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Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

May 26, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Western Division crown is on the line when Arizona goes for their eighth straight win. The winner today will be the champion of the Western Division. Both teams still have a chance of being the #1 seed in the playoffs.

The Series: This is the 23rd meeting between these two franchises, with Arizona holding a 12-10 advantage. Arizona won the first meeting this season 58-41 in Phoenix.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. Kent Derdivanis, Ron Wolfley and Gene Nudo bring you the call.

Key Match-Up: The area to watch today is the San Jose Offensive Line and the Rattlers Defensive Line. Arizona got great pressure on Mark Grieb in the first meeting.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (10-5)
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 Win 71-48
4/25 @ Indiana Win 46-43
5/1 @ Los Angeles Win 42-38
5/9 San Jose Win 58-41
5/15 @ Detroit Win 57-33
5/30 @ San Jose 1:00 NBC

SAN JOSE SABERCATS (11-4)
Date Opponent Time TV
2/5 @ Detroit Win 58-43
2/22 @ Los Angeles Win 61-55
2/28 Grand Rapids Win 62-31
3/7 @ New York Loss 50-64
3/14 Colorado Win 55-35
3/20 Las Vegas Win 79-62
3/26 Los Angeles Win 55-52
4/4 @ Tampa Bay Win 62-55
4/10 @ Dallas Loss 54-58
4/16 Chicago Win 51-43
4/25 @ Georgia Win 63-34
5/1 New Orleans Win 68-34
5/9 @ Arizona Loss 41-58
5/16 @ Las Vegas Loss 35-44
5/22 Philadelphia Win 48-36
5/30 Arizona 1:00 NBC

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (138-64 overall, 120-55 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 138 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career-winning percentage of .683 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Darren Arbet is in his sixth season at the helm of the Sabercats. Arbet owns a career record of 70-26 (.729). He is 9-5 lifetime versus Arizona. Arbet was the AFL's Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002. He led the SaberCats to the ArenaBowl title in 2002.

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.
All-Purpose Yards:
1. George LaFrance 20,480
2. # Hunkie Cooper 20,429
3. # Barry Wagner 19, 765
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 495
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 930
3. # Hunkie Cooper 770
# denotes Active Player

30K Man: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 607 touchdown passes. He ranks second in passing yards (30, 423) and second in pass completions (2, 440). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (3, 913).
Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 630
2. # Andy Kelly 615
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 607
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 31,671
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 30,423
3. # Aaron Garcia 30,369
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 2,840
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,440
3. # Clint Dolezel 2,387
4. # Aaron Garcia 2,328
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,637
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 3,913
3. # Aaron Garcia 3,777
# 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.

30, 000: Rattlers QB Sherdrick Bonner became only the second man in AFL history to pass for over 30,000 yards thanks to his 270-yard performance against LA on 5/1. Bonner has 30,423 career yards, while Detroit's Andy Kelly is the all-time leader with 31, 671. Former Rattler Aaron Garcia has also surpassed the 30, 000 yard mark.

600: With his third quarter TD pass to Tom Pace in the win over San Jose on 5/9, Sherdrick Bonner became only the third man in AFL history to throw for 600 touchdown passes. Bonner (607) joins Aaron Garcia (630) and Andy Kelly (615) in the exclusive club.

Count Down: Hunkie Cooper needs 52 all-purpose yards to pass George LaFrance as the all-time AFL leader...Sherdrick Bonner needs 73 yards to set a new Arizona franchise record for passing yards in a season. Bonner set the record last year when he threw for 3, 692 yards.

Post Season Again: For the 12th straight year, the Rattlers will be taking part in the AFL playoffs. The only time Arizona failed to qualify for the post season was in their first season 1992. The Rattlers missed the playoffs by one game that year.

Stops In The Name Of Doug: The Rattlers have now recorded 12 stops in the last three games. They added five more against Detroit on 5/15, including a blocked field goal by Tony Plantin that went for a safety.

Last Game: The Rattlers dominated the out-manned Detroit Fury, 57-33. Arizona used a 37-0 run to put away Detroit. Terence Davis had two TD catches to lead the Rattlers.

Next Week: Arizona will play in the AFL Quarterfinals. Location and Opponent are to be determined.

Last Meeting: Arizona battered Mark Grieb and the San Jose offense, as the Rattlers scored a 58-41 victory over their arch-rivals. Sherdrick Bonner tossed seven touchdowns, while Tony Plantin and Frank Trentadue each recorded a sack in the win.

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

12 In A Row: With their win over San Jose on 5/9, the Rattlers clinched their 12th consecutive winning season. Only Orlando has had more winning seasons in a row at 13.

Familiar Faces: San Jose has a couple of former Rattlers on their roster. OL/DL Sebastian Barrie played his first five seasons with Arizona. WR/LB Calvin Schexnayder is the all-time leading receiver in Rattlers history. Shakes played seven seasons in Arizona.

Injury Report: OL/DL Lindsay Hassell, QB Travis Cole, FB/LB Joe Jackson and OL/DL Pete Tramontanas are all on IR. K Jason Witczak is out for the season with a torn right ACL. FB/LB James Williams is out for the season with a ruptured left Achilles. FB/LB A.J. Novak is out for the season with a right MCL injury. WR/DB Randy Gatewood is out for the season with a broken right arm.

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.

Mr. Sack Attack: Bryan Henderson is fourth in the AFL with seven QB sacks. Thanks to his two sack performance against Dallas on 4/18, Henderson has now set the Rattlers single season record for sacks in a season. He broke the record held by Stacey Evans and Andy Coviello. Henderson now has his sights set on Evans' career sack total. Evans had 11 QB sacks in his Rattler career, one more than Henderson's ten.
Pat Tillman Tribute: For the remainder of the 2004 season, the Arizona Rattlers will honor the memory of the late Pat Tillman by wearing a #40 sticker on their helmets. Vince Amey, who was a teammate of Tillman's at ASU, is also wearing a #42 sticker on his helmet, Tillman's number for the Sun Devils.
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.

Hunkie on NBC: Hunkie Cooper spent his free Sunday in New York on NBC. Cooper was the halftime guest for the AFL on NBC studio show.

Weekly Honors: Hunkie Cooper was named the US Army Ironman of the Week following the win over New York on 2/29...Sherdrick Bonner has been named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Week twice, first after the win over Dallas on 4/18, and following the win over the SaberCats on 5/9. Bonner was also named the AFLWA Player of the Week those same two weeks.

Playoff Scenarios: Arizona can finish anywhere from first to sixth in the standings. There will be six teams with at least ten wins in the playoffs this season. A win against San Jose would put the Rattlers anywhere from #1 to #3. A loss would place them between #4 and #6.

No TV: Today's game was originally scheduled to be shown on NBC, but the network has decided not to televise it.

Quick Hits: The Rattlers are 13-6 all-time on NBC...Arizona is now 15-2 all-time in the month of April... Arizona has won at least nine games for eight straight years...The Rattlers have finished under .500 only once, their inaugural season of 1992...This season, the Rattlers gave away 66, 098 chalupas. Every time Arizona scored 50 or more points in a home game, Taco Bell gave each fan a free chalupa...Arizona finished the regular season 5-3 at home for the second straight year...The Rattlers are 65-26 all-time at home in the regular season...The Rattlers have won 10 or more games nine times in 13 years...In the Rattlers two championship seasons, the team finished 11-4 (1994) and 15-2 (1997).

Other Games This Week:
Detroit (4-11) @ Grand Rapids (1-14)
Columbus (6-9) @ Las Vegas (7-8)
Orlando (9-6) @ Los Angeles (9-6)
Chicago (11-4) @ Colorado (10-5)
Philadelphia (5-10) @ New York (8-7)
Austin (8-7) @ New Orleans (10-5)
Carolina (6-9) @ Georgia (6-9)
Tampa Bay (8-7) @ Dallas (6-9)
BYE: Indiana (8-8)

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 26, 2004


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