VooDoo Host Milwaukee Mustangs Friday Night in the Graveyard
March 22, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release
NEW ORLEANS (March 22, 2012) - The New Orleans VooDoo (0-1) will host the Milwaukee Mustangs (0-1) this Friday, March 23 in The Graveyard at 7 p.m., with each team searching for their first win of the season.
The VooDoo fell just shy of a victory in Sunday's season opener against the Philadelphia Soul, 63-62, as a result of their field goal being blocked in the final seconds. Overall, Coach Pat O'Hara was pleased with the outcome of the game and the players' performance. Kurt Rocco completed 25 of 39 passes with a total of 314 yards. He also accounted for 6 touchdowns and no turnovers.
"We know that there are no moral victories; you either win or you lose. But moving forward, we took a lot of positives from our game against Philadelphia. The film the next day was a good learning experience for a lot of our younger players," said VooDoo Head Coach Pat O'Hara.
Quorey Payne was Rocco's main target, leading all receivers with 10 receptions for a total of 130 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Even though Milwaukee lost at Arizona 71-65 last week, quarterback Gino Guidugli still put up gaudy numbers, completing 28 passes for 364 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also had one interception.
Jared Jenkins, was Guidugli's go-to man who snagged 13 catches for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the loss, averaging 16.2 yards per catch. The first-year athlete's performance garnered the Russell Offensive Player of the Week by the Arena Football League.
"[Milwaukee] has a great coaching staff, and you can always count on them to be solid upfront and in the trenches. Gino is a good quarterback; going into Arizona and putting up the numbers that he did is not an easy task. We are well aware of what he can do," said O'Hara.
Both Rocco and Guidugli had similar statistics in their first games. Each team played next-to perfect on offense with 60-plus points, but no victory to show for it. The VooDoo's 62 points on Sunday were the most points scored by the team at home since coming back into the AFL.
Rocco's poise and confidence in the pocket increased in the game on Sunday with every play, pleasing the VooDoo faithful and perhaps bring a win home for a victory-starved Graveyard.
"The coaches, players and staff are well aware of the situation here in The Graveyard. We are doing our best to bring home a win for these fans. We will need them as our ninth man on Friday night," added O'Hara.
VooDoo on Television: Cox 4 (tape delayed locally)
VooDoo on the Radio: 99.5 FM WRNO "Rush Radio"
VooDoo Broadcast Team: Ken Trahan (play-by-play), Jon Norris (color), Jimmy Frederick (sideline)
VooDoo on the Internet: www.wrno.com
VooDoo live game feed: www.ustream.tv/NewOrleansVooDoo
VooDoo live statistics: www.prestosports.com
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