The Force to open postseason in Jacksonville against the AFL defending champion Sharks
Mike Delrio
Friday July 27, 2012
The Georgia Force will be on the road to take their next step on the way to ArenaBowl XXV when they square off with the defending Arena Football League champion Jacksonville Sharks on Saturday, July 28th in the opening round of the playoffs. The teams will be meeting for the third time this season, second on Sea Best Field at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Georgia has won both of the earlier contests.
Georgia (9-9) defeated the New Orleans VooDoo (8-10) on the road last week to earn the third seed in the American Conference, while Jacksonville (10-8) secured the second seed before Saturday’s play.
This will be the sixth all-time meeting, second postseason, between the clubs. Jacksonville swept all three matchups on their way to a victory in ArenaBowl XXIV last season, including a 64-55 win in the conference title game.
Having defeated the Sharks in their previous two games this season, Georgia is hoping to return the favor by coming home with a series sweep of Jacksonville. The Force won the first meeting 69-41 in the Sharks’ home opener and then beat them again in Week 14, 56-39, when the teams played at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
The Georgia squad taking the field in this one is a much different unit than the one that Jacksonville last saw on June 9th. This will be the first time the Sharks will see quarterback Bryant Moniz, who will be making his fifth consecutive start, as well as wide receiver Michael Johnson.
Moniz had a big game last week and the effort earned the former UH star the MVP of the Week for Week 20. In his five starts ‘Mighty Mo’ has tossed 16 touchdowns with only two interceptions and has a 95.18 QB efficiency rating with a 54.5 completion percentage. He has also added three rushing scores.
Barring Friday roster activity, the receiving corps will consist of Larry Shipp, CJ Johnson, Michael Johnson and Syvelle Newton.
Shipp leads the team in all major receiving stats (133 R, 1584 Yards, 33 TD, 93.2 Rec. YPG) and has shown outstanding individual effort over the last month. His effort earned him the honor of being selected as the 15th best AFL Player for 2012. CJ Johnson has been a solid No.2 option (102 R, 1075 yards, 14 TD, 63.2 Rec. YPG) and provides great balance to Shipp on the other side. M Johnson will be playing in his fifth game and has averaged four catches a game, including a pair of scores. Newton has nine receptions in two games with the Force and has scored once.
The Force defense is led by Mario Norman and Tracy Belton. Norman leads in tackles (73.0, 60 Solo) and is second in interceptions while Belton leads in INT (11) and has 54.5 tackles (49 Solo). Jeremy Grier (54.5 TTL, 4 INT) and Robert Durham (33.0 TTL, 1 INT) have both been big contributors as well. During Belton’s stay on the DL the entire unit stepped up to take up the slack and has to be considered a top-tier unit.
The special teams leaders are kicker Carlos Martinez and return specialist CJ Johnson. Martinez rebounded from a slow start and finished 13-23 in field goal attempts (56.5%), 97-109 on extra-point tries.
CJ has had an outstanding season returning kicks (90 KR, 1985 yards, 5 TD, 22.1 Avg.) and continues to climb the career all-time lists in both kick return yardage and kicks returned for touchdowns.
The Sharks are led by Bernard Morris (105.44 QB Rating, 59 TD/14 INT, 2402 yards) behind center while Jeron Harvey (101 R, 970 yards, 25 TD) and Terrance Smith (99 R, 1158 yards, 29 TD) are the primary receiving targets. Smith also draws the majority of kick returning duty and has taken three to the house in 84 returns. He has tallied 1707 return yards for a 20.3 yard average per return.
Marco Capozzoli is the kicker for Jacksonville and was 10-12 on three-point attempts for the year, 97-118 on PAT.
The VooDoo head north to meet the top seeded Philadelphia Soul in the other conference matchup this weekend. The winner of that game will face either Jacksonville or Georgia for the right to represent the conference in AVITAE ArenaBowl XXV in New Orleans on Friday, August 10.
The Georgia Force are members of the South Division of the American Conference in the AFL. The Force play home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, located off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.
Mike began his third season reporting on the Georgia Force in March, 2012. Coverage includes weekly game previews and recaps, exclusive interviews and AFL news. Mike has been a Gwinnett County resident (the home of the Force) for two decades and provides coverage of the counties other pro sports franchises, the Gwinnett Braves (Braves Triple-A affiliate) and the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL, player development deals with both the Phoenix Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres) as well.