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The Coyotes and Lightning Battle for California Supremacy

April 17, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


Fresno, CA-Everything about this Saturday's upcoming match up between The Central Valley Coyotes and the Stockton Lightning looks familiar. The coaches are familiar, as are the players, as is the scenery.

Just a two hour drive separates Stockton from Fresno, where the Coyotes make their home. Over the past two seasons, both teams have driven those two hours to do battle in one another's back yard. The only difference in 2008: The stakes are just a little bit higher.

With the departure of the Bakersfield Blitz, Stockton and Central Valley are the only af2 teams left in California. Thus the fire underneath this Golden State rivalry got turned up a notch or two.

"Since Bakersfield is gone, we are really looking forward to Stockton becoming our biggest rival," said Coyotes Head Coach Fred Biletnikoff Jr.

That might even be an understatement. Biletnikoff Jr. and Lightning Head Coach Doug Murray have been friends for more than 15 years, going back to their days on the Chabot College staff from 1993-98. Murray coached the Gladiators defensive while Biletnikoff tended to the offense.

Biletnikoff moved on to work on Tony Caviglia's staff at Fresno City College, while Murray moved on to UC Davis. However the two coaches reconvened on the Coyotes staff in 2004, with Murray again handling the defense and Biletnikoff the offense.

Now the two friends find themselves squaring off against one another in a battle for California bragging rights. Saturday's game pits a 1-1 Coyotes squad versus a 1-2 Stockton club. The Coyotes are coming off of their first Bye of the season and the Lightning are fresh off of a heartbreaking loss to the Boise Burn in their home opener. Stockton took a 30-7 lead in to halftime before get outscored 44-13 in the second half, as the Burn got the win 51-43.

Central Valley is 5-1 versus Stockton all-time and has bested the Lightning in their last two meetings. However both teams feature a different look than they showcased last season. Stockton added veteran QB Chad Elliott, who is second all time in passing yards for an af2 signal caller. The Lightning also have a new receiving corps which is beginning to turn some heads. Second year WR Hannibal Thomas already has four touchdowns and has quickly built a strong relationship with Elliot. Thyron Lewis and DonVa Louder also pose a significant threat to opposing defenses.

The Coyotes have seemingly found their new cog in the Biletnikoff run offensive juggernaut. Former Cal-Berkeley QB Joe Ayoob has Central Valley averaging 57.5 points a game, and is transitioning well to the indoor game in his rookie season.

Tulare native and rookie WR Nichiren Flowers had a breakout performance for the Coyotes in his first af2 game. Versus the Amarillo Dusters, Flowers hauled 11 catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Adding Flowers to a receiving corps that already features two 1,000 wide outs in Tonae Martin and Jason Barnes, makes the Coyotes offense dangerous every time it hits the field.

The Coyotes are 5-1 coming off of a Bye Week under the direction of Biletnikoff and the motivation for Central Valley to come out firing is extremely high. Do not be surprised if the scoreboard lights up in Stockton this Saturday night. If Coyotes fans are interested in going to Stockton to the first installment of the 2008 Golden State rivalry, please call Dave Piecuch at (209) 373-1507.

The Coyotes 2008 home opener will be held at Selland Arena on Saturday April 26th and kickoff will be at 7:00pm. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2008 Central Valley Coyotes schedule magnet presented by EYE-Q Vision Center and tickets are still available.

For ticket information or any other questions, please contact the Coyotes front office at (559) 263-9780 or at www.cvcoyotes.com.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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