Georgia af2 Football Battles for First on Friday
Keith Murphy
Thursday May 9, 2002
Stallions’ head coach Mike Hold says “If there’s any kind of rivalry for us in Arena 2 it’s definitely Macon.” Knights’ Offensive coordinator Tres Sullivan agrees it is a rivalry, “Just from the standpoint of geography it is a rivalry. They played two close games last year and they split the series last year so I think there’s a rivalry building.”
Macon and Augusta are about only 145 miles apart. The two towns know each other well. For a week in April nearly all of Macon travels to Augusta. In October, Augustans travel to the Macon area for the state and national fairs.
Hold says that Macon will be a tough opponent. “For one they’re a great football team.
The best one we’ve played so far. Kevin Porter is very knowledgeable about the game of Arena football and he’s a great coach. They’ve got a lot of talent. We have to be prepared to play sixty minutes worth of football to stand a chance.”
Dirk Lincicome, a FB/LB for the Stallions told the Augusta Chronicle, "They`re [Macon] not going to be able to stop our offense - they definitely won`t be able to." One of the reasons Lincicome can make such a boast is the passing of Stallions’ quarterback Glen Gauntt who has already thrown for twenty-three touchdowns in four games. Hold says that Gauntt’s experience as a backup set the stage for this season’s success. “He sat on the bench the whole of last year. Both of my quarterbacks should have been playing. I was fortunate to have a situation with two capable ones. He came in a little later than the other guy and the other guy was my starter from the get go and he never gave up the job. I think that sitting back and watching really helps a guy. So then when he [Gauntt] stepped in this year it wasn’t like he needed to learn the game. He had a year of experience. Although it wasn’t much under center. He was learning from the sidelines. That year of watching has helped him. I think he still has room to improve and as his timing with the receivers comes together, hopefully his stats will pick up from where they’re at.”
Macon has one of the top scoring teams in af2 and they may find themselves in a shoot out with the Stallions. Knights’ quarterback John Rayborn will have had his second full week of practice with the squad and should find himself more in sync with his receivers. Last week, in the Knights win over Jacksonville, Rayborn displayed moments of brilliance but also showed that he still didn’t have a feel for the speed and route running habits of his receiving corps. Hold believes that Rayborn’s experience gives the Knights’ QB a tangible edge. “The thing about Rayborn is that he’s been in Arena 1, he obviously understands the game. You find a lot of Arena 2 quarterbacks who don’t understand the game and you can, with coverages or what have you, try to fool them. The thing about him is that he knows where to go with the ball in all situations. He’s got the arm. He’s got good feet. And he knows the game and knowing the game is what elevates him above most quarterbacks.”
The Knights were also without the services of Gabe Amey who is a deep threat with great hands. Amey should be close to full strength this weekend according to Sullivan: “He’s been good all week in practice so he should be ready to go.”
The Knights offense has been a bit of an enigma so far this season. As Sullivan explains: “We lead the league in red zone opportunities. I think we’ve accomplished what we’ve wanted to and that’s moving the ball down the field every opportunity we get. We seem to stall a little in the red zone; we’re only converting about seventy percent. Which is only about 15th in the league. We’re getting plenty of opportunities.”
Sullivan feels that his offensive unit should be able to move the ball against the Stallions. “I’m confident in what we can do. Obviously they’ve got a good team. But I feel good about our abilities on offense.”
Macon’s defense seems to be a bit of a mystery as well. Despite giving up forty second half points to Jacksonville, individual performances by Byron Douzart, Rendell Jackson and Renotto Solomon saved the victory when the Knights’ offense was unable to keep pace with the Tomcats in the fourth quarter. Jackson, a 6 foot, 238-pound FB/LB earned Week 6 Ironman honors from the league for his services which included blocking a last second Jacksonville field goal attempt to preserve the Knights’ win. “Kevin does a good job with their defense.” Hold says, “They mix it up and keep you on edge with their coverages.”
Frankly, this game has the makings of a monumental struggle. Geographic proximity, familiarity, two solid teams, two crafty coaches, grudges from last season, and a game which will certainly impact division standings and playoff status. “I expect it to go down to the wire,” Hold predicted.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 Friday at the Augusta Richmond County Civic Center.
Dr. Murphy has nearly 20 years of media experience ranging from radio to the Internet. He has served as webmaster for two AF2 teams and the football team at Fort Valley State University. He is a professor at FVSU and directs www.bunniwerks.org, a non-profit rabbit rescue organization. He has been commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. Murphy is also serving as a first party editor of af2 stories for ArenaFfan. For more information about Dr. Murphy see: www.keithmurphy.info
