Arizona defeats Kats
March 4, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release
Nashville Kats kicker Tony Dodson missed a 52-yard field goal attempt as time expired and the Kats fell to the Arizona Rattlers, 51-49, at US Airways Arena on Saturday night. Nashville drops to 4-2, while the Rattlers improve to 2-4.
The Kats battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit to claim a 49-45 lead with just one-minute to go, but Rattlers quarterback Shedrick Bonner led his squad on a seven-play, 43-yard drive in just 49 seconds to move Arizona back into the lead. The Kats moved the ball 12 yards on a first-down pass from Clint Stoerner to Cornelius Bonner, but the Kats were forced to line up for the Dodson field goal attempt with just three seconds left on the clock.
The Kats made their share of mistakes in the game, turning the ball over three times, missing three extra point attempts and drawing 10 penalties, including a costly pass interference foul on Khalil Carter on a fourth-down play in Arizona's final scoring drive.
Nashville fell behind early, as the Rattlers used only three plays to go 48 yards for a touchdown on their first possession. Shedrick Bonner led Arizona to scores on each of their five first-half possessions, and he threw four touchdowns in the first 30 minutes to give the home team a 31-16 edge at halftime.
The Kats matched Arizona early on, scoring on their first three drives of the game, but missed an extra point and Clint Stoerner threw three interceptions in the second quarter.
Nashville came out sharp in the second half, as Stoerner connected on a 21-yard TD to Cornelius Bonner. But the score could only trim the Rattlers' lead to nine, as Dodson missed another extra point. The Kats crept closer when Jermaine Lewis picked off a Bonner pass and returned it 31 yards for the TD, then moved in front, 42-38, when Stoerner hooked up with T.T. Toliver for the third of four TD's for the pair on the night. The TD was set up by a Monty Montgomery interception, his second of the night and sixth of the season.
Bonner rebounded, putting Arizona back in the lead with a six-yard TD pass to Damien Groce, then the Rattlers forced Nashville to turn it over on downs and moved all the way to the Kats' two-yard line, threatening to go up by two scores. But Kats lineman Charlie Morris, celebrating his 30th birthday in the very arena where he played five seasons with the Rattlers, flipped the field by picking up a Bonner fumble and returning 41 yards to the Arizona three-yard line. Stoerner snuck in for the go-ahead score two plays later, giving the Kats an improbable 42-38 edge with 11:29 to go in the game.
After Arizona responded with another Bonner TD throw, the Kats took the lead with another Stoerner TD pass to Toliver, setting up the Rattlers' winning drive.
Stoerner shook off a rough first half to complete 18 of 31 passes for 238 yards and five TD's, four of which went to Toliver. For the night, the electric Toliver hauled in eight passes for 132 yards.
Bonner threw for 309 yards and seven TD's, completing 27-of-48, but tossed three interceptions. He threw three TD's to Groce, who led the Rattlers with nine catches for 94 yards. Randy Gatewood also caught two TD's, and had eight receptions for 88 yards.
• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 4, 2006
- Rattlers Beat Kats in Thriller, 51-49 - Arizona Rattlers
- Arizona defeats Kats - Nashville Kats
- San Jose Climbs Into First Place Tie In Western Division - San Jose SaberCats
- Wranglers prevail in comeback victory - Austin Wranglers
- Jones Activated for Sunday's Game - Tampa Bay Storm
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.
