Wichita Stealth Game Notes
Published on April 14, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Wichita Stealth News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Wichita Stealth (1-1) at Green Bay Blizzard (0-2)
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 CST
Site: The Resch Center (8,327)
National Anthem:
Coin Toss:
Officials:
Radio: Z-FM 90.7 (Jay Sanderson)
TV: None
Series Record: First Meeting between the two teams
Last Meeting: N/A
Streaks: 2003: Wichita W-1, Green Bay
Coaches: Bob Cortese (1-1, First season) Jose Jefferson (0-2, Second season in af2, First with Green Bay)
THE STAKES: A Wichita win would give them their first road win in 2003 and snap a one-game losing streak.
THE SERIES: First meeting between the two teams.
THE Ifs:
If Wichita defeats Green Bay, it would ...
· Give Wichita a 1-0 series record with the Blizzard
· Give Wichita a 2-1 record in 2003
· Give Wichita a 1-1 road record in 2003
· Give Bob Cortese a 2-1 record as an af2 coach
· Spoil Green Bay's first ever home opener
· Give Wichita their first road win since June 29, 2002
HEAD COACHES: Bob Cortese begins his first season as an af2 head coach for Wichita. Cortese has spent 4 years in the Arena Football League with the Portland Forest Dragons and the Oklahoma Wranglers before coming to Wichita in 2002 as Director of Football Operations. Cortese engineered the offensive turnaround that helped the Stealth garner a berth in the af2 playoffs in 2002. Green Bay's Jose Jefferson begins his second season in arenafootball2, but his first with the Blizzard. Jefferson was the coach of the Lincoln Lightning (af2) in 2001. He has a career record of 6-12 in the af2. Jefferson spent a short time playing for the Iowa Barnstormers in 1995 before an injury cut his playing career short.
LAST SERIES MEETING: This will be the first meeting ever for these two teams. Green Bay is an expansion team in arenafootball2.
WICHITA STEALTH INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OL/DL John Hesse Cardio Long Term IR
OL/DL Chris Enneking Knee Long Term IR
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Wichita coaching staff on the loss at Tulsa: "We are extremely disappointed with the outcome on Saturday night. We struggled offensively and just didn't get a few breaks to go our way."
DROPBACK: Wichita 25, TULSA 43 (4-12-03) - The Stealth fell behind early and could not recover as they fell to the Tulsa Talons 43-25 in front of 5,292 fans at the Tulsa Convention Center on Saturday night.
Wichita outscored the Talons 25-16 in the second half, but were unable to overcome the first half deficit.
Michael Dritlein led all Stealth receivers with 9 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Buich made his first trip back to Tulsa, and completed 14-of-31 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns.
FORWARD MOTION: The Stealth will return home to the friendly confines of the Kansas Coliseum to start a three game home stand. First up will be a rematch with the Tulsa Talons who defeated the Stealth last week, 25-43. Then they will get their first taste of Western Division play as they host the Hawaiian Islanders, who are 2-0.
TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: MOVING THE BALL: The Wichita Stealth are tied for 25th in the league with only 21 first downs on the season. They will be tested this week as Green Bay comes into the game ranked 4th in opponent first downs only allowing 22 so far on the season.
IN THE RED ZONE: The Stealth continue their perfect streak in red zone offense. They are 4 for 4 in red zone offense this season (three touchdowns, one field goal), which ties them for first in the league. Green Bay's defense allows their opponents to score 78% of the time in the red zone. They are 7-of-9 in red zone defense, allowing six touchdowns and one field goal.
SACK ATTACK: The Stealth enters this game ranked 2nd in the league in sacks with six. Green Bay is 25th in the league in sacks against, having given up 6 sacks for 20 yards.
ON THE RUN: The 19th ranked rushing offense of the Blizzard will have a hard time finding room to run against the front line of the Stealth. The Stealth are ranked 10th in rushing defense and are only giving up 8.5 yards per game.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Stealth offensive specialist Michael Dritlein: In his first af2 games, Dritlein has caught 14 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns. This is the hottest start by a Stealth receiver in team history, surpassing the two game total of 13 by Pascal Volz in 2002.
Stealth defense versus Blizzard offensive specialist Nick Johnson: The Stealth defense comes into this week's game ranked fourth in pass defense with a rating of 68.5. They will face one of the top receivers in the league in Green Bay's Nick Johnson. Johnson has caught 16 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Wichita defensive specialist, Lee Vaughn is ranked 6th in the league with 4 passes defended and 7th in the league in tackles.
KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:
March 12, 2003 -- Key Sports, LLC takes over as Operator of the Wichita Stealth.
March 29, 2003 â The Wichita Stealth begin the Cortese era by defeating the Arkansas Twisters 46-28.
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