By Erin Campbell

DELAND, Fla. -- Thursday's match-up between the Daytona Beach Thunder and the Augusta Spartans features a game-within-a-game as the World Indoor Football League's two best receivers face each other for the final time in the regular season.

Augusta's Marvin Stone still leads the league in receptions (86), receiving touchdowns (26) and scoring (164), but saw his scoring title lead dwindle last when Daytona Beach's Cory McKinney tied a league record with five touchdown catches and broke his own league mark of 159 yards with 182 yards against the Osceola Ghostriders. 

With Stone held to one touchdown catch by the Columbus Lions, McKinney moved within three scores of Stone in that category and leads Stone in yardage.

“We tell the players to work hard and become the best,” said Daytona Beach coach Leon Bright. “…“The only way to go to the next level is to work hard. Cory’s done that.

“He keeps working hard and it’s paying off,” Bright added. “The last few games he has played the balls he has caught has been thrown right at him and this game (the game against the GhostRiders) McKinney, the balls were thrown over his head and low and he was just going after the ball and catching them.”

With so much talent on both teams, Thursday’s match-up between the ball clubs of the Augusta Spartans and the Daytona Beach Thunder should be interesting.

To defend McKinney this Thursday night, “We are just going to have to be on our “P”s and “Q”s,” said coach Bubba Diggs.

When McKinney and Stone both turn on the heat they will produce heat in the arena and hopefully on Thursday night that heat will be turned up and a fire will be created within the James Brown Arena.

Add this to the intrigue: Daytona Beach is the only team that has held Stone without a touchdown this season. In the teams' third meeting, Stone was limited to seven catches for 67 yards in a 54-51 Thunder victory.