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Iowa State University Athletics
Ex-Cyclones Making it Big in Arena League
06.27.2006 | Football
June 27, 2006
AMES, Iowa - Former Iowa State defensive back Weyland Harding,the head coach of the Arena Football League's New York Dragons, has signed a multi-year contract with the franchise. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.Two former Cyclone receivers played large roles in the Dragons making the 2005 playoffs. Mike Horacek finished third in the AFL in receiving yards (1,663) and sixth in touchdown receptions (36). Chris Anthony of Pleasant Valley had 31 catches for 363 yards and three scores.
Horacek, the 2000 AFL Offensive Player of the Year, completed his second year with the Dragons and ninth overall in the league. Anthony has played his entire four-year AFL career with New York.
The coaching staff -- Harding, line coach/co-special teams coordinator Jerome Brown, offensive coordinator Tony Kimbrough and wide receiver-linebackers coach/co-special teams coordinator Chad L. Lindsey -- became the first coaching staff in Arena Football League history to record twenty wins over their first two seasons, with ten wins in 2005 and another ten wins in 2006.
Harding made 109 career tackles at Iowa State from 1991-93. His interception of a two-point conversion pass in the closing seconds of Iowa State's 1991 game at Missouri, saved the contest for ISU, which left Columbia with a 23-22 victory.
"We are appreciative of the opportunity this organization has afforded us, to seek to the end what the coaching staff and I have started," said Harding. "I'm very happy to be here in New York, we are going to be here for a while, and we will see it through to the end."
Harding has an all-time coaching record of 20-14. Before coming to the Dragons in 2005, Harding spent the previous three seasons as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Columbus/Buffalo franchise where he was also the defensive backs coach in the 2000 season. Under his guidance, the 2003 Destroyers' defense finished as the top-ranked unit in the AFL. At 34, Harding is currently the youngest coach in the AFL.
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