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Week 13 af2 quick hitters

June 22, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


DIETZ SETS ARENA FOOTBALL RECORD: Louisville Fire rookie QB BRETT DIETZ has caught fire lately and Saturday night at Albany, he burned the Conquest by throwing for a new Arena Football record (AFL & af2) 12 touchdown passes. Dietz's 12 touchdown passes broke the six-year old af2 mark of 11 set by JON NIELSEN of Arkansas on June 3, 2000. The AFL record is also 11 touchdown passes, a mark hit on three occasions (Clint Dolezel twice, Aaron Garcia once) in League history. The former Hanover Panther leads the af2 in passing touchdowns (71), completion percentage (71.5), pass efficiency (127.9) and total touchdowns (76). He also ranks third in the af2 in passing yards with 3,009.

VENA IN A RUSH FOR ALBANY: Albany Conquest QB RYAN VENA broke his own team record for rushing touchdowns in a season last week in a loss to Louisville. With two rushing scores against the Fire, the veteran signal caller brought his 2006 total to 18, one more than his previous team best of 17, which he set in 2003. Vena also leads the af2 in rushing scores. The former Colgate standout is also just one touchdown away from 50 rushing touchdowns for his career. Only two players in league history have over 50 in their careers - SHERARD POTEETE (87) and DARNELL SMALL (55). He leads all af2 active players with 49. Memphis' BRIAN JONES is close behind with 48 career rushing scores. Vena also has 559 career rushing yards, a total that places him sixth overall in league history and third best among quarterbacks.

NEW BUT FAMILIAR NO. 1: The Florida Firecats have reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the Weekly Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. Florida collected 256 of a possible 264 points and 20-of-23 first place votes in securing the top position. The Firecats defeated the Macon Knights this past Saturday at home, 66-54, to improve to 8-2. Florida, winners of three straight games, also held the top spot in Week 8.

ROOKIES, VETERAN TAKE AIM AT TD RECORD: Rookie QBs BRETT DIETZ of Louisville and SCOTT RISLOV of Central Valley are having phenomenal rookie seasons. Both signal callers currently lead the league in touchdown passes with 71, one ahead of veteran CRAIG STRICKLAND of Oklahoma City, who has 70. If they continue on their current pace, Dietz and Rislov could finish with 103 touchdown passes. Strickland is on pace to finish with 102. All three are on their way to surpass MATT SAUK's current league record of 99 in a season. The best single season total in Arena Football (AFL and af2) history is CLINT DOLEZEL's 105 touchdown tosses for the Dallas Desperados in 2006.

VENA AND HICKS SETTING PASSING YARDS PACE: Veteran quarterbacks RYAN VENA (Albany) and TIM HICKS (Quad City) are both on pace to break MATT SAUK's league record for most passing yards in one season. Sauk set the all-time mark of 4,489 yards last season with the Louisville Fire. The following is a breakdown of where Vena and Hicks stand.

PROJECTED PASSING YARDS
PLAYER, TEAM CURRENT PROJ RECORD PLAYER, TEAM YEAR
Ryan Vena, Albany 3,306 4,809 4,489 Matt Sauk, Louisville 2005
Tim Hicks, Quad City 3,201 4,656


SOUTHWEST SACK ATTACK: The Arkansas Twisters can point to a few different factors as to why they are 7-4 and in second place in the Midwest Division. One huge factor is their defense, and more specifically, their defensive front. The Twisters currently boast a league-leading team sack total of 41, averaging 3.7 per game. Arkansas is on pace to post 60 sacks this season. The current league record is 52, set by the now-defunct Carolina Rhinos in 2001. The Twisters have the top two sack artists in the league in FB/LB STEVE WATSON and DLS C.J. MCLAIN. Watson recorded 2.5 sacks in the Twisters most recent win against Rio Grande Valley to up his season total to 15.5, which set a new team record. He surpassed the old team benchmark of 13.5 that was held by GREG TAYLOR. Watson leads the af2 in sacks as well. McLain ranks second overall with 11.5.

MAGER AND GONZALEZ CATCH UP THIS WEEK IN MANCHESTER: One of the most intriguing games this week is red-hot Louisville at Manchester on Friday night. Two big reasons why are Louisville OS ROB MAGER and Wolves OS STEVE "SPEEDY" GONZALEZ. Mager and Gonzalez are ranked one and two in most offensive categories. They are tied in touchdowns with 38 each. Mager leads in receiving yards 1,410 to 1,150 and catches at 106 to 102. Gonzalez has the edge in total points, 234 to 228, thanks to three two-point conversions. If they continue at their current pace, both players have a shot at a number of league records in 2006. The following is a breakdown of where Mager and Gonzalez stand.

SPEEDY/MAGER PROJECTIONS
CATEGORY CURRENT PROJ RECORD PLAYER, TEAM YEAR
SCORING 234/228 340/332 346 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS 38/38 55/55 57 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS 37/38 54/55 54 Donovan Morgan, Tulsa 2005
RECEPTIONS 102/106 148/154 161 Corey Hill, Albany 2002, 2003

QUAD CITY'S IMPRESSIVE TRIO: Quad City receivers KRIS PETERS, TIM DODGE, and JACK WALKER and have been a big reason why the Steamwheelers offense is among the most dangerous in the af2. The group is on pace to become just the third threesome of receivers on the same team to each record 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Peters leads the group with 1,128 yards, Dodge has 927 and Walker is third at 917. In 2004, Peters was also part of the second group to hit the milestone as a member of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. That season he led the Yard Dawgz with 1,304 receiving yards. AL HUNT and TIMON MARSHALL also recorded over 1,000 yards for Oklahoma City that season. The first group to do it had a familiar face as well. In 2003, the Steamwheelers 1,000-yard trio consisted of Tim Dodge, JEFF HEWITT and IRA GOOCH.

WILLIAMS SETS af2 SCORING RECORD: Arkansas WR/DB KEVIN WILLIAMS entered the 2006 season as the only active player in the af2 with over 700 career points scored. Williams became the career leader this past week thanks to a 6-yard touchdown reception in a win against Rio Grande Valley. His career total now stands at 784 points, four ahead of former Tulsa star MITCH ALLNER, who accumulated 780 points over his five-year career. This year Florida OS MAGIC BENTON joined this exclusive club as well. Benton is closing fast on Williams and Allner. Benton's career point total of 772 ranks him third on the all-time list. Other active af2 players looking to join Williams and Benton in the 700 club are Memphis' KEVIN PRENTISS (672), Williams' teammate LENNIE JOHNSON (624), Quad City's JACK WALKER (612) and Bakersfield's NIAN TAYLOR (606).

MOST POINTS SCORED, NON-KICKING, CAREER
PTS PLAYER YEARS PLAYED
784 Kevin Williams 2001-present
780 Mitch Allner 2000-04
772 Magic Benton 2001-present
756 Cainon Lamb 2002-05
672 Kevin Prentiss 2003-present
656 George Williams 2001, 2003-present


WILLIAMS SETS CAREER TOUCHDOWN MARK: Arkansas WR/DB KEVIN WILLIAMS recently passed MITCH ALLNER for the af2 career touchdown record. This past week he added to his total with a 6-yard scoring catch in a home win against Rio Grande Valley. Williams now has 128 career touchdowns, two ahead of Allner. Florida's MAGIC BENTON passed Allner this past week as well with two scores in a home win against Macon. Benton now has 127 touchdowns in his career.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS SCORED, CAREER
TDS PLAYER YEARS PLAYED
128 Kevin Williams 2001-present
127 Magic Benton 2001-present
126 Mitch Allner 2000-04
118 Cainon Lamb 2002-05
112 Kevin Prentiss 2003-present
108 George Williams 2001, 2003-present

PRENTISS APPROACHING ALL-TIME KICK RETURN YARDS MARK: Memphis OS/KR KEVIN PRENTISS is among the league's all-time best in a number of different categories, one of which is all-time kick return yards. Prentiss has accumulated 218 yards this season to run his career total to 3,279. He needs just 293 more yards to surpass SHADRICK MCAFEE'S current all-time record of 3,572 yards. Another active af2 player high on the same list is Arkansas' LENNIE JOHNSON who has 3,051 yards career kick return yards.

SMITH MOVIN' UP TO NFL: Former Memphis Xplorers OL/DL KHREEM SMITH has gotten a second chance at his NFL dream. Last Thursday, Smith signed a two-year contract with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. Smith (6-4, 270, Oklahoma State) finished his rookie season as the AFL leader in forced fumbles (6) and ranked second in the AFL in sacks (8.0). He also recorded 22.5 tackles, two passes broken up and one blocked kick. His sack total is the third-highest single-season total in Rush history, behind John Moyer's 10 sacks in 2004 and nine in 2003. At the conclusion of the regular season, Smith was named Second Team All-Arena and to the AFL's All-Rookie team. The Rush defeated the Orlando Predators 69-61 in Las Vegas to capture the ArenaBowl XX title. The win capped an amazing playoff run in which the underdog Rush won three consecutive road games on its way to the championship game. The title was the second in a row for Smith. In 2005, he was named the 2005 af2 Lineman of the Year after he led the league with 17 sacks and helped the Xplorers win the ArenaCup Championship.

BARTO EARNS AFL HEAD JOB IN LAS VEGAS: Memphis Xplorers Head Coach Danton Barto has been named the new head coach of the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League. The Gladiators made the move official on Sunday. Barto has led the Xplorers since 2002, compiling a career record of 45-33 overall. Last season was his most successful as he guided Memphis to an ArenaCup championship. He also earned Coach of the Year honors for his efforts in 2005. Barto's Xplorers teams improved their record each year that he was head coach. In his first season of 2002, the team went 5-11, followed by 6-10 in 2003, 10-6 and a playoff berth in 2004 and then the 13-3 finish and the af2 title last season. He got his start in the af2 as the offensive coordinator for the Xplorers' in their inaugural season of 2001 under Collins Sanders Jr. He was promoted to the head coaching position prior to the 2002 season. He is the winningest coach in the af2 over the last three seasons with a record of 34-12 since the start of the 2004 season.

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY - af2 PLAYOFF PICTURE: 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 4-6), 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 11-13), 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 18-20. For this round seeding no longer matters, meaning the team with the better overall record hosts the Conference Championship. The winners of the Conference Championships face off in the 2006 ArenaCup on August 26 or 27 at a site to be announced.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Florida (8-2) - Current South Division Leader
2. W-B/Scranton (8-3) - Current East Division Leader
3. Memphis (8-3)
4. Louisville (6-5) - Currently holds SOS advantage over BIR and GBB
5. Birmingham (6-5) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than GBB (LOU, MAC, SGW)
6. Green Bay (6-5)
7. Manchester (5-6) - Currently has point differential advantage in HTH with ALB
8. Albany (5-6)
9. Macon (4-7) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than QCS (ALB, ARK, GBB, WBS)
10. Quad City (4-7)
11. Tennessee Valley (2-9)
12. South Georgia (1-10)

NATIONAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Spokane (8-2) - Current West Division Leader
2. Oklahoma City (8-3) - Current Midwest Division Leader
3. Bakersfield (7-4) - Currently holds SOS advantage over CVC
4. Central Valley (7-4) - Currently has better win % over common opponents than TUL and ARK (BOS, RGV)
5. Arkansas (7-4) - Currently has HTH advantage over TUL
6. Tulsa (7-4)
7. Rio Grande Valley (5-6)
8. Amarillo (4-7) - Currently holds SOS advantage over STK
9. Stockton (4-7)
10. Everett (3-8)
11. Bossier-Shreveport (2-8)

SIEGFRIED APPROACHING THE BIG 5-0: Spokane Head Coach CHRIS SIEGFRIED has led the Shock to the league's best record at 8-2, a mark they share with Florida. In the process, he has steadily climbed up the career coaching victories ladder. He's currently third overall with 48 wins. If his team continues at its current pace, Siegfried could surpass former Rio Grande Valley and Tennessee Valley Head Coach KEVIN GUY as the af2 career leader in overall coaching victories. Guy is currently No. 1 in all-time wins with 52 (52-19). Below is a list of the top coaches in league history.

TOP ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES
NAME WINS
1. Kevin Guy 52
2. Bobby Humphrey 51
3. Chris Siegfried* 48
4. Kevin Porter 45
Danton Barto* 45
Richard Davis* 45
5. Skip Foster 44
* denotes active coaches

TURNIN' 40 ISN'T SO BAD: Manchester Head Coach BEN BENNETT became the newest member of the 40-career win club (includes playoffs) in Week 9 when his Wolves scored a 48-28 road win against W-B/Scranton. His career record now stands at 41-24 (.631). Bennett is just the ninth coach in league history to reach 40 career wins. The only active members of the club are Spokane's CHRIS SIEGFRIED (48), Memphis' DANTON BARTO (45), Stockton's RICHARD DAVIS (45) and W-B/Scranton's RICH INGOLD (42). Former Rio Grande Valley and Tennessee Valley Head Coach KEVIN GUY is the af2 career leader in overall coaching victories with 52 (52-19). Louisville's TOMMY JOHNSON (35) is the only other current coach within reach of the 40-win club.

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