Xplorers look to make franchise history in final home game this Saturday
July 20, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release
SOUTHAVEN, MS- The Memphis Xplorers of af2, closing in on the first playoff berth in team history, host the Macon Knights this Saturday night at 7:05 pm at the DeSoto Civic Center, in their final home game of the regular season.
The Xplorers (8-6), who guaranteed themselves no worse than a .500 record with their 64-46 win last weekend versus the Arkansas Twisters, can clinch a playoff berth with either a victory over the Knights or a loss by the Columbus Wardogs in their game.
Memphis can also clinch the first winning season in franchise history with a victory. The closest the Xplorers have gotten to that mark in their three previous years was 6 wins, set by last year's team.
Xplorers head coach Danton Barto says that making the playoffs would be a great accomplishment, but that his team can't afford to start looking past the next game.
"We've got one task that we care about right now, and that's beating Macon this weekend," said Barto. "We'll worry about the playoffs when we get there."
Saturday's game is the last regular-season home game for the Xplorers this year, and could be the last home game, period --- even if the Xplorers make the playoffs. Memphis currently stands in 6th place in the conference standings, which is good enough for a playoff berth but would mean that the Xplorers would be on the road for the duration of the playoffs themselves. Regardless, the Xplorers are looking forward to giving their fans a good show in this weekend's game.
"Our fans have been great this year," said Barto. "They've been a huge part of our successes so far, and hopefully we can show our appreciation with a victory this Saturday."
This weekend's game is Fitzgerald's Casino night at the DeSoto Civic Center. Among the highlights of the evening will be a special edition of âFling-a-football', the fun and exciting game where fans attempt to land a small nerf football on a target at midfield. This week, the winner of the Fling-a-football contest will take home half of the proceeds from the contest, with the other half being donated to a local charity.
Game time is set for 7:05 PM CST, with the doors opening at approximately 6:00 PM. All sixteen regular season Xplorers football games will be heard throughout the Mid-South on SportsPlus 790 WMC, and worldwide on SportsJuice.com. In addition, all home games will be broadcast on X-Cast, a special in-house radio broadcast designed specifically for the DeSoto Civic Center. X-Cast airs on 107.9 FM, and can be received while in the DeSoto Civic Center by using a walkman or other personal radio. Fans can also watch the Xplorers during selected games during the season on AF2TV.com, which offers live streaming video and audio on a pay-per-view basis.
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