from Poteete (Ball kick)
2 TEN Walls 44-yard field goal
3 TEN Michael Caraway 18 pass from Kellett (Walls kick)
3 TEN Daniels 15 pass from Kellett (James run)

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:
James, Caraway impressive in return: OS Jerrian James and WR/DB Michael Caraway came back in a big way against Bossier City after the pair missed back-to-back games due to af2 suspension.
James caught five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Caraway had three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. James also led the team defensively with 3.5 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Fuller feeling fine behind the line: Tennessee Valley's Andy Fuller made his first career start at fullback/linebacker during last Saturday win over Bossier City. The former Auburn star had a 34-yard reception for a touchdown and also rushed four times for 15 yards.

Guy on the Florida game: "I think this game will be the biggest for us up to this point in the season because it is an (American Conference) game and we're trying to position ourselves for the playoffs with a tough game outside our division.
"The teams match up well and I think it's going to be a physical, low-scoring game. Last year, both games were ugly games with plenty of turnovers on both sides. Hopefully this year we'll put out a better product, but history shows that this will be a defensive battle."

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 get off to their best start at 7-0 with a 57-54 home win over Cape Fear.

May 31, 2003: Vipers win their club-record eighth straight game with a 61-55 victory at Columbus.

July 12, 2003: Vipers post first-ever undefeated home mark at 8-0 and also improve to a franchise best 14-0.

April 3, 2004: Vipers win team-record ninth straight home game with season-opening 60-35 win over Bakersfield.


GAME MVP AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Bakersfield Bryan Snyder
4 @ Laredo Jerrian James
5 Memphis Michael Caraway
7 Boss. City Ronney Daniels
GAME IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Bakersfield Jerrian James
4 @ Laredo Ronney Daniels
5 Memphis Ronney Daniels
7 Boss. City Jerrian James
GAME DEFENSIVE AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Bakersfield Henry Freeman
4 @ Laredo Andy Fuller
5 Memphis Corl Bucknor
7 Boss. City Travis McAlpine


2004 STATISTICAL TEAM HIGHS
First Downs 22 @ Arkansas 5/8/04
Total Offense 332 @ Laredo 4/23/04
Rushing Attempts 15 vs Boss. City 5/15/04
Rushing Yards 39 vs Boss. City 5/15/04
Rushing Touchdowns 2 vs. Bakersfield 4/3/04; vs. Memphis 5/1/04; @ Arkansas 5/8/04; vs. Boss. City 5/15/04
Passing Yards 316 @ Laredo 4/23/04
Passing Touchdowns 8 @ Laredo 4/23/04
Touchdowns Scored 10 @ Laredo 4/23/04


2004 STATISTICAL INDIVIDUAL HIGHS
Rushing Attempts 5, David Morrill vs. Boss. City, 5/15/04
Rushing Yards 15, David Morrill, Andy Fullervs. Boss. City, 5/15/04
Rushing Touchdowns 1, Jerrian James, Bryan Snyder vs. Bakersfield 4/03/04; Dave Morrill @ Laredo, 4/23/04; Josh Kellett and Marquis Floyd, 5/8/04 at Arkansas; Morrill, Andy Fuller vs. Boss. City, 5/15/04
Passing Attempts 36, Bryan Snydervs. Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Passing Completions 21, Bryan Snydervs Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Passing Yards 284, Bryan Snydervs. Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Passing Touchdowns 7, Bryan Snydervs. Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Receptions 13, Jerrian James@ Laredo, 4/23/04
Receiving Yards 189, Ronney Daniels@ Arkansas 5/8/04
Receiving TDs 5, Ronney Daniels @ Arkansas 5/8/04
Tackles 9.5, Henry Freemanvs. Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Interceptions 2, Henry Freeman vs. Bakersfield, 4/03/04
Sacks 2, Andy Fuller @ Laredo 4/23/04; Joe Minucci @ Quad City, 4/17/04.


THE VIPERS WHEN:
Score First 5-0 Lead after 1st 4-1
Opponent Scores First 0-1 Trail after 1st 0-0
Overtime 0-0 Tied after 1st 1-0
More Total Offense 4-0 Lead after 2nd 4-0
Less Total Offense 1-1 Trail after 2nd 0-1
Out Passing Opponent 4-0 Tied after 2nd 1-0
Opponent Out Passes 1-1 Lead after 3rd 5-0
Out Rushing Opponent 5-0 Trail after 3rd 0-1
Opponent Out Rushes 0-1 Tied after 3rd 0-0

THE VIPERS WHEN
Points Score Allow
0-9 0-0 0-0
10-19 0-0 1-0
20-29 0-1 0-0
30-39 0-0 3-0
40-49 1-0 1-1
50-59 2-0 0-0
60-69 2-0 0-0
70-79 0-0 0-0
80+ 0-0 0-0

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