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Week five Saturday night matchups

April 30, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


LOUISVILLE FIRE (3-0) AT W-B/SCRANTON PIONEERS (3-0)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - WACHOVIA ARENA (7,500) 7:00 P.M. ET

It's a battle of No. 2 versus No. 3 when the undefeated Louisville Fire take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers Saturday night at Wachovia Arena. In addition to being a clash of No. 2 at No. 3, both of these teams have yet to lose a game on the season. Last week the Fire slipped past the Albany Conquest 62-56 thanks to a MATT SAUK touchdown pass with three seconds left, while the Pioneers used their overpowering defense to stifle the Quad City Steamwheelers 40-27. Under center for the Pioneers is TIM HICKS, who has thrown 10 touchdowns this season. Louisville's veteran signal-caller Sauk is closing in 1,000 passing yards and has thrown 17 touchdowns. Defensively these teams both feature stars as the Fire's JUSTIN THOMAS and DEMETRIUS FORNEY have both been honored as ADT Defensive Player of the Week this year, while KYLE GROVE of the Pioneers has 17.5 tackles and one interception to anchor a defense that is holding opponents under 35 points per game. The Pioneers are looking for their sixth straight home win dating back to 2003. Both these teams are off to the best start in their team's history. This is the only regular season meeting scheduled for these clubs.

COLUMBUS WARDOGS (1-2) AT CAPE FEAR WILDCATS (2-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - CROWN COLISEUM (8,920) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Cape Fear Wildcats look for their second win in a row by seeking revenge against the Columbus Wardogs Saturday night at Crown Coliseum. These teams met two weeks ago, with the Wardogs earning a hard-fought 62-52 win. CHRIS WALLACE handles the quarterbacking duties for the Wildcats. So far this season, he has thrown 15 touchdowns with 11 of those going to offensive specialist MATT BURSTEIN. Burstein, who leads all of af2 in scoring with 72 points, was Offensive Player of the Week in Week 3. Under center for the Wardogs is KYLE ROWLEY, who has completed 11 touchdowns against five interceptions. The Wardogs have not won a road game since May 18, 2002 at Louisville, while the Wildcats opened their home schedule with a win over Albany on April 10. This is the final time these teams will meet this season. With a win, the Wardogs can become the only team in af2 to boast a 2-0 all-time record against the Wildcats. Cape Fear needs a win to keep pace with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Northeast Division.

FLORIDA FIRECATS (1-2) AT MACON KNIGHTS (1-2)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - MACON COLISEUM (7,182) 7:30 P.M. ET

Old rivals Florida and Macon meet at the Macon Coliseum on Saturday night. Both teams are looking to even their records at 2-2 for the season. The Firecats dropped a 55-35 decision to the Wildcats last week, while the Knights kept the turnovers to a minimum and earned their first win of 2004 with a 57-34 victory over Manchester. The history between these teams is deep, with the all-time series tied three games apiece. Probably the two biggest games in this series came in the postseason, as each club took turns knocking the other out of the postseason on their way to an ArenaCup appearance. For the Firecats in 2004 its been the KEN MASTROLE to CAINON LAMB show on offense, as the duo has connected 16 times for 267 yards and nine touchdowns. Offensively for the Knights, CALEB SLOVER takes the snaps and hopes to keep the interceptions down. The biggest weapon on the Knights side is JAAMAL GARMEN, who has caught 22 passes for 219 yards and nine touchdowns. Defensively, LAVAR RAINEY leads the Knights with 12.5 tackles and three interceptions and is tied for first in af2 in that category. Florida's defense, which leads af2 in yards allowed, got another boost this week with the addition of veteran defensive specialist ROY STABLER, who has officially returned to the club for another season. This is the first of three games between these teams this season. They play again on June 4, again in Macon, and then wrap up the series June 26 in Florida.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (2-1) AT LAREDO LAW (0-3)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - LAREDO ENTERTAINMENT CENTER (8,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

It's chapter two for one of the af2's newest rivalries, as the Rio Grande Valley Dorados head to Laredo to face the Law on Saturday night. Laredo may boast a championship in hockey, but their football team has yet to experience victory. The Dorados are 2-1, including last week's spectacular finish over Oklahoma City in which TIM COOK blocked a potential game-tying field goal as time expired. The first time these teams met, it was all Rio Grande Valley. The Dorados won the game 37-6 and got to the Laredo quarterback 10 times. The Laredo offense has improved some since that first meeting, as they put up a season high 43 against the Tennessee Valley Vipers last week. Law quarterback JOSH ROGERS is 49-for-100 passing this season with only one interception. P.J. WINSTON leads the squad with 19 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns, but the Law also have MARTINO THEUS as an option down field. All he did over the last two seasons is catch 322 passes to lead af2 during that span. Offensively for the Dorados it's WILL BURCH under center. Burch has thrown nine touchdowns against three interceptions. The Dorados took a hit this week with the departure of PRESTON HARTFIELD to the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. The Law defense is led by TRACO RACHAL, who has a team-high 14.5 tackles and two interceptions on the season. The Dorados and Law meet for a third and final time on May 22 in Hidalgo.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (1-2) AT QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (3-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - THE MARK (9,437) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Quad City Steamwheelers look to recover from a road loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last week as they host the Green Bay Blizzard Saturday night at the Mark. This is the first meeting of the season between the two division rivals, with the Steamwheelers sweeping the series two games to none in 2003. The big story in this matchup is Green Bay offensive specialist RANDALL LANE returning to face his old mates. In 2003 Lane caught only three touchdowns playing behind the likes of IRA GOOCH, JEFF HEWITT and TIM DODGE, but so far this season he is experiencing a breakout year as the primary go-to guy with the Blizzard. He is among the league leaders with 11 touchdowns, which has helped the Green Bay offense to the sixth best scoring average in the league. The Steamwheelers main scoring threat has been TIM DODGE, who has caught 26 passes for 489 yards and eight touchdowns. Dodge leads af2 in receiving yards per game, averaging 122.2 yards per contest. Defensively the Blizzard have had trouble keeping other teams out of the endzone, allowing 64.0 points per game. The Steamwheelers are fourth best in the league defensively, giving up only 35.8 per game. Home cooking could be what the Steamwheelers need to get back on track as they have not lost a regular season game at home since April 4 of last season. Green Bay is looking to go 2-1 on the road thus far on the season. These teams meet again on June 18 in Green Bay.

MEMPHIS XPLORERS (2-1) AT TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (2-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - VON BRAUN CENTER (6,642) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Memphis Xplorers have jumped out to a 2-1 start to the season thanks to a two-game winning streak. They'll look to take it to three games with a win over the Tennessee Valley Vipers on Saturday night at the Von Braun Center. The Xplorers have never beaten the Vipers in five attempts. During the current win streak, however, the Xplorers are averaging 61.5 points per game, including 69 last week in the win over Bossier-Shreveport. In the previous five meetings against the Vipers, the Xplorers have never scored more than 50 points. Tennessee Valley comes into this one on a roll as well after topping Laredo 68-43 last week, but leading scorer JERRIAN JAMES will be out of the line-up in this game. The Vipers still have quarterback BRYAN SNYDER, who has picked apart opposing defenses for 698 yards and 17 touchdowns with only two interceptions. Xplorers quarterback BRIAN JONES has thrown eight touchdowns and rushed for five more. Overall, the Xplorers have 12 rushing touchdowns, which is first in af2. When going to the endzone by air, Jones has found KEVIN PRENTISS for five of his eight scoring strikes. A win gives the Xplorers an identical start as they had in 2002. Unfortunately that season the team went on to lose 10 of its final 11 games. Not counting the postseason, the Vipers have not lost at home since July 27 of the 2002 season. This is the first of two meetings this season. The series moves to Memphis on June 26.

TULSA TALONS (2-1) AT OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (2-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - FORD CENTER (18,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

A budding rivalry resumes in Oklahoma City on Saturday night as the Tulsa Talons challenge the Yard Dawgz for the second time this season. The first game in this series proved to be a memorable one as the Yard Dawgz grabbed a thrilling 70-63 overtime win. These two teams both come in at 2-1, trailing the Wichita Stealth for the Southwest Division lead. This game features a matchup of af2's No. 1 (Tulsa) against the No. 4 (Oklahoma City) scoring offenses. Tulsa averages 59.3 per game, while the Yard Dawgz put up 55.3 per contest. Tulsa quarterback MICHAEL WALL is coming off a nine-touchdown passing performance and has 20 for the season, while 2003 ArenaCup MVP CRAIG STRICKLAND has thrown for 806 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Yard Dawgz. MITCH ALLNER continues to be the primary scoring threat for Tulsa, while former Talon AL HUNT leads all Yard Dawgz receivers with 319 receiving yards. The Talons can extend their road winning-streak to four games, while the Yard Dawgz are looking to go 2-0 at home in the inaugural campaign. These teams will meet on July 23, again in Oklahoma City, to finish the regular season series.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-2) AT BAKERSFIELD BLITZ (2-2)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - CENTENNIAL GARDEN (9,000) 10:00 P.M. ET

Fully rested after a bye week, the Arkansas Twisters head to Bakersfield to face the Blitz Saturday night at Centennial Garden. The Twisters come into this one at 1-2, having lost two weeks ago to Birmingham. The Blitz dropped a close game in Hawaii last week, slipping to 2-2 for the year. The Twisters offense has gotten off to a slow start in 2004, averaging 33.7 points per game, but quarterback KEVIN WILLIAMS is a threat to score via the pass or the run. He has thrown six touchdowns while rushing for three more. Veteran TED ALFORD has caught five touchdowns for the Twisters and is always a deep threat. For the Blitz, quarterback CHAD ELLITOTT is already over 1,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, including nine to ERIC MAHNKE who is second in af2 with 429 receiving yards. Defensively, the Twisters have been strong as DARNELL SMALL leads af2 with 4.0 sacks and the team has held opponents to under 40 points a game, ranking fifth in the league in that category. Bakersfield's defense has had some holes in the early going, but the play of KENNY HASLIP has been solid. Haslip is among the league leaders with 18.5 tackles. This is the only meeting of the season between these two teams.

PEORIA PIRATES (1-3) AT CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES (0-3)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 - SELLAND ARENA (8,300) 10:30 P.M. ET

The Central Valley Coyotes return home to Fresno in search of their first win of the season. To get it, they'll have to get past the Peoria Pirates Saturday night at Selland Arena. Peoria comes into this one losers of two straight, but last week saw the best offensive output of the season as they scored 47 against Tulsa. MICHAEL SOUZA is the Pirates quarterback and is looking to add to his 11-touchdown total. On defense, FRANK WEST is among the league leaders with 21.5 tackles, while CASEY URLACHER has tallied 1.5 sacks on the season. Central Valley's offense ranks only slightly better than Peoria, but KENYATTE MORGAN has started to find a groove of late and leads the team with 21 receptions for 247 yards and four touchdowns, including seven receptions for 71 yards last week. Defensively, the Coyotes need to find a way to make some stops, as they rank 24th in af2 by allowing 64 points per game. Getting to the quarterback will be key for the Coyotes, who are still looking for their first sack of the season. This is the only meeting of the season between these teams.



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