• Steve Russ abdominal strain linebacker Air Force
• Ron Lewis broken right leg guard Washington St.

Practice injured

• Damon Dunn hamstring wide receiver Stanford
• Donnel Day groin pull cornerback Cal St. Northridge

The Xtreme’s line-up took a couple hits during training camp due to injury. Linebacker Steve Russ suffered an abdominal strain during the third week of training camp and could be lost for the season. Russ has two Super Bowl rings from his four seasons with the Denver Broncos. Russ potentially could have been one of the Xtreme’s defensive captains.

With less than two minutes to go in its final scrimmage of training camp, guard Ron Lewis broke his right leg trying to make a block at the line of scrimmage. Lewis was not expected to play a major roll in the Xtreme’s offensive line this season before the injury.

The Xtreme will also miss one of its fastest receivers in Damon Dunn, who will miss the opener vs. the Demons. Dunn, who is hold all the school’s career records for kickoff returns at Stanford, starred last spring as the primary receiver for quarterback Scott Milanovich with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe. Dunn led the Thunder in all receiving categories, finishing seventh in the league in receptions and fourth in total yards.

TERRITORIAL TALLY

The Xtreme will lean heavily on its territorial picks in key roles come Sunday. Nine of the Xtreme’s original 15 territorial picks made the Xtreme’s 45-man roster. Those picks include:

San Diego St.

Three of the Xtreme’s four players from San Diego St. played for Coach Luginbill while with the Aztecs. Ricky Parker, Jamal Duff and Ramondo Stallings were all teammates in 1993, Coach Luginbill’s last season at the helm of SDSU. Parker is the only player on the Xtreme to have played under Coach Luginbill

JAMAL DUFF Defensive End
At 6-7, 285 Duff brings big time pressure, seasoned by 41 games in the NFL, mostly with the Redskins and Giants. Had one of four sacks by defense in scrimmage against Las Vegas Outlaws. Nickname is Death Blow, after a underground comic strip character.

RICKY PARKER Safety
Played for Coach Luginbill at both San Diego St. (1993) and in Amsterdam with the Admirals. Leads what Coach Luginbill considers an reliable and solid safety corps.

RAMONDO STALLINGS Defensive End
Along with Duff, is the Xtreme’s tallest player at 6’7, Mondo played under Coach Luginbill all four seasons (1989-93) of his college career. Played four seasons (1994-1998) in the NFL seeing action in 38 games for the Cincinnati Bengals. Played last season with Edmonton Eskimos in CFL.

NOEL PREFONTAINE Punter
Pre has reigned as the leader in gross and net punting for the past three seasons in the Canadian Football League with Toronto Argonauts. Also the Xtreme’s third quarterback, Coach Luginbill says he feels comfortable with Pre closing games at QB. Last season, in the high altitude of Canada, Pre launched a career high 88-yard punt against B.C. Lions.

USC

The Xtreme play in the Los Angeles Coliseum, so fittingly enough, four former Trojans made the Xtreme’s 45-man roster. All four should figure prominently against the Demons.
All four, Errick Herrin, Matt Keneley, Chris Brymer and Jonathan Himebauch were teammates at USC for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Keneley and Himebauch both played in the Trojans 41-32 victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl.

CHRIS BRYMER Guard
Good friends with Himebauch, the duo spent their college careers, including redshirt year (1993), during the same time at (1993-1997) at USC. For two seasons (1996-97), Himebauch started at center and Brymer started right next to him at left guard.

JONATHAN HIMEBAUCH Center
Former Trojan also provides Xtreme with dependable long snapper. Worked last season as assistant coach to John Robinson, head coach at UNLV.

MATT KENELEY Defensive tackle
6-5, 295 lbs, big defensive tackle also brings it intellectually. Earned over $30,000 in academic grants while a student at USC. Also owns and races thoroughbreds. A four-year starter at USC (1992-1996) who last played for 49ers in 1999.

ERRICK HERRIN Linebacker
Played two seasons (1994-95) as a starter at USC. A former Marine who serve six months in Saudi Arabia during Gulf War. Was Keyshaw Johnson’s roommate at USC.

UCLA

TOMMY MADDOX Quarterback
Tommy Maddox is the only Bruin left standing on team Xtreme. As SC grad and Xtreme General Manager said, “We drafted Tommy despite his lack of a formal education.” For extensive Maddox notes see page one of game notes.

Receiver Corps

How deep are the Xtreme at wide receiver? The team kept eight receivers on its 45-man roster. Seven of those eight have made an active NFL roster.

The only one left out of the NFL so far, Jeremaine Copeland, led NFL Europe in receptions and receiving yards last season with the Barcelona Dragons. Cope also set a pro football record with 19 catches in a single game; a record recently snapped by Terrell Owens 20-catch performance against the Bears last December.

Of the Xtreme receivers, Jason Shelley, Larry Ryans, Latario Rachal and Todd Doxzon each played for Coach Luginbill in Amsterdam.

The Xtreme recievers are:
DARNELL MCDONALD: (NFL: Tampa Bay) Big strong receiver with excellent hands and leaping ability. Last game he played in was the 1999 NFC Championship game with Tampa Bay against eventual Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams.

JERMAINE COPELAND: Won a national title with Tennessee, but has been looking for a football home in the states ever since. Thrived in NFLE, but the former janitor has potential to be a superstar and media darling in XFL.

LATARO RACHAL: (NFL: San Diego) Good speed with two years of NFL experience with Chargers. Also threat on kickoff returns.

LARRY RYANS: (NFL: Carolina) Very quick. Has ability to make plays after the catch. Will see plenty of action as top returner on kicks and punts.

JASON SHELLEY: Played excellent for Luginbill at Amsterdam last year. Was second on the team in receptions with 43. Excellent on option routes. Won National Title with Washington.

TODD DOXSON: Provides speed and quickness to receiving corps. Former quaterback who actaully ran the option subbing for Dan Marino on a third and short play, getting the first down.

DAMON GIBSON: Good enough to play, but might not have enough room on the 38-man roster. Excellent punt returner.

DAMON DUNN: Xtreme will miss speed demon who is on practice injured list with hamstring pull.

The Offense

The Xtreme will run a pro style offense with four and even sometimes five wide. Coach Luginbill prefers to spread his opponent out rather than bang it through with a two back set.

The architect of the Xtreme’s offense is Jim Barker, who thrived as the offensive coordinator for Doug Flutie’s record setting teams in Toronto. Barker was the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts during the 1999 season leading the team to a 9-9 record.

While the Xtreme will air it out, the team also has two rushing threats, Rashaan Shehee and Ken Oxendine, each with ample experience in the NFL. 

Shehee has played the past two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. A salary cap victim, Shehee rushed for 295 yards on 87 carries in 25 NFL games. Shehee is also an excellent receiver out of the backfield.

Oxendine started nine straight games in 1999 for the Atlanta Falcons filling in for the injured Jamal Anderson. Ox rushed for career best 85 yards against Saints that season. Both backs give Team X, two physical strong backs to keep defense honest.

Alive and Kicking
Thanks to the several special teams rule that open the game up in the XFL, Coach Luginbill said he and his team have spent 1/3 of their practice and meeting time on the kicking game. The Xtreme should excel on special teams with punter Noel Prefontaine and kicker Jose Cortez.

Cortez, who was working as a roofer when the Xtreme drafted him this October, led NFL Europe in field goals from 40 yards or more with 7. Prefontaine has been the leading punter in the CFL for the past three seasons.

On the receiving end, both Larry Ryans and Latario Rachal are legitimate threats to return punts and kicks for TD’s. Ryans broke a 75 yard punt return for a score against the Demons during the team’s pre-season scrimmage in Las Vegas.

Coaching: Xtreme Experience
The nine coaches of the Xtreme staff combine for 230 years of coaching experience. Five of the coaches Al Luginbill, Jim Hilles, Ted Gil, Chris Allen and Dave Levy have over 30 of coaching experience at the college and pro level.

The first coach in Xtreme history, Coach Luginbill has been very good in his first years as a new coach. In his first season as head coach at Pasadena Junior College, Luginbill went 11-1 and won a National JC Championship. His first year at the helm of the Amsterdam Admirals in NFLE, the Admirals went 9-2 earning a birth in the first World Bowl.