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Week 10 af2 results

June 5, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


SATURDAY, JUNE 3

EVERETT HAWKS 40, Birmingham Steeldogs 31 (3,585)

EVERETT, Wash. - For the second straight week the Everett Hawks (2-7) defense shut down a prolific passing attack and secured a 40-31 win against Birmingham on Saturday night at the Everett Events Center. Before a crowd of 3,585, the Birmingham Steeldogs (5-4) jumped to an early 6-0 lead when QB Ryan Hawk (21-11-0) hit his favorite target OS Brady Chavez (5-34-1). The much previously maligned Hawks defense, led by ADT Defensive Player of the Game John Fields went to work. On the next Birmingham possession, Fields sacked Hawk in the end zone for a safety. Hawks QB Brian Baker (31-17-1) then hit his favorite target Hassan Brockman (10-90-3) for a 19-yard TD strike. Birmingham momentarily took the lead on a 6-yd touchdown rush by Hawk, but K Alex Wall missed his second extra point of the evening, to give the Steeldogs a 12-9 margin. The Hawks scored 14 points in the second quarter. Birmingham tallied just three points on a 42-yard field goal by Wall. The third quarter began with a safety by Birmingham, but the Hawks' defense came up with a crucial 4th down stop to end a scoring drive that would have put the Steeldogs ahead. Everett then got a 13-yard touchdown pass from Baker to WR/DB Milton Myers. Going into the 4th quarter the Hawks had the lead, 30-24. WR/DB Hassan Brockman caught his final touchdown pass of the game to seal the Hawks victory. K Hawley added an insurance field goal of 20-yards. DS Toure' Butler broke up two deep passes on Birmingham's final possession to end any hopes of a Steeldogs' comeback.

Memphis Xplorers 73, STOCKTON LIGHTNING 54 (6,987)

STOCKTON, Ca. - The Stockton Lightning (3-6) succumbed to a 73-54 loss to the defending ArenaCup Champion Memphis Xplorers (8-2) before 6,987 at Stockton Arena on Saturday night. The Lightning struck quickly with QB Josh Blankenship running for a 1-yard score on a quarterback keeper with 12:03 left in the first. The Xplorers responded with a quick 6-yard touchdown pass from QB Brian Jones to WR/DB Terrell Adams, tying the game at 7-7. Memphis's WR/DB Deon Giddens thwarted a Stockton drive when he stepped in front of a Blankenship pass for an interception, followed by the Xplorers capitalizing with OS Kevin Prentiss pulling in an 11-yard touchdown strike from Jones for a 13-7 lead, following a failed PAT. Following the ensuing kickoff, Blankenship found WR/LB Phil Goodman for a 5-yard touchdown to cap the scoring drive. Both teams exchanged scores to end the first quarter tied 20-20. The Lightning began the second quarter with a bang with WR/LB James Newson intercepting a Jones pass and returning it to midfield. Stockton failed to capitalize on the turnover, followed by Memphis' Jones running for a 2-yard score and then on the next offensive possession, found a wide open Prentiss for a 27-yard touchdown to allow the Xplorers take a 33-20 lead into halftime. Memphis came out strong in the third quarter, scoring on the first play of scrimmage on an 11-yard strike from Jones to WR Kenny Higgins. The Lightning responded with Blankenship connecting with Goodman for a five-yard touchdown with 11:09 left. The Xplorers scored twice more to take a 53-34 advantage into the fourth quarter, thwarting a 20-19 Lightning comeback attempt in the final quarter. Jones led the Memphis offense by going 19-for-21 for 240 yards and six touchdowns, and two rushing scores. Prentiss led all Xplorers receivers with 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Goodman caught 9 balls for 140 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Lightning, while Blankenship posted a 21-for-40 night (275 yards), along with six touchdown passes.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ 40, Amarillo Dusters 39 (4,014)

BAKERSFIELD, Ca. - The Bakersfield Blitz scored a come-from-behind 40-39 win against the Amarillo Dusters on Saturday night at Rabobank Arena. The win brings the Blitz to an overall record of 6-3. The Dusters slipped to 4-5 with the loss. The Blitz scored the first touchdown of the game with QB Mike Wall's 6-yard touchdown pass to OS Rennard Reynolds. The Blitz scored again shortly after with WR/DB Nathan Munson's 19 yard interception return. The Dusters were able to snag two touchdowns, each having a PAT which gave them the lead of Blitz 13, Dusters 14, at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Wall had a 15-yard touchdown pass to U.S. Army Ironman of the Game, WR/LB Eric Mahanke. However, after Wall had two intercepted passes and two fumbles, Head Coach Gary Compton put in new backup QB Bobby Pesavento. In the last seconds of the first half, Pesavento had his first touchdown pass for the Blitz to WR/DB DeRonn Finley. The first half ended at Blitz 27, Dusters 32. Pesavento's second touchdown pass went to Mahanke, shortly followed by a Duster touchdown. Unable to get ahead, the Blitz ended the third quarter at Blitz 34, Dusters 39. Pesavento earned the title of Schutt's Offensive Player of the Game after his third touchdown pass to WR/LB Nian Taylor for 38 yards. Blitz OL/DL Daniel Kegler was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Game. Kegler totaled 4 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.

SPOKANE SHOCK 61, Central Valley Coyotes 59 (10,099)

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Shock took on divisional rival the Central Valley Coyotes in front of a near sell-out crowd (10,099) and came away victorious 61-59, improving their overall record to a league-best 8-1. In a typical af2 offensive shoot-out, the game came down to the final play when Coyotes kicker John Gockman barely missed a 37-yard field goal as time expired, allowing the Shock to escape with yet another close victory at home. Spokane got off to a quick 7-0 lead after Charles Frederick ran in for a 2-yard score. Central Valley came back, scoring 10 straight points. After two more rushing touchdowns by Spokane and a 20-yard touchdown pass from QB Alex Neist to Kevin Beard as time expired, Spokane led 27-17 at halftime. Both Central Valley and Spokane scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, and Spokane was holding on to a 40-31 lead going into the final quarter. With 00:51 left in the game and Spokane up 54-52, WR/LB Charles Frederick ran in for a 7-yard touchdown. Frederick turned in another outstanding performance that helped him capture the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game award for the second week in a row. Frederick hauled in eight receptions for 65 yards with five touchdowns on the night. On the defensive side of the ball, Frederick had six solo and two assisted tackles. WR/LB Kevin Beard also made an impact with four receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Central Valley answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Scott Rislov to WR/DB LaMonte Jones with 00:36, once again bringing the Coyotes within two points of the Shock. Central Valley got the onside kick, which eventually led to the Gockman missed field goal, giving the win to the Shock. Despite the loss, Rislov threw seven touchdown passes, and is now tied for the league-lead with 58.

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS 71, Albany Conquest 62 (3,482)

MOLINE, Ill. - The Quad City Steamwheelers tallied their third win of the season with a 71-62 victory over the Albany Conquest. The Steamwheelers, who have been struggling this season with turnovers, had a big pick at the end of the first quarter and a fumble recovery for a touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter. With the Steamwheelers holding a 10-7 advantage near the end of the first quarter. WR/LB Jack Walker Jr., who finished the game with 48 yards and three touchdowns on six receptions, picked off a Conquest pass by QB Ryan Vena in the end zone, setting up a WR/DB Tim Dodge 30-yard touchdown reception to give Quad City a 17-7 lead. Just three plays later, in the second quarter, Quad City extended the lead when OL/DL Kika Kaululaau recovered a Vena fumble in the end zone to put the Steamwheelers up 24-7. The two teams traded touchdowns the remainder of the second quarter and combined for 87 points in the half. On the final play of the half, Vena, who finished with 323 yards and seven touchdowns on 37 attempts, threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to OS Bakari Brown. With the pass, Vena became the 10th player in the af2 to surpass the 10,000-yard career passing mark. With Quad City holding a 52-35 halftime lead, the Conquest would fight back near the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth with two straight scores. After a huge goal line stand by the Conquest, forcing the Steamwheelers to turn the ball over on downs, Vena hit WR/DB Jim Jones for his third touchdown catch of the night pulling Albany to within two at 58-56. With just under five minutes remaining Walker Jr., caught his third touchdown pass of the night on an eight-yard pass from QB Tim Hicks to give Quad City a 64-56 advantage. The Conquest answered with a four-play 35-yard drive that lasted 3:19 when Bettendorf native FB/LB Thomas Anthony rushed for a two-yard touchdown with only 1:26 left in the game once again pulling Albany to within two. With the Steamwheelers clinging to a 64-62 lead thanks to a missed two-point conversion try by the Conquest, FB/LB Jim Macrea would give the Steamwheelers the victory at 71-62 with a 4-yard run with just 33 seconds left.

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ 46, Rio Grande Dorados 13 (6,055)

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Tacoma Fontaine made a good first impression on his new fans and teammates with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. In his first game with the Yard Dawgz, WR/DB Fontaine hauled in two touchdown passes and made one interception in leading Oklahoma City (7-2) to a 46-13 victory over the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (4-5). He was also honored with the Cutters Glove catch of the game. The win wasn't necessarily a thing of beauty for the Yard Dawgz, as the two teams combined for 179 penalty yards. However they did hold Rio Grande Valley scoreless in three quarters, as the Dorados got all 13 points in the second quarter. The Yard Dawgz came up with some great defensive stands, as for the first time this season, they were held to less than five touchdown passes, notching four. But Al Hunt's eight yard interception return, and Jon Holland's 38 yard return of a blocked field goal attempt made up for the fewer TD passes. Oklahoma City got up 14-0 after the first quarter and never looked back. They went into halftime with a 17-13 lead, but would roll in the second-half, getting the interception return, blocked field goal return and touchdown passes from QB Craig Strickland and backup QB Justin Allgood. Strickland threw only through three touchdown passes, but despite his sub-par performance, he is still tied for the af2 lead with 58 touchdown passes. The Yard Dawgz maintain their hold on first place in the Midwest Division.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS 55, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 29 (5,606)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Twisters finished what they started by defeating the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings, 55-29, in front of 5,606 at Alltel Arena. The Twisters jumped out to 20-0 lead in the first quarter which was led by ADT Defensive Player of the Game C. J. McLain. After Steve Watson scored on a one yard run, McLain sacked Battle Wings quarterback J. J. Raterink, which caused him to fumble, and Kimani Jones recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. McLain sacked the quarterback on the ensuing drive for a safety, and the Twisters scored after the free kick when Walter Church found Ted Alford for a 6-yard touchdown. With the Twisters up, the offense kicked in and started scoring more. Jon Schoonover caught a 20-yard strike from Church, who completed 12 of his first 19 pass attempts with five touchdowns in the first half. Robert Kilow caught three first half touchdowns as Arkansas led 48-20 at halftime. The Twisters offense stalled in the third quarter, but the defense kept the pressure on the Battle Wings. Despite having the ball for most of the third quarter, Bossier-Shreveport could only muster three points. The Battle Wings scored early in the fourth, but the outcome head already been determined. Kilow caught another touchdown at the end of the game to finish with four. Church earned Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honors after completing 22 of 39 passes for 223 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. Kilow finished with a season high 13 catches for 135 yards and four touchdowns. McLain finished with five tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception, and a pass breakup. McLain's four sacks is the second most in a game in Twisters' history. Steve Watson finished with three tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and a rushing touchdown. Raterink finished 15 for 30 for 128 yards and three touchdowns and one interception. Brian Hazelwood booted three field goals for Bossier, one being a 55-yard field goal, 12th longest in league history.

MACON KNIGHTS 55, South Georgia Wildcats 42 (4,083)

MACON, Ga. - The Macon Knights scored 35 unanswered points in the second and third quarters combined to sweep the season series over the South Georgia Wildcats, with a 55-42 victory in front of 4,038 fans at the Albany Civic Center. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with a 58-yard kickoff return by offensive specialist Chris McKinney to begin the game and FB/LB James Harris added a 1-yard score. McKinney earned the Cutters Catch of the Game and finished the night with eight receptions for 91-yards and three touchdowns and returned four kickoffs for 100-yards and one score. Wildcats quarterback Julian Reese was 21-of-33 for 226-yards with three touchdowns and rushed eight times for 42-yards and one touchdown. Defensively the Wildcats were led by DS Elliott Burkes, who had 6.5 tackles, and James McCoy had three tackles on the night. Knights quarterback Chad Elliott was named the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game completing 21-of-39 passes for 250-yards and five touchdowns. Offensive specialist D.J. Humphries had six catches for 54-yards and one score. WR/DB James Hickenbotham added four receptions for 86-yards and two touchdowns, and also chipped in with two tackles to earn the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game. WR/LB Jamaal Garman was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Game totaling three tackles and recovering two fumbles, including returning one for a 39-yard touchdown. Garman also had three receptions for 44-yards and one score. Macon improved to 3-6 on the season, while South Georgia fell to 1-8.

FLORIDA FIRECATS 74, Tennessee Valley Vipers 33 (4,959)

ESTERO, Fla. - In front of 4,959 fans, the Firecats stayed unbeaten at home (4-0), coasting past the Tennessee Valley Vipers 74-33. Ironman of the Game Comone Fisher played outstanding on both sides of the ball recording a sack, an interception, and a touchdown reception. The game remained scoreless until 8:18 left in the first quarter, when Florida kicker Brandon Kornblue hit on a 22-yard field goal try. Following a Levy Brown interception, Chris Wallace hooked up with Ethenic Sands on a 37-yard touchdown pass to make the score 9-0. Vipers kicker Steven Lee connected on a 36-yard field foal to make the score 9-3. On the Firecats' first possession of the second quarter, Brittney Tellis caught a 40-yard touchdown pass. After a Magic Benton touchdown, Tennessee Valley (2-7) tackled Brent Burnside in the end zone for a safety. Chris Gunn then hit Torrey Day for a 7-yard touchdown to make the score 22-14. That would be as close as the Vipers would get the rest of the game. Florida pushed the lead to 42-19 when Chris Wallace rushed for a two-yard touchdown. Magic Benton had the Cutter's Catch of the Game with a 29-yard pass from Chris Wallace early in the fourth quarter. Benton led the Firecats with 5 catches for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chris Wallace, the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game, finished the game with 18-28 for 267 yards, 7 touchdown passes, and a touchdown run. Corey Bailey, the ADT Defensive Player of the Game, recorded 5 tackles. Chris Gunn of the Vipers finished 15-31 for 180 yards and threw 2 interceptions. Torrey Day led the Vipers in receiving with four catches for 57 yards. This breaks the largest margin of defeat for the Vipers of 39, previously held by the Firecats back on May 6th. Florida now sits at 7-2, just a half-game back of the Memphis Xplorers in the South Division

Tulsa Talons 50, MANCHESTER WOLVES 35 (7,385)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Tulsa Talons (6-3) used a superb defensive effort alongside a strong six touchdown pass performance from Schutt Offensive Player of the Game QB Mark Radlinski to defeat the Manchester Wolves (4-5), 50-35, before 7,385 fans Saturday night on Brady Sullivan Field at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Radlinski, who completed 19 of 27 passes for 219 yards, connected with OS Andre Forde for four touchdowns and U.S. Army Ironman Don McGee on two scores. Forde caught six balls for 66 yards and McGee had seven catches for 95 yards for the Talons. Tulsa's defense was the story of the game, though, as they turned a pair of first quarter interceptions into 14 points, as they picked off Manchester quarterbacks D. Bryant and Steve Bellisari five times in all. OL/DL Anton Caesar led the pick parade with a pair, including one in which he tipped the ball up in the air and caught it on his back and another that he returned five yards for a touchdown. ADT Defensive Player of the Game DS Jermaine Hope recorded a team-best eight tackles for the Talons. OS Steve Gonzalez led Manchester receivers with nine catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns. He leads af2 with 32 total touchdowns (31 receiving) and 1,703 all-purpose yards. D. Bryant completed 12 of 25 passes for 117 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, but was pulled in favor of Bellisari, after he threw his third interception early in the second quarter. Bellisari played the third and then was pulled in the early part of the fourth after completing just 10 of 18 passes for 103 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. FB/LB Mark Kimener rushed for a franchise record 52 yards and a touchdown on six carries for the Wolves, while WR/LB Wendell Williams earned the Cutters Catch of the Game after making an acrobatic grab on his back help from his feet.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pioneers 51, LOUSIVILLE FIRE 48 (7,753)

LOUISVILLE. Ky. - W-B/Scranton hung on for a 51-48 victory over East Division rival Louisville Saturday night at Freedom Hall. The Pioneers improved to 7-2 with the win while Louisville fell to 4-5. During the Pioneers initial drive, the Fire intercepted Pioneers QB Mike Granieri in the end zone. The Pioneer turnover led to the Fire drawing first blood with a 26-yard pass from QB Brett Dietz to WR Rob Mager. The Pioneers answered back with a 10-yard pass from QB Granieri to WR Yaacov Yisrael. The first quarter ended with another score by the Fire, this time an 11-yard pass from QB Dietz to WR Lance Taylor. Wilkes-Barre got a WR Yisrael touchdown run and two more QB Granieri touchdown passes in the second quarter, going ahead 28-20, but he Fire closed out the half scoring with only 13 seconds left with a touchdown pass from QB Dietz to WR Mager. In the third quarter it was the Pioneers who were on fire as their defense turned up the heat on the Fire with a safety by Pioneers LB Doug Harding. The Pioneers would later score on a 4-yard run by WR Yisreal and the score was 37-27 Wilkes-Barre going into the fourth. The Fire started the quarter like an inferno attempting to take the game back from the Pioneers. QB Dietz connected with WR Taylor on an 8-yard pass bringing the Fire within three. The Fire scored again on a 3-yard net recovery score by DS Jeremy Chandler. The Pioneers quickly responded, with 12:13 left in the game, on a 30-yard touchdown pass from QB Granieri to WR Yardon Brantley. After scoring again, the Fire drove again on a 28-yard score from QB Dietz to WR Mager to take the lead. With 36 seconds left in the game the Pioneers took the lead with a 12-yard pass from QB Granieri to WR Brantley. During the final attempt to reclaim the lead, the Fire fumbled, giving Wilkes-Barre the win. QB Granieri finished 18-41 for 233 yards and five touchdowns, while QB Dietz went 20-of-29 for 296 yards and six touchdowns in the loss. Despite being on the losing side, the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game was OS Mager, who continued his spectacular season with 142 yards on seven catches and three touchdowns. He leads af2 with 89 receptions and 1,156 receiving yards.

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