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- Mar 16, 2019
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March 19, 2019 - Alliance of American Football (AAF) - San Antonio Commanders News Release
San Antonio Commanders (4-2)
vs
Salt Lake Stallions (2-4)
Saturday, March 23, 2019 - 7 p.m. CT
San Antonio, Texas - Alamodome
Television: NFL Network
Complete San Antonio Commanders' game release attached
SETTING THE SCENE
- The San Antonio Commanders return to the Alamodome after a four-game road trip, where they went 3-1 and took a one-game lead in the Western Conference. On Saturday, March 23, the Commanders host the Salt Lake Stallions in a battle of western conference foes. The game, which is slated for a 7 p.m. CT first snap, will be televised on the NFL Network with Den Hellie (play-by-play), Steve Mariucci (analyst) and Jason Fisher (reporter) on the call.
- This is the first-ever matchup between the two teams.
- San Antonio became the first Western Conference team in Alliance history to get its fourth win when it defeated the Atlanta Legends 37-6 last weekend. Salt Lake improved to 2-4 when it beat Memphis 22-9 at home in week six.
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
- HEAD COACHES: San Antonio's Mike Riley and Salt Lake's Dennis Erickson have squared off six times as head coaches. They faced each other from 2006-11 while Riley was at Oregon State and Erickson at Idaho ('06) and Arizona State ('07-'11). Riley leads the all-time record 4-2.
2006: Oregon State 38 - Idaho 0
2007: Arizona State 44 - Oregon State 32
2008: Oregon State 27 - Arizona State 25
2009: Oregon State 28 - Arizona State 17
2010: Oregon State 31 - Arizona State 28
2011: Arizona State 35 - Oregon State 20
- TURNOVER SQUAD: The San Antonio Commanders have forced an Alliance-best 19 total turnovers this season (18 defensive, one special teams). But its current three-game stretch has been responsible for two-thirds of the season's turnovers. Against Birmingham, the Commanders forced three turnovers, then an Alliance-record five turnovers the next week in Arizona, and finally capping off the road trip with a four-turnover performance in Atlanta. The Commanders are undefeated when they win the turnover battle.
- THE RETURN OF AREA 51: Without a doubt San Antonio's three-game win streak is due in large part to the reemergence of its secondary, dubbed "Area 51" by safety Kurtis Drummond. Since week four, San Antonio's secondary has allowed 226.7 yards per game. De'Vante Bausby leads the Alliance in interceptions with four, and Derron Smith and Zack Sanchez are tied for second with three each.
- WOODSIDE'S EFFICIENCY: After four weeks of the Alliance season, starting quarterback Logan Woodside had completed 51 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and five interceptions. Since then, Woodside, the week five Alliance offensive player of the week, is completing 76 percent of his passes and has thrown four touchdowns and just one interception.
- FLIPPING THE FIELD: The Commanders have had the most success when they flip the field and win the field position battle. Against Atlanta the Commanders' average starting field position was its own 32-yard line, but they started in Legends' territory three times. San Antonio winning the field position battle could help jumpstart the offense to another impressive outing.
WARD JR. NAMED ALLIANCE WEEK SIX SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF WEEK
- Commanders wide receiver/punt returner Greg Ward Jr. was named the Alliance of American Football week six special teams player of the week on March 19.
- Ward, Jr., a highly-accomplished quarterback at the University of Houston before transitioning to wide receiver/returner after college, set an Alliance record with a 79-yard punt return-touchdown in The Commanders' 37-6 win in week six. The play earned the No. 9 spot on ESPN's SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day.
WEEK SEVEN ROSTER MOVES: TAYLOR ADDED TO ACTIVE ROSTER
- The San Antonio Commanders made two roster moves on March 18 and 19. General manager Daryl Johnston elected to add cornerback Robert Taylor to the active roster and waive wide receiver Darius Prince.
SACK ANTONIO
- San Antonio leads the Alliance in sacks with 19 on the season.
- The Commanders have two players that rank in the top 10 in sacks in the Alliance. Jayrone Elliot ranks second with 5.5 sacks. Shaan Washington has tallied three sacks on the year, good for 10th best in the Alliance. Winston Craig, Arthur Miley and Joey Mbu also rank in the top 25 in sacks.
- In week one, San Antonio sacked San Diego Fleet quarterback Mike Bercovici six times in the win. That set an Alliance record until Salt Lake tallied seven sacks in week six.
BACKFIELD LIVING
- The Commanders don't just get after the quarterback though. After tallying nine tackles for loss in the first four weeks of the season, the Commanders dialed up seven TFL against Arizona in week five.
- San Antonio has six players each with two TFL.
- The defense has held its opponent to under 100 rushing yards four times this season. The 104.8 rushing yards allowed per game is good for third-best in the Alliance.
PICK-SIX MACHINE
- Safety Derron Smith has been incredible for the Commanders this season. In week five, the Fresno State product intercepted Arizona's John Wolford and returned it 66 yards for an interception. He followed that up with an Alliance-record 87-yard pick-six against Atlanta the following week.
- Through five weeks, Pro Football Focus, a leading football analytics site, ranked Smith as the No. 1 safety in the Alliance with a grade of 93.9, which was 11.9 points better than the second best safety in the league.
ZEMA HAVING A NICE SEASON
- Punter Joseph Zema has been electric for San Antonio's special teams in 2019. Zema's average punt travels 46.6 yards, which ranks second in the Alliance. But what makes Zema even more valuable are his eight punts downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
- In week six Zema punted the ball away six times and averaged a season-best 50.7 yards per punt, and a net average of 42.2 yards.
- In the loss to San Diego, Zema set an Alliance-record with a 69-yard punt.
BAUSBY THE PLAYMAKER
- De'Vante Bausby been the tone setter for the Commanders secondary all season.
- Bausby leads the Alliance in interceptions with four and is one of five San Antonio defensive backs with 10+ solo tackles. In addition, he is tied for the Alliance lead with 13 total passes defended with his four picks and nine pass break ups.
JAYRONE ELLIOT GETTING TO THE QUARTERBACK
- Linebacker Jayrone Elliott played his best game of the season in week five. The former Green Bay Packer and University of Toledo product had three total tackles, two sacks, two TFLs, forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery.
- Elliott now has 5.5 sacks (second-best in the Alliance), 16 total tackles, nine QB hits and three forced fumbles on the season.
CAN'T STOP FARROW II
- Starting running back Kenneth Farrow II has been a workhorse back for the Commanders' offense this season. His 340 yards rank second in the Alliance and his four touchdowns are good for third.
- His 87 carries are second only to Birmingham's Trent Richardson, but what is more impressive is his 3.9 average yards per carry is the sixth best in the Alliance among running backs with 50+ touches.
The most balanced of attacks
- Head coach Mike Riley has said since day one that he wanted to deploy a balanced offensive scheme that will keep the defenses guessing. Through five weeks he has done just that with his play calling.
- Of the Commanders' 371 offensive plays this season, 187 have been a run and 184 a pass.
UP NEXT
- The Commanders will stay in San Antonio for the second of a three-game home stand when they host the Arizona Hotshots in a rematch of the week five contest. The game will be played on March 31, 2019 at 7 p.m. CT and broadcast on NFL Network.
• Discuss this story on the Alliance of American Football message board...
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