AFL Week 4 Recap

Week 4 in the AFL only featured five games, with two of them being blowouts. Orlando, Cleveland, San Jose, and Utah all had their bye this week.

Jacksonville Sharks 76, New Orleans VooDoo 30

After winning three straight road games to begin the season, it was time to welcome the VooDoo into Sea Best Field for the long overdue home-opener for the Sharks. Any questions about whether New Orleans would spoil the festivities were quickly erased when the Sharks commanded the first quarter for a 28-0 lead.
The Jacksonville defense got a sack and forced two incompletions on the VooDoo's opening possession and scored the first points of the night when Bernard Morris threw an elevan-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Hughley two plays later. New Orleans had a little more success on their second drive, but things got worse as Jeff Hughley scored his second touchdown of the night by catching Gary Cismesia's missed 30-yard field goal off the rebound net and returning it 52 yards for a touchdown. Jeff Hughley's third touchdown of the quarter came on a nine-yard catch to give the Sharks a 21-0 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. The Sharks would add another touchdown to their lead four plays later, highlighted by an interception by Terrance Smith and -Rendrick Taylor's one-yard touchdown run. To start the second quarter Kurt Rocco would throw his second interception and Rendrick Taylor scored his second one-yard touchdown run to give the Sharks a 35-point lead early in the second quarter. The Sharks led 55-12 at the half and that was all she wrote. The Sharks used a dominant defensive perfrmance coupled by an effective rushing attack to become the League's first 4-0 team this season.

Stat Leaders:
New Orleans (1-2)                                     Jacksonville (4-0)
Kurt Rocco 13-28, 172 yds, 3TD, 2 Int      Bernard Morris 5-6, 45 yds, 2TD, 5 rush yds, TD
Zack Eskridge 6-9, 71 yds, 2TD, Int          R.J. Archer 11-16, 132 yds, 2TD, 19 rush yds
Donovan Morgan 7 rec, 64 yds, 3TD         Renderick Taylor 14 rush, 17 yds, 4TD
Courtney Smith 8 rec, 150 yds, TD            Markee White 5 rec, 75 yds, TD
Eddie Moten 7 tackles                                Terrance Smith 2 Int
                                                                    Matt Marcorella 2 sacks

San Antonio Talons 52, Tampa Bay Storm 36

The Talons entered this game with some questions at quarterback, but signed Nick Hill in the middle of the week to command the offense verse his former squad. Neither team took much time to score their frist points of the evening, Tampa Bay took a 6-0 lead on Adrian McPherson's 28-yard touchdown run and the Dwayne Eley Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-6 in San Antonio's favor. McPherson would lead the Storm on a nine-play, six-and-a-half minute drive that resulted in Juan Bongarra's 29-yard field goal. The Talon Defense stepped up in the second quarter forcing two missed field goals while holding Tampa Bay to just six points. San Antonio retook the lead with three seconds left in the half when Burl Toler caught Hill's seven-yard pass for a touchdown to make it 21-15. Both sides traded touchdowns and defensive stops in the third quarter to give the Talons a 35-28 lead going into the fourth. San Antonio began a dominant quarter when Nick Hill found Jomo Wilson for a 25-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the drive to give the Talons their largest lead of the night. Tampa Bay's chances at a comeback were dashed three plays later when Joe Sykes sacked Adrian McPherson from behind, forcing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Jamar Ransom and to add injury to insult, McPherson was injured on the play. The Talons held a 21-point lead with ten and a half minutes left, but without McPherson available to lead the Storm offense Tampa bay had no answer and only managed eight points in the final quarter. Nick Hill successfully led San Antonio to their first win of the season while restoring confidence for the folks of the Alamo all against his former team. This was Nick Hill's Talon and 2013 AFL debut.

Stat Leaders:
San Antonio (1-2)                                          Tampa Bay (2-2) 
Nick Hill 23-35 187 yds, 4TD, Int                 Adrian Mcpherson 12-24, 141 yds, 2TD, Int,
Burl Toler 10 rec, 74 yds, TD                                                         46 rush yds, 2TD
Dwayne Eley Jr. 5 rec, 52 yds, TD                Greg Ellingson 7 rec, 101 yds, TD
Jomo Wilson 6 rec, 42 yds, 2 TD                   Joe Hills 4 rec, 42 yds, 2TD
Dwayne Eley Jr./D.J. Stephens                      De'Audra Dix 6 tackles, Int
                      Kick-ret TD each                      R.J. Roberts 2 sacks
Joe Sykes 4 tackles (3 TFL), FF, 2.5 sacks
Talon D 4 sacks, Int, and Fumble
Stefan Demos 1-1 FG (23), 7-7 PAT

Spokane Shock 66, Arizona Rattlers 49

The great battle of the wild west, what better way to spend a Friday night!? The Shock started their season with three straight road wins and welcomed the undefeated, defending champion Rattlers into their building in a matchup of undefeated, division rivals.
Both offenses had it clicking for the first twenty minutes, trading touchdowns on their first three possessions. Nick Davila threw two touchdowns to Rod Windsor, while his counter part Erik Meyer also threw two touchdowns but also added a rushing score in the early fury of points. The game changed when Shock head coach, Andy Olsen called for an onside kick with ten minutes remaining in the second quarter that was successfully recovered to earn Spokane the first stop of the game by either side. It took five plays for Meyer to convert the onside kick into points, finding Kamar Jordan who had a nice run after the catch for an 18-yard touchdown; giving the Shock their first lead of the night. Things looked like they could be getting away from the Rattlers when their ensuing possession started at their own one-yard line and Davila threw three consecutive incompletions to set up a fourth and ten from the same spot. After a delay-of-game moved the ball back mere inches Davila, with his back against the back of his own end zone, threw a beautiful spiral to a wide-open Kerry Reed who would finish the run to complete the 49-yard touchdown, tying the game at 28 with 2:30 left in the first half. The Shock did a masterful job ensuring themselves of the last possession of the half by producing a ten-play drive, but on the last play of the half Meyer's pass intended for Duane Brooks fell incomplete in the back of the end zone; marking the first stop by the Rattlers' defense to keep it tied at halftime. Just like the first quarter both teams traded touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half, keeping the game tied at 42 with 13:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. This tie didn't last for long, on first and ten from his own five Erik Meyer found Adron Tennell in-stride at the Arizona-15 where his momentum caused him to bounce off the wall and run the rest of the way into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown, putting the Shock back up by seven. Nick Davila answered by hitting Rod Windsor for a 34-yard completion on first and ten from his own five, and going back to Windsor three plays later for a 17-yard touchdown to re-tie the game at 49. Erik Meyer quickly gave the Shock their seven-point lead back by completing back-to-back passes, highlighted by Adron Tennell's one-handed grab in the back left-corner of the end zone for the 24-yard touchdown. The Rattlers got the ball back at their own five with 6:14 remaining and needing to, once-again, match a Spokane touchdown. The Shock front-three put tremendous pressure on Nick Davila, forcing four straight incompletions to earn a huge defensive stop. The Rattler defense was able to make a stand, holding the Shock to three points on Kenny Spencer's 18-yard field goal. The Shock held a ten-point lead, the largest margin either side enjoyed on the night, with one minute left. Davila was able to move his Rattlers in scoring position at the Shock-7, only to have his second-down pass intercepted by a leaping Beau Bell. Meyer connected with Adron Tennell for a 23-yard touchdown to secure the victory. Despite the final score, this game was without a doubt the best game of this young 2013 season. The Shock improve to 4-0, while the Rattlers suffer their first loss. Also as a fun-fact, neither kicker missed a kick in this game which in the AFL is very uncommon.

Stat Leaders:
Arizona (3-1)                                              Spokane (4-0) 
Nick Davila 18-33, 341 yds, 5TD, Int,       Erik Meyer 27-43, 351 yds, 8TD,
                       17 rush yds                                                  11 rush yds, TD
Rod Windsor 7 rec, 135 yds, 3 TD             Adron Tennell 10 rec, 138 yds, 4 TD
Kerry Reed 6 rec 117 yds, TD                    Duane Brooks 9 rec, 118 yds, TD
Jared Perry 5 rec, 89 yds, TD                     Kamar Jordan 8 rec, 95 yds, 3 TD
Garrett Lindholm 7-7 PAT                         Beau Bell 3 tackles, Int, and sack
                                                                    Kenny Spencer 1-1 FG (18), 9-9 PAT

Philadelphia Soul 54, Iowa Barnstormers 43
This week's CBS Sports Network game of the week featured the Soul and Barnstormers. The Soul were trying to win their second cosnecutive game, while the Iowa tried to avoid a loss at home for the second straight week. The Soul got the opening possesson, with their first two plays being exact opposites. Dan Raudabaugh's first pass was a 33-yard touchdown to Tiger Jones to quickly give the Soul a 7-0 lead. After the Philadelphia defense recorded two sacks and forced two incompletions in a four-play sequence for the turnover-on-downs, Raudabaugh's second pass was intercepted De'Mon Glanton. The Soul defense got the ball back two plays later when Bryan Robinson forced a fumble while sacking J.J. Raterink at the Philadelphia-23. This offensive-struggle of a first quarter continued when the Barnstormer defense flexed its muscle by making a stand in the red-zone to keep the Soul from scoring. Raterink produced Iowa's first points of the game with less than a minute remaing in the first quarter when he found Jesse Schmidt, who made his 2013 debut, for a 36-yard touchdown; Bryan Robinson blocked the extra point and Rayshaun Kizer returned it for a defensive PAT to make it 9-6. Philadelphia got the first possession of the second quarter and marched down the field in five plays, ending on Derrick Ross's four-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to ten. The Soul defensive front dominated in the first half and made their prescence felt when thye sacked Raterink for two more times on the ensuing drive, which was highlighted by Brandon Perkins' sack on fourth and 19 that resulted in a safety. Just when it looked like Philadelphia was making their move to runaway with this one a pair of turnovers quickly changed that notion. LaRico Stevenson fumbled the following kickoff, which lead to Jesse Schmidt's second touchdown, and an interception-return touchdown by Erick McIntosh on the next series turned a twelve-point defecit into a one-point lead with 2:35 left in the half. The Soul offense regrouped by going on a five-play, 45-yard drive that resulted in Larry Brackins' 16-yard touchdown reception with 13 seconds; but Phil Marfuggi stole the spotlight at the end of the half when he drilled a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer to make the score 25-22 in-favor of Philadelphia. Iowa began the second half with a seven-play, 45-yard drive that saw a 17-yard touchdown catch by Marcus Harris return the lead to Iowa. Philadelphia answered with a five-play, 46-yard drive of their own that ended on Ryan McDaniel's 25-yard touchdown catch. Iowa was able to move the ball down the field on their next possession, but got nothing when J.J. Raterink was sacked by Joe Goosby on fourth-and-goal. Derrick Ross scored his second rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it a two-possession game. Raterink threw four incompletions from his seven-yard line and Tiger Jones caught a one-yard touchdown four plays later to give the Soul their largest lead of the night with 8:50 remaining in the game. J.J. Raterink would throw touchdown passes on the next two possessions but unfortunately for Iowa it was too little, too late for a comeback. Jesse Schmidt made his season debut for Iowa.

Stat Leaders:
Philadelphia (2-1)                                                Iowa (2-2)
Dan Raudabaugh 22-30, 270 yds, 5TD, 2 Int       J.J. Raterink 20-35, 238 yds, 4TD, rush TD
Derrick Ross 9 rush, 17 yds, 2 TD                        Marcus Harris 11 rec 126 yds, 2 TD
Tiger Jones 8 rec, 108 yds, 3 TD                          Jesse Schmidt 8 rec, 107 yds, 2TD
Ryan McDaniel 5 rec, 93 yds, TD                        De'Mon Glanton/Errick McIntosh Int each
Bryan Robinson/Dustin Barno 1.5 sack each
Joe Goosby 7 tackes (3 TFL), 2 sacks

Chicago Rush 45, Pittsburgh Power 14

The Rush entered Sunday looking for the first home win of 2013, while the Power were just trying to earn their first victory of the young season. The first quarter was unique, as we saw each team only possess the ball once. The Rush took the opening kick and put together an elevan play drive that lasted 6:50, endured two fourth-and-long conversions, and concluded when Danny Southwick, who started for Carson Coffman, found Reggie Gray for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The Power responded with a 13-play drive of their own that spanned for the remainder of the first and set up a fourth and three on Chicago's four-yard line for the first play of the second quarter. On the fourth down play, Jordan Jefferson faked a hand-off to Kirby Griffin and instead pitched the ball to P.J. Berry who looped around the backfield and was tackled at the Chicago-2, a yard shy of the first down marker. Southwick directed a six-play, 48-yard drive that resulted in his 12-yard touchdown pass to Jared Jenkins to put the Rush up 14-0 midway through the quarter. The Power answered with am eight-play drive that consumed nearly six minutes but ended up producing nothing when Jefferson wound-up to throw a pass on first-and-goal and had the ball slip out of his hand for a fumble that was recovered by Chicago at their own 21-yard line. The Power defense stepped up to make two goal-line stands in the last four-and-half minutes of the half to keep the game within two scores. Chicago's defense was also impressive, posting a first half shutout which is a hard thing to do in the AFL. The second half got off to a much better start, Jefferson had a 32-yard run on the first play of the half and then Kirby Griffin scored on a three-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7. Despite Southwick's successful first half, Chicago head coach Bob McMillan elected to put Carson Coffman in the game to direct the offense. Coffman led Chicago on a five-play drive that resulted in J.J. Payne's three-yard touchdown run to bring the lead back to fourteen. The Rush defense forced a quick four-and-out on the Power's next possession and Jose Martinez's 27-yard field goal gave Chicago a 24-7 advantage midway through the third quarter. Jordan Jefferson would throw an eight-yard touchdown to Mike Washington to make the score 24-14 at the end of the third. The fourth quarter was dominated by Chicago, Carson Coffman threw two touchdown passes while the defense pressured, sacked, and intercepted Jefferson all quarter to turn this into a "windy city" blowout. J.J. Payne scored a second three-yard touchdown run in the final minutes to seal a 21-0 quarter by the Rush for their second consecutive win.

Stat Leaders:
Pittsburgh (0-3)                                             Chicago (2-2)
Jordan Jefferson 18-36, 139 yds, TD, Int,       Danny Southwick 17-26, 150 yds, 2TD
                             67 rush yds                          Carson Coffman 7-10, 98 yds, 2TD
Power 82 rush yds, TD as a team                     Reggie Gray 10 rec, 152 yds, 2 TD
Mike Washington 12 rec, 98 yds, TD              Jared Jenkins 10 rec, 73 yds, TD
Chris LeFlore 8 tackles                                    Jorrick Calvin/Joe Phinisee 11 tackles each,
                                                                                                Calivn Int
                                                                          Darrell Campbell 2 sacks

Week 4 Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week: Erik Meyer, Spokane QB
- Erik Meyer earned his second "Offensive Player of the Week" award of the season by completing 27 of 43 passes for 351 yards and eight touchdown passes, while adding elevan yards and a touchdown on the ground to lead the Shock to a win in their home-opener. Meyer out-dueled his counterpart Nick Davila in order to keep the Shock perfect on the young season.   

Defensive Player of the Week: Joe Goosby, Philadelphia JLB
- Goosby lead a dominate performance by the Soul defense with seven tackles, three of them for a loss, and two sacks. The entire defense caused havoc for J.J. Raterink the entire night, leading to the Soul's second straight win. 

Playmaker of the Week: Jeff Hughley, Jacksonville WR
- Hughley had himself quite a night, catching only two passes but both were touchdowns and returning a missed field goal for a touchdown. He scored the first three touchdowns of a game that was well in-hand by halftime. The Sharks made easy work of their south division rivals winning 76-30 to record their fourth win of the season and their first at Sea Best Field. 

For more on any of these five games, or the Arena Football League go to: http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/sched/afl-a-footbl-sched.html