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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

February 3, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Rattlers open their 13th Arena Football season against Western Division Rival Los Angeles. Arizona looks to avoid their fourth straight opening game loss. They last won an opener in 2000, beating Iowa 56-48 on April 15.

The Series: This will be the tenth meeting between these two teams. Arizona holds a 7-2 lead in the series. The Avengers won at AWA last season, 63-49 on May 4th.

Television: NBC begins their second season broadcasting the AFL. Eli Gold, Charles Davis, and Mark Curtis will serve as the broadcast crew. Curtis is a Sports Anchor for Phoenix's NBC affiliate, KPNX TV 12.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. All games are also simulcast over the internet at www.AZRattlers.com.

Media Contacts:
Rattlers: Randy Policar
602-514-8302, 602-750-9541 cell
Avengers: John Tamanaha
310-407-0208, 310-463-5262 cell
ARIZONA RATTLERS (13-7 in 2003)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/8 Los Angeles 1:00 NBC
2/13 Detroit 7:00
2/21 @ Carolina 5:30
2/29 New York 1:00 NBC
3/5 Columbus 7:00
3/14 @ Las Vegas 4:00 FSAZ
3/18 New Orleans 7:00
3/27 @ Colorado 7:00 FSAZ
4/4 @ Grand Rapids 12:00
4/10 Las Vegas 7:00 FSAZ
4/18 Dallas 12:00 NBC
4/25 @ Indiana 12:00 NBC
5/1 @ Los Angeles 7:30 FSAZ
5/9 San Jose 12:00 NBC
5/15 @ Detroit 4:30
5/30 @ San Jose 1:00 NBC

LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (11-6 in 2003)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/8 @ Arizona 1:00 NBC
2/14 @ Las Vegas 1:00
2/22 San Jose 1:00 NBC
3/1 Georgia 8:30
3/14 @ Grand Rapids 10:00 NBC
3/21 @ Dallas 2:00 NBC
3/26 @ San Jose 8:30
4/3 Austin 7:30
4/10 Colorado 7:30
4/16 Detroit 7:30
4/25 @ Chicago 12:00
5/1 Arizona 7:30
5/9 @ Tampa Bay 12:00 NBC
5/16 @ New York 12:00 NBC
5/22 Las Vegas 7:30
5/30 Orlando 1:00 NBC

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (128-59 overall, 110-50 regular season) is in his 13th season with the Arizona Rattlers. The 2002 Arena Football Hall of Fame inductee is second all-time in coaching victories, with 128 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career-winning percentage of .684 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Ed Hodgkiss begins his third season as Head Coach of the Avengers. Hodgkiss owns a career record of 19-13, and led the Avengers to their first ever playoff appearance in 2002. Prior to coming to LA, Hodgkiss served as Offensive Coordinator for the Albany/Indiana Firebirds.

Last Meeting: The last time these two teams hooked up, 133 points were scored, with Arizona outlasting LA 70-63 in the AFL Quarterfinals at Staples Center. Arizona improved to 5-0 all-time in Los Angeles.

2003 Review: Arizona ended 2003 in the same fashion as 2002, losing in the ArenaBowl. The Rattlers fell to Tampa Bay 43-29 in ArenaBowl XVII at the St. Pete Times Forum. Arizona ended the regular season 10-6, and won their first three playoff games over Las Vegas, at Los Angeles and at San Jose. Sherdrick Bonner was named First Team All-AFL, and Bryan Henderson was named to the All-Rookie Team. Randy Gatewood took home the most honors, winning the 2003 AFL Ironman of the Year, being named First Team All-AFL, and earning a berth on the All-Ironman Team.

Back For More: WR/LB Hunkie Cooper returns to Arizona for his 12th season. In the AFL record book, 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.
All-Purpose Yards:
1. George LaFrance 20,480
2. # Hunkie Cooper 19,760
3. # Barry Wagner 19,095
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 482
2. George LaFrance 460
Kickoff Return Touchdowns
1. Lamont Cooper 24
2. # Steve Papin 23
3. # Hunkie Cooper 19
Pass Receptions:
1. # Eddie Brown 949
2. # Barry Wagner 893
3. # Gary Compton 730
4. # Hunkie Cooper 720
# denotes Active Player

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

Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Andy Kelly 548
2. # Aaron Garcia 544
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 534
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 27,847
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 26,786
3. # Aaron Garcia 26,780
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 2,503
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,114
3. # Aaron Garcia 2,086
4. # Clint Dolezel 2,060
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,084
2. # Todd Hammel 3,501
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 3,410
4. # Aaron Garcia 3,338
# denotes Active Player

Let's Do It Again: Randy Gatewood looks to join Hunkie Cooper as a back-to-back Ironman of the Year winner. In 2003, Gatewood set career highs with nine interceptions (a franchise single season record) and 32 TD catches. He also set the Rattlers career mark for interceptions (24). Last year's Ironman wants to duplicate and improve on last year's performance.

Milestone Marker: Several Rattler players have reached significant milestones in 2004. 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. Bo Kelly passed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark on 4/26 against Carolina. This season, Hunkie Cooper needs only 240 yards to reach 20, 000 all-purpose yards for his career. Only George LaFrance has reached that milestone.

Next Week: Arizona will play host to the Columbus Destroyers on Friday the 13th. Kick-off is set for 7:00 PM.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Dave Lambros (Referee), Al Granado (Umpire), Mike McCabe (Head Linesman), Arthur Lucky (Line Judge), and David Cutaia (Back Judge).

Injury Report: The Rattlers have five players currently on Injured Reserve. QB Travis Cole has a left ankle sprain. OL/DL Jason Andersen is nursing a right quad strain, OL/DL Tim Engelhardt suffered a right groin strain, WR/LB Terence Davis is dealing with an eye injury, and WR/LB Larry Nixon has a right thigh contusion. All players on IR will be eligible to play in the 2/21 game at Carolina.

Welcome to the Snake Pit: The Rattlers have three new faces on their roster for 2004. Joe Germaine, and Antionne Scott are both entering their first seasons of Arena Football. Germaine played in the NFL for three season, including the 1999 season with the Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams. Scott played the previous two seasons in af2. Siaha Burley is no stranger to Arena Football, spending his first two seasons in Orlando, and last season in Los Angeles. Burley was an All-Rookie Team selection in 2001.

Ironmen: The Rattlers set an AFL record in 2003 by playing 20 total games. Only two Rattlers players appeared in all 20 games last season. Hunkie Cooper and Mark Tucker. Cooper hasn't missed a game since the 1999 season.

New Ball for 2004: The Arena Football League will debut a new football for the 2004 season. Spalding has designed a unique new look for the official AFL ball. The oatmeal colored ball features a blue stripe, blue laces, and crosshairs, making the ball easier to see for both receivers and television audiences.

Coaching Staff: Every member of Coach Danny White's staff returns for 2004. Doug Plank is the Defensive Coordinator, Chris Conlin is the Line Coach, and Bob O'Connor coaches the Special Teams and Receivers. Coach White has added Ron Wolfley to his staff in 2004. Wolfley will be the fullback/linebacker coach, and will not be on the sidelines during games. He will remain the color commentator for radio broadcasts.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 3, 2004


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