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Week 18 af2 game recaps

August 2, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FRIDAY, JULY 30

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 44, MANCHESTER WOLVES 37 (Attendance: 7,652)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Behind four Tim Hicks touchdown passes the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (13-3) finished out their regular season with a 44-37 win over the Manchester Wolves (5-11) at Verizon Wireless Arena. Kyle Grove recovered a fumble and took it 15 yards into the endzone for a touchdown in the second quarter. He also registered an interception and 5.5 tackles on the evening. Manchester quarterback Chris Sanders threw for three touchdowns and 245 yards to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark for the season. Sanders also rushed fore three touchdowns. Rocco Forgione and Jurron Kelly both recorded two touchdown receptions for the Pioneers. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton holds the No. 1 seed in the American Conference playoffs and have earned a bye in the first round.

Central Valley Coyotes 48, SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE 34 (Attendance: 5,276)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Central Valley Coyotes (3-13) ended the playoff hopes of the San Diego Riptide (8-8) as they won 48-34 at the San Diego Sports Arena. The Coyotes dominated the first half, taking a 27-6 lead into halftime. San Diego attempted a come back in the second half when Nakoa McElrath scored two consecutive touchdowns. The first was a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown and the second was a 10-yard touchdown reception. But these scores only brought the Riptide within eight points. While the Coyotes did come out on top, Kenyatte Morgan's 126 all purpose yards were fifteen yards short of breaking the record for most all-purpose yards in a season. VonKeith Spencer registered two interceptions for the Coyotes defense.

SATURDAY, JULY 31

CAPE FEAR WILDCATS 44, Albany Conquest 37 (Attendance: 4,880)

FAYETTEVILLE, NC. - With eight catches for 109 yards and three touchdown catches, Matt Burstein led the Cape Fear Wildcats (12-4) over the Albany Conquest (6-10) 44-37 at the Crown Coliseum. Mike Gluski, the Wildcats normal starting quarterback, took the evening off with the Wildcats' No. 4 playoff position locked up. That didn't stop the Cats from jumping out to a 34-6 lead and never looking back. Jake Eaton and Brian Baker both took snaps in place of Gluski. For Albany, Tony Locke caught six passes for 58 yards and three touchdowns. Jeff Higgins registered an interception for the Conquest. Voncellies Allen recorded two sacks for the Wildcats. Next week the Cape Fear Wildcats host the Birmingham Steeldogs on Saturday 7:30 p.m. ET in the first round of the ArenaCup Playoffs.

Memphis Xplorers 65, COLUMBUS WARDOGS 62 (Attendance: 3,699)

COLUMBUS, Ga. - The fans at the Columbus Civic Center saw two nearly perfect quarterback performances as the Memphis Xplorers (10-6) topped the Columbus Wardogs (6-10) 65-62. Memphis quarterback Michael Wall completed 22 of 35 passes for 303 yards and seven touchdowns with zero interceptions. Columbus signal caller Kyle Rowley completed 22 of 24 passes for 320 yards and seven touchdowns with zero interceptions and one rushing touchdown. But the one play when Rowley needed to complete a pass, he was sacked at midfield by Kenneth Harney to end the game as the Wardogs were moving in position for a game-tying field goal or potential game winning touchdown. Rowley did pass the 4,000 passing yard mark on the season though. Memphis travels to Florida next Saturday to play their first ever playoff game in franchise history at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Birmimgham Steeldogs 50, MACON KNIGHTS 31 (Attendance: 3,511)

MACON, Ga. - Jeff Aaron completed eleven of 21 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions to guide the Birmingham Steeldogs (10-6) over the Macon Knights (3-13) 50-31 at the Macon Coliseum. Carols McNeary caught seven passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns while rushing once for a two-yard touchdown to total four touchdowns on the evening. Dontae Walker rushed eight times for 18 yards and two touchdowns. For the Knights, Jamaal Garman caught had seven receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,059 receiving yards. Birmingham holds the No. 5 seed in the American Conference and will play Cape Fear next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Tennessee Valley Vipers 76, FLORIDA FIRECATS 60 (Attendance: 6,321)

ESTERO, Fla. - With a bye in the American Conference playoffs on the line the Tennessee Valley Vipers (12-4) went on the road to defeat the Florida Firecats (10-6) by a score of 76-60 at Germain Arena. In a back and fourth game where both sides had players put up big offensive numbers, the difference was an Erin Damond 43-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The score put the Vipers up by 16 points and gave them control of the game. Damond also recorded a forced fumble and fumble recovery for the Vipers. Both Josh Kellett and Ken Mastrole threw for seven touchdowns, the main difference being Mastrole's interception and Kellett remaining turnover free. Cainon Lamb and Magic Benton both caught three touchdown passes for the Firecats. Next week Florida hosts Memphis in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tennessee Valley has earned the No 2 seed and a bye in the First Round.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS 60, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 36 (Attendance: 8,830)

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Twisters (4-12) defeated the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (5-11) for the second time this season by a score of 60-36 at the Alltel Arena. Arkansas jumped out to a 20-7 lead and led the rest of the way. Twisters quarterback Travis Motley had a big night. He completed 18 of 34 passes for 239 yards and nine touchdowns. Kevin Williams was the benefactor of Motley's big game, catching 10 passes for 132 yards and a Twisters record five touchdowns. In his final af2 game, Battle Wings quarterback Sherard Poteete completed eight of 21 passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Battle Wings receiver Reggie Perkins recorded three catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns. Reggie Cooley had five tackles and one sack.

Rio Grande Valley Dorados 47, WICHITA STEALTH 43 (Attendance: 2,966)

WICHITA, Kan. - The Wichita Stealth (8-8) needed a victory over the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (6-10) to stay in the playoff chase, but it wasn't to be as the Dorados defeated the Stealth 47-43 at the Kansas Coliseum. The Dorados' Craig Cole scored on a 57-yard kickoff return and a 15-yard pass to put together two consecutive scores for the Dorados and set the pace for the rest of the game. He also scored on a nine-yard pass in the third quarter. Wichita had a chance, recording two stops on defense in the fourth quarter but their offense couldn't capitalize for the come back. Damon Thompson caught two touchdown passes for the Stealth. Dorados kicker Eric Houle was two of four on field goal attempts, connecting on a 46 and an important 49-yard attempt in the second half. Dorados defensive specialist racked up three interceptions, including one he returned six yards for the first score of the game.

Green Bay Blizzard 33, PEORIA PIRATES 30 (Attendance: 5,352)

PEORIA, Ill. - The Green Bay Blizzard (6-10) swept the season series from the Peoria Pirates (9-7) with a 33-30 victory over the Pirates at Peoria Civic Center. Greg Krauss connected on a 15-yard field goal with one second remaining on the clock to give the Blizzard the victory. Playing in his first game for the Blizzard, Andy Sham completed 21 of 38 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. DeRonn Finley caught eleven passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns for the Blizzard. Peoria's Lawrence Matthews grabbed five passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed three yards for a touchdown and recorded a forced fumble on defense. Frank West had an interception and four total passes defended for the Pirates. Peoria goes on the road to Oklahoma City to face the Yard Dawgz next Saturday 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be played at the Cox Convention Center because the Ford Center is booked this weekend.

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS 66, Louisville Fire 38 (Attendance: 7,285)

MOLINE, Ill. - With the Midwest Division championship on the line, the Quad City Steamwheelers (10-6) came out on top, 66-38, over the Louisville Fire (9-7) at The Mark. It was a close first half with the Fire taking a 24-19 lead into halftime. Then the Steamwheelers got rolling, outscoring the Fire 47-14 in the second half to win the division. The Fire still earn their first ever playoff birth with the No. 6 seed. They will get a chance at revenge, as they will come back to The Mark next weekend to face the Steamwheelers in the First Round of the ArenaCup Playoffs. The Steamwheelers defense was strong. Matt Forbes recorded three interceptions, including one he returned 18 yards for a touchdown. Charles Sheffield returned an interception nine yards for a touchdown also. Sheffield also caught a late touchdown pass. Jeff Hewitt had five catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns while Tim Dodge caught five passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns to set the pace for the Steamwheelers offense. For the Fire, Anthony Payton had six receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

TULSA TALONS 76, Laredo Law 28 (Attendance: 6,291)

TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa Talons (13-3) revved up for the playoffs with a 76-28 victory over the Laredo Law (3-13) at the Tulsa Convention Center. Bob Bees completed 13 of 22 passes for 150 yards and six touchdowns with one interception to guide the Talons to the victory. Robert Reed and Tony Moeves both caught two touchdown passes. P.J. Winston caught seven passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Law in receiving. The Talons defense forced six turnovers, including five on fumbles. Antonio Dingle registered two sacks for the Talons. He also scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Tulsa holds the No. 1 seed in the National Conference for the ArenaCup Playoffs and will have a bye in the First Round. They will play the lowest seeded team that advances to the Semifinals.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ 58, Hawaiian Islanders 38 (Attendance: 7,578)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - In front of the largest crowd to ever see an Arena Football game in Bakersfield, California the Hawaiian Islanders (8-8) had their playoff hopes dashed as they lost 58-38 to the Bakersfield Blitz (11-5) at the Centennial Garden. Chad Elliott had an impressive game, throwing for 222 yards and five touchdowns on 14 of 19 passing with zero interceptions. Steve Wofford caught four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown while rushing three times for 17 yards and two touchdowns. The Islanders' Shawn Withy-Allen completed 18 of 28 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. All three of his touchdown passes went to Nian Taylor who finished the game with seven catches for 68 yards and the aforementioned three touchdowns. Nick Onaindia registered 4.5 tackles (4UA 1A), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Earning the No. 2 seed in the National Conference, Bakersfield has a bye in the First Round of the ArenaCup Playoffs.

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