Sports stats



AFL on NBC Playoffs Kick off This Week

June 4, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


DAVENPORT, Iowa — After seventeen weeks of regular season action, the playoffs are finally here. After nineteen teams started the season with one goal in mind, only eight have made the final cut. Of the eight still remaining, this is a first playoff appearance for two teams. The two expansion teams, New Orleans VooDoo and the Colorado Crush are the two rookie tams making it in the playoffs this year. Also in the mix of playoff seeds are the Los Angeles Avengers, who have the best road record at 6-2.

They will play the Arizona Rattlers, the hottest team in the AFL with eight straight wins. Second seeded San Jose Sabercats hold the best home record with a 7-1 posting. They will match up Saturday afternoon against Tampa Bay Storm. That game will be broadcast nationally on NBC and seen locally on KWQC TV-6.

One of the must-see match ups in the quarterfinals is the Tampa Bay defense vs. San Jose's quarterback Mark Grieb. San Jose's leading man, a UC Davis grad and 2002 Offensive Player of the Year will lead the charge against the defending champion and No. seven seeded Tampa Bay Storm. The 2:45p.m. ET start will be a battle to the finish. With each team being represented with an All-Arena pick, this game should be filled with All-Star plays. Leading the way for the Sabercats will be Mark Grieb, who matched a San Jose record and career-high with nine scoring passes and completed 27-of-34 for 351 yards in the 62-55 victory in the last meeting between the two in Week 9. His main target was WR/LB James Roe, who caught a San Jose game record seven touchdown passes, including the game-winner with seven seconds left in regulation. The 2004 Second-Team All-Arena quarterback finished 2004 with 4,111 passing yards, 75 touchdowns and a league-record 133.5 passer rating.

For the opposition, Tampa Bay head coach Tim Marcum's team has won six straight games and roared back to make the playoffs for an 18th straight season after starting 3-7. Heading into this weekend's quarterfinal game, the seven-time ArenaBowl champion coach looks toward his go-to players, AFL Second-Team All-Arena OL/DL Nyle Wiren, DS Tramain Jones, and All-Ironman WR/DB T.T. Toliver to lead the charge. Wiren, who led the Storm with 6.0 sacks, will lead the team up front while Jones and Toliver, who combined for 117.5 total tackles and six interceptions will patrol the secondary.

The Arizona Rattlers, No. 1 seed in playoffs escaped a 50-43 come from behind win last week to improve their winning streak to eight straight. Their winning streak will be on the line against the Los Angeles Avengers this Saturday. It will be an All-Arena quarterback showdown at America West Arena between the Avengers QB Tony Graziani, and the Rattlers own Sherdrick Bonner. In their first two match ups against each other there was a split decision, with each winning on one another's turf.

The No. 8 seeded Avengers 2004 First-Team All-Arena quarterback leads the team into their third straight postseason appearance. He has connected for 99 touchdowns and was intercepted only five times, establishing an all-time professional football record with a 19.8-1 touchdown to interception ratio. He also rushed for three scores and finished second in the AFL in total offense (267.8 yards per game) and pass rating (126.9).

Five-time All Arena quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, including first –team selection in 2003, led the Rattlers to the No. 1 seed. Bonner finished the season with 3,383 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, and a 65.0 completion percentage.

A defensive battle is expected when the Orlando Predators visit the Chicago Rush this Sunday at 2:00p.m. CDT, seen locally on KWQC TV-6. Both teams rely on their defense to preserver when met with a challenge. The Predators come into the match up winning four straight and seven of the last eight games they've played. The Chicago Rush has won four of the last five of their match ups. Both teams are 1-2 atop the pass rushing charts. The Orlando Predators lead the AFL with 35 sacks, while the Chicago Rush aren't far behind with 23 quarterback drops.

When ADT Defensive Player of the Year candidates-Orlando DS Kenny McEntyre and Chicogo OL/DL John Moyer collide in action on NBC, there is sure to be some scoreless possessions. In the last meeting of the two, the No. 3 seeded Chicago Rush forced six turnovers and recorded a team-record 7.0 sacks en route to a 58-15 win over the No. 6 seeded Orlando Predators. After scoring on its first possession of the game, the Rush held Orlando scoreless for nearly 50 minutes before allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown. It was the widest margin of victory in Rush team history.

Moyer, who is also lineman of the Year candidate, led the AFL in sacks (10.0), while Orlando's FB/LB Rupert Grant finished number two with 9.5. In the secondary, McEntyre led the AFL with nine interceptions and lead the team with 85.5 total tackles. Chicago DS Corey Sawyer, who was a member of Tampa Bay's championship squad in 2003, leads the Rush in total tackles (69.5) while adding two interceptions.

Two surprise teams will face off this Sunday at 2:00p.m.CDT when No. 4 seeded New Orleans will host No. 5 seeded Colorado Crush. While both are young teams, it is a playoff birth for each. Former ‘Wheeler, Ira Gooch, will share his AF2 playoff experience with his new AFL team when they try and knock off the Crush. Under the guidance of Coach of the Year candidate Mike Neu, the duo of quarterback John Fitzgerald and his main target OS Aaron Bailey helped the VooDoo set the mark for most victories by an expansion team (11). Fitzgerald finished the regular season with 3,425 passing yards, 61 touchdowns and a 57.2 completion percentage. Bailey led the squad in receptions (91), receiving yards (1,364) and touchdowns (32).

Colorado head coach Mike Dailey had the greatest single-season turn around in league history (+9 improvement from 2003). The Crush's postseason success will depend on the arm of QB John Dutton and the receiving hands of Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Year candidate OS Damian Harrell. Dutton finished the regular season with 4,195 yards, 76 touchdowns and a 63.8 completion percentage. Harrel led the Crush with 114 receptions for 1,715 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Be sure to catch the playoff action each week to watch the teams fight for the right for the James Foster Cup. Playoff games can be seen locally on KWQC TV-6.

• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...

arenafootball2 Stories from June 4, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Quad City Steamwheelers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central