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2007 Columbus Destroyers season
Arena Football League team season
Arena Football League team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| team | Columbus Destroyers |
| year | 2007 |
| record | 7–9 |
| division_place | 3rd |
| coach | Doug Kay |
| stadium | Nationwide Arena |
| playoffs | L ArenaBowl XXI 33-55 vs. San Jose |
| shortnavlink | Destroyers seasons |
The 2007 Columbus Destroyers season is the 9th season for the franchise and the 4th in Columbus, Ohio. They finished with a 7–9 record and qualified for the playoffs. The Destroyers defeated the Tampa Bay Storm 56–55 in the first round. The Destroyers advanced to the National Conference Championship by beating Dallas 66–59 in Dallas the following week. Columbus swept the table with the top three National Conference teams by defeating the Georgia Force 66–56 to win the National Conference Championship Game, their first in team history their history and advance to ArenaBowl XXI, their first ArenaBowl. In ArenaBowl XXI, the Destroyers lost to the San Jose SaberCats 33-55.
Coaching
Doug Kay started his second season as head coach of the Destroyers.
Season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 1 | Nashville Kats | Away | W 58–56 |
| 2 | March 9 | New Orleans VooDoo | Away | L 52–45 |
| 3 | Bye Week | |||
| 4 | March 24 | Chicago Rush | Home | L 55–47 |
| 5 | March 30 | Georgia Force | Home | W 62–61 |
| 6 | April 5 | Dallas Desperados | Away | L 53–51 |
| 7 | April 14 | Austin Wranglers | Home | W 72–49 |
| 8 | April 23 | Philadelphia Soul | Home | W 44–21 |
| 9 | April 29 | Tampa Bay Storm | Away | L 34–32 |
| 10 | May 4 | New York Dragons | Home | W 51–42 |
| 11 | May 11 | Grand Rapids Rampage | Home | W 59–56 |
| 12 | May 18 | Colorado Crush | Away | L 58–40 |
| 13 | May 26 | Dallas Desperados | Home | L 56–47 |
| 14 | June 2 | Georgia Force | Away | L 54–33 |
| 15 | June 8 | Kansas City Brigade | Home | L 47–34 |
| 16 | June 16 | Philadelphia Soul | Away | L 56–53 |
| 17 | June 23 | New York Dragons | Away | W 74–43 |
Playoff schedule
| Round | Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | June 30 | (3) Tampa Bay Storm | Away | W 56–55 |
| 2nd | July 7 | (1) Dallas Desperados | Away | W 66–59 |
| 3rd | July 14 | (2) Georgia Force | Away | W 66–56 |
| ArenaBowl XXI | July 29 | (1) San Jose SaberCats | Neutral | L 33–55 |
2007 roster
Stats
Offense
Quarterback
| Player | Comp. | Att. | Comp% | Yards | TD's | INT's | Long | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Nagy | 341 | 545 | 62.6 | 3557 | 75 | 15 | 44 | 104.4 |
| Scott Dreisbach | 30 | 45 | 66.7 | 269 | 5 | 2 | 37 | 91.8 |
Running backs
| Player | Car. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Wells | 73 | 197 | 2.7 | 13 | 13 |
| Damien Groce | 16 | 80 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| B. J. Barre | 8 | 34 | 4.3 | 2 | 16 |
| Matt Nagy | 16 | 22 | 1.4 | 6 | 6 |
| Josh Bush | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 2 | 9 |
| Brad Greetis | 6 | 4 | .8 | 2 | 4 |
| Darcy Levy | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Freddie Solomon | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Wide receivers
| Player | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damien Groce | 118 | 1342 | 11.4 | 26 | 44 |
| David Saunders | 68 | 550 | 8.1 | 18 | 25 |
| Marcus Knight | 44 | 496 | 11.3 | 9 | 24 |
| Josh Bush | 48 | 461 | 9.6 | 6 | 33 |
| B. J. Barre | 22 | 291 | 13.2 | 7 | 45 |
| Jason Shelley | 25 | 264 | 10.6 | 1 | 23 |
| Freddie Solomon | 24 | 226 | 9.4 | 3 | 21 |
| Darcy Levy | 7 | 105 | 15 | 2 | 28 |
| Harold Wells | 11 | 90 | 8.2 | 4 | 20 |
| Matthew Thomas | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | 2 | 16 |
| Cole Magner | 4 | 44 | 11 | 2 | 29 |
| Howard Duncan | 6 | 38 | 6.3 | 1 | 12 |
| Jason Hilliard | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Brad Greetis | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Peter Martinez | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Touchdowns
| Player | TD's | Rush | Rec | Ret | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damien Groce | 31 | 3 | 26 | 2 | 188 |
| David Saunders | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 112 |
| Harold Wells | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 102 |
| Marcus Knight | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 62 |
| Josh Bush | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 60 |
| B. J. Barre | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 56 |
| Matt Nagy | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Freddie Solomon | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| Brad Greetis | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Darcy Levy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Cole Magner | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Matthew Thomas | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Howard Duncan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Jason Shelley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | Tackles | Solo | Assisted | Sack | Solo | Assisted | INT | Yards | TD's | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Hefflin | 105 | 88 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerald Brown | 65.5 | 57 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 22 |
| Rober' Freeman | 58 | 52 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| B. J. Barre | 51 | 44 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Ken Jones | 28.5 | 21 | 15 | 9.5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Shelley | 22.5 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Josh Bush | 20 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernard Riley | 20 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harold Wells | 19.5 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelvin Kinney | 17.5 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leroy Thompson | 17.5 | 14 | 7 | .5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Dreisbach | 11 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Saunders | 11 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Martinez | 6.5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Knight | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Damien Groce | 3.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Kocher | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Greetis | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Harris | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Hilliard | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Freddie Solomon | 2.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Freeman | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | .5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howard Duncan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Nagy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Rabatin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Special teams
Kick return
| Player | Ret | Yards | TD's | Long | Avg | Ret | Yards | TD's | Long | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damien Groce | 40 | 825 | 2 | 56 | 20.6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Josh Bush | 39 | 758 | 2 | 58 | 19.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. J. Barre | 5 | 59 | 0 | 31 | 11.8 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 17 | 20 |
| Matthew Thomas | 3 | 47 | 0 | 24 | 15.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Shelley | 3 | 24 | 0 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Harris | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Hefflin | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Knight | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Saunders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | Extra pt. | Extra pt. Att. | FG | FGA | Long | Pct. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Martinez | 80 | 97 | 10 | 20 | 45 | 0.500 | 110 |
| Matt Nagy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 |
Playoff Stats
Offense
Quarterback
| Player | Comp. | Att. | Comp% | Yards | TD's | INT's |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Nagy | 19 | 26 | 73 | 262 | 5 | 0 |
Running backs
| Player | Car. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Wells | 6 | 15 | 2.5 | 0 | 6 |
| Damien Groce | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| B. J. Barre | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Nagy | 4 | −1 | -.3 | 1 | 1 |
Wide receivers
| Player | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damien Groce | 7 | 98 | 14 | 2 | 30 |
| Marcus Knight | 6 | 82 | 13.7 | 1 | 23 |
| David Saunders | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 1 | 25 |
| Josh Bush | 2 | 34 | 17 | 0 | 24 |
| Harold Wells | 1 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 11 |
Special teams
Kick return
| Player | Ret | Yards | Avg | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Bush | 5 | 103 | 20.6 | 29 |
| B. J. Barre | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Kicking
| Player | Extra pt. | Extra pt. Att. | FG | FGA | Long | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Martinez | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 | – | 8 |
Regular season
Week 1: at [[Nashville Kats]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 2: at [[New Orleans VooDoo]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 4: vs [[Chicago Rush]]
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 5: vs [[Georgia Force]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 6: at [[Dallas Desperados]]
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
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Week 7: vs [[Austin Wranglers]]
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
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Week 8: vs [[Philadelphia Soul]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 9: at [[Tampa Bay Storm]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 10: vs [[New York Dragons]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
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Week 11: vs [[Grand Rapids Rampage]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
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Week 12: at [[Colorado Crush]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 13: vs [[Dallas Desperados]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 14: at [[Georgia Force]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 15: vs [[Kansas City Brigade]]
Scoring Summary:
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2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Week 16: at [[Philadelphia Soul]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
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Week 17: at [[New York Dragons]]
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Playoffs
Week 1: at [[Tampa Bay Storm]]
at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
The Destroyers entered the playoffs for the first time since their move to Columbus. In a game that was back-and-forth scoring, the key play was a missed extra point by Storm kicker Seth Marler with 1:06 left in the game. Following a delay-of-game penalty, Marler missed an extra point attempt that, had he made it, would have given the Storm a 56–49 lead. After Columbus got the ball on the ensuing kickoff, they drove down to the Storm 1-yard line with 10 seconds left. Columbus QB Matt Nagy called his own number and sneaked into the Storm endzone with 7.9 left in the game, and, after the extra point attempt, the Destroyers had a 56–55 lead and looked to pull off the upset. With 3 seconds left and at their own 10-yard line, Marler tried to make amends by attempting a field goal that, if good, would give the Storm a 58–56 win and a game against division rival Georgia. Marler's kick looked good to begin with, but curved off to the left and missed, giving Columbus the upset win and a matchup against the 15–1 Dallas Desperados.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
- 1:41 TB- Terrill Shaw 9 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Seth Marler Kick) – 7–0 TB
- 4:10 CLB- Damien Groce 29 Yard Pass From Matt Nagy (Peter Martinez Kick) – 7–7
- 9:14 TB- Terrill Shaw 9 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Seth Marler Kick) – 14–7 TB
- 10:52 CLB- Harold Wells 11 Yard Pass From Matt Nagy (Peter Martinez Kick) – 14–14
2nd Quarter:
- 1:40 CLB- B.J. Barre 50 Yard Interception Return (Peter Martinez Kick) – 21–14 CLB
- 6:11 TB- Brett Dietz 2 Yard Run (Seth Marler Kick) – 21–21
- 10:53 CLB- Marcus Knight 23 Yard Pass From Matt Nagy (Peter Martinez Kick) 28–21 CLB
- 12:43 TB- Lawrence Samuels 18 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Seth Marler Kick) – 28–28
- 14:34 CLB- B.J. Barre 2 Yard Run (Peter Martinez Kick) – 35–28 CLB
- 14:41 TB- Terrill Shaw 2 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Seth Marler Kick) 35–35
3rd Quarter:
- 11:15 TB- Torrance Marshall 1 Yard Run (Seth Marler Kick) – 42–35 TB
- 13:04 CLB- Damien Groce 30 Yard Pass From Matt Nagy (Peter Martinez Kick) – 42–42
4th Quarter:
- 3:42 TB- Terrill Shaw 8 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Seth Marler Kick) – 49–42 TB
- 7:47 CLB- David Saunders 3 Yard Pass From Matt Nagy (Peter Martinez Kick) – 49–49
- 13:09 TB- Hank Edwards 17 Yard Pass From Brett Dietz (Pat Failed) – 55–49 TB
- 14:53 CLB- Matt Nagy 1 Yard Run (Peter Martinez Kick) – 56–55 CLB
Attendance: 10,221
- Offensive player of the game: Terrill Shaw (TB)
- Defensive player of the game: B.J. Barre (CLB)
- Ironman of the game: Lawrence Samuels (TB)
| Team | 1st Down. | Rush. Yds | Pass. Yds | Fumbles/lost | Fumble yds | Penal./yds | TOP | 3rd Down. | 4th Down. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB | 20 | 22 | 260 | 0/0 | 0 | 12/63 | 19:27 | 4/6 | 1/2 |
| TB | 29 | 14 | 315 | 0/0 | 0 | 11/63 | 40:33 | 3/5 | 1/1 |
Week 2: at [[Dallas Desperados]]
at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
The Destroyers blew a 30-point lead and lost to the Desperados earlier this season 53–51 and they lost the 2nd game in Columbus 56–47. This time, it looked as if Dallas, after a shaky start, would continue their dominance over the Destroyers. Leading 38–28 at the half, the tide turned on back-to-back kickoffs by Columbus kicker Peter Martinez. Dallas, who had deferred, got the opening kickoff. However, the ball bounced off the goalpost and into the hands of Columbus' Josh Bush, who rolled into the endzone to make it 38–35. On the very next kickoff, a nearly identical play occurred when the ball again bounced off the goalpost and Columbus recovered at the 4-yard line. On the next play, Damien Groce ran the ball in to give Columbus a sudden 42–38 lead 58 seconds into the second half. After a Clint Dolezel interception set up a field goal for Columbus, Jason Shelley put the game away with a 28-yard reception with 12:55 left in the game to give Columbus a 2-touchdown lead that they held onto to pull off the upset against the Desperados.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Attendance:
| Team | 1st Down. | Rush. Yds | Pass. Yds | Fumbles/lost | Fumble yds | Penal./yds | TOP | 3rd Down. | 4th Down. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0/0 | 00:00 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| DAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0/0 | 00:00 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
Week 3 (Conference Championship): at [[Georgia Force]]
at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | (6) CLB | 66 | (2) GA | 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 28 | 13 | 18 | |||||
| 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 |
The Destroyers Pull off the Upset and they are going to ArenaBowl XXI In New Orleans to play the San Jose SaberCats.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:
Attendance:
ArenaBowl XXI vs. [[San Jose SaberCats]]
at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana
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