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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

March 31, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Rattlers look to end the first three game losing streak in team history on Sunday against the winless Rampage. Arizona dropped a 54-46 decision to Colorado last week.

The Series: This will be the fourth meeting between these two franchises. Arizona is 2-1 all-time against the Rampage, including a 2-0 record at Van Andel Arena.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. All games are also simulcast over the internet at www.AZRattlers.com. Kent Derdivanis, Ron Wolfley, and Gene Nudo will call all the action.

Who To Watch: Keep your eyes on Rattlers QB Sherdrick Bonner. Last year against the Rampage, Bonner threw for 358 yards and a career high nine TDs in the 82-81 victory last season.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (3-5)
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 Win 65-42
3/14 @ Las Vegas Loss 64-65 OT
3/18 New Orleans Loss 45-49
3/27 @ Colorado Loss 46-54
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

GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE (0-7)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/8 @ Chicago Loss 30-50
2/14 Colorado Loss 37-55
2/22 Las Vegas Loss 14-51
2/28 @ San Jose Loss 31-62
3/6 @ Dallas Loss 50-66
3/14 Los Ageles Loss 33-48
3/26 @ Indiana Loss 42-45
4/4 Arizona 12:00
4/10 @ Detroit 4:30
4/17 Indiana 4:30
4/26 @ Colorado 6:00
5/1 Austin 4:30
5/8 Chicago 4:30
5/14 @ Columbus 4:00
5/22 @ Carolina 4:30
5/29 Detroit 4:30

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (131-64 overall, 113-55 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 131 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career-winning percentage of .672 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Bob Cortese is in his fist season with the Rampage, and third season overall. Cortese owns a career record of 13-24 with both the Rampage and the Oklahoma Wranglers.

Closing in on 20K: WR/LB Hunkie Cooper is in his 12th season in Arizona. 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 third in pass receptions. Cooper was named the US Army Ironman of the Week for his performance against the Dragons on 2/29.

All-Purpose Yards:
1. George LaFrance 20,480
2. # Hunkie Cooper 19,976
3. # Barry Wagner 19,254
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 485
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 907
3. # Hunkie Cooper 743
4. # Gary Compton 736
# denotes Active Player

Adding On: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 567 touchdown passes. He ranks second in passing yards (28, 713) and second in pass completions (2, 293). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (3, 690).

Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 585
2. # Andy Kelly 584
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 567
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 29,880
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 28,713
3. # Aaron Garcia 28,334
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 2,674
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,293
3. # Clint Dolezel 2,258
4. # Aaron Garcia 2,207
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,369
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 3,690
3. # Aaron Garcia 3,527
# denotes Active Player

Count Down: Hunkie Cooper needs only 24 yards to reach 20, 000 all-purpose yards for his career. Only George LaFrance has reached that milestone. Sherdrick Bonner needs 1, 287 passing yards to reach 30, 000 for his career.

Next Week: The Rattlers return to the Snake Pit for a re-match with the Las Vegas Gladiators. The April 10th game kicks off at 7:00 PM on Fox Sports AZ.

Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met, it was a game for the ages. 163 points were scored, 16 TDs were thrown, and the Rattlers earned the hard fought overtime road victory, 82-81. Sherdrick Bonner tied a career high with nine TD tosses, part of his 358 yard night to lead the Rattlers.

Officials: Officials for tonight's game are: Pat Garvey (Referee), Paul King (Umpire), Bill Ward (Head Linesman), James Mello (Line Judge), and Greg Steed (Back Judge).

Injury Report: The Rattlers have six players currently on Injured Reserve. Arizona placed OL/DL Jason Andersen on Injured Reserve prior to the Colorado game. FB/LB Frank Trentadue is on IR with a strained thigh. QB Travis Cole has a left ankle sprain, WR/LB Terence Davis is dealing with an eye injury, and OL/DL Pete Tramontanas has a right ankle sprain. K Jason Witczak is out for the season with a torn right ACL.

Last Week: Arizona was outscored 41-22 in the second half, as the Colorado Crush rallied to hand the Rattlers their third straight defeat 54-46. Siaha Burley had 12 catches for 143 yards and three scores in the losing cause.

Did You See That?: When kicker Jason Witczak went down with a knee injury late in the game against New Orleans, Danny White needed a kicker. White called upon the multi-faceted Hunkie Cooper to handle the place kicking duties. Amazingly enough, it wasn't the first time Cooper had kicked off. During the 1993 season, Cooper kicked due to an injury to Luis Zendejas. Just for good measure, Cooper also threw a touchdown pass against the VooDoo.

Leader of the Sack: Bryan Henderson is tied for first in the AFL with five QB sacks. Henderson has now sacked his way to the second highest total for sacks in a season in franchise history. With one more, Henderson will tie Stacey Evans and Andy Coviello for the Rattlers single season record. He is also three sacks away from the Rattlers career record, held by Stacey Evans.

Bow Wow Wow: The Rattlers will face the franchise's all-time leading tackler on Sunday. Cecil Doggette, now a DS for Grand Rapids, had 321 tackles as a Rattler, good for first place. Randy Gatewood is second on that list.

Double Take: A quick look at the AFL standings would leave most AFL fans doing a double take. Six playoff teams from a year ago are under .500. Arizona and Tampa Bay, last year's ArenaBowl participants are both 3-5, while traditional power Orlando is 3-4. If the playoffs began today, expansion teams New Orleans (7-1) and Austin (5-2) would be hosting a playoff game, while Arizona, Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Las Vegas would be at home watching on NBC.

Siaha of Relief: OS Siaha Burley had another stellar game Saturday, making 12 catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Burley is second in the AFL in receptions (69), yards (812), and fifth in TDs (17). Burley has also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, and rushed for two scores this season.

He's Back: Apparently the week off did K Nelson Garner some good. Garner returned from his one week absence to have a perfect day against the Crush. Garner nailed all five of his PATs, and was 1-1 on field goals.

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

Tryout: The Rattlers welcomed Jerome Evans to the team this week for a two-day waiver. Evans walked on to the Cardinals camp looking for a tryout, and was quickly brought in by Rattlers Director of Player Personnel Pete Kettela for a tryout with the Rattlers after the Cardinals turned him down. Evans is a lineman out of Kansas State.

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:
Georgia (4-4) @ Detroit (3-4)
Austin (5-2) @ Los Angeles (4-3)
Indiana (3-5) @ Colorado (6-2)
Chicago (5-2) @ Las Vegas (3-5)
Dallas (5-2) @ Philadelphia (3-5)
Orlando (3-4) @ Columbus (1-6)
New York (4-3) @ Carolina (3-5)
San Jose (6-1) @ Tampa Bay (3-5)
BYE: New Orleans (7-1)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 31, 2004


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