WIFL Week One Game Notes
Published on February 7, 2007 under World Indoor Football League 2 (WIFL 2) News Release
AUGUSTA SPARTANS (0-0) VS. DAYTONA BEACH THUNDER (0-0)
World Indoor Football League Inaugural Game
Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:30 p.m.
DBCC Public Broadcasting 15 Field at Ocean Center (6,800)
PRE-GAME NOTES
MEDIA INFORMATION
AUDIOCAST: Available on www.augustaspartansfootball.com, www.dbthunderfootball.com, and www.wifl.us: TALENT: Dr. Peter Wakeman (play-by-play), Rocky Yocam (color), Kerry Kramer (color)
VIDEOCAST: Digital Delayed (It sure ain't taped delayed) Monday evening on above web sites.
LIVE SCORING UPDATES: On all three web sites.
CREDENTIAL REQUEST: Please e-mail dryan@wifl.us no later than Friday, February 9 to request credentials. PARKING IS EXTREMELY LIMITED due to Ocean Center construction.
TICKET INFORMATION:
COST: $10-$20. Available at Ocean Center Box or www.ticketmaster.com
HEAD COACHES
Augusta: Bubba Diggs (2nd year, 5-9). Diggs was a member of Clemson's 1981 national championship and spent time in the USFL (Washington Federals) and NFL (San Diego Chargers. The Augusta native coached for his hometown's af2 team, the Stallions as well as the Columbus WarDogs.
Daytona Beach: Leon Bright (1st year, 0-0). Former high school All-American at Merritt Island High School who went to play at pre-Bobby Bowden Florida State, then a stellar CFL career with the British Columbia Lions before moving to the NFL with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Bucs. He is the Director of the Chisholm Community Center in DeLand, and active in the area football community.
PLAYERS TO WATCH (2006 stats, if available)
AUGUSTA:QB Jamie Williams, QB Brandon Satcher, WR Anthony Young (32-485-15), DL John Cratic (6.5 TFL, 2 sacks), DL Vonceilles Allen (9.0 TFL, 6.5) sacks), OL TJ Watkins
DAYTONA BEACH: QB Bo Bartik, WR Clinton Crump, OL Tommy Moody, LB Joe Giddens (6.0 TFL, 4.5 sacks 1 INT), LB Levar Simms (3.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks), K Jaye Tyroff
NFL EXPERIENCE: Augusta's TJ Watkins played two years with the Buffalo Bills and one with the Seattle Seahawks; Daytona Beach's Tommy Moody spent time with the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers and one year in NFL Europe.
SERIES: Daytona Beach leads 2-0, sweeping the 2006 series (49-24 at Augusta, 49-44 in Daytona Beach) when the teams were in the American Indoor Football League.
ABOUT THE WIFL:
A WHOLE NEW WORLD: Committed to setting the standard both on the field and in the community, the World Indoor Football League debuts in Daytona Beach. Four teams will play a 14-game regular season with a championship game slated for the final week in June.
Commissioner/Executive Director Gary Tufford will be on hand for the league's first-ever game.
THE UNO: The WIFL rules are similar to those of indoor football leagues (Think arena football without the end zone nets). The UNO occurs when a team kicking off following a score puts the ball through the goal posts or tackles the returner in his end zone. It's worth one point for those scoring at home, or at the game.
MORE NOTES:
TURNOVER (No, not that kind): Augusta has 8 players back from last season while Daytona Beach returns just three.
BO KNOWS: Daytona Beach QB Bo Bartik is indoor football's version of either Fran Tarkenton, Jim Kelly or Peyton Manning before last Sunday's Super Bowl: Bartik led the now-defunct Rome Renegades to consecutive championship games in two separate leagues (2005 in the National Indoor Football League and 2006 in the American Indoor Football League) but, alas, is 0-2 in the big game.
HOOP DREAMS: Basketball abounds on the Thunder team: DB EJ Gordon was an All-Conference basketball star at Stetson University, which doesn't have a football program. LB Joe Giddens is the girls basketball coach at Spruce Creek High School, which won its second straight district championship last week and was a Mainland HS teammate of NBA star Vince Carter.
MISCELLANEOUS: Daytona Beach was 5-2 on DBCC Public Broadcasting Field at The Ocean Center last season while Augusta was 1-6 on the road, winning its inaugural game at the Carolina Ghostriders, who folded three weeks later before dropping its last six away from James Brown Arena ... Daytona Beach lost six of its eight games by a combined 19 points ... Augusta finished strong, winning two of its final three.
OFF THE FIELD
HONORING: Both teams are honoring the memory of local dignitaries who passed away in recent months: The Thunder will have a helmet decal honoring late Daytona Beach Mayor Yvonne Scarlette Golden while the Spartans are finalizing plans to honor the great James Brown at their home games.
MAINLAND MEMORY: To honor Mainland High School's undefeated regular season and run to the 2006 Class 5A state-semifinals, Mainland Head Coach John Maronto will be the Thunder's honorary coach with several players serving as honorary captains. Also, former Buc great Terry Anthony (Florida State, Tampa Bay Bucs) will be the first Local Legend of 2007.
STYLE POINTS: Turning what many football purists deem a negative into a positive, the World Indoor Football League will award "style points" following each game of the inaugural WIFL 2007 season. A panel of six fans and media will grade a team according to its execution, ability to make big plays, "watchability," athletic ability, and coaching. A winning team can earn a maximum of 60 points a game and a losing team 24.
The team with the highest cumulative "style point" total at the end of the season will be recognized with a trophy presented during championship game week. Style points could remotely come into play as the fourth post-season tie-breaker behind overall record, head-to-head competition and point differential.
So you can say that the WIFL is akin to major college football in the fact that both organizations have a one-game championship playoff where style points could determine which teams are playing. YOU can say that. We sure aren't.
World Indoor Football League 2 Stories from February 7, 2007
- Routines develp at day three of Lions camp - Columbus Lions
- WIFL Week One Game Notes - WIFL 2
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.
