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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

April 13, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: Arizona hopes to keep rolling, as they look for a third straight victory when they take on the Dallas Desperados. Dallas looks for their second win in a row after beating San Jose last week.

The Series: This will be the fourth meeting between these teams, with Dallas holding a 2-1 series edge. The Desperados have never lost at America West Arena in their two trips here.

TV: Today's game is on NBC, with Bob Papa and Ray Bentley calling all the action. Channel 12's Mark Curtis will patrol the sidelines.

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 bring you the call.

Media Contacts:
Rattlers: Randy Policar
602-514-8302, 602-750-9541 cell
Desperados: Doug Hood
972-556-9955, 214-437-3600 cell


ARIZONA RATTLERS (5-5)
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 Win 51-41
4/10 Las Vegas Win 80-63
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

DALLAS DESPERADOS (6-3)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/8 Carolina Loss 41-67
2/15 Philadelphia Win 51-47
2/22 @ New York Win 56-44
2/29 @ Columbus Win 51-35
3/6 Grand Rapids Win 66-50
3/13 @ Carolina Win 77-52
3/21 Los Angeles Loss 44-60
4/4 @ Philadelphia Loss 31-47
4/4 San Jose Win 58-54
4/18 @ Arizona 9:00a NBC
4/25 @ Orlando 12:00 NBC
5/2 New York 12:00 NBC
5/9 @ Austin 12:00 NBC
5/16 @ Chicago 12:00 NBC
5/22 Columbus 5:30
5/30 Tampa Bay 1:00 NBC
Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (133-64 overall, 115-55 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 .675 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Will McClay has done a remarkable job in his first season as Head Coach. Given the job a few weeks prior to Opening Day, McClay has his team playing well, despite early season injuries. He has served as Defensive Coordinator for the Desperados, Rampage, Anaheim Piranhas, Milwaukee Mustangs, and Florida Bobcats. McClay also won three ArenaBowl as a WR/DB for the Detroit Drive.

Mr. All Purpose: WR/LB Hunkie 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 20,025
3. # Barry Wagner 19,305
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 486
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 911
3. # Hunkie Cooper 749
# denotes Active Player

Adding On: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 579 touchdown passes. He ranks second in passing yards (29, 144) and second in pass completions (2, 334). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (3, 755).
Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 596
2. # Andy Kelly 593
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 579
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 30,394
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 29,144
3. # Aaron Garcia 28,797
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 2,713
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,334
3. # Clint Dolezel 2,274
4. # Aaron Garcia 2,219
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,445
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 3,755
3. # Aaron Garcia 3,589
# denotes Active Player
20, 000: Thanks to his 46 yard night against Las Vegas on 4/10, Hunkie Cooper became the second man in the 18-year history of the AFL to reach 20,000 career all-purpose yards. Cooper joins George LaFrance as the only men to hit that mark. Coop now has 20, 025 all-purpose yards in his career.

Count Down: Sherdrick Bonner needs 856 passing yards to reach 30, 000 for his career. Only Andy Kelly has reached that mark.

Next Week: The Rattlers head to Indiana to battle Adrian McPherson and the red hot Firebirds on Sunday April 25.

Last Meeting: It was a see-saw battle last season when Arizona and Dallas met. The two teams combined to score 129 points, and a missed PAT in overtime gave the Desperados a 65-64 victory. Sherdrick Bonner tossed eight TDs in the loss.

Officials: Officials for tonight's game are: Riley Johnson (Referee), Paul Frerking (Umpire), Darrel Leftwich (Head Linesman), Paul Engelberts (Line Judge), and Bud McCleskey (Back Judge).

Injury Report: The Rattlers have six players currently on Injured Reserve. OL/DL Lindsay Hassell and OL/DL Jason Andersen , QB Travis Cole, WR/LB Terence Davis, and OL/DL Pete Tramontanas are all on IR. K Jason Witczak is out for the season with a torn right ACL.

Last Week: Arizona outscored Las Vegas 80-63 in a shootout for their second straight win. Sherdrick Bonner tied a career high with nine touchdowns, and the Rattlers defense came up with the stops they needed to knock off the Gladiators.

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.

Home Debut: Rookie WR/DB Justin Taplin impressed the Snake Pit crowd in his first home game on Saturday. The Tempe High and ASU product caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown in his America West Arena debut.

Roster Moves: Arizona placed FB/LB Frank Trentadue on IR prior to the Las Vegas game. Trentadue came off IR prior to the Grand Rapids game, but re-injured himself in the 51-41 win over the Rampage.

Big Gaines: Wendall Gaines continues to be an offensive threat for the Rattlers. Gaines added another touchdown catch on Saturday, this one an eleven yard scamper for his fourth TD of the season. The four scores set a new career high for Gaines, and give him seven touchdowns in his career.
Sun Devil Connection: Arizona State is strongly represented by the Rattlers. In addition to Danny White (1971-1973) and Tom Pace (2000-2001), ASU alums Justin Taplin (1998-2002) and Vince Amey (1994-1997) also represent the Maroon and Gold on the Rattlers.

Big D Struggles: Dallas has the distinction of being one of only four franchises the Rattlers have a losing record against. The Rattlers are 1-2 all-time against the Desperados. They are 6-7 against the Predators, 4-7 against the Storm, and were 0-3 against the Detroit Drive. However, the Rattlers were 3-1 against the original Dallas franchise, the Texans.

Getting Defensive: Doug Plank has got the Rattler Defense playing well. Arizona is ranked third in the AFL in Total Defense, giving up an average of 246.1 yards per game.

Other Games This Week:
Chicago (7-2) @ San Jose (7-2)
Detroit (4-5) @ Los Angeles (5-4)
Indiana (5-5) @ Grand Rapids (1-9)
Philadelphia (4-5) @ Carolina (3-7)
Austin (6-3) @ Tampa Bay (3-7)
Columbus (3-6) @ New Orleans (7-2)
Colorado (7-3) @ New York (5-4)
Orlando (4-5) @ Georgia (4-6)
BYE: Las Vegas (3-7)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 13, 2004


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