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Week Four: Friday Night Matchup

April 16, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


PEORIA PIRATES (0-2) AT MILWAUKEE IRON (1-2)

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009 - Bradley Center (7,017) 8:00 P.M. ET

Week 4 kicks off with a Midwest Division affair in Milwaukee, Wisc. as the expansion Iron host Peoria at the Bradley Center. This is the first of two head-to-head meetings between the two clubs in 2009. The Pirates are coming off a tough home opening loss to the Iowa Barnstormers, 53-38, last Friday in Peoria. The Pirates kept the game within reach, but their efforts were hampered by offensive mistakes and a tough Iowa defense. The first half was back-and-forth with the two teams trading scores and the lead. Peoria trailed just 39-38 in the fourth quarter and 46-38 with less than a minute to play before rookie QB LUKE DRONE threw the final of his four interceptions into the end zone. Drone, who threw a team record eight touchdowns in his first af2 start for the Pirates in Week 1, struggled a bit in his second outing, completing just 18-of-39 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns. Peoria's biggest offensive playmaker of the game was WR BRIAN ALLBROOKS. Allbrooks caught eight passes for 119 yards and accumulated four total touchdowns, three receiving and one rushing. The Pirates also got nine receptions for 99 yards and a score from ex-New York Jets WR Dante Ridgeway in his af2 debut. Peoria's defense improved significantly, forcing three Iowa turnovers. DL MICHAEL LEWIS recovered a fumble and Joe Phinisee and Michael Phillips recorded interceptions. Milwaukee's most recent result was a 69-48 road loss at Midwest Division opponent Quad City. After an even first quarter (14-13 QCS), the Iron took a short-lived lead early in the second quarter on WR Coco Blalock's 14-yard scoring catch from QB TYLER DONOVAN. The Steamwheelers dominated the rest of the period by scoring on their next four possessions before the half. Milwaukee's offense, on the other hand, stalled under a stifling Quad City defense. The Iron were stopped on all three of their remaining first half drives (two on downs, one via a Donovan interception). In Donovan's defense, he was on the run from the Steamwheelers strong pass rush for most of the first half. He was sacked five times overall and hurried on a number of other occasions. The rookie signal caller from Wisconsin finished with 14 completions in 24 attempts for just 136 yards and three touchdowns before being relieved by SHANE ADLER in the second half. Adler didn't fare much better with 10 completions in 18 attempts for 127 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. WR SCOTT BURNOSKI was one of the lone bright spots for Milwaukee. Burnoski caught a dozen passes for a game-high 148 yards with three touchdowns. The Iron defense had a tough outing as well, allowing Quad City to steam roll its way to touchdowns on all 10 possessions prior to running out the clock on the final drive. Milwaukee will need a much better effort on both sides of the ball if the Iron hope to steal a victory away from a bunch of Pirates who are hungry for a win themselves.

PIRATES IRON SERIES LEADER First time these teams are meeting

LAST MEETING No previous meeting

LAST FIVE GAMES 0-5 1-2

LAST GAME Lost vs. Iowa 38-53 on 4/10/09 Lost at Quad City 48-69 on 4/11/09

LEADERS PIRATES IRON PASSING Drone: 45-80-5; 530; 12 TDs Donovan: 45-80-2; 504; 7 TDs

RECEIVING Moses: 15-140; 2 TDs Burnoski: 24-272; 4 TDs

RUSHING Williams: 5-27; 1 TD Young: 17-83; 3 TDs

TACKLES Phinisee: 8.5 Aldridge: 14

SACKS Lingard/Young: .5 Mills: 1

INTERCEPTIONS Phillips: 1 Stepter: 2

KICKING Palkovic: 10-14 PAT; 0-2 FG; 10 PTs Walls: 13-13 PAT; 2-5 FG; 19 PTs

TEAM OFFENSE 47 PPG; 293.5 YPG 48 PPG; 259 YPG

TEAM DEFENSE 62.5 PPG; 303 YPG 56 PPG; 190.3 YPG



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