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Week 12 af2 quick hitters

June 15, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


MORGAN ON RECORD PACE: Tulsa's DONOVAN MORGAN is on pace to set the record for most touchdown receptions in a season. Last week against Rio Grande Valley Morgan grabbed five touchdown receptions to bring his total to 35 through 10 games. At this pace of 3.5 touchdowns per game, Morgan would haul in 56 touchdown receptions, beating JACK WALKER's 2003 record of 45.

THE DORADOS' COUNTER STRIKE: Believe it or not, Morgan's five-touchdown game wasn't the best receiving performance in last week's Tulsa-Rio Grande Valley game. This would go to DWIGHT COUNTER, who had 18 receptions for 216 yards and four touchdowns. His 18 catches were one short of the af2 record for receptions in a game. His performance earned him Offensive Player of the Week honors. The current record is held by ANTHONY HINES who caught 19 passes as a member of the Cape Fear Wildcats against Norfolk in 2003. Hines played last season in the AFL with the Grand Rapids Rampage.

TIME CHANGE IN FLORIDA: The kickoff for the Manchester Wolves-Florida Firecats game has been moved back one hour to 8:00 PM E.T. at Germain Arena. The doors will open at 4:30 to allow families to come on the field before the game to play catch on the Germain Arena turf.

MATT ATTACK: Quarterback MATT SAUK became the fastest player in af2 history to record 300 touchdown passes. Sauk accomplished the feat Saturday in Birmingham with his ninth touchdown of the game. Oklahoma City's CRAIG STRICKLAND, who has played four full af2 seasons reached 300 in April, Sauk reached 300 in just three and half seasons. Louisville plays Green Bay in a crucial East Division showdown on Saturday.

HAITH IS GREAT: Manchester's WILLIAM HAITH is on pace to break the af2 record for tackles in a season. The rookie currently has 81.5 tackles (65UA-33AT) with an average of 8.15 per game. At this pace Haith will record 130.0 tackles this season. This total would beat the current mark of 120.0 tackles (90UA-60AT) set by RICO CURTIS in 2002 with the San Diego Riptide.

STAFFORD BATTLE PROVEN: In Las Vegas last week, the AFL held ArenaBowl XIX. It was the first season the game was held at a neutral site and the first year for the ArenaBattle skills competition. Former af2er and current Tampa Bay Storm quarterback SHANE STAFFORD competed against other AFL quarterbacks MICHAEL BISHOP (Grand Rapids), CLINT DOLEZEL (Las Vegas) and JOHN KALEO (Las Angeles) in the quarterback challenge. Stafford won the contest, defeating Bishop in the finals.

MORE af2 TIES in ARENABOWL XIX: In ArenaBowl XIX former Manchester Wolves DS ROB CAREY caught one pass for eight yards for the Georgia Force. On defense he registered two solo tackles. AFL Rookie of the Year TROY BERGERON caught three passes for 25 yards for the Force. The big winner was Colorado Crush offensive coordinator BRIAN PARTLOW. The former af2 player guided the Crush to the 51-48 win over the Force. Former Louisville Fire player JABIR WALKER spent most of the season on the practice squad for the Crush but did register four tackles during the regular season meaning he too will get a ring.

FLORIDA CAN CLINCH DIVISION THIS WEEK: With a win against Manchester and a Macon loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Florida Firecats can clinch their second straight division title. In the history of af2, only six other teams have won two or more consecutive division titles. They are Quad City (2000-01 and 2003-04), Tallahassee (2001-02), Tennessee Valley (2001-04), Tulsa (2002-04), Cape Fear (2002-03) and Albany (2002-03).

PLAYOFF SPOTS AVAILABLE IN FLORIDA: The winner of this week's game between Manchester and Florida is guaranteed a spot in the postseason. If Albany loses to Quad City, both Florida and Manchester clinch spots regardless of who wins or loses the game.

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY: In 2005 six teams from each the American and National Conference qualify for the playoffs. The six qualifying teams in each conference consist of the two division champions and four Wild Cards, determined by best overall record. Seeding in each conference is based on overall record, with the top two seeds in each conference reserved for the division champions, regardless of record. In the First Round (August 5-7), the two division winners in each conference receive a bye. The top-seeded Wild Card team hosts the lowest-seeded Wild Card team, while the No. 2 seeded Wild Card team hosts the No. 3 seeded Wild Card team. In the Second Round (August 12-14), the division winners who had byes in the First Round host the winners from the First Round. The top seeded division champion plays the lowest seeded team advancing from the First Round, while the second-seeded division winner plays the other winner from the First Round. The winners of the Second Round will meet for the Conference Championships on the weekend of August 19-21. For this round seeding no longer matters, meaning the team with the better overall record hosts the Conference Championship game. The winners of the Conference Championships face off in the 2005 ArenaCup on August 27 at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, Louisiana.



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