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af2 Alums To Be Showcased Saturday When AFL Powers Dallas And Georgia Meet

February 29, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CHICAGO - Saturday afternoon (March 1) the AFL's 22nd season officially takes center stage as the Dallas Desperados travel to The Arena at Gwinnett Center to tackle the Georgia Force for 2008's first installment of Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football at 1 p.m. ET on ABC. The game, which will be broadcast live in high definition, will provide a national showcase for a number of arenafootball2 (af2) alumni on both sides.

The Desperados will take the field with seven players with af2 experience, most notable among them being WR/DB WILL PETTIS. Pettis, who began his Arena Football career with the af2's Pensacola Barracudas, capped off his best professional season in 2007 by being named the AFL's Ironman of the Year. His impressive campaign a year ago included 46 total touchdowns (2 rush, 40 rec, 4 ret) during regular season play, combined with 59.5 tackles on defense, to help guide the Desperados (15-1) to the League's best overall record. Pettis, a four-time All-Ironman selection, made his AFL debut with Dallas in 2003 and never looked back. The former Midwestern State standout put together one of the finest first seasons in League history, earning All-Rookie and Second Team All-Arena honors. He finished the season with a rookie-club record 1,562 all-purpose yards - 798 receiving, 640 on kickoff returns, 93 on missed field goal returns, 22 on interception returns and nine rushing - while finishing fourth on the team with 34.5 tackles.

The Force feature nine players on their roster with af2 experience. The brightest star among them is QB CHRIS GREISEN, who played for the af2's Green Bay Blizzard in 2004. Greisen set a new AFL single-season record with 117 touchdown passes in 2007 to help fuel the Force to a Southern Division title with a franchise-best 14 wins. He also set the AFL single-season record for completion percentage (74.0) and was named first team All-Arena for his performance. In addition, Greisen posted single-season franchise highs in completions (392), attempts (530) and passing yards (4,851) to earn recognition as the AFLWA Player of the Year. Before breaking out with Georgia in 2007, Greisen spent two seasons in Dallas serving as CLINT DOLEZEL's backup for the Desperados.

The Desperados, ranked No. 1 in the Schutt Sports Preseason Top 12 Poll, had the best regular season record in AFL history last year. Their lone loss came at Georgia in a week nine shootout, 78-63. Georgia, ranked No. 5, went 14-2 in 2007 for the second highest regular-season win total ever. Both teams lost to Columbus in the playoffs as the underdog Destroyers made it all the way to ArenaBowl XXI before falling to San Jose in the championship game, 55-33.

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