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Week seven af2 Saturday night matchups

May 13, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


MANCHESTER WOLVES (4-1) AT ALBANY CONQUEST (2-3)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - PEPSI ARENA (13,901) 7:30 P.M. ET

Looking to get back in the East Division race, the Albany Conquest host the Manchester Wolves. After starting the season 0-3 Albany has won their last two games. CY BUTLER has come up big in both games. Two weeks ago against South Georgia Butler intercepted two passes, against Macon last week Butler picked off another pass. Last week Butler also caught a touchdown and ran in another. JEFF HIGGINS is the league's best kick returner, with an average return of 27.7 yards per return. D BRYANT commands the Albany offense. He has thrown for 21 touchdowns and rushed for three more. He doesn't key on one receiver as 11 different Conquest players have caught passes this season. Bryant's weakness is the interception, as he has thrown seven on the season. Bryant will have to look out for WILLIAM HAITH. The rookie defensive specialist was Week 6's ADT Defensive Player of the Week. Haith is second in the league in tackles with 40.0 (30UA 20A) and fourth in passes defended with 12. J.J. MCKELVEY not only leads the Wolves in receptions with 43 but also the entire league. McKelvey's is more of a possession receiver than most receivers, averaging 9.0 yards per catch. This is a key game for Manchester if they want to keep pace with Green Bay and Louisville who are also tied for the division lead. Manchester has already defeated Albany this season, Week 6 in Albany 56-49. They meet again the last weekend of the year in Manchester.

ARKANSAS TWISTERS (0-5) AT SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS (1-4)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - ALBANY CIVIC CENTER (8,034) 7:30 P.M. ET

John Gregory looks for his first victory as an af2 head coach when the Arkansas Twisters face the South Georgia Wildcats. The Wildcats got their first victory of the season last week, defeating Birmingham 69-49. South Georgia isn't the same team that started the season. The return of 2004 Offensive Player of the Year MATT BURSTEIN at has increased the depth of the receiving corps. In two games Burstein has 20 receptions for 293 yards and seven touchdowns. He has taken the offensive specialist spot away from ADRIAN COCKFIELD, who will not play this week. Also new is quarterback BOBBY PESAVENTO. After starting the season in the AFL the former Colorado Buffalos quarterback leads the league with 293.8 pass yards per game. He has thrown 26 touchdowns in only four games, an average of more than six touchdown passes a game. On defense for the Wildcats, TANAKA SCOTT leads the team in sacks with 2.5. He will be chasing around Twisters' quarterback TRAVIS MOTLEY. After the release of CHRIS WINDSOR, Motley has taken over the starting job for good. Last week Motley threw two touchdowns to TED ALFORD, who leads the team in receiving. Second to Alford is KEVIN WILLIAMS. In only four games Williams has 21 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns. Despite Arkansas being one of af2's original teams and the Wildcats in their fourth year this is the first time the two franchise have met. Since they are now in the same division they will face off one more time this season, Week 12 in Arkansas.

FLORIDA FIRECATS (5-0) AT BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (1-5)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - CENTURYTEL CENTER (12,500) 8:00 P.M. ET

The number one team on the af2 Coaches' Poll, the Florida Firecats, travel up the coast to face the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. The Firecats have been the number one team on the af2 Coaches' Poll all season. As defending champions and the only undefeated team in the league they certainly deserve this recognition. Florida is getting a boost to their defense this week as ROY STABLER returns. Stabler, who is second in career tackles with 269.0, was unsure if he would return for his fifth af2 season and started the season on the injured list and has only played two games this season. While the Firecats are undefeated, Stabler will look to help a secondary that has picked off only four passes this season. After running for 500 yards last season to become af2's single season rushing king, STEVE GORRIE is once again leading the league in rushing with 146 yards and three touchdowns. The Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings are still trying to put together a sustained winning streak. They got their first victory of the season two weeks ago in a 77-69 victory at Rio Grande Valley, but lost last week at home to Bakersfield. One reason for their struggles is holding on to the ball, they lead the league in lost fumbles (11) and interceptions (10). With quarterback CALEB SLOVER ineffective to start the season the Battle Wings traded for TIM HICKS. Last season Hicks was the American Conference all-af2 first team quarterback. He threw for 3,679 yards, 82 touchdowns and just eight interceptions in getting the Pioneers one game from the ArenaCup. Hicks has a receiver he can count on in BO SMITH. As af2's third leading scorer, Smith has 108 points this season and three of his touchdowns came on kick returns.

LOUISVILLE FIRE (4-1) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (4-1)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - RESCH CENTER (7,995) 8:00 P.M. ET

With a share of the division lead on the line this matchup between American Conference East Division rivals will no doubt be one to remember. Louisville leads the series 3-1, however this is not the usual Green Bay team. After finishing 6-10 last season and dead last in their division, the Blizzard are looking to be the first team since the 2001 Tallahassee Thunder to win their division after finishing in last place the previous season. New addition QB JOHNNY TURMAN has helped give this team a winning attitude going 94-of-160 passing for 1,081 yards and 23 touchdowns. On defense RYAN BOWERS has a team leading 31.5 tackles to go along with his tied for league leading five interceptions. The Fire began the 2005 season 4-0 but suffered their first defeat of the season last week to another division rival in Manchester. Fire QB MATT SAUK ranks fourth in arenafootball2 with a 66.7 pass completion percentage. On the season Sauk has gone 112-of-168 passing for 1,247 yards and 23 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Louisville will want to get back on track after suffering their first defeat last week. These two teams will face each other one more time this season on June 18th in Louisville. Neither of these two teams wants to find themselves trailing anyone in the division as the race for the East Division begins now.

AMARILLO DUSTERS (4-1) AT MEMPHIS XPLORERS (5-1)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - DESOTO CIVIC CENTER (8,444) 8:00 P.M. ET

Looking to avenge their only loss on the season, the Amarillo Dusters hit the road to face the Memphis Xplorers. In Week 2 Memphis toppled the Dusters by 25 points, 66-41. Memphis' OS KEVIN PRENTISS dominated the game. Against Amarillo, Prentiss finished with nine catches for 186 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned three kickoffs 131 yards and two for touchdowns, giving Prentiss eight touchdowns and 317 all-purpose yards. Prentiss leads the league in all-purpose yards with 1,209. He is second in scoring with 126 points on 21 touchdowns. The contest features two of af2's best quarterbacks, Amarillo quarterback JULIAN REESE and Memphis quarterback BRIAN JONES. In five games Reese has completed 63% of his passes for 1,310 yards and 22 touchdowns with only one interception. His 125.3 quarterback rating is fourth in the league. Reese is also a threat with his feet, as he ranks fifth in the league in rushing with 78 yards on 23 carries. His fifteen rushing touchdowns lead the league. Second behind Reese in rushing touchdowns is Memphis quarterback BRIAN JONES, who has nine rushing scores. Jones has similar rushing stats as Reece, totaling 78 yards on 23 carries. On defense, the Xplorers lead the league in interceptions with 12 and an astounding +15 turnover margin. The Manchester Wolves are second in turnover margin at +8. STEVEN AZAR, af2's leader in made field goals, is on the inured list and former Xplorers kicker STEVEN GREEN is back. On defense for Amarillo, JIMMY GATSON and CHARLES DAVIS have both picked off two passes this season. Five different Dusters have registered a sack this season with JESSE HUNNICUTT and JOE MASSEY having two. This is the last meeting of the season between the two teams.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS (3-2) AT QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (3-2)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - THE MARK OF THE QUAD CITIES (9,437) 8:30 P.M. ET

Quad City is looking to rebound after a heartbreaking loss last week at the hands of the Amarillo Dusters. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers started the season 3-0 before losing their last two games by one score each. The Pioneers lead this series 2-1, including a Week 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 64-28 domination in Pennsylvania. Both the offense and defense of the Pioneers are ranked among the leagues best as they have found easier than first thought to find leaders on both sides of the ball. On offense QB KYLE ROWLEY has gone 106-of-160 passing for 1,291 yards. He also ranks second in the league with 30 touchdowns through the air. The defense has been led by JAMIE HATTLEY who leads the team with 32.5 tackles and eleven defended passes on the season. Quad City had won three games in a row until last week's loss at Amarillo where they gave up ten points in the final six seconds to lose the game. FRED BARR leads the Steamwheelers pass rush with 2.5 sacks. Travis Burns of Quad City ranks eighth in the league with 35 receptions averaging an even 7.0 receptions per game. MATT FORBES is tied for a league lead five interceptions. If these two teams meet again this season it will be in the ArenaCup as this is their last meeting this season.

BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS (0-5) AT SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (1-4)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - IPAY ONE CENTER (12,920) 10:00 P.M. ET

The Steeldogs are still searching for their first victory of the season despite ranking third in the league in offensive yards per game with 273.8. This Saturday they travel to sunny San Diego to face a Riptide team in similar dismay. The only Riptide victory of the season came on April 9th in the form of a one-point victory at Birmingham. Riptide kicker KIMO NAEHU drilled a 37-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to give San Diego the victory. These two teams matchup pretty well as Birmingham is averaging 45.2 PPG and San Diego is putting up 40.2 PPG. QB RAY NELSON has completed 63 of 115 passing attempts for 836 yards and eight touchdowns for the Steeldogs offense. ELDRICK HARRIS is leading the Steeldogs in both tackles and interceptions with 22.5 and 2 respectively. The Riptide have been unable to regain their stride since that Week 2 victory but look to find it all this weekend and get their first home victory of the season. San Diego receivers NIAN TAYLOR and NAKOA MCELRATH have led the Riptide offense combining for 52 receptions for 680 yards and eleven touchdowns. Defensive specialist QUINCY LEJAY is still on short term injured reserve after playing in only the first two games of the season. With quarterback ANDREW ZOW now on long term injured reserve, the Steeldogs traded for ROGER LINN, who played for the Steeldogs in 2004. Linn is expected to get the start against the Riptide. This is the final meeting of these two squads this season.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (2-3) AT CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES (4-1)

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 - SELLAND ARENA (8,911) 10:30 P.M. ET

With only one loss on the season, the Central Valley Coyotes look to show the league that they are one of arenafootball2's elite teams. On Saturday they host division rival Rio Grande Valley who are looking to close the gap in the Coyotes division lead. After starting the season 0-2, the Dorados have bounced back to win two out of their last three and gain some momentum. One major reason for the new found success of Rio Grande Valley is the improved play of QB JOSH KELLETT, who has 1,146 yards passing and 22 touchdown passes on the season. Central Valley QB JUSTON WOOD has had the hot hand as of late. Following an impressive performance in which he went 28-of-43 passing for 396 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions, he earned Week 6 Offensive Player of the Week honors. After a dismal 3-13 2004, the Coyotes have turned things around and look to continue their luck on the shoulders of Wood and receiver GEORGE WILLIAMS, who is tied for eighth in af2 scoring with 60 points this season off his ten touchdowns. Still on the injured list for the Coyotes is ANTHONY ARCENAUX. The two teams meet again on June 18 at Rio Grande Valley.

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