Xplorers open big at home, defeat Florida, 54-51

April 17, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS- The Memphis Xplorers of af2 came up huge in their home opener Saturday night, defeating the Florida Firecats 54-51 before a crowd of 3,213 fans at the DeSoto Civic Center.

QB Brian Jones, the rookie from Toledo University, picked up his first arena football victory, completing 14 of 22 passes for 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Jones also rushed for two key scores.

Offensive Specialist Kevin Prentiss played wonderfully throughout, starting the scoring off early with a 58-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Prentiss, who had 122 total return yards on three returns, also caught 8 balls for 98 yards and three additional touchdowns.

The Xplorers had a hard time bottling up the potent Florida offense, who entered the contest ranked first overall in team offense. But a timely interception by DS Dahnel Singfield of Florida QB Ken Mastrole at the end of the third quarter helped to give the Xplorers just enough of a cushion to hold off a late Firecats rally.

The Xplorers won despite being outgained 304 yards to 178 on the game. The Firecats were led offensively by Mastrole, who competed 17 of 29 passes for 242 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. WR Cainon Lamb played well for Florida, catching 9 passes for 66 yards and one touchdown.

But Florida committed several costly penalties, accruing 12 infractions on the night for 127 yards. Florida's last penalty proved to be the most costly, as a personal foul was called on a tackle of Xplorers QB Brian Jones on fourth down with under a minute to play. The automatic first down gave the Xplorers the opportunity to run out the clock.

Jones was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the game, while Singfield was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Game.

FB/LB Lavante Epson, whose timely blocking and constant backfield pressure helped to disrupt the Firecats on both sides of the ball, was named the Army Ironman of the Game.

The win for Memphis broke a three-game losing streak to the Firecats, a streak dating back to 2002. The win also was the first of this season for the Xplorers, who lost their season opener on the road last week.

Memphis, now 1-1 on the campaign, will travel this coming Friday to Bossier City to take on the Battle Wings, in a key early season divisional battle. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST.

All Xplorers practices and scrimmages are open to both the public and the media. The team's practices will occur at the DeSoto Civic Center at approximately 7:30 every evening, except for travel and game days. For more information, contact media relations director Galen Clavio at 662-342-1755.

All sixteen regular season Xplorers football games will be heard throughout the Mid-South on SportsPlus 790 WMC. In addition, all 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.



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