AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

Published on January 25, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The 14th season of Arizona Rattlers football begins today, on the earliest start date in AFL history. It will be Todd Shell's first game as Head Coach of the Rattlers. Arizona has not won on Opening Day since 2000, when they beat Iowa 56-48. The Rattlers have won eight consecutive regular season games, dating back to 2004.

The Series: Tonight's game will be the fifth meeting between these two teams, with Arizona holding a 3-1 advantage. All three Rattler victories have come at Van Andel Arena, including last season's 51-41 win.

Television: Tonight's game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. Kent Derdivanis and Ron Wolfley will provide the commentary.

Head Coaches: Todd Shell will make his debut as Head Coach of the Rattlers. The 2003 AFL Coach of the Year has a regular season record of 46-36 (.561), with stints in San Jose and New York. Shell has won three division titles, including back-to-back Eastern Divisions with New York in 2003 and 2004. Shell was the team's original Defensive Coordinator, helping lead the team to the 1994 ArenaBowl Title.

Sparky McEwen will make his first appearance as a Head Coach in the AFL tonight. McEwen spent three years as an Assistant for the Rampage, including their ArenaBowl championship year of 2001.

Next Week: The Rattlers will open their 14th season at America West Arena when they take on the Orlando Predators on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM.

Last Meeting: The Rattlers added to the Rampage's woes, handing Grand Rapids their eighth loss, 51-41 on April 4. The win started the Rattlers ten-game winning streak, and was led by Randy Gatewood, who caught two touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Pat Garvey (Referee), Paul King (Umpire), Bill Ward (Head Linesman), Wayne Mackie (Line Judge), and Dino Paganelli (Back Judge).

Never Left Out: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 611 touchdown passes. He ranks second in passing yards (30,636) and second in pass completions (2,462). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (3,945).

Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia.........................................635
2. # Andy Kelly ...........................................615
3. # Sherdrick Bonner...............................611

Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly ....................................32,013
2. # Sherdrick Bonner .........................30,636
3. # Aaron Garcia...................................30,572

Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly...................................... 2,863
2. # Sherdrick Bonner........................... 2,462
3. # Clint Dolezel.................................... 2,405
4. # Aaron Garcia.....................................2,339

Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly .......................................4,673
2. # Sherdrick Bonner............................3,945
3. # Aaron Garci....................................3,796

a # denotes Active Player

New Faces: The 2005 Rattlers welcome twelve new members to the squad: DS Maurice Taylor, K Chris Sailer, DS Terrance Joseph, WR/DB Evan Hlavacek, FB/LB Kerry Taylor, WR/LB Wilson Thomas, OL/DL Jerry Sharp, OL/DL Anthony Hutch, OL/DL Steve Mascorro, OL/DL John Frank, OL/DL Kelvin Ingram and OL/DL Nikia Adderson. Adderson and Sailer both were with the Rattlers in 2002 and 2003. Ingram spent 1999 through 2001 with Arizona, and part of last season.

Change of Heart: Rumors of Hunkie Cooper's retirement were greatly exaggerated. The AFL Legend was expected to announce his retirement at a press conference on Monday, January 24, but when Cooper reached the podium, he changed his mind. He will begin the season in IR with a bad quad muscle, but will still be an active part of the 2005 Rattlers.

More TV: Tonight's game on FSN will feature a broadcast team from FSN Detroit. Matt Shepard, Rob Rubick, and John Keating will call all the action.

2004 Review: For the third straight year, the Rattlers fell one victory short of their ultimate goal. Arizona ended the regular season by winning their final eight games, and secured the #1 seed in the playoffs. After dispatching LA and Colorado, they fell to San Jose 69-62 in arguably the greatest ArenaBowl in history. Bryan Henderson, now with Austin, was named First Team All-AFL, while Wendall Gaines garnered All-Ironman honors.

IR: Arizona has seven players on Injured Reserve. WR/LB Hunkie Cooper, WR/LB Ryan Dennard, WR/DB Orshawante Bryant, QB Travis Cole, WR/DB Evan Hlavacek, FB/LB Phil Glover, and OL/DL Vince Amey. All seven are eligible to come off IR for the February 12 game at Georgia.

Quick Hits: The Rattlers are 5-8 all-time on opening day...Arizona is 2-3 when opening the season on the road...This is the first January game in franchise history...The Rattlers had opened with a division opponent four years in a row...Arizona has won eight straight regular season games.

Other Games This Week:
January 28 Nashville Kats at Columbus Destroyers
January 29 New Orleans VooDoo at Georgia Force
San Jose SaberCats at Tampa Bay Storm
January 30 Colorado Crush at Orlando Predators
Philadelphia Soul at Austin Wranglers
Chicago Rush at Dallas Desperados
Los Angeles Avengers at Las Vegas Gladiators

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from January 25, 2005


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