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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

March 1, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Rattlers look to break a franchise record four game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Avengers in a Western Division battle. Arizona is coming off a 61-37 loss at New York, while LA is trying to recover from a 58-40 beating at the hands of Colorado.

The Series: This will be the 13th meeting between these two divisional foes. Arizona holds a 9-3 advantage in the series, but are only 3-3 versus LA at AWA.

What To Watch: The Avengers revamped their offense over the off-season, adding QB John Kaleo to replace the departed Tony Graziani.

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

ARIZONA RATTLERS (1-4)
Date Opponent Time TV
1/28 @ Grand Rapids Win 58-38
2/3 ORLANDO Loss 40-51
2/12 @ Georgia Loss 47-61
2/19 COLORADO Loss 69-74
2/27 @ New York Loss 37-61
3/6 LOS ANGELES 6:00 -
3/13 @ Tampa Bay 10:00a NBC
3/19 LAS VEGAS 7:00 FSNAZ
3/28 @ Nashville 6:30 -
4/3 @ San Jose 6:00 FSNAZ
4/8 COLUMBUS 7:00 FSNAZ
4/22 AUSTIN 7:00 FSNAZ
4/30 @ Los Angeles 7:30 -
5/7 CHICAGO 7:00 FSNAZ
5/14 SAN JOSE 7:00 -
5/22 @ Las Vegas 12:00 NBC

LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (3-2)
Date Opponent Time TV
1/30 @ Las Vegas Loss 37-46
2/4 GEORGIA Win 46-41
2/11 @ Austin Win 64-51
2/20 SAN JOSE Win 71-69
2/27 @ Colorado Loss 40-58
3/6 @ Arizona 6:00 -
3/18 DALLAS 8:30 -
3/26 TAMPA BAY 8:30 FSN
4/3 @ Orlando 9:00a NBC
4/10 NEW YORK 12:00 FSN
4/17 @ Nashville 10:00a NBC
4/23 CHICAGO 7:30 FSN
4/30 ARIZONA 7:30 -
5/7 @ San Jose 7:30 FSN
5/14 LAS VEGAS 7:30 FSN
5/21 @ Grand Rapids 4:30 FSN

Head Coaches: Todd Shell is in his first season as Head Coach of the Rattlers. The 2003 AFL Coach of the Year has a regular season record of 47-40 (.540), 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 Arizona's original Defensive Coordinator, helping lead the team to the 1994 ArenaBowl Title.

Ed Hodgkiss is in his fourth season as Head Coach of the Avengers. He owns a career record of 31-20, and has led the Avengers to the playoffs in each of his three seasons as the coach. Prior to joining LA, Hodkiss was with the Firebirds organization, serving first as the Receivers Coach, and then the Offensive Coordinator.

Last Meeting: The Rattlers ended the Avengers season for the second straight year, knocking off LA 59-42 at AWA. The top-seeded Rattlers were paced by Orshawante Bryant, who set a team playoff record with his 13 catches. Bryant added 126 yards and three scores to his day to lead the Rattlers to the AFL Semifinals.

#1 All-Time: On a 28-yard kickoff return in the second quarter against Georgia on 2/12, Hunkie Cooper passed George LaFrance to become the AFL's all-time leader in all-purpose yardage. Cooper now has 20,587 career all-purpose yards. Cooper also ranks first in kickoff returns, third in KO Return TDs, and third in receptions.
All-Purpose Yards:
1. # Hunkie Cooper 20,587
2. George LaFrance 20,480
Kickoff Returns
1. # Hunkie Cooper 500
2. George LaFrance 460
Kickoff Return Touchdowns
1. Lamont Cooper 24
2. Steve Papin 23
3. # Hunkie Cooper 19
Pass Receptions:
1. # Barry Wagner 952
2. Eddie Brown 949
3. # Hunkie Cooper 776
# denotes Active Player

Starting at QB...: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner will make his second start since coming off IR tonight. He is third all-time in Arena Football history with 620 touchdown passes. He ranks third in passing yards (31,091) and third in pass completions (2,497). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (4,014).
Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 655
2. # Andy Kelly 652
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 620
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 33,602
2. # Aaron Garcia 31,417
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 31,091
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 3,016
2. # Clint Dolezel 2,497
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,497
4. # Aaron Garcia 2,439
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,892
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 4,014
3. # Aaron Garcia 3,916
# denotes Active Player

Next Week: Arizona heads back across the country to Tampa Bay to take on the Storm. The Sunday March 13 game has a 10:00 Arizona Time kick, and will be televised by NBC.

Officials: Officials for tonight's game are: Bill LeMonier (Referee), Mike Delaney (Umpire), Allen Baynes (Head Linesman), Dana McKinzie (Line Judge), and Billy Beckett (Back Judge).

Last Week: Arizona dropped their team record fourth straight game, falling 61-37 to the New York Dragons on Long Island. Sherdrick Bonner set a new AFL record with six interceptions in his first action since Week One. Aaron Garcia had six TD passes to lead the Dragons to victory.

Home Sweet Home?: Arizona has started 0-2 at home for the second straight year, and third time in team history. The Rattlers dropped their first two at the Snake Pit last year, but won five of their last six at home to finish the season, before winning two more home playoff games.
Climbing The Charts: Wendall Gaines is making his ascent up the Rattlers all-time sack list. Thanks to his sack of Jim Kubiak against Georgia, Gaines now has ten career sacks, one short of Bryan Henderson's team record.

My Foot, Meet My Bullets: The Rattlers have been plagued this season by mistakes. The Rattlers have had four TDs called back due to penalties, and two fumble recoveries and two interceptions reversed due to flags.

Divisional Seperation?: Today's game is the latest the Rattlers have ever played a divisional opponent for the first time in a season. Arizona had opened with a Western Division foe for four straight years.

Yellow Fever: The Rattlers are second in the AFL with 57 penalties. Those flags have translated into 350 yards, or 70.0 yards a game. They have given opponents 18 first downs via the penalty.

Snake Turnovers: The Rattlers have turned the ball over 15 times already this season, after giving it up only 22 times last season. Arizona is second in the league in giveaways, while forcing only eight. Only Las Vegas, who is a -8 in that department, has a worse ratio than the Rattlers.

Beep Beep: Evan Hlavacek was as good as advertised during his Rattlers debut on Sunday. Hlavacek's first play as a Rattler was a 57-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He also returned a missed field goal for a score, but had it called back due to a penalty.

Injury Update: There are several players who are eligible to come off Injured Reserve for this week's game against the Avengers. OL/DL Anthony Hutch, who was injured during the Georgia game on February 12, hopes to make his return to the lineup from a bone bruise. WR/DB Orshawante Bryant, who injured a hamstring during training camp, hopes to make his 2005 debut this week. Bryant had a career game last year against the Avengers in the playoffs, catching a team record 13 passes and three touchdowns...The Rattlers placed five players on IR prior to the New York game. Anthony Brenner, Frank Trentadue, Kerry Taylor, Justin Taplin, and Travis Cole are eligible to return to the lineup for the March 19th Las Vegas game.

Kicking Go Round: Kicker Anthony Brenner was injured in the first quarter Colorado on February 19th. Brenner was placed on Injured Reserve and will miss at least two weeks with a hamstring pull in his kicking le prior to the New York game. The Rattlers signed Danny Kight to be his replacement. Kight will be the fourth kicker on the roster since training camp began. Kight has kicked in the NFL, NFL Europe, the CFL, and af2, handling mostly kickoffs.

This Week in the AFL:
Friday. March 6
Austin Wranglers at Las Vegas Gladiators
Saturday, March 5
New Orleans VooDoo at Dallas Desperados
Sunday, March 6
San Jose SaberCats at Orlando Predators
New York Dragons at Philadelphia Soul
Grand Rapids Rampage at Tampa Bay Storm
Nashville Kats at Chicago Rush

Series Notes: The Arizona/Los Angeles rivalry is one of the best in the AFL. Three games have been decided in overtime, including the 82-76 thriller at STAPLES Center in 2003. Seven of the 12 games have been decided by seven points or less, and all of those seven were decided in the final seconds. Adding fuel to the fire, the Rattlers have ousted the Avengers from the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Vince Amey spent three seasons in LA, while Siaha Burley played for the Avengers in 2003.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 1, 2005


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