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Week 14 Friday and Saturday Night Matchups

July 2, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-10) AT BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (5-7)
FRIRDAY, JULY 2, 2004 - CENTURY TEL CENTER (12,500) 8:00 P.M. ET

It is a Mid-South Division battle when the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings host the Arkansas Twisters. Bossier-Sherveport is coming off of a bye week but they have won three games in a row before the bye, including a 66-59 overtime win over Rio Grande Valley in their last outing. If Bossier can win out they can finish above .500 and possibly in the playoffs. The first step toward this would be a win over Arkansas. After a season opening victory over San Diego, they have yet to find themselves back in the win column since. The Twisters lost last week at home to the Steamwheelers, 54-29. After playing the first nine games at quarterback, KEVIN WILLIAMS has moved to wide receiver. Against the Steamwheelers Williams had five catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The week before against the Conquest, Williams brought in nine passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Not a bad transition. Arkansas' other stud receiver is TED ALFORD, who leads the team in receptions with 63. Alford is second on the team in tackles with 27 (25UA 4A) and has registered four passes broken up. For Bossier-Shreveport, SHADERICK MCAFEE is a force on both sides of the ball. His 40 tackles (32UA 16A) is second on the team. He has recovered six fumbles, and returned them for 64 yards. On offense, McAfee has 32 catches for 405 yards and seven touchdowns. He is second on the team behind BO SMITH, who has 62 receptions and 26 touchdown receptions this season. Bossier-Shreveport and Arkansas will meet one more time this season, Week 18, the last week of the season, in Arkansas.

PEORIA PIRATES (5-6) AT NO. 5 QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (8-4)
FRIURDAY, JULY 2, 2004 - THE MARK (9,437) 8:30 P.M. ET

One of af2's best rivalries writes another chapter when the Peoria Pirates go on the road to face the Quad City Steamwheelers. The Pirates have won three straight games and are playing better than they did to start the season. They are now thinking about the playoffs making this game crucial to their season. Three weeks ago Quad City had lost three games in a row and were out of first place in the Midwest Division. Two weeks later, and two wins later, they are again at the top of the division. Actually, the Steamwheelers should thank the Pirates for being back in first as the Pirates have beaten the Louisville Fire the last two weeks to make it possible for Quad City to move up. There are nine former Pirates on the Steamwheelers roster, including quarterback RONNIE GORDON, who has thrown for 55 touchdowns and ran for 19, ranking first in the af2. TALMADGE HILL leads the Pirates offense. A rookie from Ball State Hill has only played four games for Pirates but has done the important things to win games, even if those things are as simple as handing the ball to CASEY URLACHER, who leads the team in rushing with 163 yards and nine touchdowns. LAWRENCE MATTHEWS has stepped up and become Peoria's leading receiver with 44 catches. Matthews also has three interceptions this season. Quad City's leading receiver is TIM DODGE, who has 86 catches for 1,273 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Steamwheelers won the previous meeting this season in Week 6, 47-20 at Peoria. This will be the final meeting of the regular season between Peoria and Quad City.

NO. 4 CAPE FEAR WILDCATS (8-3) AT NO. 10 MEMPHIS XPLORERS (7-5)
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 - DESOTO CIVIC CENTER (8,400) 8:00 P.M. ET

In the game of the week, the Cape Fear Wildcats travel to face the Memphis Xplorers. Both teams are coming off big victories. Cape Fear defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the road last week. The Pioneers entered the game as the top ranked team in the league. It was a good way for the Wildcats to start their stretch of four straight games on the road. Memphis took out Tennessee Valley last week to get their first win in team history over the Vipers and move within one game of the Vipers for first place in the Mid-South Division. Quarterback MICHAEL WALL, who came from Tulsa just three games ago, leads the Xplorers. He has completed 53 of 74 passes for 818 yards and 17 touchdowns with three interceptions and the Xplorers have not lost with him starting under center. The Xplorers' KEVIN PRENTISS is flat out dangerous. On the season he has 82 catches for 1,130 yards and 24 touchdowns along with six kickoff returns for touchdowns. Last week Prentiss caught 12 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns while battling a case of the flu. Considering this week he should be feeling better, the Wildcats better watch out. Cape Fear is in a similar situation. Last year's quarterback MIKE GLUSKI returned to the Wildcats five games ago, and Cape Fear has yet to lose, turning a team sitting at .500 five weeks ago to team looking to host ArenaCup. In just these five games Gluski has 29 touchdown tosses. Many of them have gone to MATT BURSTEIN, who has 33 touchdown receptions on the entire season. This is the only meeting between the Wildcats and Xplorers this season.

NO. 3 TULSA TALONS (8-3) AT LAREDO LAW (2-9)
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 - LAREDO ENTERTAINMENT CENTER (8,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

In their second meeting this season, the Laredo Law host the Tulsa Talons. In the first meeting Laredo upset the Talons 57-48 to get their first win in club history. In that first tilt Laredo was down by three in the third quarter when they put together three consecutive scores. The first was a P.J. WINSTON touchdown catch. The next was a MIKE WAKEFIELD 50-yard field goal return for a touchdown. The third was a safety by TERENCE COLEMAN, putting Laredo up by 13 giving them control of the game. Laredo won next week against Rio Grande Valley, but has yet to win since, including a loss to Oklahoma City last week, 58-39. Tulsa has yet to lose since their loss to Laredo. They are 5-0 with two big victories over Wichita in the stretch. BOB BEES is now the starting quarterback for Tulsa, completing 115 of 167 passes for 1,360 yards and 35 touchdowns. ROBERT REED leads the team in receiving with 68 catches for 794 yards and 24 touchdowns. For the Law, MELVIN PHILLIPS is a two-way standout. On defense Phillips has 24.5 tackles (16UA 17A), 2.0 tackles for a loss, .5 sacks, one pass break up, one forced fumble and a recovered fumble. On offense he has totaled 30 catches for 303 yards and six touchdowns. TRACO RACHAL leads the Law in tackles with 52.5 (40UA A25) and interceptions with six. This will not be the final meeting between the Law and Talons. In Week 18 these two will meet again, for the final time of the season, at Tulsa.

NO. 12 WICHITA STEALTH (7-4) AT RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (3-8)
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 - DODGE ARENA (5,500) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Wichita Stealth, coming off of a bye week, head south to face the division rival Rio Grande Valley Dorados at Dodge Arena. Two weeks ago Wichita lost to Tulsa at home 62-34. Rio Grande has had some tough luck all season. After starting 3-1 the Dorados lost in Week 6 to Wichita 35-28. The Dorados are still looking for their fourth victory on the season. Last week they played the now number one ranked Birmingham Steeldogs on the road and lost by one point, 59-58. There is some great talent on the Dorados team though. Quarterback CALEB SLOVER threw five touchdown passes last week and ran for 31 one yards. On the season Slover is 61 of 115 for fifteen touchdowns and four interceptions. He found CRAIG COLE For two touchdown receptions last week. In just four games Cole is the Dorados second leading receiver, with 26 catches for 305 yards and eight touchdowns. On defense for the Dorados, linemen SPENCER CONLEY (eight sacks), KARLETON THOMAS (4.5 sacks) and the rest of the Dorados line make it hard on opposing quarterbacks. The opposing quarterback the Dorados line will pursue this week is JONATHAN BEASLEY. On the season Beasley has completed 59 of 119 passes for 878 yards and 23 touchdowns with four interceptions. The Stealth have been without MICHAEL DRITLEIN for most of the season and this week the Stealth found out he would be out for the rest of the season with a torn meniscus. Wichita has depth in their receiving corps with MARC BACOTE, ANTHONY GRIFFIN and others. The Stealth and Dorados will face each other one more this season, Week 18, the last week of the season in Wichita.

CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES (1-10) AT NO. 7 OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (8-4)
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 - FORD CENTER (18,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz host the Central Valley Coyotes in the first ever meeting between the two clubs. Oklahoma City is coming off of a 62-56 loss at Columbus last week. They now sit in second place in the Southwest Division, as they have one more loss than the Tulsa Talons. With the season winding down, every win is critical for the Yard Dawgz. The Coyotes are coming off of a bye. They have struggled to win games but feature some talented players. KENYATTE MORGAN is on pace to break the af2 record for all purpose yards in a season. He currently has 2,439 all purpose yards. JAJUAN HUDDLESTON is the Coyotes' third leading receiver with 32 catches for 302 yards and four touchdowns. On defense Huddleston is second in tackles with 30.0 tackles (21UA 18A) and has an interception, fumble recovery and a safety. Defensively, Central Valley is lead by defensive specialist VONKEITH SPENCER and his 42.5 tackles (33UA 19A) and six interceptions. Oklahoma City is loaded on offense. KRIS PETERS, TIMON MARSHALL and AL HUNT have 64 of the Yard Dawgs 73 touchdown receptions and make arguably the best receiving trio in the league. It is easy to look good when you have a quarterback like CRAIG STRICKLAND throwing the ball to you. Last week Strickland became the all time career leading in passing yards with 13,190 yards. Strickland looks to add to the total this week. This is the only meeting between the Coyotes and Yard Dawgz this season.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (6-5) AT SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (5-6)
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 - SAN DIEGO SPORTS ARENA (12,920) 10:00 P.M. ET

The Hawaiian Islanders travel to face the San Diego Riptide in a West Division tilt. This is the fourth and final meeting between the Islanders and Riptide during the regular season. The three previous games have been gems. In the first game Islanders quarterback DARNELL ARCENEAUX ran in a two-point conversion in overtime to give the Islanders a 55-54 victory. The second game saw a league record 168 point scored as the Riptide swept away the Islanders. The third game two weeks ago saw the Riptide win by five on the road. Now the Riptide want to win for a third time to take the season series from the Islanders and earn the tie breaker. San Diego should be feeling confident, as Darnell Arceneaux is not available for the Islanders this week. In will step SHAWN WITHY-ALLEN, who has throw just two passes this season, completing both, for 17 yards and a touchdown. Withy-Allen should be fine if he can find ANTHONY ARCENAUX, who has 49 catches for 827 yards and 20 touchdowns. After winning four straight games San Diego lost last week at Bakersfield 57-53. The Riptide turned the ball over three times and came out on the short end. NAKOA MCELRATH is a key two-way player for the Riptide. On offense he has 26 catches for 471 yards and fourteen touchdowns. On defense McElrath has intercepted three passes, forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble and registered 16.0 tackles (11UA 10A). KANE CLAUNCH and his 59 touchdown passes this season will look to get the ball to McElrath, DWIGHT CARTER and the rest of the Riptide receiving corps. JOSH ROBINSON and the rest of the Islanders defense will look to slow down this Riptide crew.



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