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Week 17 af2 game recaps

July 25, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


SATURDAY, JULY 22

Manchester Wolves 51, ALBANY CONQUEST 50 (6,008)

ALBANY, N.Y. - Albany K Vinny Cirrincione missed a 30-yard field goal attempt as time expired to give the Manchester Wolves a 51-50 come-from-behind victory over the Conquest at Pepsi Arena's U.S. Army Field. Manchester won the game on a gutsy two-point conversion call, where QB Steve Bellisari hit a wide-open DS Allistair Sebastien in the end zone. The attempt was set up by a WR/LB Marc Bacote touchdown reception with exactly one-minute remaining. The game-winning drive for Manchester came after QB Ryan Vena recorded his second rushing touchdown of the game with 1:51 to play to give the Conquest a 50-43 lead. Albany's ensuing onside kick landed Manchester at the Conquest 5-yard line to set up the winning score. The Conquest jumped out to an early 16-0 lead, beginning with a 25-yard scoring reception for WR/DB Thomas Anthony in the corner of the end zone. On the ensuing Manchester possession, the Wolves attempted a field goal from their own two-yard line. The kick was blocked and resulted in a safety as WR/DB John Chestnut made a tackle in the end zone. Albany then drove the ball the length of the field, culminating in a touchdown from Vena to OS Bakari Brown. Manchester got on the board with a 50-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by WR/DB Wendell Williams. The Wolves would go on to score one more touchdown through the air and one more on the ground before the first half expired. WR/LB Marc Bacote caught a pass for a score and OL/DL Demetrius Forney scored on a great run down the sideline. The Conquest however, regained a sizable lead when Bellisari fumbled the ball deep in Wolves territory to set up a 23-yard field goal to close the half 36-21 in favor of Albany. The third quarter belonged to Manchester in the form of a 15-0 advantage behind two interceptions. The first interception came as the Conquest were in the red zone and the second resulted in a five-yard scoring run from Wolves FB/LB Mark Kimener to tie the game at 36-36. Vena earned Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honors (26-of-51 passing, 253 yards 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 26 rush yards, 3 TDs). Williams earned U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors (3 catches, 11 yards, 1 TD, 112 KR yards, including 50-yard KR for TD, 6.5 tackles, 1 INT). The Wolves win, which kept their playoff hopes alive at 8-7, was their third in a row. Albany slipped to 5-10 in defeat.

FLORIDA FIRECATS 62, Louisville Fire 56 (5,761)

ESTERO, Fla. - The Florida Firecats (12-3) avenged a loss to Louisville in the 2005 American Conference title game with a 62-56 win against the Fire Saturday night at Germain Arena. The win gave the Firecats their third consecutive South Division Championship. Louisville started the game strong, scoring twice before Florida could get on the board. FB/LB Scott Power and QB Brett Dietz scored with a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs on their first two possessions. On the second score, Louisville successfully executed a two point conversion with a catch by OS Rob Mager, making it 15-0. Florida answered back with a 4-yard touchdown pass from QB Chris Wallace to WR/LB Brittney Tellis making the score 15-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Fire started the second quarter the same as the first, with another scoring drive ending in a one yard plunge, this time by WR/DB Nate Green, putting Louisville ahead, 22-6. Florida WR/DB Ethenic Sands caught an 11-yard touchdown pass on the Firecats next series, Tellis then caught the two-point conversion pass and brought the Firecats to within eight (22-14) with five minutes to play in the half, 22-14. The Fire's offense looked as if it could not be extinguished in the first half, scoring again on a 7-yard scoring catch by Mager, making it 29-14. With 46 seconds left before the half, the Firecats turned the game's momentum. FB/LB Chris Morant scored on a 3-yard run to cut the Louisville lead to nine, 29-20. Then, 35 seconds later, the Firecats defense forced a Dietz fumble that was picked up by Sands and taken into the end zone. Sands then caught the two- point conversion pass to make the score, 29-28 Louisville at the half. The Firecats carried that momentum into the second half, mounting a two-minute drive that was capped by an 11yard Sands scoring catch. The score gave Florida their first lead, 35-29. Florida forced a fumble on the next Louisville possession and then converted on their first offensive play, a 27-yard scoring strike from Wallace to OS Magic Benton making the score 42-29. Louisville tried to play catch up in the final quarter, but Florida wouldn't allow a comeback. Florida rookie FB/LB Clenton Crossley ran for a game-high 42 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a new team-record 18 rushing scores in a season. Firecats DS Cory Bailey had 10 tackles, giving him 108 on the season, which is also a Florida single-season record. Wallace also set two records in the win. He completed just nine passes in 20 attempts, but five of those passes went for touchdowns, giving him a team-best 93 in 2006. He also set a new team mark for passing yards with 3,621 yards with one game yet to play. Louisville fell to 9-6 with the loss.

MACON KNIGHTS 81, Tennessee Valley Vipers 28 (3,382)

MACON, Ga. - The Macon Knights defeated the Tennessee Valley Vipers, 81-28, Saturday night at Macon Coliseum. The Knights continued their quest for a playoff berth thanks to a great defensive effort couple with an offense that is starting to come together. The Knights defense held the Vipers scoreless in the second half with continuous pressure from the defensive line and timely turnovers. Macon had a number of outstanding plays on defense as a team, but three players stood out. Ed Wangler finished the night with three sacks, tying his own single-game record. Wangler only needed two sacks on the night to take over the Knights career record for sacks previously held by Andre Slappey with 16. Wangler was also awarded the ADT Defensive Player of the Game Award. Daryon Brutley, however, was close in the voting. Brutley finished with two interceptions, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, one pass breakup and three tackles. The Knights leading tackler was WR/DB James Hickenbotham with 5.5. D.J. Humphries had a strong two-way game and earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Award. Humphries had three tackles and two fumble recoveries that were returned for touchdowns. He also recorded five catches for 67 yards and one touchdown on offense. The Knights offense was once again led by Schutt Offensive Player of the Game Chavis McCollister. McCollister totaled nine catches for 158 yards and six touchdowns. Chad Elliott put in another solid night, completing 20-of-26 passes with eight touchdowns, no interceptions for 289 yards. The Tennessee Valley Vipers hung in with the Knights through the first quarter and were led by QB Chris Gunn. Gunn finished the night with 40 yards rushing and passed for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Gunn's favorite target on the night was Henry Freeman who caught seven passes for 92 yards. The Knights (8-7) will travel to Arkansas to face the Twisters in the 2006 season finale. Tennessee Valley slipped to 2-13 in defeat.

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 46, AMARILLO DUSTERS 34 (3,950)

AMARILLO, Texas - Three interceptions by Amarillo WR/LB-turned-QB Jarrod Rouanzoin and a lost fumble doomed the Dusters to their eighth consecutive loss as they dropped a 46-34 decision to Bossier-Shreveport Saturday at Cal Farley Coliseum. Rouanzoin struggled at quarterback, completing just 9-of-32 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns while being intercepted three times. Two of his touchdowns came on 45-yard strikes to John King and Craig Fulton Jr. The three interceptions and a lost fumble resulted in 14 Bossier-Shreveport points in the 12-point loss. Amarillo trailed, 26-21, at halftime and never led in the second half. Battle Wings' kicker Brian Hazelwood connected on four field goals, while QB J.J. Raterink (Schutt Offensive Player of the Game) completed 20-of-29 passes for 172 yards and two scores. Hazelwood's four field goals tied a team record for most field goals made in a single game. He also has 20 field goals made on the season, which is a new Bossier-Shreveport team record. Charlie Myles earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game with one rushing touchdown, three tackles and a fumble recovery in the end zone for a score. Amarillo's Ray Gates was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game with a game-high 6.0 tackles, including two tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one sack. Bossier-Shreveport lost three of four fumbles but the Dusters were able to covert them into just one touchdown. With the victory, the Battle Wings snap a four-game losing streak and improve their record to 3-12 in 2006. They will close out the season this Saturday in Oklahoma City. Amarillo (4-11) finishes its season Saturday at Tulsa.

Memphis Xplorers 56, BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS 52 (8,784)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A tipped interception returned for a touchdown proved to be the difference as the Memphis Xplorers defeated the Birmingham Steeldogs, 56-52, at the BJCC Arena. For the second straight week the Steeldogs had a chance to pull out a last-second victory. Bradly Chavez picked off a tipped Brian Jones pass with 40 seconds remaining in the game, giving Birmingham possession near mid-field. But the Steeldogs couldn't capitalize on the turnover, throwing three incomplete passes and giving up a sack to end their upset bid. Birmingham QB Robert Kent put up a valiant effort after being listed as questionable to play in the game. Playing through pain in his throwing shoulder, Kent completed 20-of-27 passes for 252 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. FB/LB Theo Sanders set the Steeldogs' single-game rushing record with 59 yards on 10 carries. He shattered the previous record of 42 yards set by former player Chris Windsor in 2000. As a team, Birmingham rushed 17 times for 88 yards, another record. Memphis was led offensively by Jones and OS Kevin Prentiss. Jones completed 23-of-36 pass attempts for 294 yards, five touchdowns and one pick. Prentiss caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. The Steeldogs' receiving corps was led by Allyn Sheffield, who caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The Xplorers clinched the third seed in the American Conference playoffs with the win. They finished their regular season at 11-5. Birmingham (7-8) closes out the regular season at home against their long-time rivals, the Tennessee Valley Vipers this Saturday.

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS 55, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 34 (4,709)

MOLINE, Ill. - The Steamwheelers won a contentious contest against former head coach Rich Ingold and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, 55-34, Saturday at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities. The victory kept Quad City's hopes for a spot in the af2 playoffs alive for one more week. ADT Defensive Player of the Game, Sid Lewis, and cast mates DS Ty Ardoin, DS Troy Graham and LB Jermaine Petty keyed the team's defensive effort. They helped clinch the outcome by registering three stops in the first four Pioneer possessions of the second half. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton managed only seven points in the second half. The Steamwheelers offense recorded thirty-five points in the first half and followed up with another twenty in the following two periods of play. QB Tim Hicks threw for 320 yards and six touchdowns on 19-of-30 passing, with two interceptions. Pioneers QB Kelvin Robinson, who was starting his first game of the season, threw for 206 yards on 13-of-28 passing. Robinson had one pass intercepted. Front line pressure by Quad City along with blanketing coverage provided by the Steamwheelers secondary made for a long night for Robinson. The game started with a strong showing by the home team, taking just over two minutes for Hicks to throw a bomb to OS Kris Peters for a touchdown. The score was the first of five for Peters, who was named Schutt Offensive Player of the Game. The first half saw the lead change between the two teams three more times before the Steamwheelers started to pull away. It was Hick's pass to Dodge, followed by Dodge's juke and run half-way through the second period that shifted the momentum permanently to the Quad City side. Last minute scores by both the Steamwheelers and the Pioneers kept the margin at halftime to only eight points, 35-27. Unlike other third-quarter lapses, this time the Quad City defense came up with big plays, forcing the Pioneers to turn the ball over on a Sid Lewis interception, then on downs and finally, early in the fourth quarter, on downs again. Quad City's defense put the game away when DS Troy Graham recovered a Robinson fumble with just over two minutes left.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS 52, South Georgia Wildcats 46 (4,561)

HIDALGO, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Dorados held on to defeat the South Georgia Wildcats, 52-46, Saturday night at Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena in front of 4,561 fans. OS Dwight Counter caught three touchdowns from QB Josh Kellett and set a franchise season record with 11 total receptions. Counter now has 108 catches this season, breaking Marquis Floyd's previous mark of 101 set in 2005. Kellett was 22-for-31 passing for 230 yards with five touchdowns. R.J. Luke's 47-yard interception return turned the momentum in Rio Grande Valley's favor for good with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter. Luke earned the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Award for his strong two-way play, which included 19 rushing yards, one fumble recovery and the above-mentioned interception return for a touchdown. South Georgia was paced by QB Julian Reese (3 TD passes, 2 TD runs), OS Chris McKinney (7 catches, 64 yards, 2 TDs) and WR/DB Jamaal Perry (6 catches, 83 yards, 1 TD, 122 kick return yards). The Wildcats loss drops them to 3-12 on the season. Despite the win, Rio Grande Valley (7-8) fell out of contention for the 2006 postseason thanks to a Bakersfield Blitz win. The Dorados finish their season on Saturday when they host Spokane.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS 61, Tulsa Talons 40 (5,608)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas (9-6) intercepted Tulsa QB Mark Radlinski seven times en route to a 61-40 victory over the Talons (10-5) Saturday night at Alltel Arena. With the win, the Twisters earned the season sweep of Tulsa for the first time in Twisters history. The Twisters opened the game by scoring first when Kevin Williams hauled in a 32-yard pass from Walter Church that gave the Twisters a first and goal play from the three-yard line. Jon Schoonover finished off the drive by rushing in for the score. Tulsa answered by marching downfield with Don McGee scoring on a four-yard run. Arkansas scored quickly when Church hit Schoonover for a 34-yard catch and run to put the Twisters up, 14-7. Radlinski's pass on the next drive was tipped by Shakorr Bryant and intercepted by Steve Watson. The interception was the first of five in the first half and Arkansas led 40-20 at halftime. Tulsa couldn't convert on a fourth down situation to start the second half, turning the ball over inside the Tulsa five. Arkansas scored on the next play with a Pierre Thomas three-yard run, expanding the Twisters lead to 47-20. The Talons never got any closer than 14 points as Arkansas was able to manage the game and close with the 61-40 final. Church led Arkansas by completing 13-of-26 passes for 218 yards and six touchdowns, five in the first half and one interception en route to earning Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honors. Williams finished with six catches for 91 yards, both game-highs, and two scores. Schoonover had four total touchdowns to earn U. S. Army Ironman of the Game. DS Delenell Reid finished with seven tackles, two interceptions and broke the Twisters team record for tackles in a single season. Radlinski completed just 22-of-54 passes for 261 yards, three total touchdowns and an af2-record seven interceptions. Cesare Manning caught six passes for 83 yards and one touchdown and also returned an interception for another score. Both teams have already clinched a spot in the 2006 af2 playoffs.

SPOKANE SHOCK 69, Everett Hawks 68 (10,187)

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Shock slipped past their cross state rivals, the Everett Hawks, 69-68, Saturday night in the regular season home finale for the Shock. The victory gave Spokane Head Coach Chris Siegfried his 53rd career win, making him the winningest coach in af2 history. The result also clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs for the Shock. With over 10,000 fans in attendance, the home crowd seemed to disturb the road-weary Hawks as they had ten penalties for over 90 yards in the first quarter alone. The sold-out crowd made its presence felt growing louder and louder as the game wore on. The crowd grew to a deafening level in the fourth quarter as the Hawks tried to pull the upset on a two-point conversion attempt. The attempt failed after a costly penalty was called on the play. The two subsequent attempts, that included an extra point attempt, failed as well, sealing the victory for the Shock. Spokane's offense consisted of a heavy dose of short quick passes that allowed QB Kyle Rowley to complete 25 of his 38 attempts. Rowley was able to spread the ball throughout his deep receiving corps as seven different receivers had two or more receptions. Two of those receivers, Kevin Beard and Antwone Savage, combined for six touchdowns. The Hawks were led by QB Brian Baker's enormous individual effort (392 yards passing, 10 TDs). Baker's offense made the most of their possessions leading the Hawks to four separate one-play scoring drives including a 20-yard pass to J.R. Thomas in the first quarter that gave the Hawks their second led of the game. Thomas and Deontra Johnson continued to rattle the Shock's secondary throughout the game, combining for seven touchdown receptions on the night. Spokane improved to a league-best 13-2 with the win. Everett slipped to 4-11 in defeat.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ 72, Stockton Lightning 51 (4,028)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Bakersfield Blitz clinched the last spot in the af2 playoffs on the National Conference side with a 72-51 victory against the Stockton Lightning Saturday night at Rabobank Arena. The Lightning opened the game with a 45-yard field goal. That would be the team's only points of the first quarter, however. WR/DB DeRonn Finley scored on a 3-yard run to give Bakersfield a 7-3 lead. The next score also went to the Blitz when WR/DB Nathan Munson had a 4-yard rushing touchdown. The Blitz led after one quarter, 14-3. In the first play of the second quarter, Lightning QB Josh Blankenship fumbled the snap and was recovered by Blitz OL/DL Dwayne Parker-Draughon. Finley scored on the next play for Bakersfield on another 3-yard run to increase the lead to 21-3. The Lightning responded with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by OL Chris Harris. Finley's second touchdown came in the second quarter with a 14-yard pass reception. As the quarter was coming to an end, the Lightning scored off an 8-yard touchdown catch by WR/LB Phil Goodman. However, the first half didn't end there. Within the last ten seconds, the Blitz scored two more touchdowns - a 2-yard rushing touchdown by FB/LB Nick Onaindia and a fumble recovery by WR/LB Eric Mahanke on the ensuing kickoff. The first half ended with Bakersfield in control, 42-16. The third quarter started with an onside kick attempt that was recovered by Mahanke, giving the Blitz great field position. The second half was a back-and-forth affair, but thanks to Bakersfield's big lead, Stockton was never able to mount a serious charge. The Blitz swept the game awards, with Finley (2 rushing TDs, 4 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD) winning the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game, Mahanke (1 catch for 19 yards, 2.5 tackles, 2 FF, 2 FR - including one for a TD) winning the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game and OL/DL Jerry Turner (2 sacks) taking home the ADT Defensive Player of the Game. Stockton was led in defeat by QB Josh Blankenship (332 yards passing, 6 TDs, 0 INTs), OS Atnas Maeko (9 catches, 189 yards) and WR/LB Phil Goodman (7 catches, 111 yards, 5 TDs). The Blitz improved to 8-7 with the victory, while the Lightning fell to 5-10.

CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES 60, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 42 (2,653)

FRESNO, Calif. - The Central Valley Coyotes (11-4) secured a first round home playoff game on Saturday with a 60-42 home victory against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (10-5). The Coyotes extended their best winning streak in team history to six straight games. The win at home also gave Central Valley a home winning streak of four in a row. The Coyotes came out strong in the first half scoring each time they had possession of the ball, four touchdowns and a field goal. Coyotes QB and Scott Rislov (Schutt Offensive Player of the Game) had a strong game in the win, connecting on 29 of his 49 passes for 355 yards and eight touchdowns. His eight scoring tosses were a season-high single game mark for the rookie signal caller. Rislov now has 98 touchdown passes on the season, just one shy of the af2 record and seven off the Arena Football record (both ALF and af2) of 105. The Coyotes leading receiver, LaMonte Jones, caught four of Rislov's eight scoring passes. Emmet White caught two touchdowns and recorded 3.5 tackles to earn U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors. Josh Robinson and Marvin Brown caught one touchdown apiece. Brown's 34-yard scoring reception earned him the Cutters Catch of the Game. Robinson also contributed on defense with 2.5 tackles and an interception late in 4th quarter that helped take some wind out of the Dawgz' sail. Central Valley also got stellar defensive play from Kenny Haslip (1.5 tackles, 1 INT, 4 pass break ups) The Coyotes defensive line was led by ADT Defensive Player of the Game Doug Langenfeld. Langenfeld pressured Oklahoma City veteran QB Craig Strickland all night, finishing with 3.0 tackles and one tackle for loss. Strickland didn't have his best night, completing just 17-of-36 passes for 226 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. OS Jarrail Jackson caught three of Strickland's scoring passes and had six total receptions for 84 yards and had 132 kick return yards. Central Valley's victory ensured the team of the No. 3 seed in the 2006 playoffs.

*HOME TEAM LISTED IN CAPS



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