Sports stats



AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

March 2, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Rattlers look for their third straight win when they battle the Columbus Destroyers. Columbus looks to end a three game skid.

The Series: This is the fifth meeting between these two teams. Columbus spent their first five years in Buffalo. Arizona holds a 3-1 advantage over the Destroyers, but lost last year in Buffalo 49-45. Arizona is 2-0 at home against the Destroyers.

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

Key Match Up: Rattlers WR/LB Hunkie Cooper had a breakout game against New York on Sunday, and will look to continue his hot streak this week. Destroyers WR/LB Cornelius White led the team in receiving for the third week in a row in the loss to Dallas on Sunday.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (2-2)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/8 Los Angeles Loss 32-51
2/13 Detroit Loss 31-48
2/21 @ Carolina Win 45-38
2/29 New York Win 53-41
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

COLUMBUS DESTROYERS (1-3)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/7 @ Indiana Win 54-48
2/13 Carolina Loss 53-54
2/21 @ Philadelphia Loss 34-56
2/29 Dallas Loss 35-51
3/5 Arizona 7:00
3/13 Philadelphia 5:00
3/20 @ New York 4:00
4/4 Orlando 9:00a NBC
4/10 New York 4:00
4/18 @ New Orleans 12:00 NBC
4/25 Tampa Bay 9:00a NBC
5/1 @ Carolina 4:30
5/9 Georgia 12:00 NBC
5/14 Grand Rapids 4:00
5/22 @ Dallas 5:30
5/30 @ Las Vegas 1:00 NBC

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (130-61 overall, 112-52 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 130 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career-winning percentage of .6819 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Earle Bruce begins his first season at the helm of the Destroyers. A College Football Hall of Famer, Bruce began his AFL career as coach of the Cleveland Thunderbolts in 1993. Bruce also served as Head Coach for the St. Louis Stampede and the Iowa Barnstormers of af2. He has a career record of 14-19 in the AFL.

Last Meeting: Last year's Valentine's Day match-up was anything but special for the Rattlers. Chris Hixson, filling in for the injured Sherdrick Bonner, threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone, as Buffalo pulled out a come from behind victory at the HSBC Center. Arizona injured Destroyers QB Jeff Loots, but backup Tim Carey led the Destroyers to 14 unanswered points for the 49-45 win.

Ironman: 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. Cooper was named the US Army Ironman of the Week for his performance against the Dragons.
All-Purpose Yards:
1. George LaFrance 20,480
2. # Hunkie Cooper 19,830
3. # Barry Wagner 19,142
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 484
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 899
3. # Gary Compton 736
4. # Hunkie Cooper 727
# denotes Active Player

The Big Lefty: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 547 touchdown passes. He ranks second in passing yards (27, 779) and second in pass completions (2, 202). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (3, 551).

Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 565
2. # Andy Kelly 559
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 547
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 28,532
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 27,779
3. # Aaron Garcia 27,716
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 2,570
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,202
3. # Aaron Garcia 2,162
4. # Clint Dolezel 2,145
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,207
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 3,551
3. # Todd Hammel 3,501
4. # Aaron Garcia 3,458
# denotes Active Player

Changes: Arizona activated lineman Jason Andersen prior to the Carolina game. Andersen is a rookie out of BYU. The Rattlers also signed FB/LB A.J. Novak from the Practice Squad.

Count Down: This season, Hunkie Cooper needs only 170 yards to reach 20, 000 all-purpose yards for his career. Only George LaFrance has reached that milestone. Sherdrick Bonner needs 2,221 passing yards to reach 30, 000 for his career.

Next Week: The Rattlers take on Western Division rival Las Vegas on Sunday March 14th from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Officials: Officials for tonight's game are: Bill Athan (Referee), Rick DiBernardo (Umpire), Tim Podroza (Head Linesman), Al Riveron (Line Judge), and Rob Vernatchi (Back Judge).

Injury Report: The Rattlers have six players currently on Injured Reserve. Arizona placed FB/LB Frank Trentadue on IR with a strained thigh. QB Travis Cole has a left ankle sprain, OL/DL Tim Engelhardt suffered a right groin strain, WR/LB Terence Davis is dealing with an eye injury, OL/DL Pete Tramontanas has a right ankle sprain, and WR/LB Larry Nixon has a right thigh contusion.

Last Week: Arizona notched their second straight win, outlasting the New York Dragons 53-41. Hunkie Cooper scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and Sherdrick Bonner threw four scores to lead the Rattlers to the victory.

Sack Attack: Bryan Henderson rang up two sacks of New York's Aaron Garcia on Sunday, giving him four on the season. Henderson is now two sacks away from tying Stacy Evans team record of six sacks in a season. The 2003 All-Rookie Team selection now has seven career sacks. Evans holds the franchise mark with 11. Henderson sits atop the league leaders in sacks.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: In Sunday's game against New York, the Rattlers were a perfect eight for eight in possessions with a TD. The Dragons defense failed to stop Arizona's offense once, while Arizona was able to record two interceptions and a recovered kickoff.

Déjà Vu: In 2003, Tom Pace scored five different ways. Pace is on a similar path in 2004, thanks to his 13-yard touchdown pass to Wendall Gaines Sunday. It was the second career TD pass for Pace, who threw one last season in Los Angeles. Gaines is no stranger to the end zone himself. The TD reception was the fourth of his career.

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.

Burley Fever: OS Siaha Burley has been nearly unstoppable so far this season. Burley is second in the league with 32 receptions, and first in the league with 410 yards (102.5 yards per game). He's also first in the league for most yards from scrimmage with 411. Sherdrick Bonner's favorite target has also hauled in six TDs, and rushed for another. Siaha also got his first start on the nets this season, and returned three kicks for 81 yards. Burley had only 34 receptions all 2003 with Los Angeles.

Children's Hospital: Every week during the 2004 season, Arizona Rattler players will visit the Phoenix Children's Hospital to brighten the day of the kids. The players will visit a different floor each week, and hand out posters and sign autographs. The team has also donated 50 tickets to each home game to the Hospital, so the children and their families can enjoy Rattlers football in person.

Key AFL Dates: The AFL Trading deadline is April 7...The AFL claiming order will be established on April 8...The Regular Season ends May 30...AFL Playoffs begin on June 5...ArenaBowl XVIII is on June 27.

Other Games This Week:
Detroit (2-1) @ Colorado (3-1)
Indiana (0-4) @ Orlando (1-2)
Grand Rapids (0-4) @ Dallas (3-1)
Carolina (2-2) @ Austin (2-1)
Las Vegas (2-2) @ Georgia (2-2)
San Jose (3-0) @ New York (1-3)
Chicago (4-0) @ Philadelphia (1-3)
Tampa Bay (2-2) @ New Orleans (3-1)
BYE: Los Angeles (2-2)

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 2, 2004


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.

OurSports Central