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Tulsa Talons ArenaCup Game Notes

August 18, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


2003 ARENACUP QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (15-3) Vs. Macon Knights (13-6)
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (CDT)
Site: Tulsa Convention Center (7,098)
Officials: Fred Weidower (Referee), Mike Wilmouth (Umpire), Frank Whitmer (Head Linesman), Britt Choate (Line Judge), Craig Hesler (Back Judge).
Radio: KTBZ-AM1430 "The Buzz" (Mark Wedel, PxP).
Series Record: Tulsa leads, 1-0. Only Meeting (6/23/02 at Tulsa): Tulsa won, 48-37. Streaks: Both teams have won five in a row overall. Macon has won its last three road games, two of those being playoff contests. Tulsa has won its last 10 home games, two of those being playoff contests.

COACHES:
Tulsa: Skip Foster (43-10 overall, third season. 40-8 regular season, 3-2 playoffs, 1-0 vs. Macon)
Macon: Kevin Porter (45-26 overall, fourth af2 season. 41-23 regular season, 4-3 playoffs, 1-2 vs. Tulsa. 37-17 overall in three seasons with Macon. 33-15 regular season, 4-2 playoffs, 0-1 vs. Tulsa)

Tulsa Talons Coach Skip Foster is the second winningest coach in af2 history with a 43-10 overall (40-8 in regular season, 3-2 in playoffs). Foster has taken the Talons to the ArenaCup playoffs in all three years as their head coach, including winning the National Conference's Central Division championship the past two years. Foster's regular season winning percentage of 83.3% is the best among active af2 coaches. Foster ranks second in regular season wins (40, trailing 41 by Macon's Kevin Porter), overall wins (43, trailing Porter's 45) and overall winning percentage (81.1%, trailing 97.4% by Quad City's Frank Haege in 2000-01. Coming to Tulsa from Coffeyville (KS) Community College, Foster is the only af2 coach to go unbeaten at home over three consecutive regular seasons (24-0). Macon Knights Coach Kevin Porter is the winningest coach in af2 history with a 45-26 overall record (41-23 After going 8-8 with the 2000 Pensacola Barracudas, Porter is 37-17 overall (33-15 in regular season, 4-2 in playoffs) in three seasons with the Knights, taking them to the ArenaCup playoffs in all three seasons. Porter was a four-year starting defensive back at Auburn University in 1984-87 and was named in 1992 to the Auburn Tigers' Team of the Century. Porter went on to play safety for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs (1988-92) and New York Jets (1992) along with the London Monarchs in what is now NFL Europe. Porter was an assistant coach for the AFL's Orlando Predators during their drive to the 1999 Arena Bowl.

TULSA'S ARENACUP PL.AYOFF HISTORY (3-3 OVERALL):
2000: First-round loss at Tennessee Valley Vipers, 49-28.
2001: First-round home loss to Carolina Rhinos, 69-35.
2002: First-round home win over Arkansas Twisters, 34-32. Lost at home in National Conference Semifinals to the Birmingham Steeldogs, 53-34.
2003: Won at home in National Conference Semifinals over Hawaiian Islanders, 58-38. Won at home in National Conference Championship over Arkansas Twisters, 63-52.

TALONS-KNIGHTS SERIES HISTORY (TALONS LEAD, 1-0):

6/23/01 in Tulsa: Talons 48, Knights 37: The Talons had to score twice in the game's final 55 seconds to win a game that was much closer than the score indicated. The lead changed hands six times. Tulsa trailed by 13 points in the first half and also trailed, 31-27, with 9:04 left in the game. Talons QB Craig Strickland threw three TD passes to Jarrail Jackson, the latter being a four-yard strike with 0:55 left for a 41-31 Talons lead. Macon QB Mike Gluski answered with a four-yard TD pass to Jamaal Garman with 0:15 to play, pulling the Knights within 41-37. Tulsa's Itis Atkinson returned the ensuing onside kickoff for a 10-yard TD with 0:12 remaining to preserve the win. LB Corky Martin made a career-high six total tackles and also set a Talons franchise record with four tackles for loss.

DROPBACK: Tulsa played its best offensive game of the season and earned its first trip to the ArenaCup championship game with a 63-52 home victory over the Arkansas Twisters in the National Conference championship game. The Talons did not score on their opening and closing drives of the game but did score on the nine consecutive drives between those two. Craig Strickland ran for five touchdowns and threw for four others against the Twisters, whose total defense was the second-toughest in af2 rankings. His five rushing TDs set a Talons single game and playoff game record as well as a new af2 single game mark. The 30 points that he scored tied an af2 single game playoff record. Strickland ran eight times for 10 yards with five TDs. He was 14-of-25 passing with no interceptions for 225 yards and four TDs. WR/DB Al Hunt was the Ironman of the Game, catching four passes for 50 yards with one TD and made 2.5 tackles. DS Brandon Daniels was the ADT Defensive Player of the Game with six tackles, five of those unassisted, and broke up a pass.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Talons have the second-best winning record in home games in af2 history. Counting regular season and playoff home games, Tulsa's 31-6 mark trails only Quad City's 35-4 and is just ahead of Tennessee Valley's 30-7 mark. Tulsa's last loss at home came during the 2002 National Conference playoff semifinals, 53-34, on August 10th against the Birmingham Steeldogs.

TALONS MAKING PRO SPORTS HISTORY: The Tulsa Talons have won 26 consecutive regular season home games, tying 1915 New York Giants baseball team for the third-longest regular-season home winning streak in professional sports history. The Talons can tie the NFL record of 27 consecutive regular season home victories set by the 1971-74 Miami Dolphins by winning their 2004 home opener. The longest streaks for consecutive regular season home victories in pro sports history are:

Streak League Team
44 NBA 1995-96 Chicago Bulls
27 NFL 1971-74 Miami Dolphins
26 AF2 2000-03 Tulsa Talons
26 MLB 1915 New York Giants
20 NHL 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers and 1929-30 Boston Bruins
19 AFL 1992-95 Orlando Predators

CLOSE SHAVES: Tulsa is 4-0 this season and 11-0 under Skip Foster in games decided by four points or less.

FINDING A WAY TO WIN: The Talons came from behind to win in nine of their 15 victories this year after they had trailed in or following the second quarter.

Date & Opponent Trailed & When Result
3/28 @ Peoria 14-27, 3Q W, 42-39
4/19 vs. Memphis 16-19, 2Q W, 39-37
5/3 @ Memphis 29-42, 3Q W, 61-57
5/10 vs. San Diego 27-28, 2Q W, 65-38
5/31 vs. Arkansas 16-28, 2Q W, 59-46
7/12 vs. Hawaii 35-47, 4Q W, 48-47
7/19 @ Louisville 0-7, 2Q W, 43-37
8/9 vs. Hawaii 37-38, 4Q W, 58-38
8/16 vs. Arkansas 15-14, 2Q W, 63-52

AND THE AWARDS GO TO...: The Tulsa Talons had a league-leading eight players selected to the 2003 All-af2 National Conference First and Second Teams. The Tennessee Valley Vipers led the American Conference with a total of six First and Second Team honorees.

TALONS ON 2003 ALL-AF2 NAT. CONF. FIRST TEAM
FB/LB Corky Martin
OL/DL Josh McMillan
OL/DL Ramon Richardson

TALONS ON 2003 ALL-AF2 NAT. CONF. SECOND TEAM
QB Craig Strickland
OS Tacoma Fontaine
K Tony Dodson
WR/LB Mitch Allner
WR/DB Al Hunt

COUNTING ON CRAIG: QB Craig Strickland wrote his name in the af2 playoff history books against Arkansas by accounting for a league-record nine touchdowns. After being named to the 2003 All-af2 National Conference Second Team squad a few days earlier, Strickland ran for five touchdowns against the Twisters, which set a Talons single-game and playoff game record as well as breaking the af2 record. The 30 points that he scored against Arkansas also tied the af2 playoff game record held by a number of players. Strickland has won the Most Valuable Player of the Game award nine times this season. Strickland also set a franchise playoff record in the Hawaii win with five TD passes. In Tulsa's two playoff victories this season, Strickland has completed 53.4% of his passes (31-58-0) for 422 yards with nine TDs and has been sacked twice. He has also rushed nine times for 14 yards with six TDs. The Talons are 10-1 this year when Strickland does not throw an interception. That loss came at Wichita in overtime on April 12th. Strickland is one of the premier passers in af2 history, ranking second in career TD passes with 212, one behind Arkansas' Ricky Hebert.

SING ALONG WITH MITCH: Mitch Allner finished 2003 as the af2 career scoring leader (642 points). He also stands second in af2 career TD receptions (91) and third in career receiving yards (3,740). After winning the 2002 af2 Offensive Player of the Year award, he has won Ironman of the Game honors seven times this year. The most recent honor came in the Hawaii win with a franchise playoff record three TD catches. Allner received the second af2 postseason honor of his career last week, being named as one of the wide receiver/linebackers on the 2003 All-af2 National Conference Second Team.

FONTAINE'S FLYING: OS Tacoma Fontaine ranked among the league's top ten players in 11 categories during the 2003 season, despite missing the season opener. Fontaine led af2 in missed field goal yards (339) and was second in both missed field goal return average (22.6, 1 TD) and kickoff return average (26.9, 2 TDs). Fontaine finished sixth in both scoring (202 points) and TD receptions (33). Fontaine earned his first postseason honor last week when he was chosen as the offensive specialist on the 2003 All-af2 National Conference Second Team. He was Tulsa's all-purpose yardage leader in the Arkansas victory with 106 yards on five kickoff returns and caught five passes for 97 yards with one TD.

THE THRILL OF THE HUNT: WR/LB Al Hunt has been a standout in the 2003 ArenaCup playoffs for Tulksa, winning the ADT Defensive Player of the Game against Hawaii and the Ironman of the Game in the Arkansas victory. Hunt led the Talons with 4.5 tackles against Hawaii (four of those stops were unassisted) along with a 17-yard interception return. Against Arkansas, Hunt caught four passes for 50 yards with one TD and made two unassisted tackles. Hunt has won the Ironman of the Game award four times this season and is a member of the 2003 All-af2 National Conference Second Team.

TONY THE TOE: Tony Dodson is the af2's career leader in kick scoring with 310 points in his three-year Talons career. Dodson has kicked five field goals of 50-plus yards this season, including a 51-yarder just before halftime in the season finale at Bossier City. He's also made three of the longest field goals in af2 history: 56 yards vs. Louisville (2001) and at Hawaii (2002) and a 55-yarder versus Wichita on April 12th. Dodson was honored last week with his first af2 postseason award, being named as the kicker on the 2003 All-af2 National Conference Second Team.

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