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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

March 8, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: Arizona is desperately in need of a win, as they have dropped a franchise record five straight games following the 33-29 loss to LA. The Storm come in hoping to extend their winning streak to two after taking care of Grand Rapids 70-50.

The Series: Today will be the 12th meeting between these two storied franchises. Tampa Bay leads the series 7-4, including a 4-2 record in Florida.

TV: NBC will televise today's contest, with Tom Hammond and Ray Bentley calling the action. Lewis Johnson will patrol the sidelines.

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

ARIZONA RATTLERS (1-5)
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 Loss 29-33
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

TAMPA BAY STORM (3-2)
Date Opponent Time TV
1/30 SAN JOSE Win 63-33
2/6 AUSTIN Win 62-45
2/11 @ Orlando Loss 46-61
2/25 @ New Orleans Loss 42-48
3/6 GRAND RAPIDS Win 70-50
3/13 ARIZONA 10:00a NBC
3/20 @ Philadelphia 10:00a NBC
3/26 @ Los Angeles 8:30 FSN
4/2 GEORGIA 4:30 FSN
4/9 ORLANDO 4:30 -
4/17 @ Austin 10:00a NBC
4/24 Nashville 10:00a NBC
4/30 @ New Orleans 4:30 -
5/8 @ Georgia 10:00a NBC
5/15 NEW YORK 10:00a NBC
5/22 @ Columbus 12:00 NBC

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 47-41 (.534), 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.

Tim Marcum is in his 11th year with the Storm and 17th season of Arena Football. Marcum is the winningest coach in AFL history, owning a career record of 170-65. He is a seven-time ArenaBowl champion, and has never missed the postseason in his AFL coaching career.

Last Meeting: Tampa Bay handed Arizona their second straight ArenaBowl loss, beating the Rattlers 43-29 in Tampa. Lawrence Samuels took home Game MVP and Ironman honors, thanks to his five catch, 109 yard, three TD afternoon.

The Big Lefty: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner has etched his name into the AFL record books. He is third all-time in Arena Football history with 622 touchdown passes. He ranks third in passing yards (31,343) and third in pass completions (2,514). Bonner also ranks second for pass attempts (4,056).

Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 664
2. # Andy Kelly 658
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 622

Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 33,832
2. # Aaron Garcia 31,668
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 31,343

Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 3,037
2. # Clint Dolezel 2,497
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,514
4. # Aaron Garcia 2,460

Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 4,930
2. # Sherdrick Bonner 4,056
3. # Aaron Garcia 3,945
# denotes Active Player

Next Week: The Rattlers return home to host the Las Vegas Gladiators on Saturday night, March 19th. The 7:00 PM game will be televised by FSN Arizona.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Jerome Boger (Referee), Rick Nelson (Umpire), Kavin McGrath (Head Linesman), Darrel Leftwich (Line Judge), and Rich Wilborn (Back Judge).

Last Week: The Rattlers woes continued, as they lost their fifth straight, 33-29 to LA. The Avengers defense shut down the Arizona offense, holding them to seven fourth quarter points to emerge with the victory.

Home Sweet Home?: This is just the second time in team history the Rattlers have started a season 0-3 at home. During their second season in 1993, Arizona dropped the first three at the Snake Pit before winning their next four home games.

Show Your Love For Glove(r): Phil Glover had a monster day against the Avengers last Sunday, rushing for two touchdowns, recording two QB sacks, and scoring a safety. Glover now leads the Rattlers with three sacks, and has also rushed for three scores on the year. He has appeared in three career games for Arizona (one last year), and has four sacks.

Countdown: WR/DB Randy Gatewood needs only three tackles to pass Cecil Doggette as the franchise's all-time leader in tackles. Doggette played in Arizona for seven years, recording 280 tackles. Gatewood entered the season with 262 tackles, and has 16 so far this year.

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.

Flag Happy: The Rattlers are third in the AFL with 63 penalties. Those flags have translated into 389 yards, or 64.8 yards a game. They have given opponents 19 first downs via the penalty.

Snake Turnovers: The Rattlers have turned the ball over 17 times already this season, after giving it up only 22 times last season. Only Las Vegas has handed the ball over more. Arizona and the Gladiators are tied for the worst turnover margin in the league at -9.

Injury Update: The Rattlers have several players eligible to come off IR this week. WR/DB Orshawante Bryant is hoping to make his 2005 debut this week against the Storm. Bryant has missed the entire season so far, after injuring his hamstring during training camp. WR/DB Justin Taplin, who's injured ankle sidelined him two weeks ago, is also able to come off. FB/LBs Frank Trentadue and Kerry Taylor are both nursing nagging injuries to their legs, as is K Anthony Brenner.

Round and Round We Go: 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, but Kight struggled in the game against New York and was released following the game. Steve McLaughlin kicked against LA, making him the fifth kicker on the roster since training camp.

You Look Familiar: Lineman Anthony Hutch was a member of the Iowa Barnstormers from 1997 to 2000. Hutch was on the squad that fell to the Rattlers in ArenaBowl XI, and his QB was Kurt Warner. Warner recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals.

Storm Club: Rattlers Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Lary Kuharich is no stranger to the Tampa Bay Storm. Kuharich spent a season as the Offensive Coordinator for the Storm in 1991 under then-Head Coach Fran Curci. The Storm took home the ArenaBowl title that year, and Curci left the following the season. Kuharich was named the Head Coach, and had the Storm hoisting the Foster Cup two seasons later, claiming the 1993 title. Kuharich left after the 1994 season, compiling a 29-11 record as the Head Coach in Tampa. He also returned as an Assistant Coach in 2002.

Snake Bites: Siaha Burley is second in the league in All-Purpose yards with 1,173. He trails only Steve Smith of Philadelphia, who has 1,212...The Storm's Mike Lawson, currently on IR, played for the Rattlers in 2003.


Other Games:
March 11
Philadelphia Soul at San Jose SaberCats

March 12
Georgia Force at New York Dragons
Las Vegas Gladiators at Columbus Destroyers

March 13
Chicago Rush at Grand Rapids Rampage
Orlando Predators at New Orleans VooDoo
Dallas Desperados at Austin Wranglers
Colorado Crush at Nashville Kats

BYE: Los Angeles Avengers

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 8, 2005


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