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Week six Saturday night matchups

May 7, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS (4-0) AT ALBANY CONQUEST (0-4)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - PEPSI ARENA (13,901) 7:00 P.M. ET

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers travel to Albany to face the Conquest in a divisional match up full of change. The balance of power in the Northeast Division is shifting from the Conquest, who won the last two Northeast Division titles with 13-3 records, to the Pioneers who currently sit first the division with a 4-0 record and atop the af2 Coaches' Poll. Also, the Conquest are dealing with a change at the head coach position. Dave Bochette takes over as interim head coach for Steve Matthews who resigned earlier in the week. It is going to be Bochette's job to take over an Albany team that has struggled on both sides of the ball. Perhaps most indicative of their struggles is the Conquest's interception stat. In four games Albany has thrown eight interceptions, while only picking off one pass on defense. With change being the theme of this game, this is one stat Albany will have to turnaround if they want their fortunes to do the same. The catalyst for the Pioneers' hot start is TIM HICKS. Hicks took over at quarterback in the season opener against Columbus and led the Pioneers to a comeback victory, since then Hicks hasn't looked back. He has guided the Pioneers to their best start in franchise history with smart quarterback play by limiting mistakes. Hicks leads the af2 in quarterback rating with a rating of 121.1. On offense for the Conquest, JAMIE WARE will look to build upon his team leading 20 receptions. The last meeting between these two teams was on July 11 of last year and it was an overtime barnburner. In the extra session both teams recorded an interception but the Pioneers won 55-49 on a 25-yard touchdown pass to get their first and only victory over the Conquest.

MANCHESTER WOLVES (2-3) AT CAPE FEAR WILDCATS (3-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - CROWN COLISEUM (8,920) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Manchester Wolves travel to North Carolina to take on the Cape Fear Wildcats in a divisional game. Both Manchester and Cape Fear are coming off of convincing victories last week over Albany and Columbus respectively. The Wildcats are chasing the Pioneers for the division lead while the Wolves are looking to get back in the division race. This will be a test for the Wolves to see how good they are. Manchester does have two victories, but both of them came over winless Albany. The Wolves and Wildcats last met in the playoffs last season when the Wolves ended Cape Fear's season with a 50-47 victory at Cape Fear. When the Wildcats are clicking, they are clicking. In their three wins the Wildcats have won by an average of just under 25 points. Putting up the majority of points for Cape Fear is MATT BURNSTEIN who has twelve touchdown receptions, more than half of quarterback CHRIS WALLACE's twenty touchdown passes. Not to be out done, the Wolves have a dynamic offensive duo of their own in CHRIS SANDERS and GEORGE WILLIAMS. Sanders is the reigning Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Week coming off his seven touchdown (four passing, three rushing) performance last week. Williams has totaled 412 receiving yards on 34 catches on the season to lead the Wolves. Cape Fear and Manchester will play two more times this season. The next meeting will be will be June 12 at Cape Fear.

FLORIDA FIRECATS (2-2) AT COLUMBUS WARDOGS (1-3)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - COLUMBUS CIVIC CENTER (7,600) 7:30 P.M. ET

The Florida Firecats go for their second straight win as they battle division rival Columbus, who is looking to snap a two-game skid. The Firecats downed the defending American Conference Champion Macon Knights last week, while the Wardogs slipped at Cape Fear. QB KEN MASTROLE has connected with CAINON LAMB for 10 touchdowns this season, but STEVE GORRIE (Week 5 Ironman) has given opposing defenses another reason to worry with his league-best 135 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Wardogs offense has struggled since the 62-point outburst against Cape Fear on April 17, but ADRIAN COCKFIELD continues to impress with his league-leading 40 receptions and 375 receiving yards. On defense, there are few better than the Firecats, who lead the league in yards allowed with 179.5 per game. The Wardogs, on the other hand, have not been as lucky of late, allowing 56.8 per contest. The Firecats have never lost in this series, but two of the four games have been decided five or less points. Plus, the Wardogs are 1-0 at home this season, while the Firecats have gone 1-1 away from TECO Arena. This is the first of three meetings between these clubs. They play again at Florida on June 12.

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (3-1) AT ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-3)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - ALLTEL ARENA (16,058) 8:00 P.M. ET

The Tennessee Valley Vipers travel to Little Rock to face the Arkansas Twisters. The Vipers and Twisters didn't meet once last season but now that they are division rivals they will meet twice this season. In the five previous meetings between the two teams, the Vipers have won every time. The Twisters will want to change this, but they are off to a disappointing start. Last season Arkansas was one game away from the ArenaCup, but after winning their season opener they are on a three game losing streak. To change things around Twisters' head coach Gary Anderson cut kicker TON TON LAZAYDIO for MARC GILL while threatening more changes. The Vipers are talking about changes of their own. Reports earlier in the week indicated Vipers' head coach Kevin Guy would take a long look at back up quarterback JOSH KELLETT this week, perhaps starting him over af2 veteran BRYAN SNYDER. The Vipers have three solid receivers to rely on with JERRIAN JAMES, RONNEY DANIELS, and RODNEY BROWN who have nineteen of the Vipers' 22 touchdown receptions. The Twisters main target is TED ALFORD who has 22 receptions. On defense for the Twisters, DARNELL SMALL leads the league in sacks with four. Arkansas will travel to the Snake Pit to play the Vipers on June 5.

LOUISVILLE FIRE (3-1) AT MEMPHIS XPLORERS (2-2)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - DESOTO CIVIC CENTER (8,444) 8:00 P.M. ET

The Louisville Fire travel south to face the Memphis Xplorers. Louisville started the season strong with three straight victories, until a loss last week to the Pioneers. Now the Fire look to start another winning streak. The Xplorers enter the game with a .500 record but, interestingly enough, their only losses are in games they have played in the state of Alabama, at Birmingham and at Tennessee Valley. If this is a trend, the Fire better watch out since this is a home game for Memphis. Louisville better be on their game right from the opening kickoff, literally. KEVIN PRENTISS of Memphis leads the league in kickoff return average, averaging 30 yards per return, and has returned three kicks back for touchdowns. This is in addition to the 30 receptions and six touchdown receptions he has put up as a receiver. BRIAN JONES, quarterback for Memphis, has had an up and down rookie season. He kept the Xplorers in the game last week against the Vipers, until he threw a forth quarter interception which was returned for a touchdown. The Fire have a potent offense, with MATT SAUK leading the way with nineteen touchdown passes. Much of the credit needs to go to the offensive line of the Fire, as they have only given up one sack on the season. The Fire have also taken care of the ball, as they are second in the af2 in turnover margin at plus six. The Xplorers will challenge Sauk, as they feature a solid pass defense, ranking third in the league giving up only 179.2 passing yards per game. This will be the only meeting between the Fire and the Xplorers this season.

CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES (0-4) AT GREEN BAY BLIZZARD (1-3)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - RESCH CENTER (8,327) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Blizzard welcome the Central Valley Coyotes to Green Bay for a Week 6 matchup. Green Bay is a team which is probably, to use the old cliché, better than their record indicates. They won their season opener against San Diego, but have lost their last three contests. But these three loses came against the current number one, number two and number three rated team according to the af2 Coaches' Poll. After this gauntlet of a schedule, a winless Coyotes team probably is just who Green Bay wants to see. Central Valley is struggling, but they are coming off their best game of the season in a close loss last week against Peoria in which Peoria got a last second field goal to win the game. KENYATTE MORGAN is the leader of the Coyotes. Morgan has 28 receptions and leads the team in receiving yards. Central Valley needs to work on getting the ball and keeping it. The Coyotes rank last in the af2 in turnover margin, with a mark of minus ten. The Coyotes are a disciplined team though, as they commit only 41.8 yards in penalties a game, tied for first in the league. Green Bay will put their season's hopes on the shoulder of quarterback CHRIS GREISEN. Greisen and DENNIS GILE went back and forth under center for Blizzard, but with Gile released earlier in the week it is now Greisen's team. The first step for Greisen as the expected starter should be to look for stand out offensive specialist RANDALL LANE. Lane's fourteen touchdowns leads the af2 in receiving touchdowns and scoring. This is the only meeting between the Coyotes and Blizzard this season.

MACON KNIGHTS (1-3) AT BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS (3-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - BJCC (16,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Birmingham Steeldogs look for their longest win streak since the 2002 season when they host the Macon Knights Saturday night. Coming off a bye week, Coach Humphrey's crew should be well rested as they look to remain atop the South Division standings. Macon enters this one after a disappointing loss to Florida in which the Knights were held to their lowest point total in team history. But one characteristic of the Knights over the years has been their ability to bounce back, as the team has never lost more than two games in a row. On offense the Knights will turn to rookie QB CECIL LESTER, who will be starting his first game for the team. In limited action this season he's completed 5-of-16 for 44 yards, but has not thrown any interceptions. Birmingham QB JEFF AARON is closing in on 1,000 passing yards for the season and he has thrown 13 touchdowns. DETRON HARRIS is a weapon on special teams with two touchdown returns on the season. Defensively the Steeldogs have kept opponent offenses in check, while the Knights turnover problems have burned them. Based on the history of the series, it's Birmingham's night to win as they have traded wins for the past three years. These teams meet one more time this season on July 31 at Macon.

WICHITA STEALTH (4-0) AT RIO GRANDE VALLEY DORADOS (3-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - DODGE ARENA (5,600) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados host the Wichita Stealth in an early season battle for the top spot in the Southwest Division. These two teams are at the top of many of the defensive rankings in the af2. Wichita ranks first in scoring defense, giving up 28.5 points a game, and Rio Grande Valley ranks third in scoring defense, giving up 35.0 points a game. In red zone defense, the Stealth rank first, the Dorados rank second. Both teams have fourteen sacks on the season, tied for first in the af2. Put simply, don't look for any offensive records to be broken in this game. Wichita is coming off of a bye week, while the Dorados are coming off of a victory over the Laredo Law. Looking at these numbers, the Stealth defense is clearly a difference maker, but if it wasn't for quarterback AARON SPARROW the Stealth may not be undefeated at this point in the season. His 21 touchdown passes and 1035 passing yards, tied for third in the af2. All these points combined with a great defense means the Stealth have won their four games by an average of just under 20 points. For the Dorados, MANWELL TALBERT is leading the offense with seven touchdown catches. WILL BURCH has solidified the starting quarterback position, after receiving split time at the start of the season. Interesting to note though, while the Dorados get many sacks they also give up many. The Dorados have given up twelve sacks on the season, tied for third from the last in the league. This could be the difference in what looks to be a close game. The Dorados and Stealth will meet two more times this season.

BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT BATTLE WINGS (2-3) AT TULSA TALONS (2-2)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - TULSA CONVENTION CENTER (7,111) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings snapped a three-game skid last week against and look to make it two wins in a row as the head to Tulsa for a matchup with the Talons. Tulsa comes in with the league's top rated offense and an emerging star under center in QB MICHAEL WALL. Wall is atop the leaders with 28 touchdowns on the season and is seriously challenging the all-time single season touchdown mark. His main target has been the veteran MITCH ALLNER, who has been on the receiving end of almost half of Walls touchdowns. TIMON MARSHALL is another prime choice for Wall, as he has caught eight touchdowns on the season. The Battle Wings SHERARD POTEETE has thrown touchdowns to six different guys so far in 2004 and he has nine rushing touchdowns, keeping opposing defenses on their toes. This game pits two defenses of seemingly equal strength. The Battle Wings allow 52.2 points to the Talons 54.8 per game. The Battle Wings have won one game in this series, but it was at home. They are 0-2 at the Tulsa Convention Center. This will be the only time these teams meet during the regular season.

LAREDO LAW (0-4) AT OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ (3-1)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - FORD CENTER (18,000) 8:30 P.M. ET

The Laredo Law travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Yard Dawgz in the first ever meeting between these fellow expansion teams and division rivals. After losing at Rio Grande Valley in Week 4, the Yard Dawgz bounced back last week with a victory over instate rival Tulsa in front of 13,434 fans in Oklahoma City. Laredo is hungry for win after losing their first four games to start the season. Yard Dawgz quarterback CRAIG STRICKLAND has been phenomenal on the season. Strickland has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 1,079 yards to make the Oklahoma City offense one of the tops in the league. He has moved the ball around to four different receivers have ten or more receptions. Once again proving how important turnovers are in Arena Football, the only interceptions Strickland has thrown on the season, were the two he threw in the Yard Dawgz' only loss on the season, at Rio Grande Valley. While Laredo has struggled, they have three solid receivers in P.J. WINSTON, MARTINO THEUS, and MELVIN PHILLIPS. These two have been responsible for 87% of the passing yards the Law have accumulated. The Yard Dawgz will look to combat these receivers with a strong pass rush from their five players who have two sacks ore more. The Law and Yard Dawgz will play two more time this season with the next meeting being June 5 at Laredo.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (3-2) AT SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (1-2)
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004 - SAN DIEGO SPORTS ARENA (12,920) 10:00 P.M. ET

The Hawaiian Islanders travel to San Diego for a divisional contest against the Riptide. These two have a history against each other with San Diego winning the first two games in the series, but the Islanders winning the last four. The Islanders are coming off of a tough loss last week against the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. Now the Islanders will have to go without two of their key players. Defensive specialist EDDIE KLANESKI will be out with a slight tear of the ACL, and WR/DB ANTHONY ARCENEAUX will miss the game with a deep bruise on his ribs. With the Islanders having a bye next week, Arceneaux is scheduled to be back in time for Week 8. But that doesn't help the Islanders this week, specifically their defense as having two starters out will make defending Mouse Davis' Riptide offense even more of a challenge. KANE CLAUNCH has officially regained the starting quarterback position, throwing for eighteen touchdowns on the season and leading the Riptide to their first victory this year over Central Valley in San Diego's last game. The Islanders will have to watch out for San Diego's two-way stand out RYAN SMITH. On the season Smith has 10.5 tackles, two interceptions, fourteen receptions, and six touchdown catches. Smith can make it happen no matter what side of the ball he is on. Former University of Hawaii star WR/LB NATE JACKSON returns to the Islanders after a stint with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe. The Islanders and Riptide will play three more times this season.

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