Week 15: Friday Night Matchup
Published on July 3, 2008 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2008 - CenturyTel Center (12,500) 6:05 P.M. ET
Rio Grande Valley travels to Louisiana to tackle Bossier-Shreveport in a Southwest Division showdown in the af2's Fourth of July featured game. These two clubs have met nine times overall. Bossier-Shreveport leads the all-time series, 5-4. The Dorados have had an up-and-down season. Lately the team has been down due to four straight defeats. Prior to last week's bye, Rio Grande Valley lost a 58-52 decision to Tulsa in Week 13. The Dorados showed heart in coming back from a 41-3 third quarter deficit to close the final gap to just six points. With QB TIGER LYON struggling in his first af2 start (5-of-15, 1 INT), Rio Grande Valley inserted normal starter TRAVIS COLE back into the lineup midway through the second quarter. Trailing 35-3 at halftime, the Dorados offense caught fire in the second half and scored on 7-of-8 second half possessions. Cole completed 20-of-29 passes over the final 30 minutes of play with four TD passes and one TD run. He finished with 313 yards passing. WR EDDIE JACKSON caught 14 passes for 169 yards to lead the Rio Grande Valley receiving corps while WR/DB TRAVIS MCALPINE caught two short scoring passes. JERMAINE CARPENTER (8-94-1, 57-yard kick return TD) and ANTHONY CHAMBERS (1 rush TD, 1 receiving TD) also contributed. Carpenter has a team-high 17 receiving TDs and 20 TDs overall (3 kick return TDs). The team should also receive a spark this week with the return of COCO BLALOCK. Blalock played with the Dorados last year and set a team record with 2,274 all-purpose yards (975 kickoff, 259 field goal, 957 receiving, 83 rush). Rio Grande Valley's defense is led by veterans DB PIERRE THOMAS (74.5 tackles, 5 INTs - both team-highs) and DL QUINTON STATON (8.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks). In difference to the Dorados, Bossier-Shreveport has been on the upswing. The No. 13-ranked BattleWings have won three straight contests, including last week's 80-62 triumph at Corpus Christi. The victory gave Bossier-Shreveport a share of the division lead with Austin at 7-6. The BattleWings broke out for 35 second quarter points and continued their strong play in the second half to keep Corpus Christi at bay. The Bossier-Shreveport offense was led by QB GARY COOPER with seven TD passes without an interception and also had a rushing score as well. FB JASON SCHULE had his most impressive outing of the year with 70 yards rushing and three TDs. CHAVIS MCCOLLISTER had seven catches for 70 yards and three scores. DB PETE MCBRIDE (team-best 59.5 tackles) had an impressive defensive outing with 11 tackles (all solo), one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. McCollister is one of the league's most dangerous all-around talents. He ranks second in the af2 in scoring with 216 points and also ranks among the league leaders in receiving with 96 catches for 1,194 yards with 29 TDs. Bossier-Shreveport ranks fourth overall in scoring at 56.0 points per game. The Dorados will need a strong effort from Cole if they hope to keep up with the potent BattleWings and keep their playoff hopes alive.
arenafootball2 Stories from July 3, 2008
- Lightning Assigned Big Lineman Eddy - Stockton Lightning
- Alum Donovan Morgan Named AFL Rookie of the Year - af2
- Week 15: Friday Night Matchup - af2
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
