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Week eight af2 game recaps

May 23, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FRIDAY, MAY 20

MANCHESTER WOLVES 46, South Georgia Wildcats 21 (Attendance: 6,432)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Manchester Wolves (6-1) kept pace with Green Bay in the East Division with a 46-21 victory over the South Georgia Wildcats (2-5). Manchester's Allistair Sebastien, one of af2's international players, picked off two passes, broke up another pass and recorded six solo tackles. Rookie William Haith, af2's leader in tackles, recorded his first interception of the season. For South Georgia, Antwone Savage caught nine passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. J.J McKelvey and Heyward Skipper both caught two touchdowns for the Wolves while Kevin Fuller rushed five times for 22 yards and two touchdowns. Fuller also recorded the only sack of the game. Manchester took control of the game by forcing a turnover on downs at the beginning of the fourth quarter and scoring just three plays later to go up by 18 points. A Kevin Fuller touchdown pushed the score to the final tally.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ 25, San Diego Riptide 14 (Attendance: 3,407)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - It was a defensive battle as the Bakersfield Blitz (3-4) defeated the San Diego Riptide (2-5) 25-14 at Rabobank Arena. A week after Kane Claunch threw nine touchdown passes the Blitz defense stepped up allowing only 14 points and holding San Diego scoreless in the first and third quarters. It was the third time Bakersfield had held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter this season. A late Dan Burnett 30-yard field stretched the lead to two possessions late in the game. The Blitz defense scored a safety in the second quarter when Kika Kaululaau blocked a San Diego field goal attempt that sent the ball out of the back of the endzone. His performance earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors. Jason Thomas of Bakersfield was named Offensive Player of the game. The U.S. Army Ironman was Bakersfield's Henry Mandley. This was Bakersfield's second win over the Riptide this season.

SATURDAY, MAY 21

Memphis Xplorers 73, ALBANY CONQUEST 53 (Attendance: 5,481)

ALBANY, N.Y. - At Pepsi Arena, the Memphis Xplorers (6-1) continued their winning ways in a 73-53 victory over the Albany Conquest (2-5). The Xplorers gained momentum late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter. Memphis stopped Albany twice in the final three minutes of the first half. The first stop came on a Terrell Adams interception. After Albany retained possession on a Karleto Thomas forced fumble, Memphis' Terrence Quattlebaum made a big tackle on an Albany fourth down. At the start of the second half it was Terrell Adams again catching a 26-yard touchdown pass to put Memphis up two touchdowns. For Albany, Manwell Talbert caught six passes for 117 yards and a touchdown while Jeremiah Pope and Cy Butler both recorded two touchdown receptions. Memphis' Kevin Prentiss caught eight passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned six kickoffs for 134 yards and one touchdown.

Florida Firecats 47, LOUISVILLE FIRE 43, (Attendance 8,614)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The defending champions got back on track with a 47-43 victory over the Louisville Fire (4-3) at Freedom Hall. The Florida Firecats (6-1) ran their offense through three receivers. Brent Burnside caught six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Cainon Lamb, in his first game since un-retiring, recorded six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Magic Benton grabbed five passes for 65 yards and one touchdown. They were the only players to catch a pass for Florida on the night. Florida's Steve Gorrie rushed five times for 55 yards. For Louisville, Rob Mager caught 10 passes for 134 yards and four touchdowns. The back and forth game came down to the final minute when on a third and goal Chris Wallace found Lamb for a touchdown to put the Firecats up. Louisville had a chance to win it, but quarterback Matt Sauk couldn't connect with Dennis Fryzel from three yards out as the final buzzer sounded. The contest featured nine lead changes.

AMARILLO DUSTERS 68, Central Valley Coyotes 61 OT (Attendance: 3,541)

AMARILLO, Texas. - The Amarillo Dusters (5-2) kept sole possession of second place in the Midwest Division with a thrilling 68-61 overtime victory against the Central Valley Coyotes (4-3). Newcomer Dewayne Miles rushed seven times for 41 yards and two touchdowns. Central Valley also displayed an impressive rushing performance, scoring five of their nine touchdowns on the ground with both Vai Notoa and quarterback Juston Wood rushing for two scores. For Amarillo, Chavis McCollister grabbed 12 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns. The contest was thrilling from start to finish with neither team registering consecutive scores in the back and forth affair. DeRonn Finley caught one of his two touchdowns with 20 seconds left to knot the game at 61. The Dusters had a chance at a 24-yard field goal to win, but the kick went wide left and the game went into overtime. The Dusters' Kendrick Walker took the opening overtime kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown. Central Valley moved the ball down to the seven-yard line on their possession but then faced a fourth and two. Wood was looking for Anthony Arceneaux when Jimmy Gaston broke up his fourth pass of the game to give the Dusters the victory.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD 56, Quad City Steamwheelers 49 (Attendance: 3,072)

GREEN BAY, Wis. - In a game that featured six lead changes and three ties, the Green Bay Blizzard (6-1) defeated the Quad City Steamwheelers (3-4) for the first time in franchise history 56-49 at the Resch Center. Green Bay stays tied with the Manchester Wolves for first place in the East Division. Both teams had chances to take control of the game. With Green Bay up by 14 points and receiving the kickoff to start the second half, DaQuan Davis intercepted a Sam Clemons pass to give the ball to Green Bay with only 34 seconds left in the half. But on Green Bay's first play Matt Forbes intercepted Johnny Turman to set up a 'Wheelers touchdown. With under two minutes to play and Quad City up by one, Quad City's John Culp recovered a fumble to give the 'Wheelers the ball. The Blizzard defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs to prevent Quad City from running out the clock. Green Bay took the ball down field and Robert Garth scored the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds left. Travis Burns caught two touchdown passes for Quad City.

TULSA TALONS 61, Macon Knights 39 (Attendance: 5,223)

TULSA, Okla. - Just as when these two clubs met in ArenaCup 2003, the Tulsa Talons (5-2) came out on top over the Macon Knights (2-5) 61-39 at the Tulsa Convention Center. Tulsa led by only four points at halftime, 28-24, but scored on the first possession of the second half. On Macon's ensuing kick return Nick Davis forced a fumble that Shan Jordan jumped on to allow Donovan Morgan to catch a seven-yard touchdown pass three plays later and put Tulsa up by 17 points. Morgan caught nine passes for 105 yards and four touchdowns on the night. Josh Blankenship completed 20-of-40 passes for seven touchdowns and one interception. Macon's Lionel Haynes competed 21-of-34 passes for 256 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Chris Johnson caught ten passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns for the Knights. Matt Jackson intercepted a pass, broke up three passes and caught two passes for 19 yards on offense.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS 61, Birmingham Steeldogs 60 (Attendance: 6,978)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a 61-60 win, the Arkansas Twisters (1-6) defeated the Birmingham Steeldogs (0-7) at Alltel Arena. Arkansas' Robert Kilow caught six passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns. The U.S. Army Ironman of the game also returned four kickoffs for 152 yards, including one for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. On defense Kilow recorded 5.0 tackles (4UA 2A), broke up pass, and returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Also for Arkansas, Kevin Williams caught two passes for 29 yards and two touchdowns. The difference was a missed Vinny Cirrincione extra point to keep Birmingham's lead at only 60-54 after a Devlon Holmes touchdown with just 33 seconds left. On Arkansas' ensuing possession Kilow scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass and Coy Nance, who was signed as an emergency kicker, connected on the extra point to give the Twisters the win. Birmingham's George Williams returned an interception 50 yards to put the Steeldogs up by seven with four minutes remaining in the game. Detronn Harris caught ten passes for 102 yards and three touchdowns while returning seven kickoffs for 204 yards including a 56-yard touchdown return.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS 52, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 49 (Attendance: 4,392)

HIDALGO, TEXAS - The Rio Grande Valley Dorados (4-3) moved into a second place tie with Central Valley in their 52-49 victory at Dodge Arena over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. Kyle Rowley was 29-of-46 for 232 yards and six touchdowns. He would have had a great night had it not been for the Dorados' Norman Mason. Mason, the af2 veteran who was signed during the week, intercepted two passes in the game including one in the endzone with less than ten seconds left to clinch the game. The frantic second half featured eight lead changes and the Pioneers fighting back from a ten-point halftime deficit. The final minute of play featured three scores, and almost a fourth before Mason's interception. Marquis Floyd and Craig Cole both caught six passes and one touchdown from Josh Kellett. The Pioneers' J.R. Thomas caught 11 passes for 124 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned a missed field goal 38 yards and racked up 137 kickoff return yards including a 53-yard return.

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ 52, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 17 (Attendance: 7,394)

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (3-4) moved back into the playoff race with a 52-17 victory over the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (2-6) at the Ford Center. Usually it is Oklahoma City's offense putting big points on the board, but against the Battle Wings the Yard Dawgz defense scored three defensive touchdowns. Rickie Davis, Chris Archie and B.J. Barre all returned interceptions for touchdowns in the second half. The Yard Dawgz had another untraditional touchdown with James Landers recovered teammate Al Hunt's fumble in the endzone for a second quarter score. Oklahoma City did have some offense with Jarrail Jackson catching 13 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown and Al Hunt scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. The Battle Wings' Reggie Perkins caught four passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns. All of this action came after a scoreless first quarter. Ray Johnson recorded an interception for the Battle Wings.

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