Twisters Win Streak Snapped at Seven
July 19, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Arkansas Diamonds News Release
(North Little Rock, AR) - The Arkansas Twisters franchise record win streak is over after Bossier-Shreveport defeated the Twisters 80-69 in front of a season high 6244 at Allstate Field at Alltel Arena.
The game was tied after three quarters when Bossier-Shreveport opened the fourth quarter with a score. Gary Cooper found Manwell Talbert for a 26 yard touchdown and the extra point gave the Battle Wings a 54-48 lead.
New Twisters fullback Cedric Cobbs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Bossier recovered in the endzone to extend their lead to 60-48.
The Twisters offense stopped the run at 13 when quarterback Kyle Rowley found Chris Denney on a 19 yard score. James Paul converted the extra point to pull the Twisters within 60-55.
Bossier-Shreveport responded when Jason Schule leapt into the endzone for his second score of the game. The Battle Wings attempt at the two point conversion failed and the score remained 66-55.
Arkansas wouldn't go away. The Twisters drove 35 yards on three plays and scored when Rowley found Denney again. The 25 yard score pulled the Twisters within 66-61.
The Twisters attempted and recovered an on-side kick on the next play. The team cashed in on the opportunity. The combination of Rowley to Denney worked again to give Arkansas its first lead since the start of the second half. Rowley found Denney for two points and the Twisters led 69-66.
The Battle Wings had some last minute magic left. With less than a minute remaining, Cooper completed a 43 yard pass to Manwell Talbert that gave Bossier-Shreveport a first and goal situation at the one yard line. Schule punched it in and the extra point put Bossier-Shreveport the lead at 73-69 with just 23 seconds left.
Arkansas' search for the same magic back fired when Art Carmody's kickoff bounced off the bottom net iron and ricocheted to the three yard line. Cobbs picked it up, but fumbled the ball and recovered and returned for the score by the Battle Wings Dustin Johnson.
The Twisters' win streak is stopped at seven, a franchise best. Receiver Chris Denney continued his record setting season by hauling in 14 receptions for another franchise record of 237 yards and five touchdowns. The game marked the fifth time Denney has caught five touchdowns in a game, also a franchise record. His 237 receiving yards is seventh best in league history. He also moved his franchise record touchdown total to 42, 41 receiving.
Rowley completed 24 of 37 pass attempts for 341 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. He became just the second Twisters quarterback to throw for 4000 yards in a season. Rowley is 316 yards away from breaking Jon Nielsen's team record. The Twisters fall to 10-5 on the season, but the Central Division title is still up for grabs at division leader Tulsa lost to Oklahoma City.
Battle Wings quarterback Gary Cooper completed 24 of 32 pass attempts for 313 yards and seven touchdowns. Talbert led the Battle Wings with 10 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Schule finished with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score.
Bossier-Shreveport takes over the Southwest Division lead, and hopes to secure the third seed in the playoffs with a win over Austin next weekend.
Arkansas will close out the season against Texas on July 26th.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from July 19, 2008
- Wranglers Fall Behind Early, Lose to Dorados 33-17 - Austin Wranglers
- Dawgz defeat Talons - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Twisters Win Streak Snapped at Seven - Arkansas Diamonds
- Dorados keep playoff hopes alive with win - Rio Grande Valley Dorados
- Pirates Mauled by Wildcats - Peoria Pirates
- Blizzard Down Fire, Ready For Playoffs - Green Bay Blizzard
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.
