Post by David on Jul 19, 2019 21:02:41 GMT -8
Portland Forest Dragons History
1998 Season: Breathin' New Fire
Year Two
Regular Season Record: 4-10 (3rd in West Division)
Playoff Record: None
Coaches: Stan Brock (Head Coach)
The 1998 Portland Forest Dragons season was the sense of a new beginning. Armed with the slogan of "Breathin' New Fire," Portland looked to improve upon its 2-12 inaugural season in the Rose City.
The AFL saw one team fold prior to 1998, as the Anaheim Piranhas ceased operations after 4 seasons (2 in Las Vegas as the Sting, 2 in Anaheim). To offset the loss of the Piranhas, a new team in Grand Rapids, Michigan called the Grand Rapids Rampage was born. As a result, the Forest Dragons would move from the Central Division to the West Division, while the Rampage would fill in Portland's spot in the Central Division.
With a limited presence on the West Coast, Portland was one of three teams to make up the West Division, which included the Arizona Rattlers and the San Jose SaberCats.
After dropping their season opener to the Albany Firebirds, the Forest Dragons would win their next 3 games. With a 3-1 record, Portland already amassed a better record through four games than they did the previous year (1-3). However, the Dragons would go on to lose 6 straight, all but dooming their playoff hopes. Portland would finally break the streak with a win over New York, but would lose the final 3 games of the season to finish 4-10.
1998 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
The 1998 AFL schedule was set up so that all 14 teams played 14 games in 14 weeks with no bye weeks.
The following is the results of Portland's 1998 schedule (bold teal green denotes home games).
MAY
Week 1 -- Sat., May 2 - at Albany Firebirds (L 58-65)
Week 2 -- Sat., May 9 - New York CityHawks (W 47-38)
Week 3 -- Sat., May 16 - Grand Rapids Rampage (W 45-22)
Week 4 -- Sat., May 23 - at Iowa Barnstormers (W 53-47)
Week 5 -- Sun., May 31 - Albany Firebirds (L 45-48)
JUNE
Week 6 -- Sat., June 6 - Milwaukee Mustangs (L 46-70)
Week 7 -- Thu., June 11 - Arizona Rattlers (L 30-58)
Week 8 -- Fri., June 19 - at San Jose SaberCats (L 44-48)
Week 9 -- Sun., June 28 - at Arizona Rattlers (L 52-62)
JULY
Week 10 -- Fri., July 3 - San Jose SaberCats (L 45-68)
Week 11 -- Fri., July 10 - at New York CityHawks (W 56-51)
Week 12 -- Fri., July 17 - at Orlando Predators (L 48-66)
Week 13 -- Thu., July 23 - Houston ThunderBears (L 56-64)
AUGUST
Week 14 -- Sat., August 1 - at New Jersey Red Dogs (L 52-55)
AWAY VENUES
Albany Firebirds - Pepsi Arena; Albany, New York
Arizona Rattlers - America West Arena; Phoenix, Arizona
Iowa Barnstormers- Veterans Memorial Auditorium; Des Moines, Iowa
San Jose SaberCats - San Jose Arena; San Jose, California
New York CityHawks - Madison Square Garden; Manhattan, New York City, New York
Orlando Predators - Orlando Arena; Orlando, Florida
New Jersey Red Dogs - Continental Airlines Arena; East Rutherford, New Jersey
Individual Statistic Leaders
Passing
James Guidry - 235/413, 3,218 yards, 69 TD, 18 INT
Jason Stiles - 15/38, 222 yards, 3 TD, INT
Alfred Montez - 3/7, 50 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Travis McDonald - 36 attempts, 189 yards
Jami Anderson - 19 attempts, 110 yards, 2 TD
Ryan Benjamin - 21 attempts, 78 yards, 6 TD
Ivan Caesar - 11 attempts, 55 yards
James Guidry - 23 attempts, 40 yards, 2 TD
Tom Holmes - 4 attempts, 38 yards
Receiving
Oronde Gadsden - 93 receptions, 1,335 yards, 37 TD
Ryan Benjamin - 65 receptions, 773 yards, 12 TD
Brian Greene - 48 receptions, 764 yards, 15 TD
Dee Grayer - 22 receptions, 304 yards, 3 TD
Barry Dillard - 6 receptions, 82 yards, TD
Kick Returns
Ryan Benjamin - 74 returns, 1,446 yards, 4 TD
Brian Greene - 13 returns, 207 yards
Kicking
Daron Alcorn - 11/24 FG, 48/53 XP, 81 points
Steve McLaughlin - 5/16 FG, 18/21 XP, 33 points
Defensive
Mark Ricks - 61.5 total tackles, 16 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 INT, TD
LaMont Woods - 52 total tackles, 7 pass breakups, 1 INT
Brian Greene - 43 total tackles, 7 pass breakups, 3 INT, TD
Oronde Gadsden - 22.5 total tackles, 4 pass breakups, 3 INT, TD
Barry Dillard - 19.5 total tackles, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
James Fuller - 17.5 total tackles, 1 pass breakup
Travis McDonald - 16.5 total tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
Dee Grayer - 16.5 total tackles, 2 pass breakups
Akaba Delaney - 15 total tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Tom Briggs - 14 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
Chris Butterfield - 11.5 total tackles, 1.0 sacks
Ivan Caesar - 8.5 total tackles, 1.0 sacks, 3 pass breakups
Jami Anderson - 7 total tackles, 1.0 sacks
Ryan Lingenfelder - 3 total tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 pass breakup
Honors and Awards
AFL Rookie of the Year: Oronde Gadsden (WR)
Second Team All-Arena Team: Brian Greene (WR/DB)
All-Rookie Team: Oronde Gadsden (WR)
