af2 arenafootball2

Week 17 af2 game recaps

Published on July 25, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


SATURDAY, JULY 23

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS 54, Albany Conquest 47 (Attendance: 4,127)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (8-7) swept the season series with the Albany Conquest (4-11) in a 54-47 victory at the Wachovia Arena. A Jeremiah Pope touchdown with four seconds left in the first half put the Conquest up 40-27 at halftime. But in the second 30 minutes the Pioneers allowed only one Conquest touchdown, outscoring Albany 27-7. The winning score game with 1:45 left in the contest when Rocco Forgione caught an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion reception by Thomie Venisee put the Pioneers up by seven. A late defensive stand sealed the win for the Pioneers. The Pioneers' Bryan Snynder finished 18-of-29 for 212 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. Albany's D Bryant threw for five touchdowns and rushed for another.

LOUISVILLE FIRE 78, Manchester Wolves 61 (Attendance: 7,278)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville Fire (10-5) stayed alive for the East Division Championship with a 78-61 victory over the Manchester Wolves (11-4) at Freedom Hall. Manchester quarterback Jake Eaton threw a season high nine touchdown passes (four to Mark Bacote) but the Fire defense also forced Eaton to throw a season high three interceptions as the Fire cruised to the win. Matt Sauk completed 25-of-36 passes for 237 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions to guide the Fire. Rob Mager caught ten passes for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Teammate Dennis Fryzel hauled in ten passes for 77 yards and four scores. The Fire's Nate Green returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown. The Fire can win the East Division next week with a win over Quad City and a Manchester loss to Albany.

MACON KNIGHTS 72, South Georgia Wildcats 47 (Attendance: 4,201)

MACON, Ga. - For their fifth win in their last six games, the Macon Knights (8-7) topped the South Georgia Wildcats (3-12) 72-47 at the Macon Coliseum. Macon's Lionel Hayes threw for 288 yards and seven touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing with no interceptions. He found Chris Johnson 12 times for 165 yards and six touchdowns. Hosea Laney recorded eight solo tackles, two passes broken up and one interception for the Knights. For the Wildcats, Antwone Savage caught 11 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned five kickoffs for 145 yards including a 57-yard return for a touchdown. The Wildcats' Montrail Pittman recorded five solo tackles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

TULSA TALONS 42, Amarillo Dusters 34 (Attendance: 6,683)

TULSA, Okla. - With a 42-34 victory over the Amarillo Dusters (8-7), the Tulsa Talons (11-4) clinched the West Division Championship and a bye in the first round on Saturday night at the Tulsa Convention Center. The win avenged a loss to the Dusters in the first game of the season. Tulsa jumped out to a 14-0 lead on two of Donovan Morgan's four touchdowns on the night. The Dusters then outscored Tulsa 14-0 second quarter to tie the game 28 all at halftime. Tulsa outscored Amarillo 14-0 in the third to take a 28-14 lead and then held on late for the win. The Dusters' Chavis McCollister caught 13 yards for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Tulsa's Josh Blankenship completed 17-of-28 passes for 187 yards and six touchdowns. Donovan Morgan now has an af2 record 53 touchdown receptions on the season.

Quad City Steamwheelers 53, BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS 51 (Attendance 1,984)

BOSSIER CITY, Lou. - On a pass off the nets with no time remaining, the Quad City Steamwheelers (9-6) defeated the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (3-12) 53-51 at the CenturyTel Center. Up by three points, Quad City had two possessions late in the fourth quarter to ice the game. But after the Battle Wings forced the 'Wheelers to turn the ball over on down on both possessions, back up 'Wings quarterback Graham Gochneaur found Adrian Burnette from six yards out with six seconds left in the game to put Bossier-Shreveport up by four. The 'Wheelers had one prayer left, and it was answered as Sam Clemons' toss of the right net was reeled in by Jack Walker Jr. for a game winning score. On the night Travis Burns caught two touchdows, rushed for one touchdown and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Bossier-Shreveport's Reggie Perkins caught two touchdowns and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. With Central Valley's loss, the 'Wheelers clinched a playoff berth with the win.

Arkansas Twisters 55, BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS 42 (Attendance: 6,081)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Kevin Feterik had no problem spreading the ball around as five Twister's receivers hauled in passes as Arkansas (4-11) defeated the Birmingham Steeldogs (2-13) in front of 6,091 at the BJCC on Saturday night. Feterik's performance included 5 touchdown on 222 yards passing earning him Offensive Player of the Game honors. ADT Defensive Player of the Game Steve Watson kept the Birmingham quarterbacks on the run all night racking up 2.5 sacks on the night. The Birmingham defense was headed up by George Williams who tallied 7.0 tackles and recorded one interception. U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Bryan Douzart put the game away with a 5-yard fumble recovery with just under a minute and half left on the clock. Steeldog Detronn Harris racked up 166 all-purpose yards in the loss. Arkansas jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Steeldogs fought back, taking a one-point lead at 34-33 after scoring first in the second half.

Florida Firecats 48, GREEN BAY BLIZZARD 47 (5,632)

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Florida Firecats (13-2) locked up home-field advantage on the heroics of Magic Benton who caught a diving pass in the far back of the end zone to secure a two-point conversion with no time remaining on the clock giving the Firecats the 48-47 last second victory over the Green Bay Blizzard (8-7). Just seconds before Florida quarterback Chris Wallace hit Cainon Lamb with a 9-yard touchdown pass as time expired in front of a record crowd of 5,632 at the Resch Center. With just more than 20 seconds left on the clock, Green Bay's Matt Huebner hammered in a 3-yard touchdown giving the Blizzard the 47-40 lead. Blizzard quarterback Johnny Turman completed 22-of-34 passing for 213 yards and three touchdowns while also running in for two more scores. Benton led all receivers hauling in 12 catches in the victory.

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 71, RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS 40 (Attendance: 5,519)

HIDALGO, TEXAS - The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (9-6) never slowed down on offense lighting up the scoreboard for 71 points in their victory over Rio Grande Valley (9-6) on Saturday night in front of 5,519 people at the Dodge Arena. Offensive Player of the Game and Yard Dawgz quarterback Craig Strickland player almost error free football going 17-of-22 passing for 260 yards and 6 touchdowns. On defense Oklahoma City's Rickie Davis tallied 4.0 tackles to go along with his multiple pass breakups en route to earning ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors. Rio Grande Valley receiver Marquis Floyd scored four touchdowns including three receiving scores in the fourth quarter. In addition to his offensive performance, Floyd had 4.0 tackles earning him the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game award.

Bakersfield Blitz 44, SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE 36 (Attendance: 5,112)

SAN DIEGO - The Bakersfield Blitz (6-9) got off to a hot start with 23 points in the first quarter and held off a second-half push from the San Diego Riptide (5-10) to pull off the victory. Blitz Defensive Specialist Alex Wallace led a dominating team defense with 4.5 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. The contest featured impressive running games by both teams as well as a number of excellent kickoff returns. San Diego was led on both sides of the ball by Matt Guardia. The Riptide standout recorded 4.5 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery to go along with a rushing touchdown earning himself U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors. The Offensive Player of the Game accolade went to San Diego's Steve Gonzalez, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the fifth consecutive game.

Memphis Xplorers 69, CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES 57 (Attendance: 1,756)

FRESNO, Calif. - In a game that saw a combined 48 fourth quarter points, the Memphis Xplorers (12-3) defeated the Central Valley Coyotes (7-8) 69-57 at Selland Arena on Saturday night. The matchup featured another stellar offensive performance by Memphis star Kevin Prentiss who caught 7 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns. QB Juston Wood who threw for an impressive 320 yards and eight touchdowns but three costly interceptions allowed the Memphis Xplorers to capitalize and come out on top over Central Valley. Xplorer Terrell Adams defined the term Ironman with his exceptional performance on all fronts. Adams had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown to go along with one rushing TD as well as one receiving. For the Coyotes, George Williams and DeRonn Finley combined for 300 all-purpose yards in the loss.

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