The Deuce Scoop, Playoff Edition

July 31, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release

POST POSITION: Here's how the first week of the 2002 af2 playoffs breaks down ... Richmond (12-4) at Cape Fear (13-3), Rochester (7-9) at Albany (13-3), Augusta (13-3) at Macon (13-3), Florida (9-7) at Tallahassee (9-7); Arkansas (11-5) at Tulsa (14-2), Birmingham (11-5) at Tennessee Valley (13-3), Wichita (6-10) at Peoria (11-5), San Diego (7-9) at Bakersfield (9-7). The first- and second-place teams from each of af2's eight divisions (determined by overall record) qualified for the playoffs, with the first-place team hosting the second-place team in each respective division in the first round. In the American Conference semifinals, the remaining Atlantic Division representative plays the remaining Northeast Division representative and Eastern plays Southern. In the National Conference semifinals, Midwest plays Western and Central plays Southern. The four conference semifinal winners meet in the two conference championship games for the right to play for the af2 title in ArenaCup 2002 Presented by Built Ford Tough. The host teams in each round will be the teams with the better records/tiebreaker advantage in each pairing.

ARENACUP PLAYOFFS RUNNETH OVER: The 2002 ArenaCup playoffs sport a diverse group of teams. Albany, Cape Fear, Bakersfield and San Diego represent the expansion class, while Arkansas, Augusta, Birmingham, Richmond, Tallahassee, Tennessee Valley and Tulsa are the third-year squads. Five af2 sophomores – Florida, Macon, Peoria, Rochester and Wichita – are in the playoff field.

THIRST FOR FIRST: Two divisions ended in first-place ties: Macon and Augusta (both 13-3) in the American Conference Eastern Division; Tallahassee and Florida (both 9-7) in the American South. Macon earned the division crowns and homefield in the first round by virtue of the point-differential tiebreaker with Augusta (the Stallions won the first meeting 48-47, but lost 60-57 to the Knights in the rematch). Tallahassee swept two games from Florida to gain the tiebreaker advantage over its division rival. There never has been a situation where the top two teams in a division or conference finished the season with the same record in af2. The closest finish was in 2001, with Tallahassee (11-5) edging Macon (10-6) in the old Southeast Division.

af2 Tiebreaking Procedures

Two Clubs
1. Head-to-head (best won-lost percentage in games among clubs).
2. If teams split head-to-head games, the next tiebreaker will be the point differential in those two games.
3. Best won-lost percentage in common games, if applicable
4. Strength of schedule (strength up).
5. Best net (total) touchdowns in all games
6. Coin toss.

Three or More Clubs
· If two clubs remain tied after a third club is eliminated during any step, tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.
· If one team wins multiple-team tiebreaker to advance to playoff round, remaining teams revert to step 1 of the two-club format.
· All teams must have played head-to-head for step 1 to be utilized in a multiple-team tie.
1. Head-to-head (best won-lost percentage in games among clubs).
2. Best won-lost percentage in common games, if applicable.
3. Strength of schedule (strength up).
4. Best net (total) touchdowns in all games.
5. Coin toss.

THE HOST WITH THE MOST: After the dust had settled on Week 18, Tulsa (14-2) had claimed the league's best record. The Talons will host throughout the playoffs, including ArenaCup 2002, as long as they advance.

TOUGH SLATE: By season's end, Memphis played the league's toughest schedule (according to opponents' combined records) as its foes finished 148-108 (.578). Amazingly, Macon won its division and tied for the league's second-best record (13-3) while facing af2's fourth-hardest schedule. The Knights' opponents compiled a 142-114 record this season for a .555 winning percentage. Overall strength of schedule comes into play as the third playoff tiebreaker following head-to-head results and records against common opponents. A look at the five toughest slates to date:

Team ... Team Record ... Opp. Record ... Pct.
Memphis ... 5-11 ... 148-108 ... .578
Pensacola ... 8-8 ... 144-112 ... .563
Mobile ... 0-16 ... 143-113 ... .559
Macon ... 13-3 ... 142-114 ... .555
Charleston ... 7-9 ... 142-114 ... .555

BATTLE TESTED?: The roads traveled by the 16 playoff teams featured varying degrees of difficulty, paced by Macon's strength of schedule. Wichita, Arkansas and Augusta are the other playoff qualifiers whose opponents played better than .500 ball as a group:

Team ... Team Record ... Opp. Record ... Pct.
Macon ... 13-3 ... 142-114 ... .555
Wichita ... 6-10 ... 134-122 ... .523
Arkansas ... 11-5 ... 132-124 ... .516
Augusta ... 13-3 ... 130-126 ... .508
Tennessee Valley ... 13-3 ... 126-130 ... .492
Richmond ... 12-4 ... 124-132 ... .484
Tallahassee ... 9-7 ... 124-132 ... .484
Tulsa ... 14-2 ... 123-133 ... .480
Birmingham ... 11-5 ... 123-133 ... .480
Cape Fear ... 13-3 ... 121-135 ... .473
San Diego ... 7-9 ... 119-137 ... .465
Bakersfield ... 9-7 ... 116-140 ... .453
Peoria ... 11-5 ... 112-144 ... .438
Albany ... 13-3 ... 111-145 ... .434
Rochester ... 7-9 ... 110-146 ... .430
Florida ... 9-7 ... 106-150 ... .414

DIVISIONAL DIVIDENDS: This year's playoffs feature the top two teams from each division based on overall record, but the stats show it also pays to do well against your division rivals. Fifteen of this year's 16 playoff teams either own or share one of the two best records within their respective divisions. The lone exception is in the American South, where third-place Jacksonville (8-8 overall) finished with a 4-2 division record compared to Florida's 2-4 division mark (the Firecats went 9-7).

THREE-PEAT: Tennessee Valley and Tulsa are the only af2 teams to advance to the playoffs in all three years of the league's existence. Tennessee Valley advanced to ArenaCup 2000, where it lost to Quad City. The Vipers then fell to eventual ArenaCup finalist Richmond in an overtime semifinal game last year. Tulsa has been bounced in the first round both seasons, by Tennessee Valley in 2000 and by Carolina in 2001. The other two-time playoff qualifiers, Carolina and Quad City, are not in the 2002 postseason.

DOUBLE TAKE: In addition to Tennessee Valley's and Tulsa's third postseason trips, Birmingham, Macon, Richmond and Tallahassee are making back-to-back appearances in the playoffs. While the Steeldogs, Knights and Thunder were unable to advance past the first round last season, Richmond's run lasted all the way to ArenaCup 2001, where it lost to Quad City.

THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST ... AS WILL THE FIRST: The 2002 playoff field makes a pretty mean sandwich. Listing the league's 34 teams alphabetically, six of the first seven squads (Albany, Arkansas, Augusta, Bakersfield, Birmingham and Cape Fear) qualified as did six of the last seven (Rochester, San Diego, Tallahassee, Tennessee Valley, Tulsa and Wichita).

POINT GIVEN: The Northeast and Western Divisions are all-expansion divisions with the exception of second-year Rochester. Both divisions have an interesting tale to tell in comparisons of the champions and runners-up. In the Northeast, second-place Rochester outscored Albany 687-684, but the first-place Conquest's defense allowed 151 fewer points (567-718). Over in the West, division titleist Bakersfield finished with a slim 736-726 edge on runnerup San Diego in points scored. But the Riptide gave up 728 points compared to the Blitz's 625 allowed.

THE RIGHT TOUCH: Tulsa and Macon, the league's scoring leaders, both eclipsed their touchdown totals from a year ago. The Talons and Knights are in a dead heat with fellow playoff qualifier Birmingham with 243 TDs over the past two seasons. That ranks only behind Quad City for the most TDs in 2001-2002. Below is a breakdown:

Team ... 2001 TDs ... 2002 TDs ... Two-year total
Quad City ... 143 ... 117 ... 260
Macon ... 114 ... 129 ... 243
Tulsa ... 112 ... 131 ... 243
Birmingham ... 124 ... 119 ... 243
Tennessee Valley ... 126 ... 108 ... 234
Richmond ... 112 ... 120 ... 232
Bossier City ... 115 ... 110 ... 225

SOMETHING TO BUILD ON: Of the 24 teams in af2 this season that were in the league last year, 14 of them matched or bettered their win total from a year ago. Seven of those teams earned playoff spots, four for the first time. Leading the way in the group of improved clubs is Arkansas, which has five more wins than last season. Below is a look at the teams who have equaled or surpassed their win totals of 2001:

Team ... 2001 wins ... 2002 wins ... Difference
Arkansas* ... 6 ... 11 ... +5
Augusta* ... 9 ... 13 ... +4
Peoria* ... 7 ... 11 ... +4
Columbus ... 0 ... 4 ... +4
Macon* ... 10 ... 13 ... +3
Pensacola ... 5 ... 8 ... +3
Rochester* ... 4 ... 7 ... +3
Bossier City ... 7 ... 9 ... +2
Florida* ... 7 ... 9 ... +2
Memphis ... 3 ... 5 ... +2
Tulsa* ... 13 ... 14 ... +1
Norfolk ... 7 ... 8 ... +1
Roanoke ... 7 ... 8 ... +1
Charleston ... 7 ... 7 ... E
* Clinched a spot in the postseason

SUCCESSFUL ‘TEN'-DENCIES: For the season, 11 of the 34 teams (32.4 percent) reached or passed the 10-win plateau. In 2000, 26 percent of the league's teams (four of 15) had 10 wins or more. That number increased to 32 percent (nine of 28) last year.

TURNAROUND: Arkansas (11-5), a charter league member in its third year, and second-year clubs Bossier City (9-7), Florida (9-7) and Peoria (11-5) have clinched their first winning seasons in af2. All but Bossier City make their first playoff appearances as a result of their newfound success.

AND THE AWARDS GO TO: This week's af2 award winners are: Albany OS/KR COREY HILL (Offensive Player of the Week), Macon DS DENARIO SMALLS (ADT Defensive Player of the Week), Rochester DS/KR VONKEITH SPENCER (Ironman of the Week) and Quad City WR/LB CHRIS ANTHONY (Built Ford Tough Man of the Week).

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNITY: In the first round of Arena Football League playoff action, SHANE STAFFORD (Tallahassee '00) earned game MVP honors as he guided Tampa Bay to a quarterfinal matchup at San Jose with a 66-41 victory at Los Angeles. The former Thunder signal-caller completed 22-of-28 passes for 298 yards and seven touchdowns as the Strom cruised into the elite eight. Carolina's CARL BOND (Tallahassee '00) helped the Cobras book a spot in the next round with a 72-64 win over defending ArenaBowl champion Grand Rapids. Bond pulled in a pair of passes for 11 yards and made a pair of tackles. Cobras teammate JUSTIN CLEVELAND (Tennessee Valley '01) led Carolina's pass rush with a sack. Five-and-a-half tackles by JOJO POLK (Tulsa '00) were not enough for the Grand Rapids' defense. JARRAIL JACKSON (Tulsa '01) caught four passes for 59 yards to lead Buffalo's offense against Orlando, but the Predators came out on top with a 32-27 win. Two former ArenaCup champions, BILLY DICKEN (Quad City '00) and JAY McDONAGH (Quad City '01), look to add an Arena Bowl title to their resumes, but first need to get past the quarterfinals this weekend. Dicken's Chicago Rush hosts Dallas while McDonagh's New Jersey Gladiators welcome Orlando.

FRESHMAN FOLLIES: Expansion teams went 2-3 against "veteran" clubs in Week 18, highlighted by Cape Fear's 67-28 win over Charleston. New Haven, meanwhile, topped playoff-bound Rochester 54-50. The three expansion setbacks were: Tulsa over Bakersfield, Columbus over Mobile and Quad City over San Diego. Two other games pitted freshman vs. freshman as Northeast Division champion Albany downed Mohegan 57-27 and Hawaii beat Fresno 46-36.

BEGINNER'S LUCK?: Cape Fear established the longest-ever winning streak by an expansion team this season. Fellow expansion member Albany had a seven-game winning streak of its own. The previous af2 record for consecutive wins by an expansion team was five (Macon, 2001). Here's a historical look at win streaks by af2 expansion teams:

Team ... Overall record ... Win streak ... Period
Cape Fear ... 12-2 ... 10 ... 5/10/02 – 7/13/02
Albany ... 10-3 ... 7 ... 5/10/02 – 6/29/02
Iowa ... 9-7 ... 5 ... 6/23/01 – 7/21/01
Macon ... 10-6 ... 5 ... 5/19/01 – 6/16/01
Florida ... 7-9 ... 4 ... 6/23/01 – 7/14/01
Louisville ... 6-10 ... 4 ... 5/19/01 – 6/8/01

HOME SWEET HOME?: A week after the visitors won 11 of the 17 games in Week 17 the home teams went 8-7 in the final week of the regular season. The road winners included Macon, who clinched homefield advantage throughout the American Conference side of the playoff bracket with a 58-48 win at Tennessee Valley. Carolina did Cape Fear a favor with a 63-59 home victory over Richmond, handing the Wildcats the Atlantic Division title. For the season, home teams went 159-113 overall for a .585 winning percentage.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: With a 58-41 victory over San Diego on Saturday, the Quad City Steamwheelers improved their all-time regular season home record to a league-best 22-2. Tulsa, which wrapped up its second-straight perfect home schedule with a 69-44 win over Fresno three weeks ago, boasts af2's longest active streak of regular-season home victories and the second-longest home streak ever with 18 straight regular-season wins at the Tulsa Convention Center. (The Talons did lose to visiting Carolina in last year's playoffs – 69-35 on 7/29/01). Quad City owns the league records of 19 straight regular-season home wins and 25 consecutive overall home victories (including playoffs), streaks that ended earlier this year.

Regular Season At Home ... Record ... Pct. ... Playoffs
Quad City ... 22-2 ... .917 ... 6-0
Tulsa ... 21-3 ... .875 ... 0-1
Norfolk ... 20-4 ... .833 ... 1-0
Augusta ... 20-4 ... .833 ... 1-1
Tennessee Valley ... 19-5 ... .792 ... 2-1
Richmond ... 18-6 ... .750 ... 1-0
Macon ... 12-4 ... .750 ... N/A
Cape Fear ... 6-2 ... .750 ... N/A
Albany ... 6-2 ... .750 ... N/A
Bakersfield ... 5-3 ... .625 ... N/A

FRIENDLY CONFINES: Four teams finished this season with no losses or just one loss at home, paced by Tulsa, which went 8-0 at home for the second straight year. The three one-loss home teams were Augusta (7-1), Norfolk (7-1) and Richmond (7-1). Four teams went unbeaten or once-beaten at home in the league's 2000 inaugural season while five teams did it last year.

LOOK AWAY: Macon and Cape Fear joined special company with road victories this weekend. Both teams ended the season with 7-1 records away from home, joining Albany (7-1 in 2002), Quad City (8-0 in 2000, 7-1 in 2001) and Tennessee Valley (8-0 in 2001, 7-1 in 2002) as the only af2 teams ever to lose no more than one road game in a single season.

CLOSE CALLS: In the final week of regular season action, seven games were decided by 10 or fewer points. Among the most dramatic finishes in Week 18 were Jacksonville's 64-61 win over Tallahassee and Carolina's 63-59 upset of Richmond. Week 13 was the most "heart-stopping" week of the season as 10 games were decided by 10 points or less. Overall this season, 112 of the 272 total games (41 percent) fit that bill.

HIGH SCORIN': The regular season ended with a bang, as the 15 final-week games averaged 102.5 points. Week 18's average was the highest of the season, unseating Week 13's 96.2 clip. Nine games hit the 100-point mark for combined points and three more eclipsed 90. Overall, seven weeks this year boasted an average combined score of more than 90 points per game. The season scoring average was 88.5 combined points per game. Birmingham's 77 points were the high for Week 18. The Jacksonville-Tallahassee game featured the week's highest combined score (125 points – Tomcats 64, Thunder 61).

HALF-CENTURY CLUB: Tulsa, Macon, Arkansas, Richmond, Augusta, Quad City and Tennessee Valley exhibited powerful offenses this season. The magnificent seven all averaged more than 50 points per game, with pacesetter Tulsa scoring 50 or more in a game 12 times this year. The Talons finished the regular season with 913 points for a league-best 57.1 average.

THE BIG ‘5-0': In the high-scoring sport of Arena Football, reaching the 50-point mark typically serves as a good indicator of team success. League-wide this season, teams went 156-39 (80 percent) when they score 50 or more points in a game, including a 14-5 mark in Week 18. When teams score less than 50, they are 116-233 (33 percent) ... 1-10 in Week 18. Here's a win-loss breakdown of the league by points scored:

2002 ... W-L ... Pct. ... All-time ... W-L ... Pct.
0-19 ... 1-24 ... .040 ... 0-19 ... 2-67 ... .029
20-29 ... 7-52 ... .119 ... 20-29 ... 13-137 ... .087
30-39 ... 32-85 ... .274 ... 30-39 ... 74-174 ... .298
40-49 ... 76-69 ... .524 ... 40-49 ... 168-160 ... .512
50-59 ... 75-30 ... .714 ... 50-59 ... 164-68 ... .707
60-69 ... 57-8 ... .877 ... 60-69 ... 133-20 ... .869
70-79 ... 15-1 ... .938 ... 70-79 ... 52-2 ... .963
80+ ... 9-0 ... 1.000 ... 80+ ... 23-0 ... 1.000

ON AN ISLAND: Three weeks ago, the Hawaiian Islanders became just the second team in league history to top the 70-point mark and lose, falling at Arkansas 83-73 in af2's third highest-scoring game ever. Prior to that shootout, the lone loss by an af2 team scoring more than 70 points came on June 2, 2000, when Birmingham defeated Tallahassee 86-74 in Birmingham. That contest was the highest-scoring game in league history (160 combined points) until – guess who?! – Arkansas blew past Tulsa 102-63 in Week 13.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS, PART I: The league record book will have a distinctly different look in the "Returns" section heading into next season. Jacksonville's LAWRENCE PULLEN tied the single-season league record for kickoff return touchdowns with his eighth of the season two weeks ago against Augusta and LINCOLN DUPREE matched the Tomcat with a touchdown return in the fourth quarter last week at Memphis (ADLAI TRONE had eight for Louisville in 2000). Both Dupree and Pullen were one return touchdown short of Louisville's BRIAN McDONALD 10 combined return touchdowns last year (seven KO, three MFG). Florida's JARROD WARE (29.6 yards per kickoff return) led a group of six players that topped JOHNNY LOPER's previous season standard of 24.9 yards-per-kickoff return, established last year. Augusta's UNDRE WILLIAMS equaled an af2 record for combined return touchdowns with three against Jacksonville in Week 11.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS, PART II: LINCOLN DUPREE's kickoff return for a touchdown against Memphis last weekend increased the Pirates' season total to 11, surpassing Birmingham's single-season team record of 10, set last year. Peoria also broke Louisville's record for combined return touchdowns with Dupree's kick being the Pirates 12th of the season. Louisville had 11 return touchdowns (seven KO, four MFG) last season. Greensboro, Jacksonville and Tulsa each finished the season with nine kickoff return touchdowns this season, putting them just shy of the Steeldogs' old mark. Birmingham was one missed field goal return TD away from equaling Louisville's single-season record of four, also established last year.

RIVAL RECEIVERS: With 11 receptions in Rochester's season finale at New Haven, MARTINO THEUS equaled the all-time professional football record for most receptions in a single season (160), set in the Canadian Football League by DERRELL MITCHELL in 1998. However, Albany's COREY HILL stole the spotlight with an af2-record 18 catches against Mohegan, leapfrogging both Theus and Mitchell as professional football's all-time receptions leader with 161. Below are the all-time reception records for various leagues:

Canadian Football League
160, DERRELL MITCHELL, Toronto Argonauts, 1998

arenafootball2
161, COREY HILL, Albany, 2002

Arena Football League
138, EDDIE BROWN, Albany Firebirds, 1999

National Football League
123, HERMAN MOORE, Detroit Lions, 1995

NFL Europe/World League
74, JERMAINE COPELAND, Barcelona Dragons, 2000

All-American Football Conference (1946-49)*
67, MAC SPEEDIE, Cleveland Browns, 1947

American Football League (1960-69)*
101, CHARLIE HENNIGAN, Houston Oilers, 1964

World Football League (1974-75)
89, TIM DELANEY, (Honolulu) The Hawaiians, 1974

USFL (1983-85)
115, RICHARD JOHNSON, Houston Gamblers, 1984

XFL (2001)
67, JERMAINE COPELAND, Los Angeles Xtreme, 2001

* merged with NFL

UP‘HILL' BATTLE: Since Week 12, Albany OS COREY HILL has been on a tear and, with an af2 single-game record 18 receptions last week, unseated MARTINO THEUS' as the af2 receiver king. Hill's performance made him the all-time leader in professional football with 161 receptions in one season. Here's a head-to-head comparison of Hill and Theus since Week 12:

af2 RECEPTIONS RACE ... COREY HILL ... MARTINO THEUS
... Rec. ... Yards ... TDs ... Rec. ... Yards ... TDs
Week 12 ... 12 ... 121 ... 2 ... 11 ... 150 ... 4
Week 13 ... 16 ... 226 ... 5 ... 12 ... 141 ... 2
Week 14 ... 7 ... 84 ... 1 ... 4 ... 44 ... 0
Week 15 ... 7 ... 60 ... 0 ... 6 ... 48 ... 1
Week 16 ... 7 ... 115 ... 2 ... BYE
Week 17 ... 12 ... 118 ... 3 ... 8 ... 75 ... 1
Week 18 ... 18* ... 183 ... 5 ... 11 ... 140 ... 2
Totals since Wk. 12 ... 79 ... 904 ... 18 ... 52 ... 598 ... 10
Totals before Wk. 12 ... 82 ... 917 ... 18 ... 108 ... 1,155 ... 11
Season Total ... 161 ... 1,824 ... 36 ... 160 ... 1,613 ... 21

GOING, GOING, GOOCH: With 279 all-purpose yards in an MVP performance two weeks ago at Hawaii, Quad City OS/KR IRA GOOCH broke BRIAN McDONALD's single-season all-purpose record of 3,271 (for Louisville, 2001). Gooch ended the season 3,472 yards after adding 162 against San Diego in the finale. Earlier this season, Gooch went over 200 all-purpose yards in eight straight games and nine overall, both league records. He reached the 300-yard mark in all-purpose yards three times this year (356 at Peoria, 342 vs. Wichita, 300 at Fresno). He set a new af2 record for combined return yards (288) in that May 18 game against Wichita, with four runbacks of more than 50 yards. Gooch also finished second in the league with 226 points and fifth with 1,489 receiving yards.

RUNNING AWAY WITH IT: With another rushing touchdown against Fresno last week, Hawaii QB DARNELL ARCENEAUX boosted his season total to 26. He broke SHERARD POTEETE's 2001 record of 23 three weeks ago at Arkansas. Poteete rushed for one score last week against Arkansas to give him 24. Arceneaux and Rochester's MATT D'ORAZIO both tied the league record for rushing scores in a game (five) earlier this year... Arceneaux at Bakersfield June 22 and D' Orazio July 6 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

THE NEW SACK KING: With 4.5 sacks against Albany on July 7, Cape Fear's E.J. BURT equaled the af2 mark for most sacks in a single game. Burt's single season record total stands at 27.5. Pensacola's DERRIC COAKLEY originally set the single-game record against Norfolk (4/7/01), then Arkansas' REGGIE COOLEY and Norfolk's SPENCER CONLEY tied it on consecutive weekends last year (Cooley – 5/5/01 at Memphis; Conley – 5/12/01 vs. Greensboro).

WIZARDS OF OSKIE: Tennessee Valley's KELLY SNELL, who set an af2 record with interceptions in six straight games to start the year, grabbed his 15th pick three weeks ago at Birmingham to break the league single-season interception record of 14, set by Richmond's TYRONE LASTER last year. Snell had tied the record at Louisville the previous week. Peoria's LINCOLN DUPREE, who had an af2-record four-interception night at Quad City June 1, has 12 for the season. Quad City's BRENT BROWNER tied Dupree's single-game record last week with four pickoffs against Bakersfield July 6. Augusta's LAVAR RAINEY, who had 11 interceptions this season, matched Snell's consecutive games standard with pickoffs in six straight contests in Weeks 9 through 14.

RICO SUAVE: San Diego WR/LB RICO CURTIS made 2.5 tackles against Quad City to end the season with an af2-record 121.0 stops. With 8.0 tackles against Arkansas two weeks ago, Mr. Always-around-the-ball broke CORNELIUS COE's old mark of 117 with Quad City in 2000. Curtis led or tied for the team lead in tackles in 13 of 15 games. He also was named one of the Riptide's Built Ford Tough Players of the Game in all 16 games this year.

PASSING KINGS: Arkansas' RICKY HEBERT fell just short of the single-season record of 86 touchdown passes, set by Tennessee Valley's MATT SAUK in 2001. The Twisters' signal caller threw five scores against Bossier City last weekend to end the regular season with 85. Hebert threw nine touchdown passes in a game twice this season. Augusta's GLEN GAUNTT finished the season with 82, after challenging Sauk's mark for most of the second half of the season.

SECOND-HALF PASSING KING: While RICKY HEBERT and GLEN GAUNTT came up short on their attempt to challenge the mark for most TD passes in a season, there is another QB who might have made it if he'd played the whole year. Norfolk' s CHRIS WALLACE joined Norfolk in Week 8 (May 18) and threw 50 TD passes in 10 games since then. Compared to our league leaders' totals since Week 8, Wallace is right there with them:

Passing TDs since Week 8
Hebert (ARK) ... 57
Gauntt (AUG) ... 56
Rayborn (MAC) ... 56
Elliott (BAK) ... 51
Wallace (NOR) ... 50

FLYING HIGH: Offense wasn't the Wichita Stealth's strong suit at the start of the season, but guess who finished the year leading the league in passing offense? Wichita, which will play its first-ever playoff game at Peoria on Saturday, averages 254.7 yards per game through the air, throwing for 4,075 yards – the only af2 team over 4K. AFL veteran QB RON LOPEZ keyed the revival; the Stealth went 5-4 and averaged 45.7 points per game since his midseason signing. Lopez, who threw 45 touchdown passes in just nine starts, finished first in af2 with 285.0 passing yards per game and first among currently active players with a pass rating of 117.5. On the other side of the ball, BRYAN HENDERSON keys the defensive effort with a team-record 16.0 sacks, good for second in the league. He tied for third in the league with four forced fumbles.

DOUBLE THREATS: Three of the top five rushers in af2 are quarterbacks. Hawaii's DARNELL ARCENEAUX led the way this season with an af2-record 439. SHERARD POTEETE (405) rushed for a team-record 69 yards against Pensacola to move into the second spot. Rochester QB MATT D'ORAZIO is fourth with 332 yards. The only non-QBs in the top five are Arkansas' DARNELL SMALL (370) and Cape Fear's WILMONT PERRY (295). In contrast to af2's QB-heavy rushing charts, there are no quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 for rushing in the Arena Football League.

ALL ALLNER, ALL THE TIME: Tulsa OS/KR MITCH ALLNER is a big reason why the Talons finished the season with the league's best record at 14-2. He has been the game's Most Valuable Player in eight of the last 13 Talons' victories and generated 200+ all-purpose yards six times this season. Allner finished the season ranked among af2's top 10 players in 12 different categories. Most notably, he led the league in scoring (266 points) and touchdowns (42), was one shy of the lead in TD receptions (35), fourth in kickoff return average (26.5 ypr), third in kickoff return TDs (six) and third in receptions (128).

MR. CONSISTENT: Peoria OS CORNELL CRAIG scored a touchdown in every game this season except for the opener at Wichita. Craig had seven games with two or more touchdowns. He kept his streak alive last week by catching two TD passes in the Pirates' 71-26 win at Memphis last week. Craig had 30 touchdowns overall this season, 28 as a receiver. His 104 catches ranked 10th in af2 and his 1,445 receiving yards ranked 11th.

DYNAMIC DUOS: Macon, Quad City, Richmond and Tallahassee all had the privilege of having two 1,000-yard receivers this year. All four teams secured winning seasons, and three open up postseason action this weekend. The Quad City tandem of CHRIS ANTHONY and IRA GOOCH were the most prolific set of "Batman and Robins," combining for 3,146 yards and 64 touchdowns. Let 's take a closer look:

Player ... Receptions ... Yards ... Touchdowns
Quad City

Chris Anthony ... 125 ... 1613 ... 32
Ira Gooch ... 100 ... 1533 ... 32
Totals ... 225 ... 3146 ... 64
Richmond
Kevin Harvey ... 102 ... 1116 ... 19
Jeff Townsley ... 91 ... 1455 ... 32
Totals ... 193 ... 2571 ... 51
Macon
Jacques Rumph ... 99 ... 1114 ... 26
Martez Wesley ... 92 ... 1029 ... 22
Totals ... 191 ... 2143 ... 48
Tallahassee
Cainon Lamb ... 99 ... 1394 ... 31
James Dickerson ... 78 ... 1077 ... 13
Totals ... 177 ... 2471 ... 44

PORTER'S RUNS HELPING THUNDER TOWARDS DIVISION TITLE: Last week, Tallahassee 's MESIAH PORTER extended his rushing TD streak to 12 games, running for nine yards and one score in Tallahassee's 64-61 loss to Jacksonville. Led by Porter's playmaking, the Thunder clinched the American Conference Southern Division championship and will host Florida in the first round this weekend.

KILLER B's GETTING IT DONE: Having won seven of their last 10 games and finishing with a 7-1 mark at home (tied for first in the American Conference), the 8-8 Norfolk Nighthawks built momentum for a stellar 2003. Part of the resurgence of the Nighthawks in the second half of 2002 can be attributed to the play of the Killer B's duo of WR/LB TRAVIS BURNS and WR/DB DOMINIC BANKS. Here's how they fared in the season finale against Augusta: Burns – three receptions for 65 yards and one TD, 1.5 tackles; Banks – two receptions for 19 yards and one score, three solo tackles.

GOOD WILL HUNTING: Pensacola's WILL PETTIS led the league with 43 passes defended and also was among the league leaders with nine interceptions. But over the last couple of weeks, the former University of Houston star got downright offensive. Last week, Pettis led the Barracudas with 10 receptions for 136 yards and three scores in the 58-44 win against Florida.

GIVE AND TAKE: The four National Conference division champions and two American Conference first-place teams, the Augusta Stallions and Cape Fear Wildcats, also led the league in total turnover margin, led by Bakersfield at +22. Tulsa was +19, Peoria was +18, Cape Fear was +17, Tennessee Valley was +15 and Augusta was +10. The six teams went a combined 73-23. The six worst teams in turnover margin had a combined 18-78 record. Roanoke (8-8) ended its season as af2's most opportunistic team on defense, forcing a league-high 47 turnovers. Tennessee Valley and Tulsa were the league's most careful teams with the football, giving up just 25 turnovers.

FRONTRUNNERS: The Tennessee Valley Vipers fell behind Macon early last week and never could catch the Knights in a 58-48 loss. Despite the setback, the Vipers (13-3) are always dangerous, especially when they jump out on top. Tennessee Valley is 11-0 when leading at halftime and 12-0 taking a lead into the fourth quarter.

TWIST ON THE TWISTERS: Arkansas is undefeated when leading at halftime and after the third quarter (9-0 at half, 9-0 after three). Any kind of lead bodes well for the Twisters – they're 9-1 when on top after the first quarter. Other magic numbers for the Twisters are their 9-1 mark when intercepting a pass, their 3-0 record when they pass for 300 yards or more, their 7-1 record when scoring 50 points or more and their 6-1 mark when holding opponents under 30 points.

FIVE ALIVE: Arkansas' six-game winning streak to end the year gave the Twisters their first winning season and has them in the playoffs. Arkansas averaged 67.3 points in the last six games. On the season, the Twisters scored 54.8 points per contest. The Twisters have scored on 58-of-77 drives (75 percent) during their winning streak. Of those drives, 44 were three plays or less. QB RICKY HEBERT threw 39 of his league-best 85 touchdown passes in the last six games, and his last TD made him Arkansas' all-time single-season leader. He came up one short of tying af2's all-time single-season record (MATT SAUK).

SPREAD LOVE: San Diego was the only team in af2 to have seven different receivers with at least five touchdown catches this season. MARTY GRAHAM, who played in just nine of the Riptide's 16 games due to injury, led the way with 14. MARK BUTLER, JERRY GARRETT and ALTIE PARKER had nine each, RYAN SMITH and AAZAAR ABDUL-RAHIM had seven apiece and RICO CURTIS had six.

ALL ON THE LINE: Four teams ranked in the af2 top 10 in both sacks by and sacks against, paced by Tallahassee, which had a league-leading 46 sacks, and Arkansas, which allowed just nine (first in af2). The other lines that got the job done on both sides of the ball belonged to Richmond and Cape Fear. As you might suspect, all four teams are in the postseason.

Team ... Sacks By Rank ... Total ... Sacks
AgainstRank ... Total
Tallahassee ... 1 ... 46 ... 6 ... 16
Cape Fear ... 2 ... 45 ... T-2 ... 12
Arkansas ... 3 ... 44 ... 1 ... 9
Richmond ... 4 ... 38 ... 4 ... 14

INTERCONFERENCE CLASH: For the first time this season, the ArenaCup is designed to pit the champions of the American Conference and National Conference. In the league's first two years, teams were seeded in the playoffs by record, regardless of conference affiliation. In the final week of the regular season, there were three interconference matchups, highlighted by Macon's trip to Tennessee Valley. The Knights upset the home team 58-48, and Columbus defeated Mobile 54-33 to give the American Conference a 2-1 edge in Week 18. Pensacola restored some pride for the National Conference camp with a 58-44 win over playoff-bound Florida. The American won the season series between the conferences with a 17-10 record against the National.

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WEEK 18 BY THE NUMBERS:

1,265,593 ... Number of fans to come through af2 turnstiles in 2002 regular-season action
102.5 ... Average number of points scored in Week 18's 15 games, the third highest average in af2 history
29 ... Of af2's 34 teams that had at least one league-wide weekly award winner during the regular season
18 ... Number of catches COREY HILL had against Mohegan, setting an af2 single-game record
9 ... Number of touchdown passes JOHN WELSH had in his first start for Jacksonville
6 ... Number of consecutive wins Arkansas had to finish the regular season, the best season-ending streak of 2002
2 ... Divisions in which the top two teams finished with identical records (no such divisions in af2's first two seasons)

arenafootball2 Stories from July 31, 2002

• The Deuce Scoop, Playoff Edition - af2
• Riptide Playoff Game to be shown on UPN 13 San Diego - San Diego Riptide
• Spencer Named League IRONMAN - Rochester Brigade

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