af2 arenafootball2

The deuce scoop

Published on April 28, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


MOVING ON UP: Former Norfolk Nighthawks head coach Rick Frazier has been named interim head coach of the AFL's Grand Rapids Rampage. Frazier, who went 8-8 with the Nighthawks last season, was serving as the Rampage's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator this season. With Frazier at the helm of the Rampage, the AFL currently has seven head coaches among its 19 teams that once served as a head coach in af2. Below is a look:

COACH CURRENT AFL TEAM af2 TEAM
Skip Foster* Austin Wranglers Tulsa Talons 2001-03
Ron Selesky Carolina Cobras Albany Conquest 2002, Louisville 2001
Earl Bruce Columbus Destroyers Iowa 2001
Tom Luginbill Detroit Fury Tennessee Valley 2000
Rick Frazier Grand Rapids Norfolk 2003
Frank Haege** Las Vegas Gladiators Quad City 2000-2001
Mike Neu New Orleans VooDoo Augusta 2000
*denotes ArenaCup Champion

SPARROW LANDS IN RECORD BOOK: Wichita Stealth quarterback Aaron Sparrow completed 29-of-44 passes for 382 yards and eight touchdowns in the Stealth's 68-53 win over Green Bay Saturday night, setting a team record and 2004 league high for passing yards. His 29 completions was the second most by any quarterback this season and his 382 passing yards ranked eighth all-time. When asked about the game, Stealth head coach Sean Ponder replied, "Aaron turned in one of the best performances I have ever seen by a quarterback." Below is a look at the top ten passing yardage performances in af2 history:

YARDS PLAYER/GAME
459 Shane Stafford, Tallahassee at Birmingham, June 2, 2000
421 Shane Stafford, Tallahassee vs. Tulsa, July 28, 2000
417 Josh Kellett, Birmingham at Tennessee Valley, June 28, 2003
401 Matt Sauk, Tennessee Valley vs. Birmingham, July 7, 2001
389 Jason Visconti, Rochester at W-B/Scranton, June 20, 2003
387 Ricky Hebert, Arkansas vs. Tulsa, June 22, 2002
383 Jay McDonagh, Quad City vs. Iowa, June 16, 2001
382 Aaron Sparrow, Wichita vs. Green Bay, April 24, 2004
379 Zach Siegrist, Wichita vs. Bossier City, May 26, 2001
375 Jon Nielsen, Arkansas at Birmingham, June 9, 2000

HOW'S THAT FOR A TURN-AROUND: The Wichita Stealth (4-0), Louisville Fire (3-0) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (3-0) are the only unbeaten teams in af2. Through Week 4 of the 2003 season, these teams were a combined 6-6. The Pioneers started last season 0-3 and went 0-6 in their inaugural 2002 season. The Stealth have never started a season 4-0, and the Fire's previous best start to a season was 2-2 last year.

LET HISTORY BE OUR GUIDE: Over the past two seasons combined, 15 teams have been undefeated through the fourth week of the respective season and 11 of those teams (73.3%) went on to make the playoffs. Through Week 3 of the 2003 season, five teams had perfect records with four qualifying for the postseason. During the 2002 season, 10 teams were undefeated through Week 4 and seven of those clubs went to the playoffs.

HOME SWEET HOME: Last week home teams went 8-4 to bring the season total up to 28-14 for a .667 win percentage. Last season home teams went 130-85-1 for a .604 win percentage. Overall in the history of af2 home teams have gone 501-330-1 for a .603 win percentage during the regular season. Below is a season-by-season chart:

SEASON HOME W-L-T HOME WIN %
2000 77-43-0 .642
2001 136-88-0 .607
2002 158-114-0 .581
2003 130-85-1 .604
2004 28-14-0 .667

HOW'S THAT FOR OPENERS: Last weekend the Laredo Law played their first-ever game at home, drawing 6,766 in attendance. With that game, each af2 team has now played at least one home game. Overall af2 teams reported a total of 141,474 fans to their home openers for an average home-opening crowd of 5,659 fans. By comparison, last season teams reported a total attendance of 133,863 to their home openers resulting in a 4,957 average, meaning 2004 home openers drew, on average, 14.1 percent better than a year ago.

M-WALL CAN BALL: Tulsa quarterback Michael Walls broke a Tulsa Talons record for touchdown passes in a single game by throwing nine against the Pirates on Friday night. Wall is the first af2 QB to toss nine touchdowns in a game since Chad Elliott did it for the Bakersfield Blitz last July 27. All-time, Wall is the 17th player to accomplish the feat. The all-time record for touchdown passes in a single game is 11 by Jon Nielsen on June 3, 2000 as a member of the Arkansas Twisters.

TAKE TWO: Birmingham's Detronn Harris returned five kickoffs for 139 yards including two 50-yarders for touchdowns to help the Steeldogs blow past the Columbus Wardogs 77-45 on Friday night. He also caught six passes for 65 yards and two more touchdowns. For the Steeldogs, it was the most points scored since they beat the Louisville Fire 77-34 on July 27, 2002.

FANTASTIC FINISHES: The Bakersfield Blitz were denied victory by less than a yard on Saturday night, a 45-40 loss in Hawaii. FB/LB Ben McCombs attempted to plunge in from the one-yard line as time expired but was thwarted by the Islanders defensive line. The victory for the Islanders gave them sole possession of first place in the Western Division. In Hidalgo, Texas the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were hoping to send the game against the Dorados into overtime by kicking a field goal as time expired, but Rio Grande Valley's Karleton Thomas had other ideas and blocked the kick to preserve the 44-41 Dorados win. Up in Albany, New York the Conquest thought they had the game wrapped up when Jamie Ware rushed in for go ahead touchdown with 13 seconds left, but the game was far from over. Louisville QB Matt Sauk led a two-play, 30-yard drive that took only 10 seconds and ended with Sauk hitting James Scott for a nine-yard game-winning score with three seconds left.

RIVALS MEET DOWN SOUTH: Macon vs. Florida has turned into one of the hottest rivalries around. Similar to the Georgia - Florida game in Jacksonville, Fla. every fall, these teams, and their fans, just don't get along. In 2002, the Firecats knocked the Knights out of the playoffs en route to becoming the American Conference champion and appearing in the ArenaCup. In 2003, the Knights returned the favor. The Knights defeated the Firecats in the first round of the playoffs en route to becoming the American Conference champions and a trip to the ArenaCup. The teams have met four times in the regular season with the Knights winning both meetings in 2001 and the Firecats winning both meetings in 2003. The Firecats were the only team to beat the Knights on their home turf last season.

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