AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

The Deuce Scoop

Published on May 22, 2002 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


WEEK 8 BY THE NUMBERS:
1,608 ... Total points scored in Week 8 (most all-time)
373 ... Passing yards by Mohegan's CABLE DAVIS vs. Rochester (af2 season high, seventh-highest all-time)
288 ... Combined return total of Quad City's IRA GOOCH vs. Wichita (new af2 record)
242 ... Amount by which Richmond has outscored opponents in 2002
110 ... Points scored by league leader BRANDON BURNSIDE through seven games (10 shy of af2's lowest team total)
5 ... Interceptions by Peoria's WALTER CHURCH against Bakersfield (ties af2 record)

AND THE AWARDS GO TO: This week's af2 award winners are: Mohegan's OS BRANDON BURNSIDE (Offensive Player of the Week), Richmond's KEVIN HARVEY (Ironman of the Week), Tennessee Valley's KELLY SNELL (ADT Defensive Player of the Week) and Fresno's AHMAD BHATTI (Built Ford Tough Man of the Week).

FORMER AFL RECORD-HOLDER ASSIGNED TO WICHITA: Seven-year Arena Football League veteran QB RON LOPEZ signed a contract Wednesday to play with the Wichita Stealth, bolstering the 1-6 team's hopes as they compete for a playoff spot in the Midwest Division. Lopez spent the past two seasons with the AFL's old Oklahoma Wranglers, passing for 5,833 yards and 99 touchdowns, including two playoff games. Last year, Lopez tied the then-AFL record for most touchdown passes in a game, tossing 10 in a 78-52 win against Houston. The Utah State University product played with five teams prior to his stint in Oklahoma, including his first two seasons as the backup to KURT WARNER with the Iowa Barnstormers (1995-96). By joining Wichita, Lopez reunites with Stealth director of football operations BOB CORTESE, who was his offensive coordinator at Portland in 1999 and his head coach with the Wranglers.

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNTITY, PART I: Columbus Wardogs OL/DL NICK ANDERSON signed a contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League this week. The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder out of Northern Michigan has been one of the Wardogs' top lineman this year, recording six solo tackles, including two for loss, one sack and one pass breakup. The 23-year-old was in his second season in af2 after playing last season with the Iowa Barnstormers.

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNITY, PART II: In Week 5 of Arena Football League action, the New York vs. New Jersey matchup was highlighted by several outstanding performances from former af2 players; New Jersey's JAY McDONAGH (Quad City ' 01) led the Gladiators to a 76-69 OT victory over the Dragons, passing for 279 yards and six touchdowns. DENNISON ROBINSON (Quad City '01) garnered Ironman honors for New Jersey after catching seven passes for 64 yards, including two TDs, also returning an interception 47 yards for a score. For the Dragons, SHON KING (Quad City '01) hauled in touchdown grabs of one, four and six yards in the losing effort. On the defensive end, DONVETIS FRANKLIN (Carolina '01) recorded seven tackles to lead both teams in that category. In Chicago, BILLY DICKEN (Quad City '00) led the Rush to a 70-62 win over Georgia, passing for 336 yards and seven touchdowns. On one touchdown strike, Dicken hooked up with former af2 standout LINDSEY FLEISHMAN (Roanoke '01) for a 36-yard reception. SHANE STAFFORD (Tallahassee '00) could not prevent Tampa Bay from falling to 1-4 despite passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the Storm's 38-24 loss to Los Angeles. JOJO POLK (Tulsa '00) produced another fine defensive game, recording seven tackles in Grand Rapids' 64-45 victory over Carolina. JAMAAL GARMAN (Macon '01) scored Carolina's first points of the game with an 11-yard TD catch.

THREE'S COMPANY: For the first time this season, all the undefeated teams entering a weekend survived the weekend unscathed, although Richmond (now 7-0) had to come from 20 points down to edge Greensboro 66-57. Tennessee Valley (6-0) beat Birmingham 45-20 and Augusta (6-0) won 56-32 at Carolina. Augusta and Richmond go on the road in Week 8 to Carolina (2-3) and Greensboro (2-4), respectively. In Week 9, Augusta hosts 3-3 Charleston and Tennessee Valley travels to 2-4 Pensacola. Richmond is open for the second time in three weeks.

TWO BAD: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers rushed for 59 yards and four touchdowns, getting by the New Haven Ninjas 47-43 and earning their first win in team history Saturday night. With the Pioneers in the win column, there are only two teams still winless on the season. In Week 9, Mobile (0-7) hosts Tallahassee on Friday and Louisville (0-6) plays at Peoria on Saturday.

FRESHMAN FOLLIES: The 2002 expansion class went 4-6 in Week 8, with Albany (against Roanoke) and Cape Fear (against Norfolk) earning wins against "veteran teams." Week 8's other expansion victors won at other first-year clubs - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won its first-ever game at the expense of New Haven and Fresno defeated San Diego. Besides New Haven and San Diego, the other expansion losers were Bakersfield (vs. Peoria), Hawaii (at Tulsa), Mobile (vs. Bossier City) and Mohegan (vs. Rochester). Albany leads the expansion class with a 5-1 record, followed by Bakersfield and Cape Fear with 4-2 records. The rest of the first-year teams are below .500: San Diego (3-4), New Haven (2-4), Fresno (2-5), Mohegan (2-5), Hawaii (1-6), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (1-6), Mobile (0-7). The expansion teams' 24-42 combined record includes a 11-28 mark against "veteran" clubs.

HOME SWEET HOME?: The first few weeks of the season had folks wondering, "What homefield advantage?" Home teams went a combined 12-19 over the first three weekends, including a 4-10 mark in Week 3. But the home teams have taken care of business more often than not since that lost weekend, going 51-29 in Weeks 4-8. With the turnaround, the home teams are 63-48 overall (still a not-so-stellar 57 percent). Oddly enough, hosts are just 1-4 in overtime games this season:

DATE ... OVERTIME GAME ... WINNER/SCORE
4/6/02 ... Bakersfield at San Diego ... Bakersfield 49-43
4/12/02 ... Memphis at Peoria ... Memphis 49-48
4/21/02 ... Roanoke at Greensboro ... Roanoke 59-56
5/4/02 ... Mohegan at Norfolk ... Norfolk 58-51
5/18/02 ... Peoria at Bakersfield ... Peoria 60-54

ROAD SWEET ROAD: Tennessee Valley (6-0) hits the road to 2-4 Pensacola Saturday looking to win its 12th straight road game (dating back to last year), a new league record for consecutive road wins the Vipers set at Memphis in Week 7. From the irresistible force/immovable object file, Tennessee Valley visits Quad City in Week 11. The Steamwheelers never have lost at home, winning 25 games in a row. Here's a look at Tennessee Valley's record-setting road run:

DATE ... OPPONENT ... SCORE
4/12/01 ... at Baton Rouge Blaze ... 47-27
4/28/01 ... at Birmingham Steeldogs ... 51-42
5/11/01 ... at Pensacola Barracudas ... 68-49
5/25/01 ... at Peoria Pirates ... 56-16
6/9/01 ... at Greensboro Prowlers ... 50-30
6/16/01 ... at Bossier City Battle Wings ... 74-44
6/30/01 ... at Memphis Xplorers ... 49-48
7/21/01 ... at Arkansas Twisters ... 56-55
4/6/02 ... at Arkansas Twisters ... 37-28
4/27/02 ... at Macon Knights ... 50-47
5/11/02 ... at Memphis Xplorers ... 57-46

HIGH SCORIN': The season scoring average continued to climb in Week 8, as the 34 teams in action combined for an all-time league-high 1,608 points. The past three weeks all have topped 90 points on the average (92.7 in Week 6, 92.0 in Week 7 and 94.6 in Week 8). The season scoring average stands at 87.1 points per game.

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 are 61-16 (79 percent) when they score 50 or more points in a game, including a 10-5 mark in Week 7. When teams score less than 50, they are 51-94 (35 percent) . 7-12 in Week 8. Here's a win-loss breakdown of the league by points scored:

2002 ... W-L ... Pct. ... All-time ... W-L ... Pct.
0-19 ... 1-15 ... .063 ... 0-19 ... 2-48 ... .040
20-29 ... 4-27 ... .129 ... 20-29 ... 10-112 ... .082
30-39 ... 15-26 ... .366 ... 30-39 ... 57-115 ... .331
40-49 ... 31-26 ... .544 ... 40-49 ... 123-115 ... .517
50-59 ... 25-13 ... .658 ... 50-59 ... 114-48 ... .704
60-69 ... 22-3 ... .880 ... 60-69 ... 98-15 ... .867
70-79 ... 9-0 ... 1.000 ... 70-79 ... 46-1 ... .979
80+ ... 5-0 ... 1.000 ... 80+ ... 19-0 ... 1.000

NOTE: The lone loss by an af2 team scoring more than 70 points came on June 2, 2000, when the Birmingham Steeldogs defeated the Tallahassee Thunder 86-74 in Birmingham. That contest remains the highest-scoring game in league history (160 combined points).

WHAT'S THE POINT?: Only one point separated Norfolk and Carolina last weekend, even though they did not face one another. Both teams scored 32 points, while Carolina allowed 56 and Norfolk 57. If that has any indication of this weekend's matchup between the two teams, be prepared for a nail-biter.

TALONS DIGGING IN: Over the last four games, the Tulsa offense has begun to click, scoring at least 70 points in each contest as the Talons improved to 6-1 and opened up a two-game lead in the Central Division. Two weeks ago against Arkansas, MITCH ALLNER, the Week 7 af2 Offensive Player of the Week, set team records with six TD receptions and seven touchdowns overall. New team marks also were set for most points (85), most TDs (13), largest victory margin (43), passing yards (384), turnovers forced (six) and interceptions (five). The Talons kept the surge going with a 73-48 win over Hawaii in Week 8. Tulsa hopes this week's bye doesn't stop the momentum. Here's a look at the Talons' turnaround:

Tulsa Offense 2002 ... First 3 Gms ... Last 4 Gms
Record ... 2-1 ... 4-0
Points Scored ... 123 ... 276
Passing Yards ... 546 ... 1,118
Total Offense Yards ... 589 ... 1,220
Kickoff Return Yards ... 84 ... 545
Kickoff Return TDs ... 1 ... 4
Turnovers Made ... 9 ... 2
Interceptions ... 4 ... 10
TDs After Forcing Turnovers ... 5 ... 13

QUITE THE CONQUEST: The Albany Conquest has scored 207 points this season, the lowest total for a first-place team. In fact, every team behind Albany in the Northeast Division has scored more points than the Conquest, including the 1-6 Pioneers, who have 242. So how can a team that is 29th in scoring be 5-1 and in first place? Well, one reason is Albany's defense, which has held opponents under 30 points per game (third-best in af2). The other is timing. Of the Conquest's 207 total points, 72 have come in the fourth quarter. Albany has outscored its foes by a combined 31 points in the final quarter.

GLUSKI JUST WINS: CHRIS GLUSKI did it again. Gluski, who was 11-3 as a starter in Macon (3-0 this season), passed for 239 yards and four scores, leading the Wildcats past Norfolk 57-32. The league's answer to the NFL's Mr. Perfecto, TRENT DILFER, Gluski now is a perfect 5-0 as a starter this season and has helped Cape Fear to a two-game winning streak.

VENA ANSWERS THE CALL: Last week, Albany Head Coach RON SELESKY announced that RYAN VENA was his starting QB. Vena responded with his best effort of the season last week against the Roanoke Steam, completing 24-of-35 passes for a season-high 283 yards and three touchdowns. Albany won 37-32 and improved to 5-1 on the season. In five games this season (three starts), Vena has completed 74-of-132 passes for 849 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also ranks 10th in the league with 110 rushing yards.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: Norfolk QB CHRIS WALLACE returns to Carolina to face the team he played for in af2's inaugural season. In 2000, Wallace set Rhinos' records for passing yards in a season with 2,469 and touchdown passes in a season with 52. Both records still stand.

IN THE ZONE: Seven players have caught at least one touchdown pass in each of their games this season. In order of total TDs, they are: Mohegan's BRANDON BURNSIDE (17), Quad City's CHRIS ANTHONY (13), Augusta's CHRIS JOHNSON (12), Bakersfield's STEVE WOFFORD (12), Florida's KENNY CAUSEY (nine), Louisville's ANTHONY PAYTON (nine) and Bossier City's KEVIN STEVENSON (nine). Burnside and Wofford are the only players out of the "steady seven" to rank in the league's top 10 in receptions and receiving yards.

SNELL'S PACE: Tennessee Valley DS KELLY SNELL owns a new af2 record by recording an interception in all six Viper games. The Week 8 ADT Defensive Player of the Week currently leads the league with eight pickoffs. Snell and fellow DS KENNY BAILEY have combined for 58 tackles, 13 interceptions and 15 pass breakups this year. The Vipers are on pace to record 40 interceptions this season with 15 through six games. The Tennessee Valley record is 29, set in 2000. The league record is 36 set by the Quad City Steamwheelers in 2001.

THE NEW SACK KING: Cape Fear's E.J. BURT registered two more sacks in last weekend's win over Norfolk. For the season, the league's leading sacker has 10.5, including five against Norfolk. With the two sacks this past weekend, Burt became the first af2 player to hit double digits in sacks this season. Averaging 1.75 sacks a game this season, Burt is on a pace to shatter the af2 record for most sacks in a season. ERNEST CERTAIN (2001 Defensive Player of the Year) set the af2 record, totaling 20.0 sacks with Tallahassee last season. BRYAN HENDERSON (Wichita) and ERIC JOHNSON (Peoria) are right on Burt's heels with 9.0 and 8.5 sacks, respectively, and also are on pace to surpass Certain's standard. Below is a look at the pace of this year's leaders compared to Certain's 2001 totals:

Sack totals ... Certain (2001) ... Burt (2002) ... Henderson (2002) ... Johnson (2002)
6th game ... 1.0 ... 2.0 ... 1.0 ... 1.0
Through 6 games ... 9.0 ... 10.5 ... 9.0 ... 8.5
7th game ... 0.0 ... at Roanoke 5/25 ... vs. Quad City 5/25 ... vs. Louisville 5/25
Season ... 20.0 (af2 record) ... 28.0 (projected) ... 20.8 (projected) ... 22.7 (projected)

ROLLING THUNDER: The Tallahassee Thunder has won three straight games and pulled in front of Charleston and Florida for the lead in the American Conference Southern Division. The Thunder's win streak can be attributed to limiting mistakes and improved play from the defense. In the last three games, the defense has recorded at least three sacks, including four by TYRONNE JOHNSON against Columbus on May 11. Over the last four games, the Thunder "D" has held opponents under 150 yards of total offense. Tallahassee has intercepted four balls in the last two games and the team has not had a fumble in three contests.

SEEKING A STREAK: Columbus looks to post the first two-game winning streak in team history with a victory over division rival Macon this weekend. However, the Knights hold a 2-0 series advantage over the Wardogs and have a 5-2 record this season, with their only losses to Augusta and Tennessee Valley (both 6-0). Columbus earned the first road win in team history last week at Louisville.

FOUR FROM PERFECTION: Macon has jumped out to a 5-2 mark this season, but is just four points shy of being 7-0. Two weeks ago, the Knights lost to Augusta 48-47 and in Week 5 lost to Tennessee Valley 50-47. Five of Macon's games this season have been decided by six or fewer points. Macon has led at halftime in each of its five victories, but has been down at intermission in its two losses.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START.: In Quad City's six games this year, the opponent has scored first four times. Louisville took a 7-0 lead, Fresno a 6-0 lead, Peoria a 6-0 lead and Wichita a 9-0 lead. Quad City is 3-1 when the opponent scores first (81-56 loss to Peoria). The Wheelers are 2-0 in games in which they scored first (Bossier City and Hawaii).

QUARTERLY REPORT: When Quad City trailed Wichita 9-0 late in the first quarter, it looked like a long Steamwheelers' scoring string would be broken. Quad City had not been shut out in 112 straight regular-season quarters (28 games). A nine-yard TONY ZIMMERMAN-to-CHRIS ANTHONY touchdown strike with 1:57 remaining in the period kept the string alive (116 straight quarters, 29 games). The last team to hold the Steamwheelers scoreless in a quarter during the regular season was the Arkansas Twisters (third and fourth quarters in a 47-20 loss at Quad City, 6/17/00). The Carolina Rhinos held the Wheelers scoreless in the fourth quarter of their quarterfinal game last year, a 35-16 Quad City victory (8/15/01).

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE WEDGES: The Bossier City Battle Wings have been getting better as the game goes on this season, outscoring their opponents 172-88 in the second half this season. Bossier has doubled the other team 93-42 in the fourth quarter, setting up a potentially interesting finish this weekend when Memphis comes to town. During the Xplorers' two-game losing streak, they have been outscored 66-17 in the first half. Last week, Arkansas posted 26 unanswered points before Memphis finally drew blood. The Xplorers outscored their past two opponents 58-44 in the two second halves combined, but were too far behind in both games to pull off comebacks.

INJURY HARD TO 'COPE' WITH: Memphis likely will be without top receiver RUSSELL COPELAND this weekend. Copeland injured his ankle on the first play of last week's game at Arkansas and is listed as out for Saturday's game.

WHAT GOES AROUND .: You can figure the 5-2 Peoria Pirates have a little better outlook on overtime thrillers after pulling out a 60-54 OT win at Bakersfield over the weekend. Back in Week 3, Memphis edged Peoria 49-48 in overtime after the teams traded an Xplorers' TD and Pirates' field goal in the last seven seconds to send the game to the extra period. Peoria took a seven-point lead in OT, but a touchdown and two-point conversion gave Memphis the wild win. Fast forward to Week 8 . when the Pirates were on the brink after RYAN SLOTH's "Immaculate Reception II" tied the game on the last play of regulation. But ROBERT NYCZ missed the would-be game-winning extra point, and WALTER CHURCH hooked up with CORNELL CRAIG on a 22-yard TD pass to even the Pirates' overtime record at 1-1.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: In a move that may propel the football career of a young Jacksonville native, 6-foot-5, 260-pound TOMMY BALOM signed with the Jacksonville Tomcats last week. He had been finishing his last semester at Texas Sourthern University. He joined the team on May 8 in time for the Tomcats' evening practice and, two days later, played in the Tomcats' win over the Florida Firecats while the rest of his class accepted their degrees at Texas Southern's spring commencement ceremony. In order to make it to the Tomcats' evening practice for the Firecats' game, Balom finished the spring semester by completing a research paper and taking three final exams early. "Playing for the Jacksonville Tomcats is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope it will lead to open doors. The Jacksonville Tomcats provided me with an opportunity to pursue my career," Balom said. Balom's degree, which he most likely will receive via mail, is in special education. He has volunteered for a Special Olympics event in Houston and volunteers for an on-campus daycare at TSU.

STEAM TO CELEBRATE AMERICA'S HEROES: The Roanoke Steam will pay tribute to heroes from across America and at home in the Roanoke Valley this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Roanoke Civic Center. In conjunction with the Julian Stanley Wise foundation, the Steam will honor EMS and Rescue workers from Somerset, Pa. In addition, the Steam will honor JESSE, a retired police dog who worked at Ground Zero, as well as other individuals who devoted time and resources to the rescue effort stemming from the 9/11 tragedy. There will be a pregame and halftime fireworks show, courtesy of Zambelli Fireworks. The fireworks show, which will have a patriotic theme, will utilize the "cold fireworks" technology as seen at rock concerts and wrestling events. The Steam is offering a special discounted ticket rate to EMS workers and their families. All EMS and Rescue workers showing their badges at the box office will receive the discounted ticket rate of $5. The game features the Steam against division rival Cape Fear in the first of back-to-back games. Roanoke, currently 4-3 on the year, sits a half-game back of Cape Fear (4-2) for second place in the Atlantic Division.

POST POSITION: Admittedly, it's really early, but here's a look at this year 's playoff matchups were the season to end today: American Conference - Cape Fear at Richmond, Rochester at Albany, Macon at Augusta, Charleston at Tallahassee; National Conference - Birmingham at Tennessee Valley, Arkansas at Tulsa, San Diego at Bakersfield, Wichita at Peoria. The first- and second-place teams from each of the eight divisions will make the playoffs, with the first-place team hosting the second-place team in each respective division in the first round. (Quad City is ineligible). In the American Conference second round, Atlantic plays Northeast and Eastern plays Southern. In the National Conference second round, Midwest plays Western and Central plays Southern. (The teams with the better records in each pairing host the second-round games). The second-round winners meet in the two conference championship games. The final two teams will play for the af2 title in ArenaCup 2002 on Aug. 15.

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. Week 9 features one interconference game as 4-2 Tallahassee (American Conference) visits 0-7 Mobile (National Conference). The American Conference swept two cross-conference battles in Week 8. Macon defeated Pensacola 80-65 in the third-highest scoring game (combined points) in af2 history. Columbus squeaked by Louisville 34-31 to win its first-ever road game. Overall this season, the American Conference leads 6-3.

BYE, BYE, BYE: Week 8 was the first of six weeks this season that features all 34 teams in action, with no team on a bye. The other full slates come in Weeks 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17.

WEEK 9 SCHEDULE

Friday, May 24
Mohegan at New Haven ... 7:00 p.m.
Charleston at Augusta ... 7:30 p.m.
Florida at Jacksonville ... 7:30 p.m.
Greensboro at Rochester ... 7:30 p.m.
Tallahassee at Mobile ... 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 25
Cape Fear at Roanoke ... 2:30 p.m.
Macon at Columbus ... 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at Norfolk ... 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Albany ... 7:30 p.m.
Tennessee Valley at Pensacola ... 8:00 p.m.
Louisville at Peoria ... 8:00 p.m.
Memphis at Bossier City ... 8:30 p.m.
Quad City at Wichita ... 8:30 p.m.
Bakersfield at San Diego ... 10:00 p.m.
Hawaii at Fresno ... 10:30 p.m.
Arkansas bye
Birmingham bye
Richmond bye
Tulsa bye

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 22, 2002


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