Talons invade Bossier Saturday night.
TULSA, OK--The Tulsa Talons have left the friendly confines of the amazing BOK Center in search of an elusive goal this season.
A win on the road.
This season and dating back to 2008, the Talons are easy money at home but they can't get it together on the road. In the three losses in unfriendly territory so far this season, the first two games saw Tulsa lose by a combined total of only 3 points. The third was an outright meltdown in Cleveland that saw the Talons drop an 11 point loss.
The Talons enter the contest with the 3rd best offense in the league averaging 64.6 points per game. Leading the way for the Talons on offense is QB Justin Allgood who leads the AFL in TD passes with 50 and has the fourth best QB rating in the league at 123.0. Allgood is protected by a great offensive line and has one of the most talented receiving corps in the league.
The Talons defense had a tremendous game last Saturday against turnpike rival Oklahoma City recording 3 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. The sacks against the Yard Dawgz added to their league lead of 13.
The Talons next opponent is the Bossier -Shreveport Battle Wings (2-5) who have dropped 5 straight.
The Battle Wings 9th ranked offense took a blow this week as starting QB Raymond Philyaw was placed on IR. Bossier will have to rely heavily the run game without the veteran Philyaw behind center.
Without Philyaw in the lineup, the outcome of the game will depend on whether Bossier’s last ranked defense can stop the Talons powerful offense.
Talons fans are gathering for a watch party at the Fair Meadows Sports Grill just north of Big Splash at the Tulsa Fairgrounds.
Talons ranked 4th in AFL Coaches Poll.
The Talons moved up two spots in the AF: Coaches Poll this week on the strength of the 67-41 drubbing handed to the rival Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz last week.
The win extended the Talons incredible home winning streak to 14, dating all the way back to their final season in the Tulsa Convention Center.
The Talons jumped out to a quick 14 point lead and never looked back. The Talons offense once again was good as they scored 3 points more than the season average, but it was the Talons defense that was the difference as they pressured the Yard Dawgz’s offense into mistakes all night.
The top three spots in the AFL Coaches Poll are the Jacksonville Sharks in first place, followed by the Milwaukee Iron and the Spokane Shock. The rankings and points along with the number of first place votes are as follows.
1 Jacksonville Sharks 138 (12)
2 Milwaukee Iron 107 (1)
3 Spokane Shock 102 (2)
4 Tulsa Talons 95
5 Chicago Rush 92
6 Alabama Vipers 70
7 Arizona Rattlers 65
8 Cleveland Gladiators 53
9 Tampa Bay Storm 47
10 Iowa Barnstormers 29
11 Orlando Predators 28
12 Boss-Shrev Battle Wings 16
13 Dallas Vigilantes 15
14 Utah Blaze 15
15 OKC Yard Dawgz 15
The Talons will return home on June 5th to face the Orlando Predators at 7pm in the amazing BOK Center. Tickets for that game and the remainder of the 2010 home season at the BOK Center box office, tulsatalons.com or by calling the Talons office at 294-1000.
You can catch the Talons live on the web by clicking the Nifty TV icon on the Talons website, and they can be heard on AM740 and FM102.3 with Rick Couri providing the exciting play-by-play.