Undefeated Xplorers Head to Quad City Saturday
April 27, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
Southaven, MS-The Memphis Xplorers of the af2 will put their 4-0 record on the line this Saturday against the one of the original af2 franchises, the Quad City Steamwheelers.
Memphis will try to earn a victory over a team they have failed to defeat in franchise history for the second consecutive weekend. Quad City holds a 2-0 overall record against the Xplorers, who defeated Birmingham for the first time last Saturday 60-24. The last time these teams met was on June 15th, 2002 at the DeSoto Civic Center when Quad City beat Memphis 57-47.
Both teams enter the game on a winning streak. The Xplorers are currently riding a four-game win streak, while the Steamwheelers have won two in a row after losing in their season opener in week 2.
Xplorers Head Coach Danton Barto (25-28 career record) commented on the strong start for his team, "the guys played really well last Saturday. I felt that Birmingham was the start of a tough three game stretch that will take us to Quad City this weekend, and then back home against a tough Oklahoma City team. We succeeded in the first part by beating the Steeldogs. Now we really need to focus on Quad City, and playing with the confidence and consistency that has made us winners in our first four games."
The Xplorers have been extremely effective all season on offense and on defense. Coming into Saturday Memphis is 2nd in both scoring and points allowed in the af2. In four games the Xplorers average margin of victory is over 35 points per game.
Defensively for the Xplorers it has been Khreem Smith and Dahnel Singfield. Smith leads the af2 with nine sacks, which is now the Memphis all-time franchise record for a season. Singfield, coming off the ADT Defensive Player of the Game against Birmingham, has two interceptions this season and leads the team in both tackles (15.5), and pass breakups (6).
OS Kevin Prentiss and quarterback Brian Jones have been the primary scoring factors for the Xplorers. Prentiss leads the af2 in scoring coming into this weekend with 102 total points. His 17 touchdowns are on pace to break the franchise and af2 records for single seasons. Jones has completed 64.1 percent of all passes with a total of 807yards and 21 touchdowns. He also leads the Xplorers rushing attack with 69 yards and four TD's.
Memphis opened the 2005 season with four of their first five games on the road. This Saturday marks that fourth road game of the season, and the Xplorers will return home May 7th to face the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. Single game tickets start as low as $7. Call 662-280-9120, visit the DeSoto Civic Center box office, or log onto ticketmaster.com today! Memphis Xplorers Arena Football! Back in Black!
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