West Seneca native Mason activated for Sunday's game
April 4, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Buffalo Destroyers News Release
(BUFFALO, NY)- The Buffalo Destroyers travel to Long Island Sunday to take on the New York Dragons at 12:00 p.m. at the Nassau Coliseum. The game is not available on television or radio, but you can follow the game with live updates at www.buffalodestroyers.com/warzone.html.
For the second week in a row, there was a heated competition in practice for the starting QB job. Last week's starting QB Tim Carey has been placed on the injured reserve with a pulled groin. Chris Sanders, Matt D'Orazio, and Kevin Mason are all competing for the top spot.
Mason was activated to the active roster on Friday and will be in the lineup as the backup QB. Mason was the Destroyers QB from 1999-2001 where he was 182 of 333 for 2,042 yards and 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is ranked third in Destroyers history in pass attempts and completions and fourth in yards. Mason was converted to a WR/LB in 2001 and in two seasons had 62 receptions for 914 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"With Jeff Loots and Tim Carey out, we have had a couple new guys step up in practice," said head coach Ron Selesky. "Mason has been taking snaps in practice this week, but I am pleased with the way Sanders performed last week and in practice this week.
This week's match up will be an interesting one as Buffalo has the second ranked scoring defense in the league, holding their opponents to 43.6 points per game, while New York is the AFL's number one offense, accumulating 330.8 yards per game. Dragons QB Aaron Garcia is completing an AFL and career best 70.2 percent of pass attempts and is on pace to set pro football records for touchdowns (123) and passing yards (5, 385).
Buffalo's explosive defense is led by Dwaine Carpenter and JoJo Polk. Carpenter is fourth in the league with five interceptions and sixth in the league with 50 tackles. Polk is eighth in the AFL with 45.5 tackles and second with two fumble recoveries.
Sunday marks the first of three road games for the Destroyers. Next week they are on the road in Orlando (6-3) and the week after that, they are out west in Los Angeles (7-2).
"Every game in the Arena Football League is tough no matter who you play," added Selesky. "The fact that we are on the road for three straight weeks doesn't make it any easier. Right now we are preparing for a win in New York."
Buffalo heads down south to face the Orlando Predators next Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. The Destroyers return home Saturday, April 26 to host the Indiana Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. at the HSBC Arena. Mini packs and group tickets are on sale now, call the Destroyers ticket office at 716-881-4444! Single game tickets can be purchased online at tickets.com and at all tickets.com locations including Tops Friendly Markets or by phone at 1-888-223-6000.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 4, 2003
- West Seneca native Mason activated for Sunday's game - Buffalo Destroyers
- Climbing back to the top - Georgia Force
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
