Sports stats



AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

May 10, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: Arizona hopes to damage San Jose's chances for the Western Division title as these two teams renew their bitter rivalry. The Rattlers knocked off Chicago last week 61-43, while the SaberCats fell to Los Angeles 54-42.

The Series: The second longest running rivalry in the AFL, this will be the 26th meeting between the two. Arizona holds a 13-12 advantage, with a 6-4 record at home.

What To Watch: Tonight will feature the two top scoring players in the AFL. San Jose's Rashied Davis and Arizona's Siaha Burley have combined for 80 touchdowns and 482 points.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. Kent Derdivanis and Ron Wolfley will provide the commentary, with Craig Grialou patrolling the sidelines.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (5-9)
Date Opponent Result Score
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 Loss 56-59
3/19 LAS VEGAS Loss 63-66
3/28 @ Nashville Win 48-35
4/3 @ San Jose Loss 27-48
4/8 COLUMBUS Win 70-53
4/22 AUSTIN Win 52-26
4/30 @ Los Angeles Loss 56-59
5/6 CHICAGO Win 61-43
5/14 SAN JOSE 7:00 -
5/22 @ Las Vegas 12:00 -

SAN JOSE SABERCATS (8-6)
Date Opponent Result Score
1/30 @ Tampa Bay Loss 33-63
2/5 LAS VEGAS Win 66-31
2/13 @ New Orleans Loss 61-62
2/20 @ Los Angeles Loss 69-71
3/6 @ Orlando Win 57-38
3/11 PHILADELPHIA Win 52-26
3/18 GRAND RAPIDS Win 72-48
3/28 @ Las Vegas Win 81-75
4/3 ARIZONA Win 48-27
4/10 @ Chicago Loss 39-55
4/15 DALLAS Win 83-71
4/22 @ Colorado Win 89-41
4/29 NASHVILLE Loss 55-57
5/7 LOS ANGELES Loss 42-54
5/14 @ Arizona 7:00 -
5/21 GEORGIA 7:30 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 51-45 (.531), 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.

Darren Arbet is in his seventh season as Head Coach in San Jose. Arbet has accumulated a 80-33 career record, including two ArenaBowl titles and two Coach of the Year awards. Arbet has won ten games or more in every season in San Jose except his first.

Next Week: The Rattlers will close out their 2005 campaign in Sin City, when they take on the Las Vegas Gladiators on May 22.

Last Meeting: The SaberCats made short work of Arizona on April 3, beating them 48-27. Steve Warren ran for three scores to help lead San Jose.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Bill Athan (Referee), Tom Laverty (Umpire), Tim Podraza (Head Linesman), Tom Symonette (Line Judge), and Greg Wilson (Back Judge).

Last Game: The Rattlers damaged Chicago's playoff hopes, beating the Rush 61-43. Siaha Burley caught three scores, and Sherdrick Bonner was a proficient 22-25 for 240 yards and eight TDs.

Record in Sight: With two games remaining, Siaha Burley has his sights set on the Rattlers single season touchdown record. Burley has 41 TD receptions so far, 3 short of the team record held by Calvin Schexnayder in 1998. The AFL record is 46 in a single season, held by four players. Burley has 111 receptions this season, the second highest total in team history. Schexnayder had 136 in 1998.

Still Throwing: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner ranks third in touchdown passes (650), passing yards (32,508) and fourth in pass completions (2,612) in AFL history. Bonner also ranks third for pass attempts (4,206). Bonner is the all-time leader in wins by a starting QB. He has 92 regular season wins and 109 total victories as a starter.
Most Passing Touchdowns
1. # Aaron Garcia 711
2. # Andy Kelly 704
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 650
4. # Clint Dolezel 648
Most Passing Yards
1. # Andy Kelly 36,137
2. # Aaron Garcia 34,144
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 32,508
4. # Clint Dolezel 32,043
Most Pass Completions
1. # Andy Kelly 3,272
2. # Clint Dolezel 2,685
3. # Aaron Garcia 2,662
4. # Sherdrick Bonner 2,612
Most Pass Attempts:
1. # Andy Kelly 5,287
2. # Aaron Garcia 4,248
3. # Sherdrick Bonner 4,206
Regular Season Wins as a Starting QB:
1. # Sherdrick Bonner 92
2. # Andy Kelly 81
3. # Aaron Garcia 71
4. # Clint Dolezel 61
# denotes Active Player

Penalty Marker Down: The Rattlers have committed 130 penalties so far this season, after being flagged 119 times last season. Those flags have translated into 781 yards, or 55.8 yards a game. They have given opponents 40 first downs via the penalty, and have had five touchdowns and six takeaways overturned by the flags.

Slippery Fingers: The Rattlers have turned the ball over 26 times this season. The Rattlers have not forced many turnovers this season, as their -7 turnover ratio proves.

The Kicker: K Gary Kral was signed as an Emergency Kicker before the Austin game, filling in for the injured Anthony Brenner. Brenner was placed on IR last week. Kral is the sixth kicker since camp began. The previous five were Brenner, Jason Witczak, Chris Sailer, Steve McLaughlin, and Danny Kight.

#14: The Rattlers retired Hunkie Cooper's jersey last week against Chicago. Cooper is the first Rattler to have his number hung in the rafters at AWA.

Quietly Stellar: Since most of the attention has been on Siaha Burley's chase for the TD record, Randy Gatewood's career year has gone under the radar. Gatewood has set new career highs in receptions with 75, and yardage with 994. During his Ironman of the Year season in 2003, Gatewood had 69 catches for 779 yards, and a career high 32 touchdowns. He has scored 16 TDs this season. Gatewood has put up all these numbers while learning a new position on defense, playing WR/LB for the first time.

Milestones: The win over the Austin was the 50th career victory for Head Coach Todd Shell...The triumph over the Rush was the 92nd regular season win for Sherdrick Bonner. Bonner is first all-time for wins by a starting QB. He has 109 career wins, including 18 playoff victories...Randy Gatewood needs six more receiving yards for his first ever 1,000 yard season.

In Honor of Al: Every AFL team will wear #76 stickers on their helmets in memory of Avengers Lineman Al Lucas.

Bay Area Rattlers: San Jose has four former Rattlers on their roster. Tony Plantin, Calvin Schexnayder, Jason Andersen, and Sebastian Barrie all played in Arizona, and are all currently on IR for San Jose.

Shut Down: The SaberCats are the only team on the schedule who have kept Siaha Burley out of the end zone. In the April 3 meeting, Burley had seven catches for 88 yards, but was held scoreless. The game ended his four game string of 10+ catches, and snapped his six game 100+ yard receiving streak.

Burley Stats: Siaha Burley leads the AFL in scoring with 254 points. San Jose's Rashied Davis trails him by 26... He leads Davis in touchdowns, 41-38... Burley is tied for second in receptions. Aaron Bailey leads the AFL with 127, while Burley and Marcus Nash each have 111. Burley is also third in yards with 1,489. He trails Marcus Nash by 68...Burley's 41 touchdown receptions this season is second all-time in team history.

This Week's Games:
May 13
Nashville Kats at Colorado Crush
May 14
Dallas Desperados at Georgia Force
Austin Wranglers at New Orleans VooDoo
Las Vegas Gladiators at Los Angeles Avengers
May 15
New York Dragons at Tampa Bay Storm
Grand Rapids Rampage at Chicago Rush
Columbus Destroyers at Philadelphia Soul
Bye
Orlando Predators



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 10, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central