af2 arenafootball2

Week four Saturday night matchups

April 23, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


LOUISVILLE FIRE (2-0) AT ALBANY CONQUEST (0-2)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - PEPSI ARENA (13,901) 7:00 P.M. ET

The Louisville Fire make their first ever trip to Albany to take on the Conquest. The Fire enter the game at 2-0 and for the first time in franchise history they are two games over .500. The Fire have reached this mark through playmakers on both sides of the ball. Quarterback MATT SAUK is a difference maker for Louisville. Sauk ranks second in the af2 in passing yards per game with 275.5 and his quarterback rating of 121.5 ranks fourth in the af2. The playmaker on defense for the Fire is JUSTIN THOMAS. The reigning ADT Defensive Player of the Week recorded two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and seven tackles last week against Macon. On the year Thomas has seventeen total tackles, third in the af2, and a league high thirteen passes defended. Thomas will have his hands full with Albany's six receivers who have five or more receptions. This group is led by JAMIE WARE who has ten catches and 192 receiving yards on the season. TONY LOCKE has also put up big receiving numbers for the Conquest, he is second on the team with 135 receiving yards and tied with Ware for the team lead in touchdown receptions with three. The question is, will it be D BRYANT or GUS ORNSTEIN, who was pulled last week, throwing the passes to these receivers. If the Conquest win it will be head coach and former NFL quarterback Steve Matthews first victory as an af2 head coach.

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (3-0) AT W-B/SCRANTON PIONEERS (2-0)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - WACHOVIA CENTER AT CASEY PLAZA (7,500) 7:00 P.M. ET

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers get their chance to see how they measure up against the best in the af2 when they face the number one team according to the af2 Coaches' Poll, the Quad City Steamwheelers. The Pioneers rank seventh on the Coaches' Poll and look to have the best squad in team history. The success of the Pioneers is largely due to the play of quarterback TIM HICKS. MIKE GLUSKI was the pre-season starter for the Pioneers but when he struggled in the Pioneers' first game of the season, Hicks stepped in and lead the Pioneers to a victory. Hicks guided Pioneers to a 75-point output last week in their win over Green Bay. The 75 points was the most points scored in a single game in team history for the Pioneers. The Pioneers defense was equally as effective last week against Green Bay. The opportunistic Pioneers forced six turnovers, and returned three of them for touchdowns. They will have to bring their best game again when they face the powerful Steamwheelers. Quad City features a duo of explosive receivers in TIM DODGE and JEFF HEWITT. Dodge is second in the af2 in receiving yards per game at 113.3 and has six receiving touchdowns. Hewitt has returned three kicks for touchdowns, a league high, and also leads the league in all purpose yards with 761. Quad City also brings in a solid defense, giving up only 34.3 points a game. This Steamwheelers and Pioneers will meet one more time this season, June 12 on the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities.

CAPE FEAR WILDCATS (1-1) AT FLORIDA FIRECATS (1-1)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - TECO ARENA (7,128) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Cape Fear Wildcats look to get back on track on Saturday night when they take on the Florida Firecats at TECO Arena. The Wildcats enter this game at 1-1 after losing to the Columbus Wardogs last week. Florida is also trying to right the ship after a 54-51 letdown against Memphis last week. The Wildcats are in search of their first road win on the young season, while the Firecats hope to extend their three-game home wining streak, dating back to last season. These teams met twice in the 2003 season, splitting the series. Florida won the last meeting (52-35) on July 5. This week's matchup pits a high-powered offense against a stingy defense, as the Wildcats rank 2nd in af2 with a 61 points per game and the Firecats are second best in total defense with 153.5 yards allowed per game. Quarterback CHRIS WALLACE leads the Wildcats offense and has thrown for 461 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception, giving him the highest passer rating (132.0) in af2. Wallace's main target deep has been MATT BURSTEIN, who has nine of the team's 11 receiving touchdowns. Last week Burstein caught five touchdown passes and had the fourth best single game all-purpose yards total with 373 against the Wardogs. Under center for the Firecats is veteran af2 signal-caller KEN MASTROLE, who has guided Florida into the endzone 12 times this season. Offensive Specialist CAINON LAMB has hauled in six of Mastrole's touchdowns, but MAGIC BENTON and ANTHONY SNEAD each have three as well. This is the first of two meetings between these teams this season. They play again at Fayetteville on June 19.

MANCHESTER WOLVES (1-2) AT MACON KNIGHTS (0-2)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - MACON COLISEUM (7,182) 7:30 P.M. ET

For the first time in team history, the Macon Knights have started the season 0-2. They'll try to revert back to their winning ways when the host the Manchester Wolves on Saturday night at the Macon Coliseum. Last week the Knights fell to Louisville, while the Wolves topped Albany 47-34 for their first win of the season. Holding on to the football has been a big concern for the Knights thus far in 2004, but the play of JAMAAL GARMEN has not. Garmen has caught six of the team's eight total touchdowns and he has returned a kickoff for a score. Manchester got off to an 0-2 start this season, but not many teams have to face Quad City back-to-back to start a season. Against Albany last week, the Manchester offense shifted into gear as quarterback CHRIS SANDERS completed 25-of-37 passes for 298 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. The Wolves boast a formidable trio of receivers in GEORGE WILLIAMS (20 catches for 263 yards; 5 TDs), REGGIE ROBINSON (13 catches for 150 yards; 4 TDs) and HENRY FRAZIER (6 catches for 116 yards). Defensively the Wolves lead the league with seven interceptions, including two by MARVIN OWENS. Macon counters with LAVAR RAINEY, who has nine solo tackles and two interceptions in two games. This is the first time these teams have ever met, and it will be the only regular season matchup between the two this year.

GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (1-1) AT WICHITA STEALTH (3-0)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - KANSAS COLISEUM (9,686) 8:00 P.M. ET

After a blowout loss in their home opener, the Green Bay Blizzard head south to Wichita to face the Stealth looking to get back on track. Wichita enters the game undefeated and ranked second in the af2 Coaches' Poll. Green Bay struggled last week at the quarterback position. CHRIS GREISEN started, but DENNIE GILE came in when Greisen was ineffective. Who ever does go under center for the Blizzard should look to RANDALL LANE. Lane is tied for the league lead in touchdown receptions with nine and averages 140.5 receiving yards a game. There hasn't been a question at the quarterback position for the Stealth. AARON SPARROW has led the Stealth to their best start in team history. Sparrow has spread the ball around to all of his receivers. Five different Stealth receivers have 90 or more receiving yards on the season. But the main reason the Stealth have started out with three straight victories is their defense, mainly their pass rush. The Stealth have fourteen sacks on the season, first in the af2. Most impressive about this stat is nine Stealth players make up this sack count as nine different players have at least a half a sack. Also part of the Stealth defense is BRIAN LIVINGSTON. Livingston is one of the few Stealth players who doesn't have a sack, but does lead the Stealth in tackles and interceptions. The will be the only meeting between the Blizzard and Stealth this season.

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (2-0) AT RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (1-1)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - DODGE ARENA (5,500) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz travel to southern Texas to take on the Rio Grande Valley Dorados in a rematch of their Week 2 game. Both teams are coming off a bye week and are ready to face each other in this divisional game. The Yard Dawgz and Dorados both have a quality pass rush as both teams have ten sacks on the season, tied for second in the af2. But the Dorados racked up all of these sacks in their first game against Laredo and didn't record one against the Yard Dawgz in Week 2. In fact, on the offensive side the Yard Dawgz line has yet to give up a sack on the season. Their play has been just as good as the rest of the Yard Dawgz league leading offense. Quarterback CRAIG STRICKLAND has been perfect on the season with 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. His two main targets have been TIMON MARSHALL and AL HUNT. Marshall has a team leading six touchdown receptions and Hunt leads the team with 203 receiving yards. This will be a challenge for the Dorados offense to match, but they have some talent of their own. MANWELL TALBERT, MIKE DUNCAN and CRAIG COLE all have two touchdown receptions on the season. But the Dorados will need to settle on a quarterback, both WILL BURCH and ABEL GONZALEZ have played considerable snaps for the Dorados. Oklahoma City and Rio Grande Valley will face each other one more time this season, July 10 at Rio Grande Valley.

BAKERSFIELD BLITZ (2-1) AT HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (2-1)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 - NEAL BLAISDELL ARENA (6,033) 6:30 P.M. LOCAL

It is a battle for the early Western Division lead when the Bakersfield Blitz take on the Hawaiian Islanders. There should be plenty of scoring as both teams offenses rank in the top ten in the league. Bakersfield's quarterback CHAD ELLIOT is at the top of many of the af2 passing leader boards. He leads the league in: pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, but also interceptions. Elliot has been able to put up these numbers mainly by feeding the ball to ERIC MAHANKE and STEVE WOFFORD. These two rank in the top ten in: receptions, touchdown receptions, and receiving yards. Mahanke leads the af2 in receptions with 24 and even has totaled nine tackles on defense. If these two get separation then the Blitz offense is going to be difficult to stop. The Islanders' DARNELL ARCENEAUX is built to be an Arena Football quarterback. Not only is he number two in touchdown passes, behind Bakersfield's Elliot, Arceneaux is tied for the af2's lead in rushing with 59 yards and has three rushing touchdowns. On defense, EDDIE KLANESKI has twelve tackles, but has yet to pick off a pass. Klaneski has also returned only three kicks this year, last season Klaneski racked up 1205 kick return yards. JOSH ROBINSON leads the Islanders, and the af2, in tackles with eighteen. Who ever comes out ahead will have an early lead in the division, but there will be plenty of chances for revenge as these two clubs play each other three more times this season, the next game being at Bakersfield on June 5.



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