Post by fwp on Apr 25, 2010 7:52:11 GMT -5
www.albanyherald.com/sports/headlines/92030809.html
ALBANY — It’s a little early to call it Rafer Madness, but the way Panthers receiver Clenton Rafe has started the season, it’s pretty evident he drives teams crazy.
That’s what Rafe will be up to again this evening when the Panthers (2-0) try to stay unbeaten in the Southern Indoor Football League against the Greenville Force in a rare 5 p.m. start in the only Sunday game on the schedule.
Greenville (2-1) was unbeaten until last week when the Force lost to Louisiana, 79-52, despite a big game from the league’s leading receiver, Isaac West, who made eight receptions for 142 yards and five TDs.
That would be just about an average night for Rafe, who has caught 19 passes for 281 yards and seven touchdowns in just two games.
“I told the team the other night that Rafe is my security blanket,’’ Panthers coach Lucious Davis said. “Whenever I need a play I just say, ‘Throw the ball to Rafe.’ ’’
That’s Rafe, who has redefined clutch in the SIFL in only two games.
“I’m just trying to get open on every play,’’ Rafe said. “I always believe I can get open. We joke about it around here. The way our receivers look at it, we’re like the Waffle House — we’re open 24-7.’’
Rafe and John Harris are two big reasons quarterback Cecil Lester has won the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award twice. Lester has thrown for 723 yards and 15 touchdowns in two games. He threw eight TDs just to Rafe and Harris last week.
“When me and Cecil get together, it’s magic,’’ said Rafe after the Panthers opened their season three weeks ago with a 54-41 win against Columbus.
Rafe and Lester were both members of the South Georgia Wildcats last year, but Davis knew Rafe from their days together with the Mohoning Valley Thunder in Youngstown, Ohio, where Davis was an assistant three years ago.
“The first game I ever saw him play he had something like 15 catches and over 200 yards, and five or six touchdowns’’ Davis said. “It was crazy. When I was (an assistant) with the Wildcats I told them to bring him here.’’
Then when Davis got the head job with the newly founded Albany Panthers in January, one of his first calls was to Rafe.
“He’s a guy I wanted all along,’’ Davis said. “And he’s everything I expected him to be. He can do it all. He runs great routes, and he has great hands. He’s pretty much everything you want in a big time receiver. I think he’s clearly the best — or at least one of the best — receivers in this league.’’
Rafe loves Albany. He was a receiver at Albany State, and after bouncing around arena football for four years, he played with the Wildcats last season. He was happy about the chance return to Albany to play with the Panthers.
“When Davis called me, he said: ‘Let’s win a ring,’ and I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” Rafe said. “I love this game, and the camaraderie of the guys. It’s like a family.’’
Rafe looks like a natural on the small confines of the arena football field, which is only 50 yards, making it tougher for receivers to find open space. It’s odd to think when Rafe left Albany State and tried to hook up with the Columbus arena football league they turned him away.
“They wanted to make me a defensive back,’’ said Rafe, who flirted with the idea of playing football in Canada and even had a couple of tryouts with NFL teams before landing in arena football in 2005. He caught three touchdowns in his first game in ‘05, and hasn’t stopped.
He caught four TDs in Albany’s 70-64 comeback win against Lafayette last week, and ended the night with 10 receptions and 151 yards. He also caught a couple of two-point conversion passes, including one with 45 seconds left that gave Albany its final six-point cushion.
“It doesn’t matter if I catch 10 passes, five passes or whatever as long as we win,‘’ Rafe said. “But I always feel like I should make the catch. And I feel like if it’s one-on-one, then I should get open every time.’’
There’s a little more to Rafe than just getting open. He’s also wide open to his teammates.
“I’m a little older than some of these guys,’’ jokes Rafe. “They call me the old man. I feel like I should be a leader on this team. That’s part of it.’’
Davis likes everything about those leadership qualities.
“You hear people saying it all the time, but he is one of those guys who is better off the field than he is on it,’’ Davis said. “He’s a leader for our team, and he is a great guy, and a real family man.’’
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BONGARRA WINS KICK-A-THON:
Davis was upset after last week’s dismal kicking performance by Andrew Jensen, who made just one extra point (1-for-5) all night, forcing the Panthers to go for two-point conversions in the fourth quarter. So Davis opened the job up this week, and brought in two new kickers in what he called a wide open “kick-a-thon’’ competition. The winner was former Albany State kicker Juan Bongarra, who will be kicking against Greenville today.
“He’s got a strong leg and he was real accurate on field goals,’’ said Davis, who knows how valuable a kicker can be in arena football.
In arena football, kickers can score one point on a kickoff if they kick the ball through the field-goal opening in the net, and because it is vital to score on almost every possession, a decent field goal kicker gives a team an option to at least put up three points instead of the prospect of turning the ball over on downs on the short 50-yard field.
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WILL THEY SHOW UP: at 5?:
The Panthers were forced to play this week’s game on Sunday because of a scheduling conflict with the Albany Civic Center, so the team decided to have an early 5 p.m. kickoff because it is Sunday.
“We just thought kicking off at 7 (p.m.) would be a little late,‘’ Panthers general manager Will Carter said. “This way people have time to get home from church, have something to eat, relax a little and then come to the game.’’
The Panthers are averaging just a little more than 4,000 fans in their first two games, and no one is sure if the 5 p.m. Sunday start will be good or bad for attendance.
“It’s the first time they’ve ever had an arena football game on a Sunday in Albany,’’ Carter said. “We’ll see what happens.’’
ALBANY — It’s a little early to call it Rafer Madness, but the way Panthers receiver Clenton Rafe has started the season, it’s pretty evident he drives teams crazy.
That’s what Rafe will be up to again this evening when the Panthers (2-0) try to stay unbeaten in the Southern Indoor Football League against the Greenville Force in a rare 5 p.m. start in the only Sunday game on the schedule.
Greenville (2-1) was unbeaten until last week when the Force lost to Louisiana, 79-52, despite a big game from the league’s leading receiver, Isaac West, who made eight receptions for 142 yards and five TDs.
That would be just about an average night for Rafe, who has caught 19 passes for 281 yards and seven touchdowns in just two games.
“I told the team the other night that Rafe is my security blanket,’’ Panthers coach Lucious Davis said. “Whenever I need a play I just say, ‘Throw the ball to Rafe.’ ’’
That’s Rafe, who has redefined clutch in the SIFL in only two games.
“I’m just trying to get open on every play,’’ Rafe said. “I always believe I can get open. We joke about it around here. The way our receivers look at it, we’re like the Waffle House — we’re open 24-7.’’
Rafe and John Harris are two big reasons quarterback Cecil Lester has won the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award twice. Lester has thrown for 723 yards and 15 touchdowns in two games. He threw eight TDs just to Rafe and Harris last week.
“When me and Cecil get together, it’s magic,’’ said Rafe after the Panthers opened their season three weeks ago with a 54-41 win against Columbus.
Rafe and Lester were both members of the South Georgia Wildcats last year, but Davis knew Rafe from their days together with the Mohoning Valley Thunder in Youngstown, Ohio, where Davis was an assistant three years ago.
“The first game I ever saw him play he had something like 15 catches and over 200 yards, and five or six touchdowns’’ Davis said. “It was crazy. When I was (an assistant) with the Wildcats I told them to bring him here.’’
Then when Davis got the head job with the newly founded Albany Panthers in January, one of his first calls was to Rafe.
“He’s a guy I wanted all along,’’ Davis said. “And he’s everything I expected him to be. He can do it all. He runs great routes, and he has great hands. He’s pretty much everything you want in a big time receiver. I think he’s clearly the best — or at least one of the best — receivers in this league.’’
Rafe loves Albany. He was a receiver at Albany State, and after bouncing around arena football for four years, he played with the Wildcats last season. He was happy about the chance return to Albany to play with the Panthers.
“When Davis called me, he said: ‘Let’s win a ring,’ and I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” Rafe said. “I love this game, and the camaraderie of the guys. It’s like a family.’’
Rafe looks like a natural on the small confines of the arena football field, which is only 50 yards, making it tougher for receivers to find open space. It’s odd to think when Rafe left Albany State and tried to hook up with the Columbus arena football league they turned him away.
“They wanted to make me a defensive back,’’ said Rafe, who flirted with the idea of playing football in Canada and even had a couple of tryouts with NFL teams before landing in arena football in 2005. He caught three touchdowns in his first game in ‘05, and hasn’t stopped.
He caught four TDs in Albany’s 70-64 comeback win against Lafayette last week, and ended the night with 10 receptions and 151 yards. He also caught a couple of two-point conversion passes, including one with 45 seconds left that gave Albany its final six-point cushion.
“It doesn’t matter if I catch 10 passes, five passes or whatever as long as we win,‘’ Rafe said. “But I always feel like I should make the catch. And I feel like if it’s one-on-one, then I should get open every time.’’
There’s a little more to Rafe than just getting open. He’s also wide open to his teammates.
“I’m a little older than some of these guys,’’ jokes Rafe. “They call me the old man. I feel like I should be a leader on this team. That’s part of it.’’
Davis likes everything about those leadership qualities.
“You hear people saying it all the time, but he is one of those guys who is better off the field than he is on it,’’ Davis said. “He’s a leader for our team, and he is a great guy, and a real family man.’’
------------------------
BONGARRA WINS KICK-A-THON:
Davis was upset after last week’s dismal kicking performance by Andrew Jensen, who made just one extra point (1-for-5) all night, forcing the Panthers to go for two-point conversions in the fourth quarter. So Davis opened the job up this week, and brought in two new kickers in what he called a wide open “kick-a-thon’’ competition. The winner was former Albany State kicker Juan Bongarra, who will be kicking against Greenville today.
“He’s got a strong leg and he was real accurate on field goals,’’ said Davis, who knows how valuable a kicker can be in arena football.
In arena football, kickers can score one point on a kickoff if they kick the ball through the field-goal opening in the net, and because it is vital to score on almost every possession, a decent field goal kicker gives a team an option to at least put up three points instead of the prospect of turning the ball over on downs on the short 50-yard field.
-----------------------------
WILL THEY SHOW UP: at 5?:
The Panthers were forced to play this week’s game on Sunday because of a scheduling conflict with the Albany Civic Center, so the team decided to have an early 5 p.m. kickoff because it is Sunday.
“We just thought kicking off at 7 (p.m.) would be a little late,‘’ Panthers general manager Will Carter said. “This way people have time to get home from church, have something to eat, relax a little and then come to the game.’’
The Panthers are averaging just a little more than 4,000 fans in their first two games, and no one is sure if the 5 p.m. Sunday start will be good or bad for attendance.
“It’s the first time they’ve ever had an arena football game on a Sunday in Albany,’’ Carter said. “We’ll see what happens.’’