AFL Quick Hitters
Published on May 22, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
EXPERIENCE COUNTS: Three Arizona Rattlers â QB SHERDRICK BONNER, WR/LB HUNKIE COOPER, and WR/DB RANDY GATEWOOD â are among the top 10 active players who have played in the most postseason games. The Rattlers host the Las Vegas Gladiators this Sunday (NBC, 3 p.m. ET). In quarterfinals next Saturday, San Jose WR/DB BARRY WAGNER is scheduled to play in his record 22nd postseason contest, the most by any active AFL player. The six-time Ironman of the Year has played in six ArenaBowls (No. 2), winning two championships and earning Ironman of the Game honors four times. The defending ArenaBowl champion SaberCats will host the lowest remaining seed to advance from the Wild Card Round.
MOST POSTSEASON GAMES PLAYED
(Excluding ArenaBowl appearances)
PLAYER POS TEAM GAMES
Barry Wagner WR/DB San Jose 21
Hunkie Cooper WR/LB Arizona 19
Sherdrick Bonner QB Arizona 16
Andre Bowden FB/LB Tampa Bay 15
Randy Gatewood WR/DB Arizona 14
Cecil Doggette DS Grand Rapids 14
Jay Gruden QB Orlando 13
Eddie Brown WR/DB Indiana 13
Lawrence Samuels WR/LB Tampa Bay 12
Bob McMillen OL/DL Chicago 12
CRAZY EIGHTS: The most touchdown passes ever thrown in a Wild Card game is eight, held by three current playoff quarterbacks â New York's AARON GARCIA (2001), Grand Rapids' CLINT DOLEZEL (2002) and Dallas backup JOHN FITZGERALD (2002 with Carolina). Only two quarterbacks have ever passed for nine touchdowns in a game in postseason history, Arizona's SHERDRICK BONNER (2002 vs. Carolina) and RICKEY FOGGIE (1998, New Jersey vs. Albany). Here's a look at the top touchdown passing performances in the Wild Card Round:
WILD CARD ROUND â MOST PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
PLAYER SEASON TEAM OPPONENT TDS
Aaron Garcia 2001 New York Toronto 8
Clint Dolezel 2002 Grand Rapids Carolina 8
John Fitzgerald 2002 Carolina Grand Rapids 8
Chad Salisbury 2001 Toronto New York 7
Andy Kelly 2000 Nashville Grand Rapids 7
John Kaleo 2000 Tampa Bay Milwaukee 7
Andy Kelly 2002 Dallas Indiana 7
Shane Stafford 2002 Tampa Bay Los Angeles 7
PORTER'S PICKS: Chicago WR/LB DAMEON PORTER holds the Wild Card record for most interceptions in a single game â two â at Orlando in 2001. He was named game Ironman for his performance. The Rush will face the Dragons this Sunday (NBC, 3 p.m. ET) and the high-powered passing of AARON GARCIA, who threw 100 scoring strikes during the regular season.
RECORD-SETTING SEASON: More than 50 regular-season records were tied or broken in 2003, including the AFL attendance record. More than 1.4 million fans walked through turnstiles this year â 11,397 per game, the highest average since 1998 (11,400). Following are some of the more high-profile records tied or broken:
REGULAR SEASON RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN
CATEGORY PLAYER TEAM RECORD
Most PAT Attempts Daron Alcorn San Jose 126
Most Pass Attempts Andy Kelly Detroit 654
Most Pass Completions Jim Kubiak Dallas 388
Highest Pass Completion Percentage Jim Kubiak Dallas 69.7
Most Passing Yards Gained Jim Kubiak Dallas 4,766
Most Touchdowns Mike Furrey New York 47
Kickoff Returns, Most Yards Gained Ron Carpenter Detroit 2,248
Most Return Touchdowns Antonio Chatman Chicago 7 (tie)
Most All-Purpose Yards Gained Antonio Chatman Chicago 3,678
Most Interceptions Clevan Thomas San Jose 13
Most Seasons Played Darryl Hammond Georgia 13
Most Seasons (One Club) Hunkie Cooper Arizona 11
ALSO ON THE RECORD: In his third AFL season, Dallas QB JIM KUBIAK not only set regular-season highs in three passing categories in 2003 â pass completions (388), completion percentage (69.7 percent) and passing yards (4,766) â but, the former Navy passer also threw 97 touchdown passes, good for No. 3 on the all-time list. In all, six AFL quarterbacks broke into the Top 10 list for their touchdown-passing performances this season.
MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES, SEASON
PLAYER TEAM SEASON TDS
Aaron Garcia New York 2001 104
AARON GARCIA New York 2003 100
JIM KUBIAK Dallas 2003 97
TONY GRAZIANI Los Angeles 2003 96
ANDY KELLY Detroit 2003 93
Aaron Garcia Iowa 2000 93
CLINT DOLEZEL Grand Rapids 2003 89
SHERDRICK BONNER Arizona 2003 88
Mike Perez Albany 1996 84
Andy Kelly Nashville 1997 82
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 22, 2003
- AFL Must-See Matchups - AFL I
- AFL Quick Hitters - AFL I
- AFL Launches ArenaBowl.com - AFL I
- All-Ironman Team Features Two Firebirds - Albany/Indiana Firebirds
- Wildcard Weekend Approaches - AFL I
- Rampage Begin Drive to ArenaBowl XVII this Sunday - Grand Rapids Rampage
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