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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

May 10, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Game: Arizona Rattlers vs. Austin Wranglers

Date: Saturday, May 12, 2007

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (AZ Time)

Site: Phoenix, Ariz.

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

Television: FSN Arizona (Dale Hellestrae, Glenn Parker, Kevin McCabe) - Tape Delayed

Radio: ESPN Radio 860-AM KMVP (Kent Derdivanis, Dan Manucci, Craig Grialou, Valerie Moore)

Internet: www.azrattlers.com; AFL Net (video)

Series Record: Tied 1-1 (all-time)

Last Meeting: Austin 53, Arizona 34, Feb. 3, 2006 @ Austin

Officials: Bill LeMonnier (R), Mike Delaney (U), Allen Baynes

(HL), Dana McKinzie (LJ), Billy Beckett (BJ)

Head Coaches: Arizona - Gene Nudo (second season, 10-16); Austin - Brian Partlow (1st season; 3-6 regular season)

RATTLERS IN REVIEW: The Rattlers have lost their last two games (@ New York, vs. San Jose) as the team finds itself with a 2-8 record. The Rattlers are guaranteed of finishing with just their third non-winning season in the franchise's 16 seasons of existence. All is not lost, however, as last year's squad made the post-season with an 8-8 record and the 2006 Arena Football League champion Chicago Rush finished the regular season with a 7-9 mark. The Rattlers continue to rank among the Arena Football League's top offensive teams, placing fourth in total points scored, fourth in total yards per game, fourth in net passing yards per game and third in first downs per game.

THE SERIES: Saturday marks the third all-time meeting between Arizona and Austin, with each team having won on their own turf. The last match-up was on Feb. 3, 2006 in Austin, where the Wranglers roped the Rattlers 53-34. The Rattlers took the first game in the series 52-26 on Apr. 22, 2005 at the U.S. Airways Center.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (2-8)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Record

Mar. 3 Georgia L (69-65) 0-1

Mar. 10 Utah L (75-71) 0-2

Mar. 16 @ Colorado L (56-54) 0-3

Mar. 23 Las Vegas W (68-41) 1-3

Mar. 30 @ Kansas City L (62-61 OT) 1-4

Apr. 6 @ Los Angeles L (64-45) 1-5

Apr. 14 Nashville L (62-36) 1-6

Apr. 20 @ Utah W (83-69) 2-6

Apr. 28 @ New York L (67-45) 2-7

May 5 San Jose L (56-49) 2-8

Date Opponent Time (AZ) TV

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

Austin Wranglers (3-6)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Record

Mar. 4 Las Vegas W (57-36) 1-0

Mar. 11 @ Georgia L (60-51) 1-1

Mar. 16 @ Orlando L (45-30) 1-2

Mar. 24 Nashville L (70-63) 1-3

Mar. 31 @ Dallas L (68-64) 1-4

Apr. 6 Utah W (65-64) 2-4

Apr. 14 @ Columbus L (72-49) 2-5

Apr. 21 New Orleans W (45-38) 3-5

BYE WEEK

May 6 Tampa Bay L (66-45) 3-6

May 12 @ Arizona

May 20 Orlando

May 27 Philadelphia

June 2 @ New York

June 9 Georgia

June 17 @ New Orleans

June 23 @ Tampa Bay

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Rattlers head coach Gene Nudo on the Wranglers: "Austin's got some speedy receivers and an aggressive line. They've got some guys who have been great players in the league, but they've also got some good young players. We've just got to find a way to beat them."

Nudo on the Wranglers' switch at quarterback: "They'll probably have more of a traditional Arena quarterback in (Lang) Campbell or Chance Mock. You always defend the pass more than you defend the run, so we'll prepare to face whomever they have back there."

ARIZONA RATTLERS

2006 Regular Season 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 take to the road once again as they'll head east to Tampa to face the Storm. This will be the first meeting between the two long-time Arena Football League powerhouse franchises since the 2005 season. Despite their historical successes, however, the 2007 season has been a struggle for both teams as Tampa Bay heads into this weekend with a 3-6 record.

Kicking Off Against Cancer

The Rattlers and Wranglers will kick off each half using a special "pink" football. These footballs - featuring a unique pink-colored stripe in place of the traditional blue that all official AFL footballs feature - will be used only for the kickoffs at the beginning of the first and third quarters. The ball will then be taken out of action and autographed by the teams to be auctioned for charity with proceeds going to the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.

THE "IF" SECTION

If the Rattlers defeat the Wranglers it would:

- be their first win against Austin since Apr. 22, 2005 (52-26 in Phoenix)

- be their first win at home since Mar. 23, 2006 (68-41 vs. Las Vegas)

- give Arizona a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series

- be their first win against a National Conference foe since Mar. 10, 2006 (60-57 vs. Orlando in Phoenix)

Rattlers Coaching History

Season - Head Coach Record

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

2005 Todd Shell 7-9

2006- Gene Nudo 10-16 (playoffs 1-1)

Bonner Approaches Another Milestone

SHERDRICK BONNER is close to passing yet another milestone in his illustrious 15-year Arena Football career. Bonner has throw for 39,826 passing yards in his career, placing him just 174 yards shy of becoming the second quarterback in AFL annals to tally 40,000 career passing yards. Arizona's all-time great would join fellow standout Andy Kelly (New Orleans) in this rare group with Dallas' Clint Dolezel also in the hunt with 39,883 yards.

It's been a milestone-setting season for Bonner, who earlier in the year became the first quarterback in AFL history to record 12 seasons with at least 2,000 passing yards and the third quarterback all-time to throw more than 800 TDs.

A Memorable Mother's Day

Mother's Day arrives a day early for the Amey family this year when Rattlers OL/DL VINCE AMEY faces his brother Otis - a receiver for the Austin Wranglers - providing the brothers with the ultimate gridiron gift for their mother.

"My parents are so excited about coming out on Saturday," Vince Amey said. "My mom was like, 'I couldn't ask for anything better for Mother's Day.' It'll be crazy. I'm excited about being on the same field with him."

Saturday will mark the first time the brothers have battled one another in a professional arena or any setting since their days of playing ball in the backyard. But for Vince - who grew up to have a successful collegiate career at Arizona State and seven seasons in the Arena Football League - hitting his six years younger brother will seem like old hat.

"I used to beat him up when we were kids and everything," said Vince, who now outweighs Otis by 108 pounds and has five inches on his sibling. "Nothing's going to change. I'm still going to try to beat him up and win this game, but it'll also be an honor to see some Amey boys on the field and be able to play my brother."

First Year Fun

Rattlers rookies WR TRANDON HARVEY and DS KEYUO CRAVER continue to make a splash in both of their first AFL season. Harvey is currently tied for 10th place among all leading scorers (non kickers) with 150 points on 25 touchdowns (21 rec, 3 rush, 1 ret), but ranks first among all rookies in the category. Harvey's 1,021 receiving yards also ranks tops among league rookies (7th overall) and his 71 receptions also paces his fellow first year players (13th overall). Harvey is the only Rattlers receiver to have played in all 10 games this season. Craver's also made a quick mark in the AFL as he leads all rookies in forced fumbles with four (tied for 2nd overall), combined tackles with 64.5 (tied for 3rd overall) and solo tackles with 56 (5th overall). Craver is one of five Rattlers to have started every game this season (Bonner, Mascorro, Ruffin, Steen).

Championship Caliber

The Rattlers roster features a number of players who competed on college football's biggest stage. WR CURTIS FAGAN's Oklahoma squad won the National Championship in 2000, while Keyuo Craver's Nebraska Cornhuskers fell to Miami (Fla.) in the 2002 National Championsip game in the Rose Bowl. Former Sun Devils Vince Amey and OL/DL ALBREY BATTLE played on Arizona State's undefeated PAC-10 season in 1997, when the No. 2 ranked Sun Devils fell to No. 4 Ohio State in the 1998 Rose Bowl, coming up just short of a top ranking and National Championship.

Familiar Faces

In addition to Vince Amey and his brother Otis, Curtis Fagan is also familiar with a player on Austin's roster. Fagan and Wranglers OL/DL RAMON RICHARDSON were both on the 2000 National Champion Oklahoma Sooners squad. Richardson recorded 50 combined tackles, 13 quarterback

pressures and four sacks during that magical season for OU. This season he has 9 ½ tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Fagan has caught 11 balls for 137 and one touchdown for the Rattlers this season.

Rookie Wrangler at the Ready

The Austin Wranglers head into Arizona with a new man under center, having waived starting quarterback and AFL leading rusher Adrian McPherson earlier in the week. The Wranglers will now be riding with LANG CAMPBELL under center. Campbell (6-1, 210) is in his first AFL season out of William and Mary and will face an Arizona defense that has allowed a league-low 79 yards on the ground, but a league-high 3,159 yards through the air. Austin has also activated former University of Texas quarterback CHANCE MOCK from their practice squad.

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