af2 arenafootball2

Week 15 af2 game recaps

July 12, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FRIDAY, JULY 9

Peoria Pirates 46, BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS 38 (Attendance: 3,876)

BOSSIER CITY, La. - The Peoria Pirates (7-6) stayed hot and moved a game above .500 for the first time season as they defeated the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 46-38 at the Century Tel Center. After a slow start the Pirates scored four second quarter touchdowns to take a 32-30 halftime lead. The top ranked Pirates defense took over from there, allowing only two touchdowns and a 50-yard field goal in the second half. Peoria used two quarterbacks, both Talmadge Hill and Andrew Webb threw two touchdown passes and neither were intercepted. For the Battle Wings, Bo Smith rushed three times for seven yards and a touchdown while catching one pass for a 36 yard touchdown. Shadrick McAfee returned seven kickoffs for 153 yards including a 47 yard return that set up one of Bossier-Shreveport's second half touchdowns.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD 49, Albany Conquest 47 (Attendance: 3,855)

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Blizzard (5-8) followed a first quarter in which they were outscored 24-0 with a second quarter in which they outscored the Albany Conquest (5-8) 22-0 to get back in the game and propel them to a 49-47 comeback victory at the Resch Center. The change was when Matt Bunyan entered the game for Green Bay. Bunyan completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown. Robert Garth caught one touchdown and recorded an interception on defense. For Albany D. Bryant completed 19 of 37 passes for 271 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. He threw three touchdowns to Tony Locke who had six receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

LAREDO LAW 30, Arkansas Twisters 13 (Attendance: 3,753)

LAREDO, TEXAS - The Laredo Law (3-10) earned their second home victory as they defeated the Arkansas Twisters (2-11) 50-47 at the Laredo Entertainment Center. The key stretch in the game came in the first half when Laredo scored 23 straight points to take a 30-13 victory. Laredo quarterback Rocky Perez had solid game, completing 19 of 32 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions while rushing seven times for eighteen yards for two touchdowns. Traco Rachal led the Law defense with ten tackles (9UA 2A) and an interception. Arkansas' Kevin Williams caught six passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns while returning seven kickoffs for 158 yards. Darnell Small recorded two sacks, a forced fumble and 5.5 tackles for Arkansas.

SATURDAY, JULY 10

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS 61, Manchester Wolves 42 (Attendance: 4,764)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Tim Hicks completed 25 of 35 passes for 277 yards and seven touchdowns with zero interceptions to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (10-3) Pioneers over the Manchester Wolves (5-8) 61-42 at Wachovia Arena. The win clinched the Pioneers first ever playoff birth. J.R. Thomas also had a strong game for the Pioneers, catching six passes for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Nate Brandy recorded 2.5 sacks for a loss of 17 yards. The Wolves' Chris Sanders threw 312 yards and three touchdowns on 22 completions and ran for another score. The key stretch in the game was when the Pioneers scored the first two touchdowns of the second half after getting the last score in the second half, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 17-point lead. There were no turnovers in the contest.

FLORIDA FIRECATS 55, Birmingham Steeldogs 28 (Attendance: 4,789)

ESTERO, Fla. - Steve Gorrie got the Florida Firecats (8-5) offense going rushing for 35 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries as the Firecats topped the division rival Birmingham Steeldogs (9-4) 55-28 at Germain Arena. Ken Mastrole played completed 13 of 23 passes for 169 yards and four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Desmond Washington was the big hero on the Firecats defense, intercepting two passes, defending five total passes and making four solo tackles. The Firecats defense limited the Steeldogs to just three offensive touchdowns. Larry Huntington led the Steeldogs defense with 7.0 tackles. Dontae Walker rushed for two touchdowns. The 27-point win gives the Firecats the tiebreaker if they finished tied with Birmingham, keeping them in the hunt for the division title.

LOUISVILLE FIRE 63, Columbus Wardogs 61 (Attendance: 9,867)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Columbus Wardogs (6-7) came into Freedom Hall and took a 12-point halftime advantage, but the Louisville Fire (8-5) scored four of the first five touchdowns in the second half and left with a 63-61 loss. The contest was highlighted by several outstanding individual performances. Colulmbus' Kyle Rowley threw eight touchdowns, six of them went to Troy Bergeron who finished the night with fourteen catches for 216 yards. Bergeron added a 56-yard kickoff return to his totals to register seven touchdowns. Louisville quarterback Matt Sauk tossed six touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Five of Sauk's touchdown throws went to James Scott, who totaled twelve catches for 177 yards along with the five touchdowns.

Cape Fear Wildcats 47, MACON KNIGHTS 41 (Attendance: 3,257)

MACON, Ga. - Matt Burstein caught seven passes for 74 yards and three touchdowns to guide the Cape Fear Wildcats (10-3) over the Macon Knights (3-10) 47-41 at the Macon Coliseum. Mike Gluski completed 18 of 34 passes for 210 yards and six touchdowns with one interception for Cape Fear. Torey Morris caught five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. The Cape Fear defense registered three sacks on Macon quarterback Will Burch. Jamaal Garman caught six passes for 72 yards and three touchdowns for the Knights. Macon scored the final two touchdowns of the game to come within six points, but an unsuccessful onside kick that followed ended the Knights' hopes.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS 51, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 44 (Attendance: 5,250)

HIDALGO, TEXAS - The Rio Grande Valley Dorados (5-8) kept their slim playoff hopes alive with an impressive 51-44 victory over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (9-5) at Dodge Arena. It isn't surprising that a game which had the top two leaders in sacks in the af2, Rio Grande Valley's Spencer Conley and Oklahoma City's James Landers, featured six sacks. What is surprising is that only .5 of these six sacks was registered by either of these two players. James Landers registered half of a sack in to move into a tie with Conley for the lead with 8.5 sacks. Ronsha Jenkins had scored two touchdowns for the Dorados, one receiving and one on a 43-yard field goal return. Craig Cole caught two touchdown passes for the Dorados. The Dorados did a good job slowing down the top ranked Yard Dawgz offense down, but Al Hunt still caught ten passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

TULSA TALONS 41, Wichita Stealth 35 (Attendance: 5,888)

TULSA, Okla. - In a 41-35 victory the Tulsa Talons (10-3) swept the season series from the Wichita Stealth (7-6) at the Tulsa Convention Center and took sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division. Wichita had a last change to tie the game up, but Rickie Davis intercepted a pass with less than 20 seconds left in the game to clinch the win for the Talons. Mike Duncan also had an interception for the Talons to go with his touchdown reception. For the Stealth, Damon Thompson recorded six receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. For the Stealth defense, Marc Bacote intercepted one pass and recovered a fumble. The Talons defense recorded five tackles for a loss. The loss is all the more painful for the Stealth considering they jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter.

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS 48, Quad City Steamwheelers 41 (Attendance: 5,780)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A 25-yard touchdown pass from Josh Kellett to Jerrian James with just three seconds left gave the Tennessee Valley Vipers (9-4) a 48-41 victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers (5-6) at Von Braun Center. On the night Kellett completed just nine of his 25 pass attempts, but these nine went for 195 yards and three touchdowns. James finished with five catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned eight kickoffs for 173 yards including one return for a 57-yard touchdown. Tim Dodge caught the first touchdown of the game on a 16-yard pass, but Dodge nor fellow receiver Jeff Hewitt would see the endzone for the rest of the night. The Vipers defense was solid, registering four tackles for a loss and one interception by Andy Fuller.

San Diego Riptide 63, CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES 39 (Attendance: 4,344)

FRESNO, Calif. - Playing like a team that needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive the San Diego Riptide (6-7) defeated the Central Valley Coyotes (1-12) 63-39 at Selland Arena. San Diego scored four touchdowns on the ground with two by Ryan Cuthbert. They also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. One was a 55-yard return by Jesus Reyes, the other was a 14-yard onside kick return by Nakoa McElrath. The key stretch in the game came when San Diego, down 28-22 scored a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the second half. They got the ball back and Kevin Feterik ran in from one yard out with no time remaining in the second half to go up 35-28. Jesus Reyes then scored the first touchdown of the second half on a 3-yard pass from Feterik to put the Riptide up by thirteen and give them control of the game. The Coyotes' Kenyatte Morgan caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Bakersfield Blitz 43, HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS 41 (Attendance: 3,319)

HONOLULU - Ken Haslip intercepted two passes as the Bakersfield Blitz (9-4) defeated the Hawaiian Islanders (7-6) 43-41 at Neal Blaisdell Arena. Bakersfield rushed for four touchdowns, two by quarterback Chad Elliott and one each by Ben McCombs and Nathan Munson. Eric Mahanke caught three passes for 95 yards and one touchdown and forced a fumble on defense. Nian Talyor led the Hawaii offense with eleven catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns. In his first start at home, Shawn Withy-Allen completed 22 of 35 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions and one rushing touchdown. Hal Muagututia had two interceptions for the Islanders defense while also defending four total passes, registering a tackle for a loss and leading the team in tackles with five.

*HOME TEAM LISTED IN CAPS



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