West is Best in BlitzBowl I

Published on April 11, 2002 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Bakersfield Blitz News Release


BAKERSFIELD, CA (April 3, 2002) – In the first ever Kern County High School All-Star BlitzBowl, the West team had to hold on in the end for a 26-23 win over the East team in front of 4,147 boisterous fans at Centennial Garden in Bakersfield.

Fifty high school seniors (25 on each team), who were selected by coaches from Kern County High Schools, played an arena football style of game for the first time. Both teams learned the game of arena football in a three-week period before they stepped on the field and played the game Wednesday night. BlitzBowl I marked the last high school game of their careers and one last chance to play in front of their friends and family.

The game started ominously as West kicker Tyler McAtee sent the opening kickoff into the overhead scoreboard. After defensive stops by both teams, the West opened the scoring when running back Kelly Williams (Centennial High School) scampered seven yards into the endzone, putting the West up 7-0. After both teams traded field goals, the score was 10-3 in favor of the West at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter brought more excitement and a lot more scoring. Kelly Williams scored again for the West on a run down the sideline to extend the West's lead to 16-3, after the extra point was missed. The East team narrowed the margin when Roshon Vercher (Bakersfield High) pounded the ball up the middle from the two yard line to make the score 16-10.

The West answered back when quarterback Ricky Ishida (Shafter High) found Steven Freeman (Stockdale High) on a 13-yard screen pass for a touchdown to make the score 23-10. Again, the East answered right back when Justin Dion (Desert High) found Jesse Rodriguez (Foothill High) on a fade from 21 yards away to climb within seven points at 23-16.

The West went up by ten again after a field goal made the score 26-16. It stayed that way until East quarterback Justin Dion scored on a keeper with two minutes remaining in the game to make the score 26-23.

The East defense made a stand and got the ball back with a minute to play and a chance to win the game, but with 40 seconds left, Russell Shafer (Delano High) intercepted a 40-yard bomb by Dion to seal the game for the West 26-23.

Players from both sides expressed afterwards how much fun playing arena football is.

"This was a blast," said East quarterback Justin Dion. "It's a lot faster than playing outdoors, so the timing was off for a while, but it was definitely a blast."

"It was cool and a great experience," said West running back Kelly Williams. "I have a lot of friends around town and it's great to play with and against all of them in this type of game."

The game was hosted by the Bakersfield Blitz arenafootball2 team as a part of Blitz Week in Bakersfield. Blitz Week also included an open house for fans to meet the team and a preseason game between the Georgia Force and Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football league.

The Bakersfield Blitz kicks off its season on April 6th at San Diego. The first home game is April 20th at the Centennial Garden against the Louisville Fire. Kickoff is set for 7 pm with the pre-game tailgate party starting at 5:30 in front of the Garden.

More than two million fans have attended arenafootball2 games in the league's two-year history. In 2000, af2 began its inaugural season with 15 teams. The league expanded to 28 teams in 2001, making it the fastest single-league expansion in the history of sports.

Season tickets are now on sale and available by calling (661) 634-9132 or 1-866-GOBLITZ.

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