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Tulsa Talons game notes

April 21, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Tulsa Talons News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (1-1)
at San Diego Riptide (1-1)
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2005
Kickoff: 9:00 p.m. CT
Site: San Diego Sports Arena (12,920)
National Anthem: N/A
Coin Toss: N/A
Officials: Mike Weseloh (Referee)
Ali Shetula (Umpire)
Clay Reynard (Head Linesman)
Danny Short (Line Judge)
Todd Prukop (Back Judge)
Radio: TUL: KRMG – 740 AM
TV: TUL: KWHB - TV47
Series Record: Tulsa leads all-time series (3-0)
Last Meeting: TUL 65, SAN 48; at San Diegp (05/24/03)
Streaks: Tulsa Talons WON 1, San Diego Riptide Lost 1
Coaches:
TUL: David Alexander (1-1; 0-0 playoffs, First Season)
SDG: Sean Ponder (1-1, First Season with Riptide)
(13-13, overall)

THE STAKES: Tulsa's winning streak and consecutive series winning record is at stake. Tulsa is looking to come home with a (2-1) record to finally host their first home game for the 2005 regular season.

THE SERIES: Tulsa leads series (3-0).
Tulsa 54, SAN DIEGO 34 (7,354) 4/20/02
TULSA 65, San Diego 39 (5,166) 5/10/03
Tulsa 65, SAN DIEGO 48 (5,135) 5/24/03

THE IFs:
If Tulsa defeats San Diego, it would ...
· Give Tulsa a (4-0) series record with San Diego
· Give Tulsa a (2-1) away record in 2005
· Give David Alexander a (2-1) record as an af2 head coach
· Give Tulsa a two-game regular season winning streak

TULSA (1-1) WON 1
Date Opponent Result Score
4/1 @ Amarillo L 55-62
4/9 @ Bossier-Shreveport W 61-51
BYE
4/23 @ San Diego
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00 Won 1 1-2
5/7 CENTRAL VALLEY 7:00 Won 1 3-1
5/13 @ Bakersfield 9:00 - -
5/21 MACON 7:00 Won 3 3-0
5/28 BAKERSFIELD 7:00 - -
6/4 @ Central Valley 9:30 Won 1 3-1
6/11 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 Won 3 3-0
6/18 SAN DIEGO 7:00 Won 3 3-0
6/25 ARKANSAS 7:00 Won 2 8-3
BYE
7/9 @ Memphis 7:00 Won 4 4-0
7/16 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:00 Won 3 3-0
7/23 AMARILLO 7:00 Lost 1 0-1
7/30 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 Won 1 1-2
All Times CT

SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (1-1) Lost 1
Date Opponent Result Score
BYE
4/9 @ Birmingham W 58-57
4/15 @ Bakersfield L 30-57
4/23 TULSA
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
4/30 AMARILLO 0-0
5/7 @ Rio Grande Valley 0-0
5/14 BIRMINGHAM 1-0
5/20 @ Bakersfield 1-4
5/28 CENTRAL VALLEY 7-4
6/4 BAKERSFIELD 1-4
6/11 @ Central Valley 7-4
6/18 @ Tulsa 0-3
6/25 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 0-0
7/9 @ LOUISVILLE 0-1
7/16 CENTRAL VALLEY 7-4
7/23 BAKERSFIELD 1-4
7/30 @ Central Valley 7-4
All Times CT

TULSA TALONS HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE:
David Alexander, a 40 year-old native of Broken Arrow, Okla., joins the Talons after serving a year as the Talons General Manager and ten years in the National Football League (NFL). Alexander was drafted as a center in the fifth round of the NFL draft. In the NFL (1987-1996), Alexander spent his first eight years with the Philadelphia Eagles and his last two years with the New York Jets. Alexander started 108 consecutive games and never missed one NFL game. He was honored as New York Times All-Pro in 1991. In his NFL career, Alexander was one of few players who had played all five offensive line positions. A graduate of Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, Okla., Alexander played college football at the University of Tulsa (Tulsa, Okla.). Alexander graduated from TU with a degree in business and was awarded All-Conference in football for two years. Alexander now resides in Tulsa with his wife, Kathy, and three children (Jake, 14, Kyle, 11 and Cassity, 8). As a coach, Alexander has coached eighth grade Jenks football and one year at Broken Arrow High School. Currently, Alexander serves on the board of National Youth Football and is active in several local youth football teams.

SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE:
Sean Ponder joins the Riptide for his first season. He brings almost nine years of coaching experience to the team. Previous to Ponder's appointment, he held the head coaching position for the Wichita Stealth for two years, a tenure that included a trip to the playoffs. His offense averaged nearly seven touchdowns per game and he has won more road games than any other head coach in Stealth history. As offensive coordinator for Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Ponder helped to turn around a team that had only won two games in three seasons into a successful junior college program. He orchestrated his offense so well that they produced 21 school records, a Mission Conference Championship, and a Strawberry Bowl birth. Ponder is married and lives in Rancho Bernardo with his wife Alicia and two kids, Shelby and Alec.

LAST SERIES MEETING: Tulsa 65, SAN DIEGO 48 (5/24/03) – The Talons (7-1 at the time) scored on ten of eleven drives, including converting two Riptide turnovers into touchdowns. The Tulsa Talons were the eventual ArenaCup Champions in 2003.

SERIES NOTABLES: Talons' skill players last series and returning...OS, Robert Reed – receiving (106 for 1336 yds and 34 TDs); QB, Ben Bowling who is recovering from last weeks injury vs. Bossier; FB/LB, Corky Martin – rushing (52 for 164 yds and 13 TDs); WR/LB, Shan Jordan – receiving (25 for 277 yds and 9 TDs); WR/LB, Toby Moeves – receiving (34 for 316 yds and 5 TDs) tackles (38 Total 22 solo); WR/DB, Jermaine Thaxton – Shooting for a full season; Linemen, Ahmad Willis, Wallace Sonnie, Josh McMillan – tackles (69 Total 32 solo), sacks (8.5 for 80 yds), 6 QBH, 11 tackles-for-loss for 37 yds in 5 years; Antwan Floyd, Anton Ceaser; FB/LB, Matt McKinnon – searching for game and WR/LB, Zac Jones who is still recovering from last season's injury.

FAMILIAR FACES:
San Diego will face 10 active returnees from the Talons side. Now a Talon, Jason Tiner, will recognize many of the Riptides due to the fact of being traded to the Talons after serving time in training camp for San Diego. Tulsa Talons' Aleric Clark and Nick Davis both graduated from Texas A&M Kingsville; the same school that the ‘Tide's James Parham attended. Both Anthony Griffin and Josh Blankenship are alumni of Eastern Washington. Riptide, Anthony Buich was part of the 2002 Tulsa Talons.

af2 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK 2
Willis (6-2, 275, Northwestern State (LA)), in his second season, put forth a solid defensive effort to help the Talons to their first win of 2005 season, a 61-51 decision over Bossier-Shreveport on Saturday night. The powerful lineman recorded two and a half tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles against the Battle Wings. Both of his sacks came at points in the game when the Battle Wings were driving to take the lead in the game. Willis' first sack came near the end of the second quarter with the score
knotted at 21. The sack caused a fumble, which the Talons recovered. His second one came on the game's final play, forcing fumble that teammate Anton Ceaser smothered up in the endzone to preserve the win for the Talons. This is the first weekly award for Willis and the first for a Talon this season.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match-up who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
TALONS
Player Rank Category Stat
Donovan Morgan 3 Scoring 54
Corky Martin 8 Rushing 10.0
Corky Martin 5 Yards Per Rush 5.0
Donovan Morgan 3 Scoring (TDs) 54
Nick Browne 9 Scoring (Kick) 14
Aleric Clark 10 All Purpose 136.0
Josh Blankenship 5 Total Off. Avg/P 8.6
Ben Bowling 4 Pass Yds/Catch 15.0
Josh Blankenship 5 Pass Yds/Catch 14.9
Josh Blankenship 5 Pass Comp. PCT 71.9
Josh Blankenship 1 Pass Rating 146.1
Josh Blankenship 3 Pass Yds/ATT 10.7
Donovan Morgan 9 Reception Yards 234
Donovan Morgan 9 Receive Yds/G 117.0
Donovan Morgan 3 Reception TDs 9
Nick Browne 4 PAT Kicking PCT 87.5
Nick Browne 5 PAT Kick ATT 16
Nick Browne 4 PATs Kicks Made 14
Aleric Clark 6 MFG Returns 1
Aleric Clark 4 MFG Return Yds 32
Aleric Clark 4 MFG Return TDs 0
Aleric Clark 3 Kick Returns 10-194
Aleric Clark 7 Kick Return Yds 194
Ahmad Willis 5 Sacks 2.0
Ahmad Willis 3 Fumbles Forced 2
Spencer Conley 5 Fumbles Forced 2
Donovan Morgan 5 Fumbles RCVD 1
Ahmad Willis 4 Tackles For Loss 2.0
RIPTIDE
Player Rank Category Stat
Anthony Buich 10 Total Offense 211.5
Anthony Buich 8 Total Off. Plays 83
Kimo Naehu 7 Scoring (Kick) 16
Anthony Buich 10 Total Off. Yards 423
Steve Gonzalez 7 All Purpose 184.0
Jeff Macrea 6 Rushing TDs 3
Anthony Buich 9 Passing Avg/G 208.5
Anthony Buich 5 Pass Attempts 80
Anthony Buich 10 Passing Yards 208.5
Anthony Buich 9 Pass Complete 40
Nian Taylor 8 Receptions 17
Chris Highshaw 9 Yards Per Catch 18.0
Kimo Naehu 3 Field Goals 3-4
Kimo Naehu 2 Field Goal PCT 75.0
Kimo Naehu 8 Field Goal ATT 4
Kimo Naehu 4 Field Goals Made 3
Steve Gonzalez 5 Kick Return Avg. 27.1
Steve Gonzalez 5 Kick Returns 9-244
Steve Gonzalez 3 Kick Return Yds 244
Steve Gonzalez 2 Kick Return TDs 1
Asi Faoa 3 Sacks 2.0

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Talons and Riptide stack up:
Statistical TULSA San Diego
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 3 58.0 10 44.0
Scoring Defense 16 56.5 17 57.0
Total Offense 3 300.5 13 229.5
Total Defense 17 273.0 14 267.0
Pass Offense 1 291.0 13 213.5
Pass Defense 16 256.5 9 222.5
Rushing Offense 17 9.5 11 16.0
Rushing Defense 11 16.5 20 44.5
Scoring (Kicking) 10 14 7 16
Pass Rating 6 122.5 19 83.4
Pass Def. Rating 17 131.7 15 120.8
Kickoff Returns 15 16.3 6 22.3
MFG Returns 1 32.0 13 0.0
Turnover Margin 9 0.00 6 0.50
Field Goals 15 .000 4 .750
PAT Kicking 5 .875 10 .778
Sacks By 3 6-31 7 4-22
First Downs 9 39 8 39
Opp. First Downs 13 37 4 32
Penalties 6 45.0 10 66.0
Opp. Penalties 12 55.5 4 106.5

TULSA TALONS TEAM INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
WR/LB Zac Jones Ankle Long-Term
QB Ben Bowling Knee Long-Term

DROPBACK: TUL 61, BOS 51 (4/9/05) –(Attendance: 2,128) Bossier City, La. - With just 0:04.5 seconds left in the game WR/LB Donovan Morgan pulled in the last of his five touchdowns giving Tulsa (1-1) the lead over the Battle Wings (0-2). Tulsa OL/DL Anton Ceaser secured a Talons
triumph by recovering a fumble in the end zone as Bossier-Shreveport tried one final effort to pull out a victory. Twelve Battle Wings' penalties including two on the final drive, which gave Tulsa two crucial first downs. Bossier's Reggie Perkins finished the game with 8 receptions for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.

FORWARD MOTION:
The Tulsa Talons will be hosting their first home game against their "Turnpike Rivals", the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.
The San Diego Riptide will be hosting their second home game versus the Amarillo Dusters.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
2 Bossier City Donovan Morgan

IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
2 Bossier City Aleric Clark

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
4 San Diego


RECENT ROSTER MOVES (most recent first):
Date Action Player
4/18 Placed on Long-Term IR Ben Bowling
4/18 Placed on Re-Assignment Chris Massy
4/18 Active from Short-Term IR Chris Massey
4/18 Assigned from Quad City Alex Neist
3/31 Left Squad Eric Dotson

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