Tulsa Talons Playoff Notes

July 28, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release

THE STAKES: Since Tulsa has a first-round bye, a victory in the National Conference semifinals on August 9th would send the Talons to the National Conference championship game for the first time in team history. Conversely, a loss ends the Talons' season.

TULSA'S ARENACUP PL.AYOFF HISTORY:

2000: Lost first-round game at Tennessee Valley Vipers, 49-28.
2001: Lost first-round home game to Carolina Rhinos, 69-35.
2002: Won first-round home game against Arkansas Twisters, 34-32. Lost at home in National Conference Semifinals to the Birmingham Steeldogs, 53-34.

TULSA VS. NATIONAL CONFERENCE PLAYOFF FOES:

ARKANSAS TWISTERS: Tulsa leads the series 6-3 (5-3 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs) and is 5-0 at home (4-0 season, 1-0 playoffs) in the overall series. The Talons have played the Twisters more often than any af2 opponent. Tulsa won at home, 59-46, on May 31st. Arkansas won, 45-29, on June 28th in North Little Rock, which was also Tulsa's last loss.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ: Tulsa leads the series, 3-1, split the 2003 season series. Bakersfield won at home on June 14th, 45-40, then Tulsa won at home the following week, 62-49.

HAWAII ISLANDERS: Tulsa leads the series, 3-0, and escaped with a 48-47 home win on July 12th in the only 2003 meeting between the two teams.

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS: Quad City leads the series, 2-1, but this would be their first meeting since 2001. Quad City easily won both meetings in 2000 but Tulsa ended the Steamwheelers' af2 record streak of 24 consecutive overall victories with a 49-47 home win on May 12, 2001.

WICHITA STEALTH: Tulsa leads the series, 5-1, is 3-0 at home against Wichita and split the 2003 season series. Tulsa defeated Wichita in its 2003 home opener on April 12th, 43-25, but Wichita rallied in the final minute of regulation, then prevailed in overtime, 56-49, at home on April 26th.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: The Talons' only series histories are against the Tennessee Valley Vipers (2000) and Macon Knights (2001). Tennessee Valley won all three meetings with Tulsa in 2000, including the playoff opener. Tulsa earned a 48-37 home win against Macon on June 23, 2001.

COACH SKIP FOSTER: One of the winningest coaches in af2 history, Skip Foster is 41-10 overall and 40-8 in regular season games in his third season. Foster's regular season winning percentage of 83.3% 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). Besides having the best regular season winning percentage among active af2 coaches, Foster is one of the most successful coaches in af2 history. He's second in regular season wins (40, trailing 41 by Macon's Kevin Porter), overall wins (41, trailing 42 by Porter) and overall winning percentage (80.4%, trailing 97.4% by Quad City's Frank Haege in 2000-01, based on at least two af2 seasons.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Talons and Quad City Steamwheelers share the af2 record for best home field won-lost record in regular season games at 29-3 (90.6%). The Talons have won an af2-record 26 consecutive regular-season home games. Quad City is 6-0 in playoff home games compared to Tulsa's 1-2 mark.

MIAMI DOLPHINS NEXT TARGET FOR TALONS IN 2004: The Tulsa Talons' streak of 26 consecutive regular season home victories has tied the 1915 New York Giants baseball team for the third-longest regular-season home winning streak in professional sports history. The Talons would tie the 1971-74 NFL Miami Dolphins by winning their 2004 regular season home opener. The top regular-season home winning streaks in professional sports history are as follows:

Streak League Years/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

COMEBACK KIDS: The Talons came from behind to win in seven of their 13 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 COUNTING ON CRAIG: Craig Strickland finished the 2003 season as one of the premier passers in af2 history. He is second in career TD passes (212, one behind Arkansas' Ricky Hebert), tied for second in completions (829) and fourth in passing yards (10,509). The former Texas-El Paso QB has won the af2 Offensive Player of the Week award twice this year and a league-record five times in his career. Strickland finished the 2003 af2 season ranked among the top 10 QBs in seven categories. Most notably, he was third in passing TDs (83, a new Talons single season record), fewest interceptions (11) and total offense yards (3,805). He had his best game in nearly a month in the season finale at Bossier City, going 23-of-37 with no interceptions for 226 yards with six TDs and scored on a one-yard run.

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 receptions (285) and receiving yards (3,740). After winning the 2002 af2 Offensive Player of the Year award, Mitch Allner proved his versatility by winning Ironman of the Game honors six times this year. He led the Talons with four interceptions and was their second leading receiver (67 catches, 941 yards, 24 TDs), second leading scorer (26 TDs, 164 points) and averaged 23.1 yards per kickoff return.

FABULOUS FONTAINE: OS Tacoma Fontaine emerged as a strong candidate for 2003 af2 Offensive Player of the Year, ranking among the league's top ten players in seven categories. Most notably, Fontaine led af2 in missed field goal return average (22.6, 1 TD) and was second in kickoff return average (26.9, 2 TDs). He ranked sixth in the league in scoring (202 points) and TD receptions (33). In just 15 games, Fontaine became the Talons' fifth-leading career scorer. Those 202 points was the third-best single-season total in franchise history. Fontaine's 2,456 all-purpose yards was second only to Mitch Allner's team season record of 2,695 set last year. A teammate at Southwest Missouri State with FB/LB Corky Martin, Fontaine also set four Talons individual game records in 2003.

THRILL OF THE HUNT: WR/LB Al Hunt was Tulsa's Ironman of the Game three times in 2003. He finished third on the team in tackles (41 total, 33 unassisted), tied for second in interceptions (3) and tackles for loss (2.5), and was Tulsa's third-leading receiver (65 catches, 634 yards, 16 TDs). He caught two TD passes in the season finale at Bossier City and finished with five receptions for 38 yards along with two tackles.

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 finished 2003 ranked third in the league in PATs made (83), PATs attempted (103) and seventh in PAT accuracy (80.6%).

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