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Week 13: Friday Night Matchups

June 19, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


DAYTONA BEACH THUNDERBIRDS (2-9) AT ALBANY CONQUEST (3-8)

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008 - Times Union Center (13,901) 7:00 P.M. ET

Week 12 kicks off Friday night when the Daytona Beach ThunderBirds travel to Albany, N.Y. to tackle the Conquest. These two teams have met once already this season with Daytona Beach earning a 62-53 victory on May 8. The ThunderBirds win was their second of the season. Daytona Beach never trailed in the contest and held a 35-27 lead going into the second half. Late in the third quarter, the Conquest finally created the defensive turnover they were looking for as BRANDON TAYLOR intercepted a MATT BOHNET pass off the net, leading to a 15-yard DAN COLE TD pass to WR CHRIS BOCAGE. Albany cut the lead to just two points with 5:20 left in the fourth quarter on another Bocage touchdown, but they would never come any closer. Taylor led Albany on defense with a game-high 8.0 tackles (6 solo, 2 assists) and recorded his third interception of the season. The Daytona Beach defense was lead by linemen DOMINIC LEE, ADRIAN WILSON and JEROME WALKER who combined to sack Cole four times and pressure him for most of the game. Bohnet (22-of-34 passing, 290 yards, 8 TDs, 1 INT) and WR LAMAR HUGHES (7 catches, 122 yards, 5 TDs) led the ThunderBirds offense. Cole (23-of-38 passing, 329 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT) and Bocage (10 catches, 178 yards, 4 TDs) paced the Conquest. Since Daytona Beach's home win against the Conquest, the team has lost four straight contests. Albany has been in an even longer slump. The Conquest have lost seven consecutive games, five of which came after their defeat at the hands of the ThunderBirds. Daytona Beach's troubles in 2008 can be linked to two components, lack of scoring (31.7 ppg - 2nd lowest in af2) and turnovers (42 - 2nd worst in af2). Despite their troubles overall, two individual performers have stood out, WR JEREMY GRIER (50-576-13) and DB JOCQUES RICHARDSON (25.5 tackles, 5 INTs). Albany has struggled to find a win in a while due to a susceptible defense that has allowed a league-worst 57 points per game. On the other side of the ball, the Conquest offensive line has had trouble keeping Cole upright. Going into this Week 13 tilt, the unit has allowed a league-worst 37 sacks. Despite the issues on the offensive line, Cole has still managed to throw for 2,626 yards (fifth in af2) and 51 touchdowns (tied for sixth in af2) with just seven interceptions. His completion percentage, however, is just under 54 percent (53.9). His top target has been WR ANTWUN WILLIAMS. Williams is the team's leading receiver with 67 receptions for 850 yards and 25 TDs (T4th in af2). This is an important game for both teams. Expect it to be just as competitive as the first meeting.

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (7-4) AT QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (6-5)

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008 - iWireless Center (9,315) 8:00 P.M. ET

The Tennessee Valley Vipers head to Moline, Ill. this week for a non-divisional tilt against the Quad City Steamwheelers. These two teams have met 13 times overall with Quad City currently owning a 10-3 all-time edge. The Vipers, currently ranked No. 6 in the latest league coaches poll, are coming off a 77-49 road loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for Tennessee Valley. The Pioneers outscored the Vipers 42-14 in the second half with a huge defensive effort to break open what was a close contest at the half. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored on a fumble return and an interception return over the final 30 minutes of play. Despite his two interceptions and the two fumbles, Tennessee Valley QB KEVIN EAKIN did finish the game 29-of-49 for 351 yards and seven touchdowns. WRs ALONZO NIX (12-168-3) and MAURICE BROWN (12-125-3) were Eakin's two top targets. WR/DB TRAVIS BLANCHARD had three tackles and one interception to stand out individually on the defensive side. Last week's loss was Eakin's first in five games as the Vipers' starter. Brown leads Tennessee Valley in receiving with 96 catches (af2-high) for 1,141 yards and 25 TDs. The group ranks fifth in the af2 in scoring, averaging 53.8 points per game. DL ERIC SCOTT leads the defense up front with a team-best 14 sacks (3rd in af2). DB DEMETRIUS DERICO leads the Vipers in tackles (48.5) and interceptions (8). Quad City enters this important Week 13 affair on the strength of a three-game win streak. The Steamwheelers are currently ranked No. 14 overall in the latest league coaches poll. Their most recent result was a 68-34 Midwest Division road win against Peoria. QB J.J. RATERINK had a strong showing against the Pirates with 29 completions in 38 attempts. He finished with 335 yards passing with seven touchdowns and one rushing TD. Raterink's top receivers were DEONTRAE JOHNSON (10-130-3) and JESSE SCHMIDT (9-114-3). Schmidt currently leads the af2 in scoring (182 points), receiving yards (1285) and receiving TDs (29). The defense, which yielded just 34 points, was paced by the performances of DB JORDAN DAVIS (8 tackles, 2 INTs) and LB MALIK JACKSON (7.5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 recovery TD). Overall, Raterink leads the af2 in passing yards (3,008) and is tied for league lead in TD passes with 61. He also tends to force some throws, resulting in 16 INTs (4th highest individual total in af2). In the team's recent win streak, however, he's thrown just one interception as compared to 18 TD passes. Quad City is currently 3-2 at home at the i Wireless Center while the Vipers boast a respectable 4-2 road record. If Raterink plays well and gets his team off to a strong start, this should be one of the week's most exciting affairs.

MAHONING VALLEY THUNDER (2-9) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (8-3)

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008 - The Resch Center (7,695) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Mahoning Valley Thunder travel to Green Bay, Wisc. this Friday to tackle the No. 4-ranked Blizzard at the Resch Center. This is the first of two meetings between these two clubs in 2008. In two previous meetings in 2007, each team came away with a win. The Thunder enter Week 13 after losing last Friday at home to Manchester, 79-55. Mahoning Valley couldn't stop the Wolves offense all night as the squad scored touchdowns on 12 of its first 13 possessions before closing out the game in the final seconds. One of Mahoning Valley's lone bright spots on offense was the play of WR CLENTON RAFE. Rafe (5-11, 185, Albany State), in his second af2 season, had an impressive individual showing with 11 catches for 199 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Rafe's receiving yards and receiving touchdown totals were both Week 12 highs. In just four games played to date Rafe is tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with 13 and ranks second overall in receptions (25), receiving yards (421) and scoring (78 points). He has also caught 11 touchdowns in the past two contests alone. Thunder QB DAVON VINSON completed just 18-of-39 passes with 277 yards passing and seven touchdown tosses with two interceptions. He also added his third rushing score of the season. Linemen KELLEN DRISCOLL and ROYCE MORGAN each recorded a sack to stand out on the defensive side. Morgan leads the Thunder in total sacks with 8.5 with Driscoll close behind at 7.5. Driscoll owns the team high mark in tackles for loss with 11.5. Overall, the defense has struggled of late. The 79 points scored by Manchester was the most given up by the Thunder all season. Green Bay enters this Week 13 non-divisional tilt sporting a one game lead in the Midwest Division and a three-game win streak. Last week the Blizzard won on the road at division rival Louisville, 34-31. The game was close throughout. WR SCOTT BURNOSKI scored the game-winning touchdown with just over seven and a half minutes left in the contest. The Blizzard defense then held the Fire at bay with a key defensive stop on fourth down with just under two minutes to play before the offense ran out the remaining seconds. QB COLLIN DRAFTS finished 14-of-27 passing for 155 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown as well. Burnoski, who leads the squad with 18 TD catches, caught two against Louisville while FB TYRE YOUNG ran for a score to up his team-high total to seven on the season. Green Bay has an efficient offense, but the Blizzard pride themselves in being one the most physical and stingiest defenses in the league. This year the team boasts a league-best 40 sacks overall. Green Bay also ranks fourth overall in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 38.8 points per game. DL JOE SYKES leads the team and the af2 in sacks with 15 overall. DBs NATE GREEN (team-high 57.5 tackles, 5 INTs) and RUSTY MIDLAM (39.5 tackles, team-high 6 INTs and 16 pass breakups) patrol the secondary. Mahoning Valley will need Vinson to play near mistake-free football to keep the Thunder in the contest. The odds are against Mahoning Valley as the team has yet to record a win on the road in 2008 (0-5) while Green Bay is 4-2 at home this season and 13-2 over the past two seasons combined.



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