Week Six Preview vs. Arkansas

May 2, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Texas Copperheads News Release


Arkansas invades the Berry Center sporting a two game winning streak. The Copperheads are winless versus five defeats on the season. Kick off is scheduled for Saturday May 3, 2008 at 7:30pm.

Though QB Rudy Carlton leads the league in completions (102), he also leads the league in interceptions thrown (12). Carlton threw three picks last week against Boise. As a result, the Copperheads rank 24th in the af2 with a turnover margin of minus seven. On the other hand, Arkansas ranks 10th in turnover margin with a plus 2. The Copperheads must protect the ball if they hope to break in to the win column.

Texas' offense was dealt a serious blow in week 3 when they lost Sean Rochon (the af2's leading receiver at the time) to injury. Rochon was placed on IR 4/16/08. Copperheads "Ironman" Armar Watson, a defensive starter (DB) and special teams ace (KR), has filled in admirably on offense in place of Rochon, but the Texas passing game has struggled since Rochon's departure.

Last week Arkansas defeated the Amarillo Dusters 54-46. The Twister offense was stopped just once as QB Kyle Rowley completed 23 of 31 pass attempts for 249 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. Jamaal Perry, Patrick Rouzard and Jim Jones were on the receiving end of two TD passes each.

The Copperheads defense continues to improve. Last week against Boise, the Copperheads defense forced 5 turnovers. Darius Pettigrew lead the Texas defense by intercepting 3 Boise passes and returned one for a score. The Texas defense has to continue its opportunistic ways as they will be facing the af2's top rated offensive team, Arkansas, who is averaging 289.5 yards per game.

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WEEK 6 QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH OLLIE GUIDRY:

On the Copperheads' Defense: "I know we're going in the right direction there. We have a core of guys who have been working together since day one, which is the key. They are starting to understand each other and gel together as a group. The biggest thing is making plays. I've been telling James (Todd), Darius (Pettigrew) and those guys that it's OK to knock down balls, but what counts is making plays. Making a play is an interception. Making a play is a ‘pick 6'. Making a play is stripping the ball. Those guys have been doing that. We're very proud of those guys and pleased with their performance."

On the Copperheads QB situation vs. Arkansas: "We made some changes for this week. Hopefully we are going to get a spark from Steve (Wasil) at the QB position. We're going to play Rudy as well. I truly believe in Rudy; I believe in Steve. I believe in those guys. I think Rudy is going to be a really good QB in this league. I told Rudy I wanted him to take some coaching from the sideline from a different perspective, and when he gets a chance to go back out there, to go make it happen. Steve has been with us since week 1, he's prepared, he knows the offense and we feel pretty good about him as well. The biggest thing is that no matter what we do, we need those guys to protect the football and just make plays. If we can do that, we have a chance. If we don't, we will struggle like we have been."

On Copperheads QB Stephen Wasil: "Steve has ‘presence' about himself. He understands the game. He's been in indoor football before. This is the first time in af2, but he understands the angles, understands the reads and understands where to place the football."

On the Arkansas Twisters: "Arkansas is a solid football team. They're just as good as the last two or three teams we've faced this year. Offensively they're strong. Defensively, they're quick off the edges. Coach Siegfried is an experienced af2 coach, he knows the game. I know Coach Siegfried; I know what they're going to do. It's just a matter of if we can do our job better than they can."



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