af2 arenafootball2

Week 3 Saturday night matchups

April 16, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CAPE FEAR WILDCATS (1-0) AT COLUMBUS WARDOGS (0-1) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - COLUMBUS CIVIC CENTER (7,600) 7:30 P.M. ET The Cape Fear Wildcats travel to Georgia to face the Columbus Wardogs. The Wildcats are on a high after last week's season opening victory over division foe Albany, 70-55. The Wardogs are on a low after giving up a fourth quarter lead to the Pioneers last week, losing 38-33. Despite the disappointing loss last week to the Pioneers there is a lot of hope for the Wardogs this season. Columbus' receiving corps looks strong with ADRIAN COCKFIELD, REGGIE JONES, and ANTHONY DIXON catching 20 of the Wardogs' 27 receptions last week. Wardogs' projected starting quarterback CHRIS WINDSOR is still injured and KYLE ROWLEY will again get the start for the Wardogs. On defense, TERENCE SAMUEL intercepted two passes last week for the Wardogs and will look to pick off Cape Fear quarterback CHRIS WALLACE. Last week Wallace was perfect against the Conquest, literally. His quarterback rating was a perfect 158.3, as he put up fourteen of seventeen passing, six touchdowns, and 226 yards. There isn't a head coach in the af2 who would turn down those numbers. If Wallace gets anywhere near these numbers against Columbus look for the Wardogs to end up in the doghouse.

WILDCATS // WARDOGS SERIES LEADER: First Meeting LAST FIVE GAMES: 1-0 // 0-1 LAST GAME: Won vs. ALB 70-55 on 4/10 // Lost at WBS 38-33 on 4/10 PASSING: Wallace: 14-17-0; 226; 6 TDs // Rowley: 27-42-1; 232; 3 TDs RECEIVING: Burnstein: 7-149; 4 TDs // Cockfield: 11-73; 1 TD RUSHING: Johnson: 7-35; 2 TDs // Rowley: 2-2; 0 TDs TACKLES: Patterson: 4.5 // Johnson: 5 SACKS: Coleman/Mandina: 1 // Wardogs: 0 INTERCEPTIONS: Patterson: 1 // Samuel: 2 KICKING: Avilez: 8-10 PAT; 0-0 FG 8 PTs // Groff: 3-4 PAT; 2-3 FG 9 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 70.0 PPG (11th); 286.0 YPG (7th) // 33.0 PPG (20th); 219.0 YPG (9th) TEAM DEFENSE: 55.0 PPG (20th); 315.0 YPG (25th) // 38.0 PPG (11th); 231.0 YPG (12th)

BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS (1-1) AT ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-1) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - ALLTEL ARENA (16,058) 8:00 P.M. ET The Birmingham Steeldogs travel to Arkansas to take on the Twisters in a matchup between two original af2 clubs. The Steeldogs and Twisters have meet in all five of the af2 seasons with the series record tied at 3-3. But Arkansas has won three of the last four meetings. Arkansas' quarterback KEVIN WILLIAMS is a threat to beat the defense with the run or the pass but he has struggled to lead a consistent Twisters offensive attack thus far as the Twisters are only averaging 30.5 points a game. The Steeldogs will have to look out for DARNELL SMALL on both sides of the ball. Small leads the Twisters in sacks with three, tackles for loss with 3.5, and is tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns with two. He is setting the pace early for a defense which is third in the league in points allowed with 30.0. Arkansas fell from six to 12 in the Coaches' Poll after losing last week in Peoria. Following a disappointing loss in their opener to the Battle Wings, the Steeldogs came back last week to defeat the Xplorers at home. Birmingham scored four of their five touchdowns last week on the ground, with DANTAE WALKER scoring two rushing touchdowns and having a long run of 21 yards. Steeldogs' quarterback KENTON EVANS is questionable for the game. If Evans cannot go, JEFF AARON will take his place at quarterback. This will be the only meeting this season between the Steeldogs and Twisters.

STEELDOGS // TWISTERS SERIES LEADER: Series Tied 3-3 LAST FIVE GAMES: 1-1 // 1-1 LAST GAME: Won vs. MEM 44-21 on 4/10 // Lost at PEO 22-13 on 4/9 PASSING: Aaron: 15-32-2; 183; 2 TDs // Williams: 28-57-1; 355; 3 TDs RECEIVING: Harris: 13-209; 1 TD // Alford: 12-113; 2 TDs RUSHING: Walker: 6-35; 2 TDs // Williams: 8-48; 2 TDs TACKLES: Williams: 15.5 // Jefferson/Alford: 7.5 SACKS: Turner: 2 // Small: 3 INTERCEPTIONS: Jordan/McNeary: 1 // Collins: 1 KICKING: Gallego: 8-10 PAT; 1-2 FG 11 PTs // Luzaydio: 1-1 PAT; 2-6 FG 7 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 42.5 PPG (13th); 232.0 YPG (14th) // 30.5 PPG (21st); 205.5 YPG (20th) TEAM DEFENSE: 45.0 PPG (16th); 178.0 YPG (5th) // 30.0 PPG (3rd); 169.5 YPG (3rd)

FLORIDA FIRECATS (1-0) AT MEMPHIS XPLORERS (0-1) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - DESOTO CIVIC CENTER (8,400) 8:00 P.M. ET The Florida Firecats travel north to take on the Memphis Xplorers in the Xplorers' home opener. The Firecats are coming of a convincing 46-31 victory in their home opener over the Battle Wings. The Xplorers on the other hand lost last week in Birmingham 44-27. If the Xplorers want to win their home opener they are going to need to get their offense going as scoring only 27 points like last game won't cut it against the Firecats. The Firecats bring in the No. 1 defense in terms of yardage. While it is only through one game for the Firecats, it doesn't bode well for Memphis Xplorers' quarterback BRIAN JONES. Last week he threw 41 passes but could only complete 21 of them. He threw two interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 54.3. An identical performance against the Firecats will spell trouble for Memphis. The Firecats also bring in the No. 1 offense in terms of yardage with 333 yards per game. Former AFL quarterback KEN MASTROLE comes off his seven-touchdown performance last week to face an Xplorers defense that ranks second in the af2 in pass defense, with 129 passing yards allowed. Look for this number to go up if Firecats' receiver CAINON LAMB can get going. Lamb's five touchdown catches last week lead the team. Memphis will travel to Florida to face the Firecats in a rematch on May 29.

FIRECATS // XPLORERS SERIES LEADER: Florida Leads Series 3-1 LAST FIVE GAMES: 1-0 // 0-1 LAST GAME: Won vs. BOS 46-31 on 4/10 // Lost at BIR 51-48 on 4/10 PASSING: Mastrole: 32-49-0; 301; 7 TDs // Jones: 21-41-2; 194; 1 TD RECEIVING: Lamb: 12-109; 5 TDs // Prentiss: 8-73; 1 TD RUSHING: Gorrie: 5-27; 0 TDs // Epson: 2-7; 2 TDs TACKLES: Wigfall: 3 // Karr: 6 SACKS: Morant: 1 // Grace/Epson: .5 INTERCEPTIONS: Firecats: 0 // Xplorers: 0 KICKING: Kornblue: 2-5 PAT; 0-2 FG 2 PTs // Whilte: 3-3 PAT; 0-2 FG 3 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 46.0 PPG (11th); 333.0 YPG (1st) // 27.0 PPG (23rd); 170.0 YPG (22nd) TEAM DEFENSE: 31.0 PPG (5th); 134.0 YPG (1st) // 44.0 PPG (15th); 176.0 YPG (4th)

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (1-0) AT QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (2-0) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - THE MARK (9,437) 8:30 P.M. ET When looking at the five-year history of the af2 certain rivalries stand out, and Tennessee Valley Vipers versus Quad City Steamwheelers is one of them. This is a match up of the No. 1 (Quad City) and No. 2 (Tennessee Valley) rated teams in the af2 Coaches Poll. These two teams faced each other in the first ever ArenaCup in 2000. In 2001 the Vipers were the only team to beat Quad City in the Steamwheelers' ArenaCup Champion season. In 2002 the teams traded victories against each other. Then last season the Steamwheelers gave Tennessee Valley their first loss of the season after fourteen straight victories. The defeat by the Steamwheelers sent the Vipers' season into a tailspin they couldn't recover from. The Vipers went on to lose their final regular season game and then bow out early in the 2003 playoffs. Now it is 2004 and the Vipers return to the Quad Cities looking for revenge. BRYAN SNYDER returned to the Vipers two weeks ago in a big way. He put up seven touchdown passes, 292 passing yards, and more importantly threw zero interceptions. While RODNEY BROWN had the most catches, seven, for the Vipers in their opener against Bakersfield, JERRIAN JAMES, totaled the most yards, 130. James also was a monster of defense getting a big interception against Bakersfield. These number earned him U.S. Army Ironman of the Week honors for Week 1. In the steps of former Steamwheelers quarterbacks Billy Dicken, Jay McDonagh, and Tony Zimmerman enters RONNIE GORDON. His 509 yards and eight touchdowns have led the Steamwheelers to two victories to start the season. The quarterback position may change each year, but some things do not. Like the dependability of TIM DODGE. The Vipers will have to stop him on both sides of the ball as Dodge has totaled 4.5 tackles and four touchdown catches on the season. No matter who comes out on top in this game, the loser will have a chance for a rematch on July 10 when the Steamwheelers go on the road to face Tennessee Valley.

VIPERS // STEAMWHEELERS SERIES LEADER: Quad City Leads Series 6-2 LAST FIVE GAMES: 1-0 // 2-0 LAST GAME: Won vs. BAK 60-35 on 4/3 // Won at MAN 45-42 on 4/10 PASSING: Snyder: 21-36-0; 292; 7 TDs // Gordon: 23-49-2; 509; 8 TDs RECEIVING: Brown: 7-104; 2 TDs // Hewitt: 11-276; 4 TDs RUSHING: Maffett: 2-8; 0 TDs // Berg: 2-12; 0 TDs TACKLES: Freeman: 9.5 // Forbes: 11 SACKS: Baker: 1 // Herrington/Berg/Traynor/Weite/Brown: 1 INTERCEPTIONS: Freeman: 2 // Moore/Forbes/Thomas: 1 KICKING: Walls: 6-7 PAT; 0-0 FG 6 PTs // Geisler: 11-14 PAT; 1-3 FG 14 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 60.0 PPG (4th); 298.0 YPG (4th) // 58.0 PPG (5th); 290.5 YPG (6th) TEAM DEFENSE: 35.0 PPG (8th); 246.0 YPG (13th) // 37.0 PPG (6th); 229.0 YPG (11th)

SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (0-2) AT BAKERSFIELD BLITZ (1-1) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - CENTENNIAL GARDEN (9,000) 10:00 P.M. ET The Bakersfield Blitz return to Centennial Garden for their home opener against the San Diego Riptide. The Riptide are coming off a season opening loss in Arkansas and a home loss against the Green Bay Blizzard. Bakersfield opened the season with a loss to the Vipers and then a victory over the Central Valley Coyotes. After throwing four interceptions in the loss to the Vipers, Blitz quarterback CHAD ELLIOTT threw only one in the Blitz victory against the Coyotes. Elliott has found his main receiving corps in STEVE WOFFORD, ERIC MAHANKE, and MEL MILLER. These three men have 35 of the Blitz' 44 total receptions, and nine of the Blitz' total twelve touchdown receptions. Miller and Mahanke also get it done on defense as they have 11.5 total tackles between them. The Riptide's defense has struggled on the young season. They gave up 48 points to an Arkansas team who could only manage thirteen in its next game against Peoria. After two games the Riptide have only one interception. On offense, the QB situation has been up in the air. KANE CLAUNCH started the season opener, but struggled, so KEVIN FETERIK started last week. After Feterik went out with a finger injury last week Claunch stepped in. Look for Claunch to get the start under center for the Riptide in this game. The Riptide and Blitz will face off three more times before the season ends.

RIPTIDE // BLITZ SERIES LEADER: First Meeting LAST FIVE GAMES: 0-2 // 1-1 LAST GAME: Lost vs. GRB 67-49 on 4/9 // Won at CVC 65-48 on 4/10 PASSING: Claunch: 25-54-2; 334; 8 TDs // Elliott: 44-70-5; 511; 12 TDs RECEIVING: Carter: 16-211; 4 TDs // Wofford: 15-213; 4 TDs RUSHING: Guardia: 1-5; 0 TDs // Elliott: 2-10; 0 TDs TACKLES: Curtis: 6.5 // Haslip: 9 SACKS: Burrows/Grejada/Guardia: 1 // Carroll: 1 INTERCEPTIONS: Reyes: 1 // Heimuli/Myles: 1 KICKING: Collins: 10-12 PAT; 1-2 FG 13 PTs // Walker: 9-12 PAT; 1-2 FG 12 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 43.5 PPG (12th); 228.0 YPG (18th) // 50.0 PPG (9th); 263.0 YPG (12th) TEAM DEFENSE: 57.5 PPG (22nd); 248.5 YPG (14th) // 54.0 PPG (19th); 274.0 YPG (17th)

BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (1-1) AT HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (1-1) SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 - NEAL BLAISDELL ARENA (6,033) 6:30 P.M. LOCAL A week after the Hawaiian Islanders made the trans-continental trek to Louisville to take on the Fire, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings do the same this week to take on the Islanders. The Islanders are led by the brother-to-brother connection of DARNELL ARCENEAUX to ANTHONY ARCENAUX. These two have connected eleven times for 172 yards and six touchdowns. Darnnell Arceneaux, with ten touchdown passes, has been solid this season but he threw a big interception late in the game last week as the Islanders were driving for a go ahead score against the Fire. The loss slipped the Islanders from third to eighth in the af2 Coaches Poll. Darnell Arceneaux will have to look out for COREY KELLY of the Battle Wings who returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in the season opening win over the Steeldogs. The Battle Wings go as quarterback SHERARD POTEETE goes. Poteete is always a threat whether running or passing, but last week against the Firecats he faced constant pressure. Despite this rush Poteete has yet to thrown an interception and has thrown a touchdown pass to six different receivers. Throwing the ball to six different receivers is fine, but some of them need more than one touchdown. Poteete will need to move the ball down the field a little more as the Battle Wings rank 24th in the league in yards per game. The Battle Wings and Islanders will face off again this season on April 30 when the Islanders travel to Louisiana for the rematch. BATTLEWINGS // ISLANDERS SERIES LEADER: First Meeting LAST FIVE GAMES: 1-1 // 1-1 LAST GAME: Lost at FLA 46-31 on 4/10 // Lost at LOU 37-35 on 4/10 PASSING: Poteete: 27-54-0; 245; 6 TDs // D. Arceneaux: 7-18-1; 54; 0 TDs RECEIVING: Mcafee: 7-76; 1 TD // A. Arceneaux: 6-45; 1 TD RUSHING: Poteete: 12-47; 2 TDs // D. Arceneaux: 1-4; 0 TDs TACKLES: Sheppard: 13 // Klaneski: 9 SACKS: Thomas: 1 // Notoa: 1 INTERCEPTIONS: Kelly/Dill: 1 // A. Arceneaux: 2 KICKING: Ball: 8-12 PAT; 2-5 FG 14 PTs // Naehu: 6-13 PAT; 1-2 FG 9 PTs TEAM OFFENSE: 47.0 PPG (10th); 160.0 YPG (24th) // 51.5 PPG (8th); 309.5 YPG (3rd) TEAM DEFENSE: 43.5 PPG (14th); 310.5 YPG (23th) // 36.0 PPG (9th); 279.5 YPG (18th)



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