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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

March 7, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Game: Arizona Rattlers vs. Utah Blaze

Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (Mountain)

Site: Phoenix, Ariz.

Arena: U.S. Airways Center (16,321)

Television: FSN - Arizona (Kent Derdivanis, Dale Hellestrae, Kevin McCabe)

Radio: ESPN Radio 860 (Dan Manucci, Craig Grialou, Valerie Moore)

Internet: www.azrattlers.com

Series Record: Rattlers lead 3-0

Last Meeting: Arizona 57, Utah 34 (Playoffs - Wild Card Round) - May 20, 2006 at U.S. Airways Center, Phoenix

Officials: Perry Havener (R), Tom Laverty (U), Bill Ward

(HL), David Meslow (LJ), Keith Washington (BJ)

Head Coaches: Arizona - Gene Nudo (second season, 8-9); Utah - Danny White (second season -129-64 career)

RATTLERS IN REVIEW: The Rattlers are seeking to rebound from last Saturday's 69-65 defeat at the hands of the Georgia Force and grab their first win of the young season. Arizona fell behind early, trailing 41-24 at the half. The Rattlers made a late rally, outscoring Georgia 41-28 after the break before falling four points short. Though the defense struggled, Arizona's air attack was in full Force as Sherdrick Bonner threw for 361 yards and eight touchdowns - one behind Offensive Player of the Week Chris Greisen. Cosmo DeMatteo hauled in 13 of Bonner's passes for 171 yards and three scores, while reigning Ironman of the Year Randy Gatewood grabbed 14 balls for 149 yards and four touchdowns. In the process, Gatewood claimed the all-time top spot for receiving yards by a Rattlers player (8,732). Trandon Harvey - playing in his first game in Arena Football - had 120 kickoff yards on nine returns, including a long of 22 yards.

THE SERIES: This will be the fourth overall meeting between the division rivals with the Rattlers taking each contest (3-0). The last meeting came in the 2006 playoffs, when Arizona downed Utah 57-34 in a Wild Card Round match-up at the U.S. Airways Center. Though only in their second season, the Blaze share a common history with the Rattlers. Utah is led by former Arizona head coach Danny White who, in addition to leading the Rattlers during their first 13 years, played at Arizona State and Mesa's Westwood High School.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (0-1)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Score

Mar. 3 Georgia L 65-69

Date Opponent Time (AZ) TV

Mar. 10 Utah 7:00 FSAZ

Mar. 16 @ Colorado 7:00 None

Mar. 23 Las Vegas 7:00 None

Mar. 30 @ Kansas City 6:00 None

Apr. 6 @ Los Angeles 7:30 None

Apr. 14 Nashville 7:00 None

Apr. 20 @ Utah 6:00 None

Apr. 28 @ New York 4:00 FSAZ

May 5 San Jose 7:00 None

May 12 Austin 7:00 FSAZ(delay)

May 18 @ Tampa Bay 4:30 None

May 26 Chicago 7:00 FSAZ

June 3 @ Las Vegas 3:00 None

June 11 Los Angeles 7:00 ESPN2

June 16 @ San Jose 7:30 FSAZ

June 18-24 BYE WEEK

UTAH BLAZE (1-0)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Record

Mar. 3 vs. New Orleans W (63-61) 1-0

Mar. 10 @ Arizona

Mar. 18 12Mar @ Nashville

Mar. 23 vs. Grand Rapids

Apr. 1 @ Las Vegas

Apr. 6 @ Austin

Apr. 13 vs. Los Angeles

Apr. 20 vs. Arizona

Apr. 28 @ San Jose

May 4 vs. Dallas

May 12 @Kansas City

May 18 vs. Las Vegas

May 25 @ Orlando

June 4 vs. Colorado

June 9 vs. San Jose

BYE WEEK

June 23 @ Los Angeles

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Rattler head coach Gene Nudo on the Blaze: "I think they play with a lot of energy up front. They've got an excellent quarterback, their receivers make plays and I'm very impressed with their defense. They get after the quarterback and that's a big concern of mine."

Nudo on Utah's last second win last week: "Quite frankly, I already knew what their team is made of. We've had most of those guys here and they're all quality players. They're well coached and I think Utah's improved their coaching staff with Ron James and obviously with Hunkie."

Nudo on the familiarity between the teams: "They know what we're going to do and I think we have a good feeling for what they're going to do."

Nudo on facing a Danny White coached team: "The one thing you know when you play Danny's team is you always need to be prepared for some unconventional things. Every kicking situation needs to be treated like a fake or an onside kick. I think you have to approach the game that way. You've also got to be prepared in goalline situations for the halfback pass. We know Tom Pace can throw the ball and he did last week. You have to be on top of your game to beat them."

ARIZONA RATTLERS 2006 Results (8-8)

Date Opponent Result Score

Jan. 29 @ Los Angeles Loss 31-40

Feb. 3 Austin Loss 34-53

Feb. 12 San Jose Loss 50-58

Feb. 18 Utah Win 45-38

Feb. 24 @ Columbus Loss 26-42

Mar. 4 Nashville Win 51-49

Mar. 10 Orlando Win 60-57

Mar. 17 @ Las Vegas Win 47-33

Mar. 24 Los Angeles Win 58-45

Apr. 2 @ San Jose Loss 49-61

Apr. 7 @ Utah Win 64-52

Apr. 15 Chicago Win 61-42

Apr. 23 @ Grand Rapids Loss 42-45

Apr. 28 @ Dallas Loss 46-54

May 5 Las Vegas Win 75-28

May 12 @ Colorado Loss 35-59

NEXT GAME: The Rattlers will set their sights the Mile High City as they prepare to challenge the 2005 ArenaBowl champion Colorado Crush on Friday, Mar. 16 at the Pepsi Center. The Crush feature one of the league's most prolific quarterback-to-receiver combinations in John Dutton and Damien Harrell. Harrell led all players in scoring last season with 366 points en route to his 2006 AFL Offensive Player of the Year honor. Arizona and Colorado last met on May 12, 2006 in Denver, with the Crush winning 59-35.

THE "IF" SECTION

If the Rattlers defeat Blaze it would:

- be their fourth win vs. Utah in four all-time meetings

- be their first win of the 2007 season

be their fourth consecutive regular-season home win vs. a division opponent (last loss: 50-58 vs. San Jose, Feb. 12, 2006)

Rattlers Coaching History

Season - Head Coach Record

1992-2004 Danny White 141-57 (playoffs 20-10)

2005 Todd Shell 7-9

2006- Gene Nudo 8-8 (playoffs 1-1)

SLOW STARTERS: The Rattlers have hardly been known for breaking out of the gates quickly in recent years, though they've finished strong. In their last five seasons, Arizona is a combined 12-21 during the first half of the season, including last week's loss to Georgia. Despite the slow starts, the Rattlers were still able to make title runs in 2003 and 2004 and advance to the semifinals.

Top of the Charts

The AFL's reigning "Ironman of the Year" and two-time recipient of the award added another notch to his storied 12-year career Saturday night vs. Georgia. RANDY GATEWOOD passed Hunkie Cooper for the all-time lead in receiving yards for a Rattlers player (8,732). Gatewood need only 18 yards to secure the record, but posted 149 yards for good measure. Gatewood already holds the top spot among Arizona's all-time leaders for receiving touchdowns (207) and he ranks second in receptions (Cooper, 776).

The Utah Blaze may only be in their second season, but the team's connections to the Grand Canyon State go back decades. The Blaze are led by former Rattlers head coach DANNY WHITE, who had been Arizona's head coach for the team's first 13 seasons in the league. White also played at both Arizona State and Mesa's Westwood High School. White's offensive coordinator is HUNKIE COOPER, who had his name lifted into the U.S. Airways Center rafters after a historic career with the Rattlers from 1993-2005.

Utah's active roster also featured a number of familiar faces as receiver SIAHA BURLEY, quarterback JOE GERMAINE, WR/DB ORSHAWANTE BRYANT, defensive backs TERRANCE JOSEPH and CLARENCE LAWSON and WR/LB TOM PACE have all previously played for the Rattlers.

The Rattlers active roster features three players who played college football in the state of Arizona. Both OL/DL VINCE AMEY and ALBREY BATTLE suited up at Arizona State, helping to lead ASU to an undefeated PAC-10 season and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Rookie OL/DL BRANDON PHILLIPS is a Chandler native who played his high school ball at Tempe's Corona Del Sol before going on to the University of Arizona. Two former Sun Devils - WR/DB JOSH GOLDEN and WR JUSTIN TAPLIN - are on the Rattlers practice squad. Taplin is also an Arizona native who graduated from Tempe High School.

Former Sun Devil and current Blaze WR/LB RYAN DENNARD earned Ironman of the Week honors for his two-way performance in the team's 63-61 win against New Orleans. Dennard earned his first weekly AFL award with a pair of touchdowns (1 rush, 1 catch ) and 2.5 tackles - including a tackle for a loss - as the team's starting Jack linebacker.

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