Xplorers Weekly Update

Published on June 17, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss – The Memphis Xplorers were defeated 51-36 by the Birmingham Steeldogs this past Saturday night at the DeSoto Civic Center in front of 3,289 fans. The loss, the Xplorers' second straight, dropped Memphis to 3-7 on the season. The Xplorers travel to Louisville to tangle with the Fire this Saturday night. The Xplorers return home on Saturday, July 5th, to battle the Tennessee Valley Vipers. For tickets call (662) 280-3737 or go online at www.xplorersaf2.com and use the Ticketmaster link.

NEXT UP

· The Xplorers travel to Louisville for a Saturday night game against the Fire. The Xplorers are 3-1 all-time against the Fire.

STRUGGLING TO STOP THE GROUND ATTACK

· The last two weeks the Xplorers have struggled to stop the run. Memphis allowed 52 yards and four rushing TDs in a 51-36 loss to Birmingham this past Saturday night. The week before, the Xplorers allowed a season-high 77 yards rushing in a 52-30 loss at Florida on June 7th. Going into the Florida game Memphis was second in af2 allowing just 8.8 yards per game on the ground. Currently the Xplorers have dropped to 18th in af2 allowing 19.9 rushing yards per game.

MAGIC MARK

· Scoring 50 points almost automatically guarantees success in af2. Birmingham scored 50 points this past Saturday and beat Memphis 51-36. This past week in af2 teams that scored 50 or more points went 9-0. This year teams are 80-19 when scoring 50 or more points. Memphis has scored 50 points four times, posting a 3-1 record when topping a half a century.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

· The Xplorers have already played six of their eight scheduled home games and have posted a 3-3 record. Memphis will close the season with four of their final six games on the road. The team will have to turn around their tough luck on the road, where they are 0-4 on the year.

XPLORERS FOOTBALL CAMP

· Despite a tough loss to Birmingham on Saturday night, the Xplorers still had a positive impact. Prior to the game the team conducted a football camp on the field. The camp, which started at 1 p.m., drew 20 children and provided them the opportunity for one-on-one instruction with the Xplorers coaching staff and team.

XPLORERS' JERSEY AUSTION

· The Xplorers wore special jerseys this past Saturday night against Birmingham. After the game there was a jersey auction on the field sponsored by Hollywood Casino, with the profits from the auction donated to St. Jude Children's Hospital. The total raised from the auction was $2,380.

BIRMINGHAM 51, MEMPHIS 36, JUNE 14th, DESOTO CIVIC CENTER

Saturday night the Birmingham Steeldogs beat the Memphis Xplorers 51-36 at the DeSoto Civic Center. With the loss the Xplorers drop to 3-7 on the season. FIRST HALF - The Steeldogs turned the ball over on their first two possessions, but the Xplorers were unable to capitalize. Birmingham got on the scoreboard first when FB/LB Corey Sears crashed over from the two yard line with a minute left in the first quarter. Birmingham then extended their lead when Dustin McClintock recovered an Xplorers' fumble in the endzone to make it 13-0 early in the second quarter. The Xplorers answered when QB Matt Hicks found WR/DB Keith Spann open down the left sideline for a 30 yard TD to make it 13-6. Birmingham countered with a drive that QB Chris Windsor capped with a two yard pass to OL/DL William Mayes. Birmingham closed the half with a 43 yard field goal by Matt Gallego on the final play of the half for a 23-6 lead. SECOND HALF - The Xplorers took the opening possession of the second half down the field and scored on a 16 yard pass from Hicks to WR/LB Adrian Burnette to pull within 23-14. The Steeldogs answered with a 13 yard catch by WR/DB Cedrick Buchannon to make it 30-14. Once again Memphis moved down the field and capped the drive with a 31 yard catch and run by Burnette to get to 30-20. The Steeldogs came right back with a five yard run by FB/LB Dustin McClintock to extend the lead to 37-20. Once again Memphis capitalized thru the air as Hicks hit Burnette with a 26 yard TD pass to cut the Steeldogs lead to 37-28, but Memphis could not get any closer. The teams continued to trade touchdowns as Birmingham was able to seal their third straight victory. FINAL SCORE Birmingham 51, Memphis 36.

Records

Memphis 3-7

Birmingham 6-4

XPLORERS TICKETS

· For ticket information and purchases call (662) 280-3737 or go online to www.xplorersaf2.com.

XPLORERS PRACTICE TIMES

· The Xplorers will practice Tuesday-Thursday inside the DeSoto Civic Center this week. All practices begin at 8 p.m. and are open to the media.

XPLORERS APPEARANCES

· Tuesday, June 17th, 1 p.m. - The Xplorers will be going to the North Branch of the Memphis Library as part of their Summer Reading Club.

· Thursday, June 19th, 11:30 a.m. – The Xplorers will visit the Memphis Children's Museum as part of their alternative sports day.

ON THE AIR

· Catch the Xplorers on the air this coming Saturday against the Louisville Fire on Y96.1 FM. Pre-game begins at 6:15 p.m. with the kickoff at 6:30 p.m.

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