AFL Quick Hitters

Published on June 5, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release

HOME SWEET HOME: In the past, home-field advantage has proven very beneficial to teams in the Semifinal Round of the playoffs. In the thirty semifinal games played in AFL history, the home team owns a convincing 23-6 record (the August 12, 1989 game between Pittsburgh and Denver was played at a neutral site) giving them an all-time win percentage of .790. The six teams that pulled off semifinal road victories are listed below.

SEMIFINAL ROAD VICTORIES*
DATE WINNER LOSER SCORE SITE
August 14, 1993 TAMPA BAY ORLANDO 55-52 Orlando
August 27, 1994 ARIZONA Albany 40-33 Albany
August 19, 1995 ORLANDO Iowa 56-49 Des Moines
August 15, 1998 ORLANDO ARIZONA 38-33 Phoenix
August 13, 1999 ORLANDO Iowa 48-41 Des Moines
August 12, 2000 Nashville SAN JOSE 51-42 San Jose
* 2003 semifinal teams listed in ALL CAPS

FINAL FOUR: Over the last ten seasons, the 2003 AFL semifinalists have reached this point a combined 23 times. The four teams -- San Jose, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Orlando -- have accounted for eight out of the last ten ArenaBowl championships.

2003 SEMIFINAL TEAMS PRIOR SEMIFINAL APPEARANCES
TEAM SEMIFINAL APPEARANCES CHAMPIONSHIPS
San Jose SaberCats 2002,2001,2000 2002
Tampa Bay Storm 1998,1997,1996,1995,1993 1993,1995,1996
Orlando Predators 2002,2000,1999,1998,1997,1995,1994,1993 1998,2000
Arizona Rattlers 2002,2000,1999,1998,1997,1996,1994,1993 1994,1997

SUNSHINE STATE RIVALRY: This Saturday marks the third semifinal installment in an intrastate rivalry, when No. 2 Tampa Bay hosts No. 3 Orlando (NBC, 3 p.m. ET). Currently tied at 1-1, the first game of this series was played on August 15, 1992 and was won by Orlando with a 24-21 overtime victory at home. The second game was played one year later on August 14, resulting in a 55-52 Tampa Bay victory in Orlando. This weekend's game will mark the first time that the Predators will be in Tampa Bay for the semifinals. It is the first time in this series that the Storm will be without QB JAY GRUDEN who now plays for Orlando.

YOU GUYS AGAIN? For the third consecutive year, San Jose will face Arizona in the playoffs. Among the fiercest of division rivals, the all-time series between the two teams has amounted to a 10-10 tie. The SaberCats, however, lead the playoff series 2-0, with a win over the Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI and a quarterfinal win in 2001.

A LONG HISTORY: Entering this Sunday's semifinal match against Arizona, the San Jose SaberCats have won their last three games against the Rattlers and six straight vs. Arizona at HP Pavilion. San Jose has not lost to Arizona at home since April 29, 2000.

RATTLERS VS. SABERCATS: LAST FIVE GAMES
DATE WINNER LOSER SCORE LOCATION
3/23/03 San Jose Arizona 59-58 HP Pavilion
2/2/03 San Jose Arizona 49-28 America West Arena
8/18/02 San Jose Arizona 52-14 HP Pavilion (ArenaBowl XVI)
7/12/02 Arizona San Jose 59-52 America West Arena
4/20/02 San Jose Arizona 52-51 HP Pavilion

JUST PASSING THROUGH: The 2003 Semifinal Round of the playoffs showcases four of the AFL's best quarterbacks. This list includes; Orlando's JAY GRUDEN, Arizona's SHERDRICK BONNER, San Jose's MARK GRIEB and Tampa Bay's JOHN KALEO. Collectively, they have seven ArenaBowl titles and have thrown for 12,131 yards, 213 touchdowns and only 51 interceptions, in their respective playoff careers. Following are their career individual playoff totals.

2003 SEMIFINAL QUARTERBACKS: ALL-TIME PLAYOFF STATS
PLAYER 2003 TEAM COMP/ATT YARDS TD INT
Sherdrick Bonner* Arizona 387-643 4,850 88 17
Jay Gruden** Orlando 332-566 4,416 71 24
John Kaleo Tampa Bay 127-208 1,590 27 7
Mark Grieb San Jose 98-153 1,275 27 3
*No. 1 career playoff passing
**No. 2 career playoff passing

SEMIFINAL SABERCATS: Only one AFL team has reached the semifinal round for the last four years straight – the SaberCats. San Jose, with a 1-2 record in semifinal games, earned its first ArenaBowl appearance with a 52-40 semifinal win over Orlando last year on August 10, 2002. The SaberCats were defeated (by Nashville) in the semifinals in both 2000 and 2001. Arizona and Orlando have each reached the semifinal round in three of their last four seasons.

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 5, 2003

• A Blueprint For Success - San Jose SaberCats
• AFL Quick Hitters - AFL I
• AFL Must-See Matchups - AFL I
• Destroyers Announce 2003 Team Award Winners - Buffalo Destroyers

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