Wichita Stealth game notes

June 15, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Wichita Stealth News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Tulsa Talons (7-3)
At Wichita Stealth (7-3)
Date: Saturday, June 19, 2004
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Kansas Coliseum (9,686)
National Anthem: Heather Arnette
Coin Toss: Brian Chamberlin
Officials: Brian Chamberlin (Referee),
Mike Wilmoth (Umpire), Frank Whitmer (Head Linesman), Rick Smith (Line Judge), Craig Helser (Back Judge)
Radio: All Stealth games can be heard live on 107.3 KKRD FM. Jay Sanderson and C.J. will be calling the action all season long for the Stealth.
Series Record: Tulsa Leads the Series 6-1
Last Meeting: TULSA 62, Wichita 49
Streaks: Wichita W-1, Tulsa W-4
Coaches: WIC: Sean Ponder (7-3 in 2004, 11-8-1 overall 2nd season); TUL: Ken Matous (7-3, 1st season)

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

THE STAKES: Wichita is looking to win their sixth straight home game and go one game ahead of Tulsa in the Southwest Division standings.

THE SERIES: This will be the second of three times that these two teams face each other this season, they will face each other again on July 10th in Tulsa. Tulsa leads the all-time series 6-1.

THE Ifs:
If Wichita defeats Tulsa, it would ...
· Give Wichita a 2-6 series record with Tulsa
· Give Wichita a 6-0 home record in 2004
· Give Sean Ponder an 12-8-1 career record as head coach
· Give Wichita a two game win streak
· Give Wichita a one game lead over Tulsa in the Southwest Division



WICHITA STEALTH (7-3, 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
6/5 @ Tulsa L 49-62
6/12 OKLAHOMA CITY W 70-35
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/19 TULSA 7:00 W-4 TUL 6-1
7/3 @ Rio Grande Valley 7:30 L-5 WIC 1-0
7/10 @ Tulsa 7:30 -- --
7/17 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00 L-1 TIED 1-1
7/24 @ Laredo 7:30 L-3 WIC 2-0
7/31 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:00 -- --

TULSA TALONS (7-3, W-4)
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
6/5 WICHITA W 62-49
6/12 @ Rio Grande Valley W 45-35
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/19 @ Wichita 7:30 W-1 TUL 6-1
7/3 @ Laredo 7:30 L-3 LAR 1-0
7/10 WICHITA 7:30 -- --
7/17 RIO GRANDE VALLEY 7:30 L-5 TUL 2-0
7/23 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 L-1 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 it was a back and forth game until the Talons took over in the second quarter and held the Stealth to seven points to take a 34-24 half time lead. Former Stealth player Bjorn Barre had five catches for 26 yards and one touchdown as well as a 53-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the night. The Stealth were led by Damon Thompson who finished the night with seven catches for 116 yards and five touchdowns.

HEY, DON'T I KNOW YOU? (A look at some familiar faces)
Talons player Bjorn Barre was in training camp with the Wichita Stealth at the beginning of the 2004 season.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who rank among af2's statistical leaders in 2004:
STEALTH
Player Rank Category Stat
Dylan Pohlman 8th PAT Kicking 42-60 (70%)
David Hurst T-2nd Fumbles Forced 4
Cliff Holloman T-6th Tackles For Loss 5.0
David Hurst T-5th Sacks 5.5
Henry Bryant T-5th Sacks 5.5
Markevius Woods T-9th Sacks 3.0
Marc Bacote T-9th Sacks 3.0
Cliff Holloman T-9th Sacks 3.0
TALONS
Player Rank Category Stat
Robert Reed 6th Scoring 134 pts
Robert Reed 6th Scoring (TDs) 22
Jonathan Knott 8th Scoring (Kick) 60 pts
Bob Bees 7th Pass Rating 113.2
Bjorn Barre 6th Kickoff Return Avg 25.0
Jonathan Knott 3rd PAT Kicking 57-80 (71.2%)
Rashan Hall T-4th Fumbles Recovered 2
Antonio Dingle T-8th Sacks 3.5
Anton Ceaser T-10th Sacks 2.5

LOOKING BACK: The Stealth dominated the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz from start to finish and cruised to a 70-35 victory to pull into a tie for the Southwest Division lead along with Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Stealth quarterback Jonathan

Beasley along with offensive specialist Damon Thompson led the Stealth offense, while lineman Henry Bryant paced the defense. Bryant ended the night with four sacks setting a new Stealth single game sack record. For his efforts, Bryant was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game and ADT Defensive Player of the Week for all of af2.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how WICHITA and TULSA stack up:
Statistical STEALTH TALONS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 13th 47.4 2nd 57.0
Scoring Defense 6th 39.9 14th 51.0
Total Offense 16th 249.2 T-7th 268.8
Total Defense 6th 223.6 12th 250.6
Pass Offense 12th 234.7 5th 255.6
Pass Defense 7th 210.0 13th 234.4
Rushing Offense 18th 14.5 20th 13.2
Rushing Defense 4th 13.6 10th 16.2
Scoring 11th 426 1st 510
Scoring (Kicking) 19th 48 11th 60
Pass Rating 8th 110.4 2nd 113.7
Pass Def. Rating 8th 100.8 16th 106.9
Kickoff Returns T-20th 16.7 17th 17.9
MFG Returns 17th 12.9 4th 23.5
Turnover Margin T-7th +2 T-4th +6
Field Goals % 13th 2-7 (.286) 21st 1-7 (.143)
PAT Kicking % 17th 42-60 (.700) 16th 57-80 (.712)
Sacks By 2nd 27 T-7th 15
Sacks Against 15th 20 T-4th 7
First Downs T-10th 153 T-7th 161
Opp. First Downs 2nd 127 T-20th 177
Penalty Yards 2nd 444 20th 685
Opp. Penalty Yds 15th 603 8th 548
Red Zone Offense 7th 76.6% 11th 73.9%
Red Zone Defense 2nd 58.5% T-16th 77.8%

WICHITA STEALTH INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OS Michael Dritlein Knee Long Term IR
OL/DL Tim Conley Wrist Long Term IR
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 Oklahoma City: "Big win versus a very good team. It puts us back in the conference championship hunt. Our best team effort as a whole.

On the upcoming game with Tulsa: "They have a high scoring offense. Bob Bees is a great quarterback and we need to put pressure on him like we did last weekend against Oklahoma City."




ADVANCE BOOKING: (A look at upcoming Stealth games):
The Stealth will enjoy their second bye week of the season next week. They will be back in action on July 3rd when they travel to Hidalgo, Texas to face the Rio Grande Valley Dorados. They will hit the road again on July 10th to face the Tulsa Talons in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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. Fish and Dritlein have both been placed on long term injured reserve.

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 6th in scoring defense (only allowing 39.9 points per game), 6th in total defense (223.6 yards per game), 7th in pass defense (210.0 yards per game), and 8th in pass defense rating (100.8 rating).

HOME SWEET HOME: The Stealth all-time home record is 20-8-1 and a perfect 5-0 this season. The Stealth have outscored their opponents 279 to 157 at home this season. That is an average score of 55.8 to 31.4 per home game.

INJURY BUG BITES: The Stealth have been bitten by the injury bug again this year and have lost several key players for long periods of time. During the loss at Quad City, the Stealth lost lineman Dustin Fish and lineman Ervin Holloman. Fish suffered a compound fracture of the left leg and Holloman suffered a knee injury that has sidelined him for three weeks now. This week the Stealth have placed on long term injured reserve lineman Tim Conley and offensive specialist Michael Dritlein. Conley is out with a wrist injury and Dritlein is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Last season, Dritlein was lost on May 31st when he sustained a season ending ACL tear versus the Green Bay Blizzard. Dritlein has only played in three games in 2004.

BRING ON THE OFFENSE: The Stealth defense faces another high scoring offense this week in the Tulsa Talons. Last week, Oklahoma City came into the game averaging 61.6 points per game and the Stealth held them to only 35 points. This week the Talons come into the game averaging 57 points per contest and the Stealth hope to repeat last weekend's performance.

TOP GUNS: (A look at players to watch):
NOW UNDER CENTER: Stealth quarterback Jonathan Beasley has made three starts for the Stealth and is leading their offense to a new life. In those three games, Beasley has gone 43-of-74 for 655 yards and 19 touchdowns. Under his leadership, the Stealth offense is averaging 61 points per

game. Beasley played college football at Kansas State University.

INSTANT OFFENSE: 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 seven games with the Stealth, Thompson has caught 45 passes for 658 yards and 19 touchdowns.

RETURNING ON A MISSION: Stealth wide receiver/defensive back Brian Livingston returns to Wichita for his second straight year and in pursuit of an af2 championship. Last year, Livingston led the Stealth in tackles, interceptions, and forced fumbles. This season he is second on the team in tackles and is tied for the team lead in interceptions. 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.

MATCH-UPS TO WATCH:
STEALTH DEFENSIVE BACKS VERSUS ROBERT REED: The Stealth defense will be tested this week by Robert Reed. Last time the Stealth faced Tulsa, Reed caught 14 passes for 147 yards and four touchdowns on his way to earning Baby Ruth Real Deal Player of the Game honors.

DEFENDING THE PASS: This week's match-up features the 5th ranked pass offense of Tulsa and the 7th ranked pass defense of Wichita. The Talons are averaging 255.6 yards per game and the Stealth are only giving up 210.0 passing yards per 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: 7:00 p.m. KICKOFF!!! (Kansas Coliseum)

RECENT STEALTH ROSTER MOVES (most recent first):
Date Action Player

















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
10 @ Tulsa Robert Reed-Tulsa
11 OKC Jonathan Beasley-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
10 @ Tulsa Bjorn Barre-Tulsa
11 OKC Marc Bacote-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
10 @ Tulsa Ty Ardoin-Wichita
11 OKC Henry Bryant-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
10 Sherard Poteete-Bossier-Shreveport Robert Garth-Green Bay Mitch Galloway-Cape Fear
11 Tony Locke-Albany Henry Bryant-Wichita Travis McAlpine-Tennessee Valley



arenafootball2 Stories from June 15, 2004


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.

OurSports Central