march 30th  My first glimpse of the team by Greg Schaefer Practice looked okay for me since it was my first of this year!  A special player i was told to watch was tearing up the offensive line on his bull pass rushing and he was playing like it was the last play of the game!! his name to remember is Frank Trentadue #31 from UT-Martin, listed as FB/LB. Like i said this was my first practice but he was really hustling to sack the QB when on defense and on offense he was making the block to hold off the defensive rush. The timing on offense looked a little off as passes were thrown too high or they were deflected and picked off. If you were going for a pass and saw a concrete wall coming to greet you i think you would ease up though, playing on the turf at the college is a little differnt than at the Mark. A fast shifty player by the name of Quarnail Arnold #20 WR/DB from William Penn made the DB's do a lot of shuffling and cutting. This guy is 5-6 160!!   good hands and concentration from what i saw. Chris Anthony #83  WR/DB made me look to see if it was the (WALL), same height,build and good hands going down the field. Practice had some fans and the officials were also there getting in there practice,even heard a fan booo at the refs!!  Usually i can't make the practices since i work but  being on my day off i thought i would go and meet some friends there. Can't wait to get to my seat on the 6th to see the team in action and hopefully we will win and not have any injuries since a few of our players are hurt like Damon Williams who i saw with a boot on and a couple of new faces that had injuries, Ira Gooch (hamstring) and  Eric Thigpen (achilles). A new face i have hopes on being here is Mike Schaefer #62 (no relation to me) a OL/DL from Toledo ,6-6 300 a big force and from what i saw and he does not get moved around much. Well thats it , hope you liked this little tidbit!   Cut down to 21 will be announced real soon since it has to be done by monday!

Cape Fear isnt your typical expansion team
By Mike Vergane/ QUAD-CITY TIMES

It was obvious during the offseason that the expansion Cape Fear Wildcats were building a first-class organization.

From their ownership group, headed by Carolina Cobras owner Roddy Jones, to their general manager, Wilbur Christy, who worked under Jones at Carolina, the Wildcats had the right people in place to put together a winner. They were people who knew the nuances of arena football.

This has become even more apparent early in the season with the Wildcats 2-0 heading into their home opener against the Augusta Stallions, a game the front office expects to be a sellout.

Jones and Christy began building their coaching staff in November 2001 with the hiring of former af2 player and assistant coach Chris Siegfried.

The 32-year-old Siegrfried is no stranger to expansion teams. As a wide receiver/defensive back, he helped Augusta into the playoffs in 2000, the leagues inaugural season. Last season he moved behind the bench to become the offensive coordinator of playoff-bound Macon.

Siegfried has hired an experienced staff to work under him at Cape Fear. Assistant coach Matt Storm played with the Arena Bowl champion Orlando Predators, and former Steamwheelers assistant Troy Biladeau is the Wildcats defensive coordinator, heading a unit that ranks near the top of almost every statistical category.

I love it here, said Biladeau, whos from Fayetteville, N.C. I didnt think that I would find a coach that was as easy to work with as (former Quad-Cities head coach) Frank (Haege), but Chris (Siegfried) is every bit as easy to work for.

Biladeau has been given the freedom to call his own defensive formations from the field.

In Cape Fears 69-19 opening-night victory over Norfolk, his defense held the Nighthawks to 71 yards and tallied five sacks.

We went back and looked at the game tape, Biladeau said, and we counted a total of 22 hits on their quarterbacks.

The Nighthawks were forced to play the majority of the game with backup QB Jimmy Edmonds after starter Will Burch, a former Steamwheeler, separated his shoulder when he was sacked on the third play from scrimmage.

Through the first two games of the season, Cape Fears defense has compiled some amazing numbers. The defense has scored five times four safeties and a fumble recovery for a touchdown and its giving up only 19.5 points per game. Sound familiar?

Quad-Cities defense last season is still the best, Biladeau said when asked to compare the two. But the one area where we are stronger is in the defensive front.

Circle this game

Saturday: Bossier City Battle Wings (1-1) at Memphis Xplorers (2-0).

This is an early battle for first place in the National Conference Central Division.

After falling to Quad-Cities in its opener, Bossier City pulled off what most people would consider an upset by knocking off the Tulsa Talons 27-14 on Saturday night.

This week will be just as difficult against the undefeated Xplorers, who feature former XFL stars Tim Lester (QB, Chicago) and Russell Copleland (WR, Los Angeles).

Silvis, Ill., resident Mike Vergane covers af2 and co-hosts Inside the Huddle on Tuesdays on KJOC-1170 AM. You can also find the power poll and league news on the af2 page at http://www.arenafan.com.