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Wichita Stealth game notes

June 1, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Wichita Stealth News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Wichita Stealth (6-2)
At Tulsa Talons (5-3)
Date: Saturday, June 5, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Tulsa Convention Center (7,111)
National Anthem:
Coin Toss:
Officials: Joe Pester (Referee),
Chad Bowers (Umpire), Gary Calip (Head Linesman), Larry Smith (Line Judge), Scott Gasaway (Back Judge)
Radio: All Stealth games can be heard live on 96.3 KRZZ FM. Jay Sanderson and C.J. will be calling the action all season long for the Stealth.
Series Record: Tulsa leads the all-time series 5-1
Last Meeting: WICHITA 56, Tulsa 49 in overtime
Streaks: Wichita W-1, Tulsa W-2
Coaches: WIC: Sean Ponder (6-2 in 2004, 10-7-1 overall 2nd season); TUL: Ken Matous (5-3, 1st season)

TEAM WEBSITES: Stealth: www.wichitastealth.com
Talons: www.tulsatalons.com

THE STAKES: Wichita is looking to win their second consecutive game and improve their Southwest Division record to 4-1 and stay atop the division standings along with Oklahoma City. Tulsa is looking for their third straight victory.

THE SERIES: The Talons lead the all-time series 5-1, but the Stealth won the last meeting between the teams. This will be the first of three match-ups between these two teams in 2004.

THE IFs:
If Wichita defeats Tulsa, it would ...
· Give Wichita a 2-5 series record with Tulsa
· Give Wichita a 3-2 road record in 2004
· Give Sean Ponder an 11-7-1 career record as head coach
· Give Wichita a two game win streak

WICHITA STEALTH (6-2, W-1)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/3 PEORIA W 33-13
4/10 LAREDO W 44-22
4/16 @ Peoria W 47-26
4/24 GREEN BAY W 68-53
5/8 @ Rio Grande W 35-28
5/15 @ Quad City L 39-73
5/22 @ Oklahoma City L 25-53
5/29 LAREDO W 64-34
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/5 @ Tulsa 7:30 W-2 TUL 5-1
6/12 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00 W-2 OKC 1-0
6/19 TULSA 7:00 -- --
7/3 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 L-4 WIC 1-0
7/10 @ Tulsa 7:30 -- --
7/17 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00 -- --
7/24 @ Laredo 7:30 L-1 WIC 2-0
7/31 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:00 -- --

TULSA TALONS (5-3, W-2)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/3 OKLAHOMA CITY L 63-70 OT
4/10 @ Macon W 49-40
4/23 PEORIA W 66-47
5/1 @ Oklahoma City L 60-62
5/8 BOSSIER CITY W 65-59
5/15 @ Laredo L 48-57
5/22 @ Arkansas W 61-53
5/28 RIO GRANDE VALLEY W 51-38
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/5 WICHITA 7:30 W-1 TUL 5-1
6/12 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 L-4 TUL 1-0
6/19 @ Wichita 7:30 -- --
7/3 @ Laredo 7:30 L-1 LAR 1-0
7/10 WICHITA 7:30 -- --
7/17 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:30 -- --
7/23 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 W-2 OKC 2-0
7/31 LAREDO 7:30 -- --
(All times are Central)










STEALTH HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE: Sean Ponder begins his second season in arena football. He took over the Stealth last season after seven games. Ponder led the Stealth to their second consecutive playoff berth in af2. He brings over five years of college coaching experience to Wichita. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at Orange Coast Community College in California. At Orange Coast, he helped turn around a program that had not won over two games the past three seasons into a junior college powerhouse.
TULSA HEAD COACH AT A GLANCE: Ken Matous took over the Talons following Skip Foster's promotion to the AFL's Austin Wranglers. Matous brings over 23 years of coaching and educating experience to the Talons. He was offensive coordinator at Western Carolina University in 2002 and served as assistant coach with the AFL's Carolina Cobras in 2001.

THE LAST TIME WE MET (A recap of the last meeting): The last time these two teams met, the Stealth came back from a 42-27 deficit early in the fourth quarter to beat the Tulsa Talons 56-49 in overtime for their first ever victory over the Talons.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who ranked among af2's statistical leaders in 2004:
STEALTH
Player Rank Category Stat
David Hurst 1st Fumbles Forced 4
Cliff Holloman T-5th Tackles For Loss 5.0
David Hurst T-5th Sacks 4.5
Markevius Woods T-8th Sacks 3.0
Cliff Holloman T-8th Sacks 3.0
Marc Bacote T-8th Sacks 3.0
Jeff Macrea T-8th Sacks 3.0
TALONS
Player Rank Category Stat
Mitch Allner T-2nd Scoring 138
Mitch Allner T-2nd Scoring (TDs) 23
Jonathan Knott 6th Scoring (Kick) 49
Michael Wall 5th Pass Rating 114.4
Mitch Allner T-3rd Receptions 62
Mitch Allner 2nd Receiving Yards 916
Mitch Allner 2nd All Purpose 1,671
Jonathan Knott 3rd PAT Kicking 71.9%
Bjorn Barre T-3rd Fumbles Forced 2
Rashan Hall T-3rd Fumbles Recovered 2
Anon Ceaser T-9th Sacks 2.5

LOOKING BACK: Last week the Stealth defense woke up from a two game slump and helped out an offense led by a new quarterback Jonathan Beasley. The Stealth shut out the Law in the fourth quarter and cruised to a 64-34 win.



TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how WICHITA and TULSA stack up:
Statistical STEALTH TALONS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 18th 44.4 2nd 57.9
Scoring Defense 5th 37.8 19th 53.2
Total Offense 14th 252.5 8th 274.0
Total Defense 3rd 207.8 17th 265.1
Pass Offense 12th 238.9 5th 261.9
Pass Defense 4th 193.8 18th 246.5
Rushing Offense 18th 13.6 20th 12.1
Rushing Defense 5th 14.0 11th 18.6
Scoring T-11th 322 T-1st 414
Scoring (Kicking) 19th 33 T-8th 49
Pass Rating 11th 110.3 5th 113.0
Pass Def. Rating 6th 97.2 16th 111.2
Kickoff Returns 20th 15.4 T-16th 17.6
MFG Returns 18th 12.9 T-5th 27.0
Turnover Margin T-8th +1 T-4th +6
Field Goals % 17th .200 T-19th .143
PAT Kicking % 23rd .652 18th .719
Sacks By 3rd 22 T-8th 11
Sacks Against 13th 17 T-3rd 5
First Downs 9th 123 T-6th 128
Opp. First Downs 1st 94 T-16th 147
Penalty Yards 4th 382 18th 548
Opp. Penalty Yds 6th 419 13th 477
Red Zone Offense 9th 76.7% 10th 75.9%
Red Zone Defense 2nd 63.6% 17th 76.8%

WICHITA STEALTH INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OL/DL Dustin Fish Leg Long Term IR
OL/DL Ervin Holloman Knee Long Term IR
WR/LB Herman Gordon Leg Long Term IR

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: (Notable quotes):
SEAN PONDER, On the victory over Laredo: "Our defense played extremely well and the offense went out and took care of business."

ADVANCE BOOKING: (A look at upcoming Stealth games):
The Stealth will return home on June 12th to face the division co-leaders the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and on June 19th to face the Tulsa Talons.

FLY-BY's: (A look at team trends and tidbits):
STEALTH RETURNERS: The Stealth return eight members from a team that recorded the franchise record for wins last season. They return defensive specialist Ty Ardoin, offensive/defensive lineman Dustin Fish, offensive/defensive lineman Cliff Holloman, wide receiver/defensive back Brian Livingston, fullback/linebacker Jeff Macrea, fullback/linebacker Daren Williams, offensive/defensive lineman Markevius Woods, and offensive specialist Michael Dritlein.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: After finishing the 2003 season ranked near the middle of the af2 in almost every defensive category, the Stealth have started the 2004 season off with a bang on the defensive side of the ball. Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Troy Biladeau has his defense near the top of every defensive category. The Stealth rank 5th in scoring defense (only allowing 37.8 points per game), 3rd in total defense (207.8 yards per game), 4th in pass defense (193.8 yards per game), and 6th in pass defense rating (97.2 rating).

TOP GUNS: (A look at players and match-ups to watch):
NOW UNDER CENTER: Stealth quarterback Jonathan Beasley will made his first af2 career start last week versus the Law and led the Stealth to a victory. Beasley was 12-of-22 for 196 yards and six touchdowns on the night. Beasley played college football at Kansas State University.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK, Stealth offensive specialist Damon Thompson: The Stealth offense was strengthened the week of the Green Bay game when they were assigned offensive specialist Damon Thompson. Thompson played last season with the Richmond Speed and finished the season fourth in the af2 in receiving yardage with 1,569 yards and 27 touchdowns. In five games with the Stealth, Thompson has caught 32 passes for 431 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Stealth WR/DB Brian Livingston: Livingston returns to Wichita for his second straight year. Last year, Livingston led the Stealth in tackles, interceptions, and forced fumbles. This season he leads the team in tackles and is tied for the team lead in interceptions thus far. Earlier this season versus Rio Grande Valley, he was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game and last week versus Laredo, he was named the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game.

STEALTH FLIGHT PLAN: (A look at the Stealth schedule this week)
Wednesday: 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. PRACTICE (Kansas Coliseum)
Thursday: 6:30 am – 8:30 am PRACTICE (Kansas Coliseum)
Friday: 8:30 am PRACTICE (Kansas Coliseum)
Saturday: 7:30 p.m. KICKOFF!!! (Tulsa Convention Center)

RECENT STEALTH ROSTER MOVES (most recent first):
Date Action Player
5/27 PLACED ON SHORT TERM IR Michael Dritlein
5/27 ACTIVATED FROM REFUSED TO REPORT Anthony Knutson
5/27 ACTIVATED FROM REFUSED TO REPORT Norman Mason
5/27 ACTIVATED FROM SHORT TERM IR Ronald Pou
5/25 PLACED ON SHORT TERM IR Tim Conley
5/13 ACTIVATED FROM SHORT TERM IR Jimmy Hamilton
5/13 ACTIVATED FROM SHORT TERM IR Michael Dritlein
5/13 PLACED ON SHORT TERM IR Ronald Pou
5/13 PLACED ON SHORT TERM IR Herman Gordon

GAME AWARD WINNERS
BABY RUTH REAL DEAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Peoria Aaron Sparrow-Wichita
2 Laredo Anthony Griffin-Wichita
3 @ Peoria Michael Dritlein-Wichita
4 Green Bay Damon Thompson-Wichita
6 @ Rio Brian Livingston-Wichita
7 @ Quad Ronnie Gordon-Quad City
8 @ OKC Craig Strickland-Oklahoma City
9 Laredo Damon Thompson-Wichita

ARMY IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Peoria Daren Williams-Wichita
2 Laredo Marc Bacote-Wichita
3 @ Peoria Brian Livingston-Wichita
4 Green Bay Brian Livingston-Wichita
6 @ Rio Manwell Talbert-Rio Grande
7 @ Quad Bear Brown-Quad City
8 @ OKC Al Hunt-Oklahoma City
9 Laredo Brian Livingston-Wichita

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
(selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Peoria Cliff Holloman-Wichita
2 Laredo Cliff Holloman-Wichita
3 @ Peoria Marc Bacote-Wichita
4 Green Bay Ty Ardoin-Wichita
6 @ Rio Marc Bacote-Wichita
7 @ Quad Jamaal Cherry-Quad City
8 @ OKC James Landers-Oklahoma City
9 Laredo Christopher Highshaw-Wichita

af2 WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Week Offensive Defensive Ironman
1 Jeff Hewitt-Quad City Karleton Thomas-Rio Grande Valley Jerrian James-Tennessee Valley
2 Randall Lane-Green Bay Jerry Turner-Birmingham Al Hunt-Oklahoma City
3 Matt Burstein-Cape Fear Justin Thomas-Louisville Leroy McFadden-Wilkes-Barre
4 Aaron Sparrow-Wichita Demetrius Forney-Louisville Bjorn Barre-Tulsa
5 Chris Sanders-Manchester Matt Forbes-Quad City Steve Gorrie-Florida
6 Bo Smith-Bossier Takuya Furutani-Louisville Anthony Jordan-Birmingham
7 Chris Greisen-Green Bay Deronn Finley-Green Bay Ricky Leung-Wai-Central Valley
8 Brian Jones-Memphis Terence Samuel-Columbus Joshua Robinson-Hawaii
9 Anthony Payton-Louisville Nakoa McElrath-San Diego Lawrence Matthews-Peoria



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