Tulsa Talons Game Notes

Published on July 7, 2003 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (10-3) Vs. Hawaii Islanders (9-4)
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (CDT)
Site: Tulsa Convention Center (7,098)
Officials: Joe Pester (Referee), Major Williams (Umpire), Chad Bowers (Head Linesman), Richard Brown (Line Judge), Scott Gasaway (Back Judge).
Radio: KTBZ-AM1430 "The Buzz" (Mark Wedel, PxP).
Series Record: Tulsa leads, 2-0
Last Meeting (5/18/02 at Honolulu): Tulsa won, 73-48.
Streaks: Tulsa has won 25 consecutive regular season home games and both meetings with Hawaii.
Coaches: Tulsa: Skip Foster (37-8, third season) Hawaii: Cal Lee (9-4, first season)

THE STAKES: A Tulsa win or an Arkansas loss clinches the Talons' second straight National Conference Central Division championship and extends Tulsa's af2 record for most consecutive regular season home victories to 26.

THE SERIES: Tulsa leads 2-0. (See "Series Summary")

HEAD COACHES: Tulsa Talons Coach Skip Foster is 38-10 overall and 37-8 in regular season games in his third season. Foster's regular season winning percentage of 82.2% is the best among active af2 coaches. Coming to Tulsa from Coffeyville (KS) Community College, Foster has led the Talons to the ArenaCup Playoffs the past two seasons, going 13-3 in 2001 and winning the National Conference Central Division title last year going 14-2. By winning this game, Foster would become the first af2 coach to go unbeaten at home in three consecutive regular seasons. Quad City's Frank Haege went unbeaten at home in 2000-01.

Hawaiian Islanders Coach Cal Lee is 9-4 in his first af2 season. Lee is the winningest coach in Hawaiian high school history, posting a 241-32-5 record in 21 years at Honolulu's St. Louis High School. The Crusaders won 14 Oahu Prep Bowl titles, had a 55-game winning streak in 1985-90 and he was The Sporting News' 1995 National High School Coach of the Year. Lee was named in June as linebacker coach for the University of Hawaii Rainbows, who will visit Tulsa on October 4th to play the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

DROPBACK: Tulsa lost two weeks ago at Arkansas, 45-29, and had a bye last week. The Twisters scored four unanswered touchdowns during one stretch and their defense, the second-toughest in af2, stopped the Talons on eight of 12 drives. Mitch Allner became the af2's all-time scoring leader with 610 points, catching a 35-yard TD pass from Craig Strickland with 0:43 left in the game. Aleric Clark ran for two TDs and Tacoma Fontaine had a game-high 194 all-purpose yards.

FORWARD MOTION: The Talons hit the road for their final two regular season games, visiting the Louisville Fire on Saturday, July 19th and the Bossier City Battle Wings on Friday, July 25th.

TALONS-ISLANDERS SERIES HISTORY (TALONS LEAD, 2-0):

May 18, 2002 in Tulsa: Talons 73, Islanders 48: Keonta Golson caught a career-high four TD passes and Mitch Allner was the game's MVP with 207 all-purpose yards. Larry Hollinquest was the ADT Defensive Player of the Game and had a 45-yard TD interception return.

May 4, 2002 in Honolulu: Talons 70, Islanders 42: Mitch Allner was the af2 Offensive Player of the Week, catching three TD passes, TD kickoff returns of 56 and 57 yards and finished with 281 all-purpose yards. Tony Dodson kicked a 63-yard FG that would later be revised to 56 yards due to Hawaii's 54-yard field.

GIANT KILLERS? By defeating Hawaii, the Tulsa Talons would tie the 1915 New York Giants baseball team for the third-longest regular-season home winning streak in professional sports history. Other home win streaks:

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

FOSTER'S A WINNER: The next regular season victory will be the 38th of Skip Foster's af2 coaching career. The only af2 coaches with as many or more regular season wins than Foster (37-8) are Kevin Porter of Macon (39-22), Richmond's Richard Davis (37-20) and Birmingham's Bobby Humphrey (37-24).

COUNTING ON CRAIG: Craig Strickland is on the verge of joining Arkansas Twisters QB Ricky Hebert as the only af2 QBs with 200 TD passes and 10,000 passing yards in a career. Strickland needs three TD passes and 54 passing yards to join that elite club. This year, Strickland ranks among the top 10 af2 QBs in eight categories. Most notably, he's tied for the lead in TD passes (68), is second in completions (247), fourth in total offense average (246.5 ypg) and fifth in passing yards per game (242.6).

SING ALONG WITH MITCH: Mitch Allner became the af2 career scoring leader two weeks ago against Arkansas, catching a 35-yard TD pass from Craig Strickland with 43 seconds left in the game. Allner's 610 career points broke the af2 record of 606 set by Wayne Thomas (2000-02 Birmingham Steeldogs). After winning the 2002 af2 Offensive Player of the Year award, Allner is a 2003 Ironman of the Year candidate as Tulsa's co-leader in interceptions (3) second leading receiver (55 catches, 793 yards, 19 TDs), second leading scorer (21 TDs, 132 points), averages 25.0 yards per kickoff return (fifth in af2) and scored a defensive safety.

GETTING TAC-KY: OS Tacoma Fontaine already ranks fifth in career scoring (172 points) and career TDs (28) in just 12 games as a Talon. Fontaine is a candidate for 2003 af2 Offensive Player of the Year, ranking among the league's top ten players in eight categories. Most notably, he's the af2 leader in missed field goal return average (23.0), tied for third in receiving TDs (26), fifth in all-purpose yards per game (176.2), and tied for fifth in total points (172) and total TDs (28). Fontaine has been sensational at home with 19 of his 26 TD receptions in seven games at the Convention Center.

TONY THE TOE: Tony Dodson owns the af2 career kick scoring record with 262 points in his three-year Talons career. Dodson has kicked four field goals of 50-plus yards this season. He's also made three of the longest field goals in af2 history: 56 yards at Hawaii (2002), 56 yards vs. Louisville (2001) and a 55-yarder versus Wichita on April 12th. This year, Dodson is third in the league in PATs made (69)., seventh in PAT accuracy (81.2%) and tied for eighth in kick scoring (84 points).

McMILLAN IS MR. RELIABLE: Center/Nose Tackle Josh McMillan has played in more games than any player in the Talons' four-year history. This game marks McMillan's 61st appearance in Tulsa's 65 regular season and playoff games. As the center on the offensive line, McMillan plays a key role in the pass protection that has made the Talons one of the af2's best passing teams each of the last three years. The 2003 Talons are seventh in passing yardage (239.7 ypg) and tied for seventh in fewest sacks allowed, just 20 in 13 games.

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