Sports stats



Tulsa Talons Game Notes

July 21, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (12-3) At Bossier City Battle Wings (3-12)
Date: Friday, July 25, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (CDT)
Site: CenturyTel Center (12,500)
Officials: Ken Antee (Referee), Scott Brown (Umpire), Curtis Graham (Head Linesman), Brit Choate (Line Judge), Pat Davenport (Back Judge).
Radio: KTBZ-AM1430 "The Buzz" (Mark Wedel, PxP).
Series Record: Tulsa leads, 3-1
Last Meeting (5/17/03 at Tulsa): Tulsa won, 49-28. Streaks: Tulsa has won its last two games overall and its last two meetings with Bossier City. The Talons have also won their last two regular season games in all three years of playing in af2. The Battle Wings have lost a franchise-record seven in a row overall.
Coaches: Tulsa: Skip Foster (39-8, third season) Bossier City: Garrett Hagin (0-7, first season)

THE STAKES: A Tulsa win coupled with Quad City losing at Peoria gives the Talons a chance for home field advantage during the National Conference portion of the ArenaCup Playoffs.

THE SERIES: Tulsa leads 3-1. (See "Series Summary")

HEAD COACHES: Tulsa Talons Coach Skip Foster is 40-10 overall and 39-8 in regular season games in his third season. Foster's regular season winning percentage of 82.9% is the best among active af2 coaches. Coming to Tulsa from Coffeyville (KS) Community College, Foster has led the Talons to the ArenaCup Playoffs in three straight years, going 13-3 in 2001 and winning the National Conference Central Division title last year going 14-2, Foster is the only af2 coach to go unbeaten at home over three consecutive regular seasons (24-0).

Bossier City Battle Wings Coach Garrett Hagin is 0-7 since being promoted from his assistant coaching position before the May 30th game at Memphis. Hagin has been in coaching for 19 years, working as an assistant coach at Mississippi College and Central Florida University and was head coach at Middle Georgia College.

DROPBACK: Tulsa defeated the Louisville Fire for the third time in as many meetings with a 43-37 road win. The Talons' defense had one of its best games of the year, scoring its fifth safety in the third quarter and holding the Fire without a passing touchdown until the fourth quarter. Craig Strickland threw four touchdown passes and scored on a 24-yard scramble and won Most Valuable Player of the Game honors for the seventh time this year. Tacoma Fontaine scored twice in the fourth quarter, catching a 12-yard TD pass and breaking free for a 55-yard kickoff return. Mitch Allner earned his fifth Ironman award with a 23-yard TD catch and assisting on three tackles. Larry Hollinquest was Tulsa's top defensive player with five total tackles, four of those unassisted.

FORWARD MOTION: The Talons have a first-round bye in the 2003 ArenaCup Playoffs. They will host an opponent to be determined on Saturday, August 9th.

TALONS-BATTLE WINGS SERIES (TALONS LEAD, 3-1):

May 17, 2003 in Tulsa: Talons 49, Battle Wings 28: Tulsa outscored Bossier City 28-7 in the second half, made five QB sacks and stopped the Battle Wings on downs four times. Craig Strickland threw five TD passes and ran for two other scores. June 15, 2002 in Tulsa: Talons 56, Battle Wings 41: Tulsa wins a franchise-record eighth straight game as its defense created four turnovers. Mitch Allner had 228 all-purpose yards and four TDs, including the second 57-yard TD kickoff return of his career. April 13, 2002 in Bossier City: Battle Wings 27, Talons 14: Tulsa is held to its lowest point total in team history, thanks to Bossier City's defense forcing four turnovers and making three QB sacks. April 20, 2001 in Bossier City: Talons 51, Battle Wings 39: Jarrail Jackson caught three of Craig Strickland's four TD passes and scored on a four-yard run.

FOSTER'S A WINNER: Besides having the best regular season winning percentage among active af2 coaches (82.9%), Skip Foster is one of the most successful coaches in af2 history. He's second in regular season wins (39, trailing 40 by Macon's Kevin Porter), overall wins (40, trailing 41 by Porter and tied with Birmingham's Bobby Humphrey) and overall winning percentage (80.0%, trailing 97.4% by Quad City's Frank Haege in 2000-01, based on at least two af2 seasons).

COUNT ON CRAIG: Tulsa's Craig Strickland and Ricky Hebert of the Arkansas Twisters are the only af2 quarterbacks with at least 200 TD passes and 10,000 passing yards in a career. Strickland has won the af2 Offensive Player of the Week award twice this year and a league-record five times in his career. He ranks among the top five af2 QBs in six categories this year. Most notably, he's third in pass completions (277), fourth in TD passes (77) and fifth in passing yards per game (232.7). Strickland needs four TD passes to break the Talons single-season record of 80 that he set in 2001. He completed a career-high 77.4% of his passes (24-31-0) in Tulsa's 5/17 home win over Bossier City.

ALLNER'S ALL RIGHT: Besides being the af2 career scoring leader (630 points) and winning the 2002 af2 Offensive Player of the Year award, Mitch Allner has won Ironman of the Game honors six times this year. Allner won that honor last week at Louisville by catching a 23-yard TD pass and assisting on three tackles. He's Tulsa's co-leader in interceptions (3) second leading receiver (64 catches, 905 yards, 22 TDs), second leading scorer (24 TDs, 152 points), averages 23.8 yards per kickoff return (10th in af2) and scored a defensive safety.

FABULOUS FONTAINE: OS Tacoma Fontaine is a candidate for 2003 af2 Offensive Player of the Year, ranking among the league's top ten players in seven categories. Most notably, Fontaine leads af2 in kickoff return average (26.9 yds, 2 TDs) and missed field goal return average (23.6, 1 TD). He's sixth in the af2 in scoring (190 points) and tied for sixth in TD receptions (31). Fontaine has already set four single-season team records and could wind up owning a dozen different game, season and career records after the Bossier City contest.

IN THE HUNT: WR/LB Al Hunt has won the Ironman of the Game honor three times. Hunt shares the team lead in both interceptions (3) and tackles for loss (2.5), and is third on the Talons in receiving (60 catches, 596 yards, 14 TDs), all-purpose yardage (637) and tackles (39 total, 32 unassisted). At Louisville, Hunt had three tackles and caught a 15-yard TD pass with 41 seconds left that proved to be Tulsa's margin of victory.

DANDY DODSON: Tony Dodson owns the af2 career kick scoring record with 268 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 vs. Louisville (2001) and at Hawaii (2002) and a 55-yarder versus Wichita on April 12th. This year, Dodson is third in the league in PATs made (76), eighth in PAT accuracy (80.9% and tied for ninth in kick scoring (91 points).



Arena Football League Stories from July 21, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Tulsa Talons Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central