Week
1 Friday Night Previews
April 1, 2005
FLORIDA FIRECATS (0-0) AT MACON
KNIGHTS (0-0)
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2005 – MACON
COLISEUM (7,128) 7:30 P.M. ET
The ArenaCup 2004 Champions look to pick up where they left off in their season opening game versus the Macon
Knights. These two rivals have squared off nine times, with the Firecats holding a series edge 5-4. However, the Knights boast
a victory in the last meeting between these two teams, a tough fought 43-34 decision.
Florida travels to Macon with some new weapons to show off in the season opener. af2 veterans
QB MIKE GLUSKI, WR/LB XAVIER PATTERSON, and DS KELLY SNELL will be wearing Firecats’ uniforms for the first time.
The trio each has had impressive af2 stints and look to step in for the departed QB KEN MASTROLE, OS CAINON LAMB, and DS QUINCY
SORRELL. Mastrole’s influence will not be forgotten, as the veteran signal caller returns as Florida’s
Offensive Coordinator. The Knights return seven from last year’s team that
finished a disappointing 3-13 season. Head coach MIKE HOLD will need to rely on new signal caller KENTON EVANS to help bring
Macon’s offense back to life. The Knights to have some weapons in their receiving corps, with HOSEA LANEY and JAMAAL
GARMAN returning. Defensively, ANDRE SLAPPEY is veteran af2 pass rusher with the potential to disrupt at the line. Laney led
the team in tackles with 65 and in interceptions with 4.0 in 2004 and will be called upon to do double duty once again in
2005.
|
FIRECATS |
KNIGHTS |
SERIES
LEADER |
Florida
Leads Series 5-4 |
LAST
MEETING |
Macon
won 43-34 at Florida on 6/26/2004 |
LAST
FIVE GAMES |
4-1 |
1-4 |
LAST
GAME |
Won
vs. PEO 39-26 on 8/27/2004 in ArenaCup 2004 |
Lost
vs. BIR 51-30 on 7/31/2004 |
2004
LEADERS |
FIRECATS |
KNIGHTS |
PASSING |
Mastrole:
466-276-11; 3390; 76 TDs |
Burch:
208-122-6; 1207; 22 TDs |
RECEIVING |
Lamb:
98-1054; 28 TDs |
Garman:
96-1059; 24 TDs |
RUSHING |
Gorrie:
110-500; 17 TDs |
Jackson:
24-100; 2 TDs |
TACKLES |
Sorrell:
100.5 |
Laney:
65.5 |
SACKS |
Morant:
4.0 |
Slappey:
2.0 |
INTERCEPTIONS |
Sorrell/Stabler/Washington/Burnside:
2 |
Laney:
4.0 |
KICKING |
Kornblue:
51-69 PAT; 2-7 FG 57 PTs |
Ohliger:
44-64 PAT; 9-28 FG 71 PTs |
TEAM
OFFENSE |
49.1
PPG; 257.4 YPG |
37.4
PPG; 238.4 YPG |
TEAM
DEFENSE |
38.2
PPG; 207.9 YPG |
48.7
PPG; 247.4 YPG |
contributed by af2.com
ArenaCup Champion Firecats top preseason poll
March 30, 2005
CHICAGO
– By securing 174 of a possible 228 points, the 2004 ArenaCup Champion Florida Firecats have earned the No. 1 ranking
in the preseason Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today.
Florida’s total included eight first-place votes.
The Memphis Xplorers took the No. 2 spot with 135 points, including two first-place votes. In third was the Quad City Steamwheelers with 133 points and one first-place vote. Other teams receiving first place votes included the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (2), the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Pioneers (3), the Tulsa Talons (2), the San Diego Riptide (1) and the Green Bay Blizzard (1).
Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 12 teams in the league by ranking them one through 12
on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 12 points with the point value decreasing
by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 12th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 12 list. In the event
of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Tuesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed
to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.
PRESEASON TOP 12
RANK |
TEAM |
PTS |
1 |
Florida |
174 (8) |
2 |
Memphis |
135 (2) |
3 |
Quad City |
133 (1) |
4 |
Oklahoma City |
132 (2) |
5 |
W-B/Scranton |
129 (3) |
6 |
Tulsa |
124 (2) |
7 |
San Diego |
99 (1) |
8 |
South Georgia |
97 |
9 |
Rio Grande Valley |
83 |
10 |
Louisville |
79 |
11 |
Birmingham |
74 |
12 |
Green Bay |
73 (1) |
Other teams receiving significant votes this week include the Albany Conquest (48 points), the Macon Knights (45)
and the Manchester Wolves (45 points).
About af2
Kicking off its sixth season in 4 days, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to second-tier
cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional
football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and
Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is currently in its 19th season and third on NBC. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.
Courtesey of Af2.com
2005 American Conference Preview
March 28, 2005
Florida Firecats (2004: 10-6)
Home Field: Germain Arena (7,128)
Head Coach: Kevin Bouis, first year in Florida, 0-0 career regular season record
Returners: 10
Rookies Invited to Camp: 10
Key Players Lost: QB – Ken Mastrole, OS – Cainon Lamb, DS – Quincy Sorrell
Key New Faces: QB – Mike Gluski,
WR/LB – Xavier Patterson, DS – Kelly Snell
Key Returners: OS – Magic Benton, FB/LB – Chris Morant, FB/LB – Steve Gorrie
Burning Questions: Can new head coach Kevin Bouis lead the Firecats to a repeat of their championship performance? Mastrole has put on the headset, can Gluski return the ‘Cats to the Cup?
Last Game: Won the 2004 ArenaCup 39-26 vs. Peoria
Comments: The Firecats are coming off their first
championship in franchise history and will have a bulls eye on them all season. Steve
Gorrie, who rushed for an af2 record 500 yards last season returns, but defensive specialist Quincy Sorrell does not. Factor in a new coach and there are questions down in Florida. Don’t count out the Firecats though as their roster is still filled with af2 experience. Ken Mastrole stepping off the field and taking over as offensive coordinator should aid the Firecats on
and off the field.
By af2.com
Gluski Named All AF2 2nd Team
8-17-04
CHICAGO – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, who have secured home field advantage throughout
the 2004 ArenaCup playoffs, and the South Division Champion Florida Firecats each had a league-high five players named to
the 2004 All–af2 First and Second Teams, as 20 of the league’s 25 teams received representation on either the
American or National Conference All-af2 First and Second Teams as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
QB TIM HICKS and OL/DL UFUOMA PELA earned first-team
mentions for the Pioneers, while OS J.R. THOMAS, WR/LB LEROY MCFADDEN and OL/DL NATE BANDY took second-team
honors. The Firecats led the American Conference with three first-team selections. They were: WR/LB CAINON LAMB, FB/LB STEVE GORRIE and DS QUINCY SORRELL. The Columbus Wardogs and Memphis Xplorers were the only other American Conference
teams to receive multiple first-team selections. Memphis had ST KEVIN PRENTISS
and OL/DL JOE CREAR. Columbus had DS TERRELL SUTTON and WR/DB ADRIAN
COCKFIELD.
In the National Conference, all four of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
named to the All-af2 team were first-team selections: They were: QB CRAIG STRICKLAND, WR/LB AL HUNT, OL/DL JAMES
LANDERS and K PETER MARTINEZ. The Rio Grande Valley Dorados was the only other National Conference team to receive multiple first-team selections with
OL/DL SPENCER CONLEY and DS EDDIE MOTEN.
AMERICAN
CONFERENCE ALL-af2 |
Position |
First Team |
Second Team |
QB |
Tim Hicks – W-B/Scranton |
Mike Gluski
– Cape Fear |
OS |
Matt Burstein
– Cape Fear |
J.R. Thomas – W-B/Scranton* |
WR/LB |
Cainon Lamb – Florida |
Leroy McFadden – W-B/Scranton |
WR/DB |
Adrian Cockfield – Columbus |
Anthony Jordan – Birmingham |
FB/LB |
Steve Gorrie – Florida |
Chris Morant – Florida |
OL/DL |
Joe Crear – Memphis |
Marlon Bush – Birmingham |
OL/DL |
Ufuoma Pela – W-B/Scranton |
Nate Bandy – W-B/Scranton |
OL/DL |
Joe Minucci – Tennessee Valley* |
David Barnard – Columbus |
DS |
Quincy Sorrell – Florida |
Roy Stabler - Florida |
DS |
Terrell Sutton - Columbus |
Dahnel Singfield - Memphis |
K |
Rhett Gallego – Birmingham |
Jason Ball – Bossier-Shreveport |
ST |
Kevin Prentiss - Memphis |
Jamaal Garman - Macon |
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ALL-af2 |
Position |
First Team |
Second Team |
QB |
Craig Strickland – Oklahoma City |
Bob Bees – Tulsa |
OS |
Kenyatte Morgan – Central Valley |
Randall Lane – Green Bay |
WR/LB |
Al Hunt – Oklahoma City |
Eric Mahanke – Bakersfield |
WR/DB |
Tim Dodge – Quad City |
Dwight Carter – San Diego |
FB/LB |
Casey Urlacher - Peoria |
Corky Martin - Tulsa |
OL/DL |
James Landers – Oklahoma City |
Ahmad Bhatti – Bakersfield |
OL/DL |
Spencer Conley – Rio Grande Valley |
Ronnie Washburn – Green Bay |
OL/DL |
Kevin Carroll – Bakersfield |
Brad Greetis – San Diego |
DS |
Eddie Moten – Rio Grande Valley* |
Frank West – Peoria |
DS |
Traco Rachel – Laredo* |
Matt Forbes – Quad City |
K |
Peter Martinez – Oklahoma City |
Kimo Naehu - Hawaii |
ST |
Anthony Arceneaux – Hawaii |
Jeff Hewitt – Quad City |
* Denotes Rookie
The 2004 ArenaCup playoffs continue this weekend as the Peoria Pirates
take on the Tulsa Talons in the National Conference Championship game on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Tulsa Convention
Center. On Sunday the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers host the Florida Firecats
in the American Conference Championship game at 6:00 p.m. ET at Wachovia Arena.
-FIVE YEARS. FIVE MILLION REASONS.-
Contributed by AF2.com
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