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Week Three Quick Hitters

April 9, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


GAMES ON - af2TV FREE ONLINE NETWORK BACK IN 2009: Thanks to a unique league partnership with Network Foundation Technologies (NFT), all the hard-hitting, fast paced action of arenafootball2 will once again be available to fans worldwide. The FREE-for-View online network called "af2TV" will showcase every game of the league's 10th anniversary season live over the Internet. The process to view games is easy. To obtain the free af2TV player, fans should first click on the af2TV advertisement located on the upper right corner of the league's web site, www.af2.com. Following the link will bring fans to a special landing page which includes simple directions on how to download and place the af2TV player icon on your desktop. The action continues this week (Week 3) with a 12-game slate that will be available to fans at no charge.

HUGHLEY, VILLANUEVA, STEPTER, IBEH, LACEK EARN WEEK 2 HONORS: Tulsa wide receiver/defensive back JEFF HUGHLEY, Iowa quarterback BRIAN VILLANUEVA and Milwaukee defensive back LAVAR STEPTER have been named the JLS Ironman, Russell Athletic Offensive Player and Aaron's Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for Week 2 of 2009, the af2's 10th anniversary season. In addition to these three awards, the af2 is also highlighting the player who makes the best catch and the best hit of the week. The Big Game Catch of the Week Award for Week 2 goes to Bossier-Shreveport wide receiver BUCHIE IBEH and the NiFTy Hit of the Week is awarded to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton linebacker CORY LACEK.

Hughley (5-8, 165, Averett), in his third af2 season, had an impressive all-around effort for Tulsa in the team's Week 2 road game against Iowa. Despite the result (73-68 loss), the veteran playmaker was a blur against the Barnstormers, amassing six total touchdowns and 398 all-purpose yards (3rd highest single-game total in af2 history). On offense, the Averett alum caught 12 passes for 168 yards and five touchdowns, all game-highs. He also stood out on special teams with 230 kick return yards (172 KO, 58 MFG), including a 58-yard missed field goal return touchdown. This is the third Ironman of the Week Award of Hughley's career, his fifth league honor overall and his first since the 2007 ArenaCup playoffs. Villanueva (6-4, 245, Fort Valley State), in his fourth af2 season, led the Barnstormers to a 73-68 Week 2 upset victory at home against No. 3-ranked Tulsa. In his first start for Iowa, the Fort Valley State alum completed 24-of-39 passes (61.5 percent) in the contest for 244 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. He also added two rushing touchdowns as the Barnstormers have raced out to a 2-0 start, their best beginning to a season in team history. This is the first af2 weekly award of Villanueva's career. Stepter (5-10, 200, Harper Junior College) was a major player on defense in Milwaukee's Week 2 road win at Mahoning Valley, 59-39. The four-year veteran defensive back from Harper Junior College recorded a team-high 8.0 total tackles and two interceptions to help the Iron, a first-year af2 franchise, record their first league victory. Stepter returned his first interception 30 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter while his second interception halted Mahoning Valley's final drive of the night. This is the first af2 weekly award of Stepter's career. Ibeh (6-3, 215, Temple) received The Big Game Catch of the Week Award for his 3-yard jump ball touchdown grab to cap the BattleWings' final scoring drive of the game. The former Temple standout had to leap high to snare QB Andrico Hines' pass away from a Corpus Christi defender in the left corner of the end zone. Ibeh had two additional touchdown grabs on the night and finished with five catches for 50 yards as Bossier-Shreveport earned a 59-14 home-opening win against the Sharks. Lacek (6-0, 235, Slippery Rock), in his rookie af2 season, is the first recipient of the NiFTy Hit of the Week Award. Lacek's hit came on the game's opening kickoff Friday night against Albany. Thanks to a deep kick by David Davis that ricocheted high off the rebound net and bounced on the turf, Lacek was able to sprint downfield on coverage and torpedo himself into the Firebirds' Mike Wall just after Wall turned around with the ball in his hands. The hit was a great start for Lacek, a former Slippery Rock standout who was playing in his first game with the Pioneers. He finished with 4.5 total tackles, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery to help Wilkes-Barre/Scranton overcome Albany, 70-28.

SHOCK TOP WEEK 3 COACHES POLL: The Spokane Shock, last year's ArenaCup runner-up, have maintained their hold on the No. 1 ranking in the Week 3 Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced on Wednesday. Spokane collected 381 of a possible 384 points and 21-of-25 first place votes in securing the top spot for the fourth straight week. The Shock opened their season on Saturday night at home by defeating West rival Stockton, 59-42. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2-0, 345 points, 4 first place votes) maintained its place at No. 2 after a 70-28 home victory on Friday against Albany. Arkansas (2-0, 299 points) improved one spot to No. 3 this week while Oklahoma City moved up three spots from No. 7 to No. 4. The Yard Dawgz (288 points) improved to 2-0 after a 66-58 home win against South Georgia on Saturday. Iowa is another new entry into the Top-5 this week. The Barnstormers (2-0, 271 points) defeated No. 3 Tulsa at home last week, 73-68, to jump up four positions on the poll. The Talons (1-1) slipped to No. 9 overall with the loss.

SIEGFRIED TURNS 70: With Arkansas' 45-24 win last week at Amarillo, Twisters Head Coach CHRIS SIEGFRIED earned his 70th career coaching victory. The veteran coach, now in his seventh season, currently ranks 2nd overall in career wins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach RICH INGOLD is the league's current all-time leader in career coaching wins with 77 (77-30 overall; .720). Amarillo's BEN BENNETT (64) ranks third on the all-time win list. Below is a breakdown of the leaders in career af2 coaching victories.

TOP ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

NAME WINS

1. Rich Ingold* 77

2. Chris Siegfried* 70

3. Ben Bennett* 64

4. Danton Barto* 60

5. Tommy Johnson 55

6. Kevin Guy 52

7. Bobby Humphrey 51

8. Kevin Bouis* 50

9. Richard Davis* 46

10. Fred Biletnikoff, Jr.* 45

Kevin Porter 45

* denotes active coaches

FANS STORM IOWA HOME OPENER: A record-breaking crowd in Des Moines, Iowa witnessed the Barnstormers' 73-68 upset win over the visiting Tulsa Talons in Week 2. Saturday night's attendance of 11,627 at Wells Fargo Arena is the largest crowd to ever witness an Arena Football game in the state of Iowa. While Saturday night's impressive attendance in Des Moines didn't rank among the Top-10 largest in league history, it was still the largest single-game total the league has seen in over three years. The last time the af2 had a single-game total greater than that was on July 30, 2005 in Oklahoma City when 12,181 fans watched the Yard Dawgz take on rival Tulsa at the Ford Center.

WALLACE SET TO PASS STRICKLAND IN YARDS: Florida Firecats veteran QB CHRIS WALLACE s on the verge of becoming the league's all-time passing yards leader. Wallace needs just 129 yards this Friday at Albany to take over the top spot which is held by former league standout and current Tulsa Talons offensive coordinator CRAIG STRICKLAND. Strickland's league-high career yardage total stands at 22,688 yards. Through 94 career games, Wallace has thrown for 22,560 yards. He holds af2 career records for attempts (3,072), completions (1,837) and touchdowns (491). Wallace began his af2 career with the Carolina Rhinos in 2000. He played for the AFL Orlando Predators in 2001 and 2003. Prior to joining the Firecats midway through the 2004 season, he played for the Norfolk Nighthawks and Cape Fear Wildcats.

VENA PASSES LOFTY BENCHMARKS: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton QB RYAN VENA passed two impressive career milestones in Friday night's 70-28 home win against Albany - 20,000 passing yards and 400 touchdown passes. The veteran signal caller from Colgate, currently in his sixth af2 season (third with the Pioneers), joins CHRIS WALLACE and CRAIG STRICLAND as the only quarterbacks in league history to reach those lofty totals. The af2's top three career passer totals for yards and touchdowns are shown below:

Most passing yards, career

22688...Craig Strickland, Tulsa 2000-01, 2003, Oklahoma City 2004-06

22560...Chris Wallace, CAR 2000, NOR 2002-03, CPF 2004, FLA 2004-present

20090...Ryan Vena, Albany 2002-03, 2006, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2007-present

Most touchdown passes, career

491...Chris Wallace, CAR 2000, NOR 2002-03, CPF 2004, FLA 2004-present

481...Craig Strickland, Tulsa 2000-01, 2003, Oklahoma City 2004-06

403...Ryan Vena, Albany 2002-03, 2006, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2007-present

INTERNATIONAL UPDATE: This season the af2 continues to maintain its strong international development program, which began in 2003. Currently the league has international athletes from 14 countries on team rosters. This past week (Week 2) 12 international players saw action around the league. Two players who stood out from the af2's international talent pool were Spokane LB LEE FOLIAKI (Tonga) and DB TAKASHI WALKER (Jamaica). Foliaki had 3.5 total tackles in the Shock's 59-42 home-opening win against Stockton. Walker contributed 2.5 tackles in South Georgia's 66-58 loss at Oklahoma City.

LEAGUE'S ALL-TIME SCORING RACE CHANGES LEADERS: WR GEORGE WILLIAMS passed Florida WR MAGIC BENTON in Week 1 to become the league's current all-time scoring leader. Williams scored 12 points against Stockton on two TDs while Benton scored once and caught a two-point conversion for eight at South Georgia. Williams now has 1,120 points while Benton has 1,118. Oklahoma City WR/DB AL HUNT (1,096), KEVIN WILLIAMS (958) and JARRAIL JACKSON (932) round out the Top-5. Below is a breakdown of the leading scorers in af2 history:

MOST POINTS SCORED, NON-KICKING, CAREER

PTS PLAYER YEARS PLAYED

1,120 George Williams* 2001, 2003-present

1,118 Magic Benton* 2001-present

1,096 Al Hunt* 2003-present

958 Kevin Williams 2001-2008

932 Jarrail Jackson 2000-01, 2005-2008

906 J.R. Thomas 2004-2008

888 Jack Walker, Jr.* 2002-03, 2005-present

* Active in 2009

MILWAUKEE FORGES FIRST af2 WIN: The expansion Iron took advantage of a lethal running game en route to a 59-39 road win over Mahoning Valley on Saturday. Milwaukee's rushing attack racked up 59 yards and an eye-opening five scores as the first-year af2 franchise recorded its first league victory. Rookie QB TYLER DONOVAN completed 20-of-29 passes for the Iron for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also added two rushing scores. Aside from Donovan's two scores, Tyre Young, Antoine Burns and Scott Burnoski also recorded rushing TDs. DB LAVAR STEPTER registered 8.0 tackles and two interceptions, including a third-quarter theft that was returned 30 yards for a score. Milwaukee (1-1) is currently ranked No. 14 in the latest league coaches poll.

DEFENDING CHAMPS UNVEIL BANNER AND EARN BIG WIN: On a night when the Vipers unveiled their 2008 ArenaCup Championship banner, Tennessee Valley rebounded from an unsuccessful 2009 debut with an impressive home-opening win against Quad City, 74-20. Tennessee Valley swept the major player awards on Saturday night as QB Kevin Eakin (Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game: 20-of-26 passing, 194 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT), LB Eric Crosby (Aaron's Defensive Player of the Game: 6.0 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 PBU) and WR/KR Chris Bocage (JLS Ironman of the Game: 11-100-3 TDs, 58-yard KR TD, 201 all-purpose yards) were honored for their efforts. The Vipers (1-1), ranked No. 12 in the Coaches Poll heading into Week 2, improved to No. 7 this week. Tennessee Valley returns to action this Saturday as the team travels to Albany, Ga. to take on South Division foe South Georgia (2-1). Below is a look at past ArenaCup winners and how they fared the year after their championship season.

Champion First Game Next Season Next Season Final Record

2000 Quad City Steamwheelers 2001: Won, 41-0 (5-0 first 5) 15-1

2001 Quad City Steamwheelers 2002: Won, 39-34 (4-1 first 5) 10-6

2002 Peoria Pirates 2003: Lost, 39-42 (1-4 first 5) 5-11

2003 Tulsa Talons 2004: Lost, 63-70 OT (3-2 first 5) 13-3

2004 Florida Firecats 2005: Won, 35-32 (5-0 first 5) 14-2

2005 Memphis Xplorers 2006: Won, 78-64 (4-1 first 5) 11-5

2006 Spokane Shock 2007: Won, 51-35 (3-2 first 5) 12-4

2007 Tulsa Talons 2008: Won, 69-13 (5-0 first 5) 12-4

2008 Tennessee Valley Vipers 2009: Lost, 40-53 (1-1 first 2 games) ?

FLORIDA NOT ON FIRE TO START 2009: The Florida Firecats, a team that has won at least 10 games for seven straight seasons, has stumbled a bit to start the 2009 season, opening 0-2. Florida hasn't begun a season with two consecutive defeats since 2001, the team's very first af2 season. That year the squad lost its first three games, finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs. After a bye in Week 2, the Firecats will look to buck their current trend in Week 3 (April 10) at Albany.



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