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Texas Copperheads game notes

July 19, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Texas Copperheads News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Tulsa Talons (9-4)

Vs. Texas Copperheads (2-12)

Date: Saturday, July 21, 2007

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST

Site: Berry Center (8,034)

Referee: Mike Defee

Umpire: Eric Griffin

Head Linesman: Otis Cliatt

Line Judge: Keith Garmond

Back Judge: Joe Machol

Radio: NA

Series Record: First ever meeting

Last Meeting: First ever meeting

Streaks: Tulsa 2 Wins; Texas 8 Losses

Coaches: Talons: Mitch Allner 13-2 (13-2, 1st yr)

Copperheads: Bryan Blake 2-12 (2-12, 1st yr)

THE STAKES:

THE IFs: If Tulsa defeats Texas, it would ...

- Give Tulsa a (1-0) series record with Texas.

- Give Tulsa a (13-2) winning streak for the 2007 season.

- Give Coach Allner a (13-2) regular season record as an af2 head coach.

If Texas defeats Tulsa, it would ...

- Give Texas their 3rd win of the season overall

- Give Texas their first ever win over Tulsa

- Give the Copperheads their third home win this season

- End the Copperheads 8-game losing streak

GAME SCORE UPDATES: Sportsticker - 1-800-367-8935

TULSA TALONS (12-2)

Date Opponent Result Score

3/31 EVERETT W 61-30

4/7 BYE

4/14 AMARILLO W 77-44

4/21 @ Laredo W 68-45

4/28 BIRMINGHAM W 57-33

5/5 @ Oklahoma City W 64-54

5/12 LUBBOCK W 60-42

5/18 @ Amarillo W 53-38

5/26 ARKANSAS L 36-19

6/1 @ Manchester W 75-50

6/9 @ Corpus Christi W 61-48

6/16 GREEN BAY W 43-26

6/23 BYE

6/30 @ Arkansas L 45-39 OT

7/7 @ Lubbock W 49-32

7/16 OKLAHOMA CITY W 70-69

7/21 @ Texas 7:30

7/28 SOUTH GEORGIA 7:00

All Times CT; HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS

TEXAS COPPERHEADS (2-12)

Date Opponent Result Score

4/6 FLORIDA L 13-54

4/14 @ Bos/Shreveport L 0-52

4/21 TULSA CHRISTI W 56-42

4/29 @ Lubbock L 27-65

5/3 @ Alabama L 27-58

5/11 LAREDO W 42-34

5/19 TULSA CHRISTI L 28-39

5/26 @ Tri-Cities L 60-77

6/2 BOS/SHREVEPORT L 21-64

6/9 @ Rio Grande Valley L 7-71

6/16 @ Laredo L 41-66

6/30 LUBBOCK L 44-74

7/7 @ Tulsa Christi L 24-54

7/14 @ Tulsa L 3-47

7/21 TULSA 8:30

7/28 RIO GRANDE 8:30

All Times EST; HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS

TALONS HEAD COACH: TULSA TALONS HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE:

Mitch Allner, 28 year-old from Sioux City, Iowa, kicks off the 2007 season as the Tulsa Talons Head Coach, having been the Tulsa Talons' Offensive Coordinator for the past two seasons.

Prior to coaching in the af2, Allner served five years in the af2 as a top-ranked player. In five years, Allner played one year with Quad City Steamwheelers and Iowa Barnstormers, and then three years with the Tulsa Talons. Allner not only created a well-recognized name for himself, but he also set and broke records in the af2. In the Talons' record book, the name "Allner" is frequently seen. Prior to the 2005 season he held three records in the 2004 season game highs, six career records as a Talon, four records in a single season and two records in a single game. In the 2005 af2 record book, Allner was the All-Time af2 Leading Scorer, All-Time af2 First Team OS in 2002, Offensive Player of the Year in 2002, Week 6 Offensive Player of the Week for the League in 2002 and the National Conference All-af2 Second Team WR/LB in 2003.

As a coach, Allner was the varsity assistant and sophomore head coach for two years at Sioux City North High School. Once in Tulsa, Allner was the varsity receiver's coach at Catoosa High School for one year and the varsity receiver's coach for two years at Jenks High School.

COPPERHEADS HEAD COACH:

Bryan Blake brings a host of experience on the field and the sidelines to the newest af2 franchise. The native Houstonian, who grew up in League City, TX, coached the Copperheads to a 12-4 record and a first-round playoff win in their only season in the National Indoor Football League. Blake began his coaching career in 2003 as a defensive coordinator with the NIFL franchise Beaumont Drillers. A year later, he took the reins of the entire team and lead the Drillers to an 8-6 record, good for second place in the Pacific South Division. In 2005, his coaching career landed him with the NIFL expansion team Lubbock Gunslingers. After one season with the Gunslingers, Blake added the word "owner" to his portfolio as he founded the NIFL Katy Copperheads. He then paired with Doug MacGregor to help establish the franchise in a more competitive league. Coaching, though, wasn't his only viewpoint of the football field. Blake played with the Texas Bullets of the Professional Indoor Football League before playing another four years in the NIFL. Blake played his collegiate days on an athletic scholarship at Kilgore Junior College before transferring to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, where he finished his college football career as one of the top NCAA Division II linebackers in the state. He graduated from Tarleton in 1997. He played football at Clear Creek High School where he was an all-district linebacker. Bryan lives in Katy with his wife Catherine, daughter Hannah, 4, and son Boston, 2.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match up who rank among af2's statistical leaders:

COPPERHEADS

Player Rank Category Stat

Fuller, Jarrod 4 All Purpose Yds 2292

Norton, Patrick 5 Rush Attempts 60

Eckert, Tony T-5 Interceptions 13

Gatto, Nick 2 Field Goals 14

Gatto, Nick 3 Field Goal Atts 42

Gatto, Nick 8 PAT Kick % 83.7

Gatto, Nick 8 Field Goal % 34.2

Gatto, Nick 2 Field Goals Made 14

Fuller, Jarrod 1 Kick Ret Yds 1397

Fuller, Jarrod 5 MFG Ret TDs 1

Fuller, Jarrod 1 Kick Returns 77

George, Anthony 9 Fumbles Forced 4

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match-up who rank among af2's statistical leaders.

Player Rank Category Stat

Copperheads

N. Gatto 3 Field Goals 14-44

N. Gatto 9 Field Goal % 31.8

N. Gatto 8 PAT Kicking % 83.7

B. Jenkins 9 Fumbles Forced 4

Player Rank Category Stat

TALONS

J. Hope 7 Interceptions 8

J. Hughley 7 All Purpose 161.4

L. Phillips 3 Scoring Kick 114

L. Phillips 5 Field Goals 11-20

L. Phillips 4 Field Goal % 55.0

L. Phillips 7 PAT Kicking % 85.3

D. Reid 37 Tackles 58.0

D. Reid 4 Passes Defended 33

J. Hope 8 Passes Defended 27

TULSA TALONS TEAM INJURY REPORT:

Pos. Name Injury Status

76 Sam Mayes

TEXAS COPPERHEADS TEAM INJURY REPORT:

Pos. Name Injury Status

OLDBWR Matthew BeelerRonald JonesMiguel Toulon IRIRIR

TULSA DROPBACK:

TULSA, OK- In-state rivals, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and the Tulsa Talons, met for the tenth time Monday night since 2004, in front of a loud crowd of 5,923. The Talons came out on top, but the Yard Dawgz did not go down without a fight.

Oklahoma City took the opening kick-off and scored a few plays later with a 20-Yd TD pass from QB Stan Hill to Jarrail Jackson. On the ensuing possession the Talons scored with a 4 Yd TD run from Odie Armstrong, but missed the PAT, making the score 7-6. OKC's Jackson caught his second TD pass of the night but the Talons answered with a TD pass of their own from QB Justin Allgood to Jeff Hughley. With the PAT, Talons Kicker Luke Phillips broke a franchise record, 115 points by a kicker, in one season. Both teams scored again to close the quarter with OKC leading 21-20.

Former Talon Alan Krutulis had a TD run to begin the second quarter. Allgood connected with Hughley once again, but missed on the two-point conversion leaving OKC up by one, 27-26. Krutulis scored again for the Dawgz, but the Talons quickly responded with a 2 Yd TD pass and a two-point conversion tying the score at 34. Both teams scored once again before the half, but the Talons went up by one with a two-point conversion.

Allgood began the second half with a 2 Yd TD run putting the Talons up 49-41. After a 52 Yd Kick-off return and a turn over on downs, OKC scored on a 20 Yd pass from Hill to Tacoma Fontaine, putting the Yard Dawgz back on top 55-49. The Talons closed the quarter with an Allgood TD pass to former Yard Dawg Danny Howard, giving the Talons the lead 56-55 going into the fourth quarter.

It looked like OKC had it in the bag when they scored the first 14 points of the last quarter putting the score at 69-56. Even though the Talons lost their leading receiver, U.S. Army Ironman Jeff Hughley to an injury, the Talons came back in miraculous fashion, scoring 14 unanswered points sparked by a Jermaine Hope interception. Tulsa prevailed 70-69 making the series record 6-4 (Talons).

FORWARD MOTION:

The Talons will be hosting the South Georgia Wildcats Saturday, July 28th.

The Copperheads will be hosting the Rio Grande Valley Dorados Saturday, July 28th.

af2 WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

Week Offensive Defensive Ironman

1 Chris Wallace(Florida) Quentin Burrell(Tenn. Valley) Jermaine Petty(Quad City)

2 D. Bryant(S, Georgia) Kendrick Walker(Bossier-Shreve) Wes Borba(Central Valley)

3 Stan Hill(OKC) Elex Reed(Bossier-Shreve) Chris McKinney(Florida)

4 Ryan Vena(Wilkes-Barre) Jamie Hattley(Tri-Cities) Emmet White(Boise)

5 Danny Howard(OKC) Chris Royal(Wilkes-Barre) Larry Kendrick(Wilkes-Barre)

6 Barkari Brown(Albany) Farouk Adelekan(Tenn. Valley) Jarrod Fuller(Texas)

7 Clay Groefsema(Central Valley) William Ferguson(Wilkes-Barre) Kenyatte Morgan(Stockton)

8 Josh Richey(Everett) Aaron Miller(Central Valley) Jack Walker(Quad City)

9 Brian Baker(Tri-Cities Johnny Jackson(Everett) Robert Garth(Tri-Cities)

10 ANTWONE SAVAGE(Spokane) AARON CHAVERS(OKC) JACK WALKER(Quad City)

11 Chavis McCollister(S. Georgia) Curtis Jeter(Rio Grande) Danny Donaldson(Green Bay)

12 Ryan Vena(Wilkes-Barre) Pierre Thomas(Arkansas) Herman Bell(Alabama)

13 Ryan Vena(Wilkes-Barre) Nygel Rogers(Spokane) Kevin Williams(Arkansas)

14 Antwone Savage(Spokane) Stanley Smith(Texas) Jack Walker, Jr.(Quad City)

15 Josh Richey(Everett) Shannon Davis(Tri-Cities) Al Hunt(OKC)

16 Chris Johnson(Mahoning Valley) Travis Pugh (Manchester)&Rusty Midlam(Louisville) Nathan Munson(Bakersfield)

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how Texas and Tulsa stack up:

Statistical Tulsa Texas

Category Rank Stat Rank Stat

Scoring Offense 5 55.8 Avg. 30 28.1 Avg.

Total Offense 23 238.5 30 152.6

Scoring Defense 5 523 Pts. 29 797 Pts.

Total Defense 4 227.8 17 262.7

Rushing Offense 22 15.3 29 6.9

Rushing Defense 26 106 23 114

Pass Def. Efficiency 1 67.4 18 106.2

Pass Offense 20 2901 Yds 30 2040 Yds

Pass Defense 2 229-486 15 272-470

Field Goals 8 11-20 17 14-45

PAT Kicking 7 81-95 8 41-49

FG Returns 12 6-115 7 6-127

Kickoff Returns 15 73 21 95

Turnover Margin 6 +12 30 -23

First Downs 22 234 29 180

Opp. First Downs 1 198 9 245

Sacks 25 16 14 21

Penalties 18 104 23 116

Sacks Against 8 12 30 63

Opponent Penalties 16 133 4 128

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Director of Media Relations J. Ronald Oswalt, "Bryan Blake is now putting together the pieces to make this team a playoff contender in 2008 believe it or not. The team will see major shakeups in staff and personnel in the off season. The team has had their share of hardships during the inaugural season. Each week is a learning experience for the Copperheads; this team will continue to battle, learn and regroup for a more successful 2008 season."

MILESTONES: The Talons have won 9 games in 2007, with a home record of 5-1 and a road record of 4-3.

DROPBACK: The Talons are now gearing for the playoffs after Monday night's 60-59 win over their arch rival Oklahoma City.

FORWARD MOTION: The Copperheads will play their final home game of the season, and close out the season versus the Rio Grande Dorados next week at the Berry Center.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: The Copperheads set a af2 record last week with 10 total yards versus the Tulsa Wildcats.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Watch for WR/DB Jarrod Fuller to make an impact for the Copperheads.

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