Week Seven Recap and Results
May 12, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
FRIDAY, MAY 8
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 73, MAHONING VALLEY THUNDER 37 (Attendance: 2,509)
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers defeated Mahoning Valley, 73-37, Friday night in Youngstown. The loss was the Thunder's sixth straight of the season. Mahoning Valley has now lost to the Pioneers in all seven all-time meetings. Thunder QB Blake Powers fumbled and threw an interception on the first two Mahoning Valley plays from scrimmage allowing Wilkes-Barre to jump out to a 14-0 lead they would never relinquish. Pioneers QB Ryan Vena was lethal through the air completing 30-of-39 passes for 331 yards and seven touchdowns. Four Vena touchdown tosses found their way into the hands of WR J.J. Outlaw who finished with nine grabs. Fellow Wilkes-Barre/Scranton WR Irving Campbell led all players with 11 receptions for 139 yards. Mahoning Valley struggled offensively converting on just 1-of-7 third downs and failed to score in the third quarter. Powers finished 12-for-24 for 114 yards with two touchdowns and two turnovers. Powers was replaced in the fourth quarter by Davon Vinson who threw for scores on his only two passes of the evening. Thunder WR C.J. Brewer caught six passes, two of which were scores. Mahoning Valley slipped to 1-6 on the season while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 6-1.
Iowa Barnstormers 46, GREEN BAY BLIZZARD 41 (Attendance: 4,596)
GREEN BAY, Wisc. - Green Bay rallied with four touchdowns in the second half against the Iowa Barnstormers but fell short to their division rival, 46-41. Blizzard QB Gino Guidugli (25-of-37 passing, 326 yards, 5 TDs) started the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown strike to WR Robert Garth (8-88-2 TDs). Garth's second touchdown came in the third quarter with another 9-yard touchdown pass from Guidugli. With the catch Garth became the 11th player in league history to score 800 career points. Iowa QB Brian Villanueva (16-of-31 passing, 227 yards) threw three TDs on the night, two of which went to WR Tim Dodge in the first half as the Barnstormers built a 30-13 halftime lead. Iowa scored first in the second half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Villanueva to push the lead to 37-13. At that point Green Bay made a comeback attempt by scoring four more times in the second half, starting with Garth's second touchdown of the game. Green Bay DL Anthony Hoke (1 tackle, 1 fumble rec. and 1 TD) recovered a fumble for a 7-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter. Guidugli then connected with WR Terry Love (4-89-1 TD) on a 48-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to close the gap to six points. A late Barnstormer touchdown put the game out of reach. Dodge finished with a game-high 130 receiving yards on eight catches with two touchdowns. Nate Forse led Green Bay receivers with eight catches for 95 yards and two scores. Iowa improved to 4-3 with the win while the Blizzard fell back to .500 at 3-3.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
Quad City Steamwheelers 50, MANCHESTER WOLVES 48 (Attendance: 2,666)
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Manchester lost at home for the first time this season as Quad City put together a big fourth quarter effort to claim the 50-48 victory. The Wolves dropped to 3-3 on the season while the Steamwheelers improved to 4-2. Wolves standout WR Emery Sammons, who was tackled head first into the boards near the end of the first half, had to be taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to Manchester's Elliott Hospital. It was later determined that Sammons suffered a minor concussion but no additional head injuries. The Wolves looked in good position as they held a 42-28 lead heading into the final quarter. Quad City's defense, however, dug down deep and wore down the Wolves. Steamwheelers QB J.J. Raterink finally found his rhythm as well. After scoring on their first possession of the fourth quarter on a 36-yard TD catch by WR Jesse Schmidt to only trail by one touchdown, 42-35, Quad City got the ball right back when DB Demarcus Robinson picked off Manchester QB James Pinkney. Two plays later Raterink found Jason Jones with a quick 2-yard strike. Wolves DL Ramel Meekins blocked the extra point, however, and the Steamwheelers were within one point (42-41) instead of tied. Things went from bad to worse for the Wolves on their next possession when DL Anton Ceasar nailed Pinkney in his own end zone for the safety to put the Steamwheelers ahead for the first time, 43-41, with 6:21 left. Raterink then executed a 7-play, 45-yard drive that lasted 4:52 to stretch the Quad City lead to 50-42. Manchester came right back with a 5-play, 40-yard scoring drive when Pinkney crossed into the end zone from the 1-yard line. Forced to go for the 2-point conversion with 9.2 seconds left, Pinkney was stopped in the backfield by Quad City defenders Tyus Jackson and Terrance Freeney. Raterink finished with 290 yards passing with six TDs and one interception. He also had one rushing TD. Pinkney had five total TDs (3 passing, 2 rushing) and one interception. Schmidt led all receivers with 13 catches for 205 yards and four TDs.
Milwaukee Iron 62, PEORIA PIRATES 57 (Attendance: 2,904)
PEORIA, Ill. - Down by 22 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Milwaukee Iron staged a dramatic comeback Saturday night in front to beat the Peoria Pirates, 62-57, at Peoria's Carver Arena. The Milwaukee offense scored four touchdowns while their defense held the Pirates scoreless during the final 15 minutes. QBs Shane Adler and Tyler Donovan combined for 274 yards on 16 completions and six touchdowns for the Iron. Kent Smith was 11-for-27 with two TDs and Luke Drone chipped in another TD on two completions for Peoria. Smith and Drone also rushed for a TD apiece. WR Brian Allbrooks led the Pirates receivers with six catches for 83 yards and a score. Darren Paige, in his Pirates debut, had five grabs for 61 yards and touchdown. Scott Burnoski led the Milwaukee receivers with seven catches and 100 yards with two touchdowns. Antoine Burns caught four passes and returned a kickoff for a touchdown early in the game for the Iron, as well. Milwaukee was led defensively by Blue Aldridge (6.0 tackles). DB Lavar Stepter had four tackles and WR/DB Coco Blalock added 3.5 tackles to the winning cause. James Smith led the Pirates with 10.5 tackles while Brandon Golder added 2.5 and an interception. Milwaukee's win improved the Iron's season record to 2-5. Peoria, which lost for the third straight time, slipped to 1-5.
Albany Firebirds 54, BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLEWINGS 41 (Attendance: 2,723)
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Every one of QB Stephen Wasil's offensive possessions ended in an Albany touchdown except for his final clock-killing drive as the Firebirds out-gunned the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings, 54-41, Saturday night at the CenturyTel Center. A missed extra-point and a failed two-point conversion are all that separated the two sides after thirty minutes of play, as the BattleWings led Albany 28-26 at the half. Albany took its first lead of the game on the opening drive of the third quarter when WR Christian Wise caught his team-leading third score of the night. The teams continued to exchange touchdowns to make it 40-35 Firebirds late in the third quarter, but a Wise interception put an end to the blow-for-blow contest. A QB-keeper from Wasil gave Albany the first two possession lead of the night. Each team would add another score in the fourth quarter, but Firebirds LB Alvin Ray Jackson iced the win by intercepting BattleWings rookie QB Kinsmon Lancaster in the Albany end zone with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Wasil's Offensive Player of the Game performance included 302 yards passing and six touchdowns without an interception. He also had two rushing scores for the Firebirds. Wise (11-190-3 TDs, 1 INT) and Jackson (5-51-3 TDs, 5 tackles, 1 INT) also contributed in a big way for Albany. WR Buchie Ibeh led the BattleWings receivers with three touchdowns on three receptions. Bossier-Shreveport FB Jason Schule's play was also of note (36 rushing yards, 2 rush TDs - both game-highs). Albany won its second straight contest to improve to 2-5 overall. The BattleWings slipped to 2-4 in defeat.
ARKANSAS TWISTERS 55, Florida Firecats 42 (Attendance: 3,698)
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Twisters used a second half surge to take command of an otherwise close game in route to a 55-42 win Saturday at Allstate Field at Alltel Arena. Both teams traded scores to open the first half. A Twisters missed extra point was the difference as Florida led 28-27 at halftime. Arkansas started the second half with two scores to jump out to a 41-28 lead. The Twisters drove 43 yards to open the third quarter with a score. QB Kyle Rowley found WR Rod Harper for a 7-yard touchdown. The extra point gave Arkansas a 34-28 lead. After stopping Florida on its next drive, the Twisters scored five plays later when FB Chad Cook ran the ball four yards for the touchdown. The extra point put Arkansas up 41-28 after three quarters. Florida closed within six (41-35) when QB Chris Wallace found WR Chris McKinney for a short touchdown play. The Twisters responded by driving down field again, and scoring when Rowley found Harper for the fourth time in the game. The extra point extended Arkansas' lead to 48-35 and Florida never got any closer. Rowley finished the game by completing 22-of-33 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns. He also added one rushing touchdown. Harper continued his torrid receiving for the Twisters as the first-year receiver caught a game-high 13 passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns. Arkansas DB Lawrence Richardson returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown while James Todd finished with a game-high four pass breakups. Florida QB Chris Wallace completed 21-of-37 passes for 234 yards and five touchdowns. McKinney had a strong game by catching 11 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Arkansas improved to 5-2 on the season while Florida fell to 3-4.
TULSA TALONS 75, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 56 (Attendance: 6,371)
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa Talons defeated in-state rival Oklahoma City, 75-56, Saturday night at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
The Talons were energized from the beginning. The defense was the big factor in the game. The Talons scored early with a 5-yard pass from QB Justin Allgood to WR Zach Edwards. K Luke Phillips, who was back after missing the last four games due to injury, went 9-for-11 in extra points. Edwards had a strong night with nine catches for 65 yards and four touchdowns against the Yard Dawgz. Oklahoma City WR Al Hunt had eight catches on 112 yards and one touchdown. On kickoff returns, Tulsa's Jeff Hughley had 4 returns for 124 yards. The Talons defense was able to contain Oklahoma City QB Robert Kent. Kent threw just four touchdown passes on the night with one interception. He also had two rushing scores. The Talons (6-1) continued their home winning streak to three games and overall season win streak to six games. The Yard Dawgz (4-2) have now lost two straight games after winning their first four to start the season. These two teams will face off again May 30th at Oklahoma City.
Tennessee Valley Vipers 44, CORPUS CHRISTI SHARKS 36 (Attendance: 4,446)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Corpus Christi failed to score on fourth down and goal from the Tennessee Valley 4-yard line with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. QB Gary Cooper was unable to connect with WR/DB Nate Fricke who was tightly covered on the play. The last second defensive stop helped the defending ArenaCup Champion Vipers preserve a 44-36 victory over the Sharks at American Bank Center. The Sharks held a 24-17 halftime lead before getting outscored 14-0 in the third quarter. Vipers QB Kevin Eakin found Juan Merritt in the right corner of the end zone to tie the score at 24. After Tennessee Valley stopped the Sharks offense by forcing a 57-yard field goal attempt by K Nick Gatto that fell short, Eakin escaped a collapsing pocket to find Jeremy Grier for a 5-yard TD. Grier's touchdown put the Vipers ahead 31-24. Corpus Christi responded when Cooper scrambled to his right and lobbed a 5-yard TD to Fricke to open fourth quarter scoring. The Sharks failed to convert the point after touchdown and trailed 31-30. Vipers WR Bradly Chavez grabbed a one-handed touchdown of his own on a 12-yard pass from Eakin. The point after touchdown gave the Vipers a 38-30 lead. The Sharks answered quickly as Cooper threw a 30-yard rainbow touchdown pass to Brandon Hussey who made a nice over the shoulder catch. Corpus Christi attempted to tie the game at 38 but Cooper was tripped by one of his offensive lineman as he went back to pass on the 2-point conversation attempt. Eakin gave the Vipers an 8-point lead as he again teamed up with Merritt. Tennessee Valley failed to convert the extra point which kept the Sharks within striking distance on their final drive. Eakin paced the Vipers with 253 yards on 21-of-33 passes for four scores without an interception. Grier led the Tennessee Valley receivers with seven grabs for 95 yards (1 TD). DB Desmond Foster had a game-high 10.5 tackles and two pass breakups to lead the defense. Cooper led Corpus Christi with 244 yards on 26-of-39 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Hussey had seven catches for 99 yards with two TDs. Tennessee Valley improved to 5-2 while the Sharks fell to 1-5.
SOUTH GEORGIA WILDCATS 72, Kentucky Horsemen 66 (Attendance: 4,472)
ALBANY, Ga. - QB Darnell Kennedy threw a South Georgia single-game record 10 touchdown passes, including the eventual game-winner to WR Alvance Robinson with 29 second left to play that gave the Wildcats a 70-66 lead over Kentucky. On the Horsemen's ensuing offensive possession, the Wildcats defense would put the nail in the coffin as DE Courtney Young sacked Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen in the end zone for a South Georgia safety that gave the Wildcats a 72-66 home win. Kentucky DB Matt Forbes' interception of Kennedy at the end of 3rd quarter had the Horsemen in prime position to take a two-score lead at the start of the 4th quarter. It would not come to fruition, however, as Horsemen QB Justin Rascati fumbled a snap in the red zone which the Wildcats recovered and turned into a game-tying touchdown. Kennedy ended his record-setting night completing 60.9 percent of his passes (25-of-41) for 374 yards and 10 touchdowns. Lorenzen played well in defeat with 224 yards passing and six touchdowns. Robinson led all receivers with nine receptions for 183 yards and five touchdowns. Kentucky was paced by WR Harry Lewis who hauled in nine passes of his own for 120 yards and three touchdowns. With the win South Georgia improves to 6-2 on the season. Kentucky fell to 3-3 with the loss.
TRI-CITIES FEVER 43, Stockton Lightning 42 (Attendance: 3,066)
KENNEWICK, Wash. - In a battle between two teams in need of a big time win, the Tri-Cities Fever (1-6) overcame a 19-point deficit in the forth quarter to defeat the visiting Stockton Lightning (1-5), 43-42. With Stockton leading 42-23 early in the fourth quarter, Tri-Cities had two game-changing plays that bought the Fever faithful to their feet. Facing a long third down, QB Ryan Porter placed a 19-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone where only WR Tremayne Kirkland could make a play on the ball to bring the score to 29-42. Then came the challenge of the Tri-Cities defense being able to make a stop. The Fever answered that call three consecutive times and each time produced the same result; Stockton missed field goal. Coach Pat O'Hara saw his defense make big play after big play which in turn triggered the offense. When the first missed field goal came, DB Ray Little returned the ball 44 yards to put the Fever right back into the red zone. Facing a fourth-down, Porter and Kirkland hooked up for their fourth score to bring the game within one possession. After a second Stockton missed field goal, Porter connected with FB/LB Chris Hemphill (2-22; 1 TD; 5.0 tackles, 1 FR) on a short pass. Hemphill bulldozed his way in the end zone for the go-ahead score. K Michael Braunstein's last PAT gave the Fever the lead for the first time since the first quarter. With just 47.5 seconds left, Stockton had a 10-play drive that led to the same outcome as the previous two Lightning possessions; a missed field goal. Defensively the Fever were led by DL Ben Alexander who accumulated 3.5 total tackles (2.0 sacks), one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. Offensively, Porter threw six touchdowns for the Fever while Kirkland finished with eight catches for 101 yards and four scores. QB Chad Cavender (27-of-40 passing, 318 yards, 5 TDs) and WR Etu Molden (12-130-2 TDs) had solid outings for the Lightning in the losing effort.
SPOKANE SHOCK 64, Boise Burn 62 (Attendance: 10,557)
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Shock defeated the Boise Burn on Saturday night, 64-62, to remain undefeated (6-0). With the victory, the Shock also increased their West Division lead over Boise (4-2) to two games. As the first half was about to end, Boise lined up for a 37-yard field goal with a 35-27 lead. Boise K Ben Scott's kick sailed wide and bounced off of the net landing in WR Raul Vijil's hands. Vijil returned the kick 55 yards for a touchdown to shrink the 8-point deficit to two points. Shackleford elected to go for the two-point conversion. The conversion attempt failed and the Shock found themselves behind at the half for the first time all season, 33-35. Spokane responded right away in the second half. On the Shock's first possession of the second half the team scored on a 22-yard touchdown strike to WR Andy Olson that pulled Spokane in front of the Burn for the first time, 40-35. Olson, who led all Shock receivers with 132 yards, had eight receptions (second on the team) including two touchdowns. As the third quarter came to a close, it was the Shock's defense that stepped up and helped swing the momentum back in their favor. Burn QB Taylor Tharp engineered a drive that took Boise down to the nine-yard line but the rookie made a crucial mistake when he was picked off by DB Sergio Gilliam. The Shock capitalized on the turnover and turned it into three points, thanks to a 25-yard Brian Jackson field goal, giving the Shock a 57-49 lead. Late in the game with the Shock hanging on to a 57-55 lead, Tharp and the Boise offense threatened again. This time Gilliam came through again with another interception with only 55 seconds left. Gilliam's play officially ended Boise's hopes at earning the team's first win against the Shock. Boise is 0-7 all-time against Spokane. Shock QB Nick Davila threw for 285 yards and accounted for seven total TDs (5 passing, 2 rushing). Tharp passed for a Boise record 347 yards on 28-of-32 attempts. He also threw a career-best eight touchdowns. His solid outing, however, was overshadowed by his two costly interceptions. Burn WR Nichiren Flowers had 156 yards receiving and four touchdowns, both game-bests.
MONDAY, MAY 11
RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS, Amarillo Dusters (Attendance: 5,201)
HIDALGO, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Dorados improved to 5-1 with a 66-25 win over the Amarillo Dusters Monday night at Dodge Arena. The win was Rio Grande Valley's fourth in a row and helped maintain the team's hold on first place in the Southwest Division. Amarillo (0-6) lost its sixth straight game. Dorados QB Nick Hill ran for four TDs and threw for four more on the night to lead Rio Grande Valley. WR Rod Windsor led the Dorados with three TD receptions on 11 catches and 142 yards. The Dorados led 35-13 at the half and added four rushing TDs in the final 30 minutes, including three by Hill. Among solid efforts from the Dusters were WR/LB John King's four tackles and two interceptions, WR Brent Craft's 87 receiving yards and two scores and QB Collin Draft's four touchdown passes (with no interceptions). The Rio Grande Valley defense took advantage of five fumble recoveries and sacked Amarillo starting QB Collin Drafts four times. DB Craig Turner had a game-high 9.5 tackles and seven pass breakups for the Dorados while DL Valentine Chude had a game-best 2.5 sacks.
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