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AFL Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers Game Notes

June 3, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: A ticket to ArenaBowl XVII hangs in the balance, as the Rattlers travel to San Jose in a re-match of last year's title game. Arizona outscored LA 70-63 last week, while San Jose dispatched Georgia 69-48.

The Series: This will be the 21st meeting of the two franchises. The series is tied at 10-10, but San Jose has won three straight. The Rattlers have lost five straight at HP Pavilion

TV: NBC will broadcast today's game to a national audience. Tom Hammond and Pat Haden will call all the action. Lewis Johnson will work the sidelines.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. Kent Derdivanis and Ron Wolfley will provide the commentary.

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (127-58 overall, 110-50 regular season) is in his 12th season with the Arizona Rattlers. The 2002 Arena Football Hall of Fame inductee is second all-time in coaching victories, with 127 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career-winning percentage of .686 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Darren Arbet is in his fifth season at the helm of the Sabercats. Arbet owns a career record of 58-21 (.734). He is 9-3 lifetime versus Arizona.

Last Meeting: The Rattlers lost a heartbreaker in San Jose last time these two hooked up. A James Rose touchdown catch at the buzzer sent the SaberCats to a 59-58 win. Sherdrick Bonner had eight scoring tosses in the loss.

Postseason Honors: OL/DL Bryan Henderson was named to the Arena Football League All-Rookie team, thanks to his 3.0 sacks this season. Sherdrick Bonner and Randy Gatewood were both named to the All- AFL First Team. Gatewood was also named to the AFL's All-Ironman Team. Henderson is the fifth Rattler to make the All-Rookie Team. This is the second time Sherdrick Bonner has been named to the All-AFL First Team (1998). Bonner has been Second Team three times. Randy Gatewood was named All-AFL First Team in 1997, and has been named to the Second Team three times, and was named to the Ironman squad last season.

Another Stellar Year: WR/LB Hunkie Cooper had another fantastic regular season, something he seems to do every year. Cooper finished the year with a team high 70 receptions, for 862 yards ad 14 touchdowns. He also added 49 rushing yards and seven rushing scores. He also returned an interception for a touchdown. Cooper ranks first all-time in kickoff returns, second all-time in all-purpose yards, third in kickoff return touchdowns, and fourth in pass receptions.

First Team QB: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 534 touchdown passes. Bonner ranks third in passing yards (26,786) and second in pass completions (2,114). Bonner also ranks fourth for pass attempts (3,410).

New INT Record: All-Ironman Team member Randy Gatewood set two franchise records in interceptions this season. Gatewood's nine in the regular season is a franchise record. His 24 career interceptions also set a franchise record. Gatewood was named AFL Ironman of the Month for May.

Milestone Marker: Several Rattler players reached significant milestones during the regular season. Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner passed the 25, 000 career passing yard mark on 4/6 against Orlando. Bonner threw for his 500th career touchdown pass on 4/13 at Los Angeles. Hunkie Cooper became the AFL's all-time leader in kickoff returns on 3/23 at Indiana, returning his 461st career kickoff. Cooper also caught his 700th career pass. Bo Kelly passed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark on 4/26 against Carolina.

Career Year: Sherdrick Bonner set a new franchise record with his 88 touchdown passes during the regular season. Bonner also set a franchise record with 3, 692 passing yards. Bonner accomplished all of this in only 14 games. He missed two games with a separated shoulder early in the season. The AFL named Bonner the Offensive Player of the Month for the month of April.

Last Week: Arizona broke their one-week old playoff scoring record, putting up 70 points in a 70-63 win over Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Sherdrick Bonner had seven touchdown passes, and Hunkie Cooper scored three times in the second half to send the Rattlers to the next round.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Bill McCabe (Referee), Doug Wilson (Umpire), Royce Cooley (Head Linesman), Gary Cavaletto (Line Judge), and Scott Helverson (Back Judge). Winning Tradition: The Rattlers enjoyed their eleventh consecutive winning season in 2003. The Orlando Predators currently own the league's longest streak with winning seasons in each of the last 12 years (1992-present). The Tampa Bay Storm had their eleven winning seasons streak snapped last season. They had a winning season every year from 1991-2001.

Weekly Awards: The Rattlers won six weekly awards this regular season. WR/DB Randy Gatewood earned two of them, being named the ADT Defensive Player of the Week against the Fury on 3/7 and Ironman of the Week for his play versus Las Vegas. WR/LB Hunkie Cooper was named Ironman of the Week following the Indiana game. Sherdrick Bonner was named Offensive Player of the Week three times, including back-to-back awards following the Los Angeles and Grand Rapids games. Frank Trentadue was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Las Vegas in the First Round of the Playoffs. Hunkie Cooper earned the Ironman of the Week award after his game against the Avengers in the quarterfinals.

IR: OL/DL Lindsay Hassell is on Injured Reserve and expected to miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. FB/LB Joe Jackson is on IR, as is K Chris Sailer. WR/LB Larry Nixon was placed on IR after breaking his finger against Colorado. The Rattlers placed OL/DL Sebastian Barrie on IR prior to the LA game.

Monster 80's: The Rattlers became the first team in the history of the Arena Football League to score 80 or more points in consecutive games when they posted 82 points against Los Angeles on April 13 and Grand Rapids on April 19.

Ironmen: Only two Rattlers players appeared in all 16 games this season. Hunkie Cooper and Mark Tucker are the only ones who didn't sit out a game. Cooper hasn't missed a game since the 1999 season.

Records Are Broken: Numerous franchise records were broken during the 2003 regular season. Bo Kelly set a new franchise record by rushing for 197 yards. Sherdrick Bonner set new highs in both passing touchdowns (88) and passing yardage (3, 692). Randy Gatewood set a new single season franchise record with nine interceptions, and set the franchise record with his 24th career interception.

Playoff Vet: Hunkie Cooper has appeared in the second most career Playoff games in AFL history. Cooper has appeared in 24 postseason games, second only to San Jose's Barry Wagner, who has seen action in 28 playoff games.

Coop, There It Is: Hunkie Cooper had one of his best ever games last weekend against the Los Angeles Avengers. The Rattler legend made a diving, one-handed catch in the end zone for a score, recovered a fumble in the end zone, and ran in a two-point conversion. Cooper added another TD catch to his day, giving him three for the contest. The fumble recovery was a momentum changer, and launched the Rattlers to the victory. Cooper ended the day with five receptions for 72 yards and two TD catches.

The Big Lefty: Sherdrick Bonner had a tremendous day against the Avengers. The First Team All-Arena QB threw seven touchdown passes, in addition to his 275 yard performance. Bonner also ran for a touchdown, his first rushing touchdown since he scored one against Dallas on March 2.

Scoring Frenzy: The Rattlers set a new franchise record for points in a playoff game with their 69 against Las Vegas. The record lasted all of one week, as the Rattlers put up 70 points on the Avengers.

Spread The Wealth: Nine different Rattlers receivers have caught a pass so far this postseason. Orshawante Bryant leads all the Rattlers with 15 catches for 163 yards and four touchdowns. Randy Gatewood, who led the team with 32 touchdown receptions during the regular season, has yet to score a touchdown in the playoffs.

On A Roll: Ricky Parker has been playing like a man possessed so far this postseason. In two games, he has intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown. Parker also has a touchdown grab in each of those games, including the highlight reel, refuse to go down 35 yard score against the Avengers on Sunday.

Award Finalists: The Rattlers had two players named finalists for the Ironman of the Year Award. Hunkie Cooper and Randy Gatewood were both nominated for the award given to the best two-way player in the Arena Football League.

Familiar Territory: This marks the 10th time in 12 years the Rattlers have been to the AFL Semifinals. Orlando has also made ten trips to the semis in that span, while Tampa Bay has been there eight times.



Arena Football League Stories from June 3, 2003


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