AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

AFL honors five players with monthly awards for April

Published on May 5, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


NEW YORK – San Jose SaberCats wide receiver/defensive back RODNEY WRIGHT and quarterback MARK GRIEB, Los Angeles Avengers offensive/defensive lineman SILAS DEMARY, Dallas Desperados quarterback CLINT STOERNER and Tampa Bay Storm kicker MATT GEORGE have been named U.S. Army Ironman, Offensive Player, ADT Defensive Player, Rookie, and Kicker of the Month, respectively, for the month of April of the 2005 season.

U.S. ARMY IRONMAN: Wright (5-9, 180, Fresno State), who is in his rookie season, pulled in 30 passes for 424 yards and six touchdowns for the SaberCats in April. On defense, he recorded 32.0 tackles and one interception, which he returned 36 yards. Wright earned Ironman of the Week honors in Week 12 and 13. His Week 12 effort included career highs of 227 all-purpose yards and 8.5 tackles. In Week 13, Wright had three receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown, returned a missed field goal 54 yards for a touchdown, made 7.0 tackles and recorded his first career interception. Wright also recorded a career-high 10 receptions for 134 yards in Week 14 against Nashville. This marks the first time that the former Bulldog has earned an AFL monthly award.

OFFENSIVE: Grieb (6-3, 208, Cal-Davis), a six-year veteran, set a new AFL passing record by completing 15-of-15 passes for 331 yards and eight touchdowns for a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 against Colorado in Week 13. His flawless performance earned him AFL Offensive Player of the Week honors. In April, Grieb completed 75.7 percent of his passes for 1,586 yards and 31 touchdowns. Currently, he leads the League in completion percentage (70.1) and passing yards (3,997). In Week 12, Grieb threw a season-high eight touchdowns and became the eighth player in AFL history to reach the 400-touchdown mark. This marks the fourth time that the former Aggie has earned an AFL monthly award.

ADT DEFENSIVE: Demary (6-3, 285, Virginia State), now in his fifth AFL season, recorded 10.5 sacks in April, including a team record 4.0 against New York in Week 11. He is leading the League with 11.5 sacks on the season, also a new Avenger record. His 14.5 career sacks rank him No. 1 on the Avengers all-time list. Demary, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, has 21.0 combined tackles on the season, recording 16.0 (14.0 solo) of them in April along with a team-high four forced fumbles and one safety. This marks the first time that the former Trojan has earned an AFL monthly award.

ROOKIE: Stoerner (6-2, 210, Arkansas) continued to add to his already impressive rookie numbers, connecting on 95-of-150 passes (63.3%) for 1,160 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He topped the 300-yard passing mark in two games in April while also topping 3,000 passing yards, becoming just the sixth rookie signal caller to accomplish that feat. He is still on pace to be the all-time rookie passing leader in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. This marks the first time that the former Razorback has earned an AFL award.

KICKER: George (5-10, 185, Chapman) connected on 26-of-28 extra points while hitting his last eight. He went 10-of-12 on field goals, including a personal-best 38-yarder last week against New Orleans. The sixth-year veteran averaged 11.2 points per game in the month and led the Storm in points in Week 14 against the VooDoo. He was was 3-of-4 on field goals longer than 30 yards. This marks the first time George has earned an AFL monthly honor.

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