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Week Two af2 Recaps

Published on April 12, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


FRIDAY, APRIL 9

PEORIA PIRATES 22, Arkansas Twisters 13 (Attendance: 4,961)

Peoria, Ill. - Behind a superb defensive effort, the Peoria Pirates (1-1) defeated the Wichita Stealth (1-1) 22-13 Friday night at the Peoria Civic Center. Pirates FB/LB Casey Urlacher earned U.S. Ironman of the Game honors with 2.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Offensively, he had seven carries for 15 yards with one touchdown. Former NFL All-Pro kicker Louie Aguiar connected on a 52-yard field goal for the Pirates in the second quarter. Pirates' WR/DB Lawrence Matthews was selected as the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game for his four receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown.

Green Bay Blizzard 67, SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE 49 (Attendance: 4,667)

SAN DIEGO - Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game Randall Lane reeled in six touchdowns to lead the Blizzard (1-0) past the San Diego Riptide (0-2) Friday night at the San Diego Sports Arena. Robert Garth, who earned U.S. Army Ironman honors for the Blizzard, returned a first quarter interception 23 yards to paydirt and caught four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns on offense. San Diego's Kane Claunch completed 13-of-26 for 217 yards and five touchdowns after relieving starter Kevin Feterick late in the second quarter.

SATURDAY, APRIL 10

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PIONEERS 38, Columbus Wardogs 33 (Attendance: 4,723)

Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Backup QB Tim Hicks hit Rocco Forgione for a 17-yard touchdown with 10 second left in the game to lift the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (1-0) to 38-33 win over the visiting Columbus Wardogs (0-1) Saturday night. Hicks, who was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game, replaced starter Mike Gluski in the third quarter and was the driving force behind the Pioneers comeback, completing seven of 12 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns in addition to rushing for a score. Jurron Kelly caught the other two Pioneers touchdowns, totaling three receptions and 69 yards for the night. Adrian Cockfield led the Wardogs with 11 receptions for 73 yards and one score. The Pioneers are 1-0 for the first time in team history.

Quad City Steamwheelers 45, MANCHESTER WOLVES 42 (Attendance: 9,005)

Manchester, N.H. - Quad City kicker Ryan Geisler's last-second 17-yard field goal lifted the Quad City Steamwheelers (2-0) to a 45-42 win over the Wolves (0-2) Saturday night before a near-capacity crowd at Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena. After taking a 19-point halftime lead, the Steamwheelers were outscored 33-17 in the second half. Quad City WR/DB Jeff Hewitt earned Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game honors with seven catches for 172 yards and one touchdown. Hewitt also scored on a 53-yard kickoff return, which was his third return for a touchdown this season. The U.S. Army Ironman of the Game and ADT Defensive Player of the Game went to Manchester's Josh Liddell, who collected three catches for 27 yards, one interception return for a 35-yard touchdown, one sack, and 4.5 tackles. Henry Frazier also contributed for the Wolves with four catches for 98 yards and one missed field goal return for a 54-yard touchdown.

CAPE FEAR WILDCATS 70, Albany Conquest 55 (Attendance: 3,200)

Fayetteville, N.C. - Matt Burnstein led all receivers with seven receptions for 149 yards and four touchdowns as the Cape Fear Wildcats (1-0) opened the season with a 70-55 win over the division rival Albany Conquest (0-1) Saturday night at Crown Coliseum. Wildcat QB Chris Wallace completed 14-of-17 passes for 226 yards with six touchdowns and he rushed for another score. Gunslinger Gus Ornstein threw 22 completions for 315 yards and seven touchdowns for the Conquest. Keeon Johnson added two rushing touchdowns for the Wildcats, who led 36-17 at the half.

FLORIDA FIRECATS 46, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 31 (Attendance: 5,327)

Estero, Fla. - Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the game Cainon Lamb caught 12 passes for 109 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Florida Firecats (1-0) to a 46-31 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (1-1) Saturday night at TECO Arena. Florida QB Ken Mastrole completed 32-of-49 passes for 301 yards and seven touchdowns including one scoring strike to Magic Benton, who had nine catches for 93 yards on the night. QB Sherard Poteete passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to pace the Battle Wings.

LOUISVILLE FIRE 37, Hawaiian Islanders 35 (Attendance: 9,111)

Louisville, Ky. - Tony Stallings (Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game) rushed for two fourth quarter touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the game as the Louisville Fire (1-0) topped the Hawaiian Islanders (1-1) Saturday night at Freedom Hall. DS Justin Thomas earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors for his 10 solo tackles and nine pass break-ups. Return man Ryan Russell ignited the home crowd on the opening kick of the game, taking it to the house for 55 yards. Gabe Amey led Hawaii with seven catches for 108 yards and one touchdown. Anthony Arceneaux added two scores on six receptions for 72 yards.

Tulsa Talons 49, MACON KNIGHTS 40 (Attendance: 3,309)

Macon, Ga. - Led by two receiving touchdowns from Mitch Allner, the Tulsa Talons (1-1) defeated the Macon Knights (0-1) 49-40 Saturday night at the Macon Coliseum in a rematch of last year's ArenaCup. Allner, who was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game, caught five total passes for 79 yards and he scored on a nine-yard fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter. The Talons took advantage of five Knights turnovers in the game, scoring on four of them. Miacah Cooper and Jamaal Garmen proved to be two bright sports for the Knights. Cooper caught eight passes for 110 yards, while Garmen scored three times on five receptions for 43 yards.

WICHITA STEALTH 44, Laredo Law 22 (Attendance: 2,451)

Valley Center, Kan. - For the second straight week, the Wichita Stealth (2-0) held their opponent scoreless in the first half on their way to a 44-22 win the Laredo Law (0-2). Baby Ruth Real Deal Player of the Game, Anthony Griffin, paced Wichita with three receptions for 42 yards and three rushes for 10 yards and two touchdowns. The Stealth defense held the Law to 197 yards of total offense and got to the Law quarterback eight times. Stealth quarterback Aaron Sparrow was 13-of-24 on the night for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Marc Bacote was named the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game, as he had two catches for 47 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, he had five tackles (two solo, and six unassisted), one forced fumble, and 1.5 sacks. ADT Defensive Player of the Game was Cliff Holloman, who had one and a half tackles and one pass defense.

OKLAHOMA CITY YARD DAWGZ 55, Rio Grande Valley 17 (Attendance: 10,012)

OKLAHOMA CITY - Craig Strickland (Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game) threw five touchdowns and rushed for two more to lead the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (2-0) to a 55-17 win over the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (1-1) Saturday night at the Ford Center. Al Hunt recorded the first interception in Yard Dawgz history and was named U.S. Army Ironman of the game. Offensively he had five catches for 121 yards and four touchdowns. The Yard Dawgz defense tallied nine sacks on the night. Manwell Talbert recorded seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown to lead the Dorados.

BIRMINGHAM STEELDOGS 44, Memphis Xplorers 27 (Attendance: 6,424)

Birmingham, Ala. - The Birmingham Steeldogs (1-1) jumped out to a 28-0 first half lead on their way to a 44-27 win over the Memphis Xplorers (0-1) Saturday night. Quarterbacks Jeff Aaron and Roger Linn shared time under center, filling in for injured Steeldog signal-caller, Kenton Evans. Aaron finished 10 of 16 for 115 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Linn completed 2 of 6 pass attempts for 17 yards in limited first half action. Aaron walked away with the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game Award. Kevin Prentiss caught eight passes for 73 yards and one touchdown for the Xplorers.

Bakersfield Blitz 65, CENTRAL VALLEY COYOTES 48 (ATTENDANCE NOT AVAILABLE)

Fresno, Calif. - The Bakersfield Blitz (1-1) scored on their first three drives of the game and never trailed, tallying a 65-48 win over the Central Valley Coyotes (0-2) at the Selland Arena on Saturday night. QB Chad Elliott completed 26-of-37 for 272 yards and seven touchdowns for the Blitz. His main target, Steve Wofford, caught 12 passes for 123 yards and two scores. Eric Mahanke also grabbed five balls for 76 yards and three touchdowns. Kenyatte Morgan had five catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Coyotes.

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