Arizona Rattlers Week Four game notes
Published on March 21, 2007 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Game: Arizona Rattlers vs. Las Vegas Gladiators
Date: Friday, March 23, 2007
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (Arizona time)
Site: Phoenix, Ariz.
Arena: U.S. Airways Center (16,321)
Television: None
Radio: ESPN Radio 860 AM (Kent Derdivanis, Dale Hellestrae, Craig Grialou)
Internet: www.azrattlers.com; also available via AFL Net
Series Record: Rattlers lead 7-2
Last Meeting: Arizona 75, Las Vegas 28 - May 5, 2006 at U.S. Airways Center, Phoenix
Officials: Steve Pamon (R), Wes Fritz (U), Neil Brunner
(HL), Paul Engelberts (LJ), Rich Wilborn (BJ)
Head Coaches: Arizona - Gene Nudo (second season, 8-11); Las Vegas - Danton Barto, (1st season, 1-2, 50-37 career)
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Arizona: Don Schwartz (602) 379-2325, cell (480) 620-5646, dschwartz@azrattlers.com
Las Vegas: Niki Jones (702) 731-4877, ext. 261, njones@lvgladiators.com
RATTLERS IN REVIEW: The Rattlers have opened the season with a 0-3 record for the second consecutive season following last Friday's defeat at Colorado. The team finds itself winless despite playing a trio of close contests, losing the first three games by a combined 10 points (65-69 vs. Georgia; 71-75 vs. Utah; 54-56 @ Colorado). Arizona continues to have one of the league's top offenses, ranking seventh in passing rating, fifth in rushing yards and second in receiving yards. The Rattlers are also tied with the Blaze for the league lead in touchdowns with 28. Arizona's offensive output has overshadowed an improving defense, which with its pair of interceptions against the Crush is tied for fourth place this season with four INTs (Dallas, 6). Rattlers fullback Bo Kelly will step on to the field Friday night as the league's rushing leader, having set the mark against Colorado. Kelly's 18 rushing yards against the Crush give him 1,430 for his 12-year career.
THE SERIES: The Rattlers will be seeking their fourth consecutive win against Las Vegas, having last lost to the Gladiators 66-63 on Mar. 19, 2005 in Phoenix. The series - which Arizona leads 7-2 - dates back to the 2002 season, when the Gladiators played in New Jersey. The Rattlers swept the series between division foes last season, including a 75-28 Week 15 victory at the U.S. Airways Center. Arizona leads 4-1 in series games played in Phoenix.
ARIZONA RATTLERS (0-3)
Date Opponent Win/Loss Score
Mar. 3 Georgia L 65-69
Mar. 10 Utah L 71-75
Mar. 16 @ Colorado L 54-56
Date Opponent Time (AZ) TV
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
LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (1-2)
Date Opponent Win/Loss Record
Mar. 4 @ Austin L (36-57) 0-1
Mar. 8 @ Grand Rapids W (79-69) 1-1
Mar. 18 12Mar New Orleans L (31-59) 1-2
Mar. 23 @ Arizona
Apr. 1 Utah
Apr. 8 Kansas City
Apr. 15 @ Georgia
Apr. 20 @ Colorado
Apr. 29 Orlando
May 6 Los Angeles
May 12 @ San Jose
May 18 @ Utah
BYE WEEK
June 3 Arizona
June 10 Nashville
June 17 @ Los Angeles
June 25 San Jose
THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Rattlers head coach Gene Nudo on Gladiators quarterback Shaun King: "He's a young Arena quarterback, but he's obviously a veteran outdoor quarterback who can do some very good things."
Nudo on Las Vegas' potent passing attack: "Their receivers have gotten better with Joe Douglass being back this week. Obviously (Kevin) Prentiss is coming off a big game a couple of weeks ago."
Nudo on the importance of the game: "It's obviously a very important game for us. It's a must-win situation."
Nudo on the state of the Rattlers: "There's no quit in our guys at all. I think we've played well enough, but just not well enough to win. We've played three very good teams and played them tough. Now we need to have some positive things start to happen for us."
NEXT GAME: The Rattlers will return to the road next week on Mar. 30 at Kansas City (1-2). Though this will be the only regular season meeting between the teams this season - and the first all-time meeting between Arizona and the second-year Brigade franchise - the teams are familiar with one another, having scrimmaged for two days back in February. Kansas City has its bye week this week and will be well rested for the contest.
SHAUN KING's visit to the Valley marks the second time this season the Rattlers have faced a former Arizona Cardinals quarterback. King was with Arizona's NFL team during the 2004-05 seasons. Arizona opened 2007 against former Cardinals backup CHRIS GREISEN and the Georgia Force.
THE "IF" SECTION
If the Rattlers defeat the Gladiators it would:
- be their fourth consecutive victory against the Gladiators
- be their eighth win against the Gladiators in 10 all-time meetings, dating back to the 2002 season
- be the team's first win of the 2007 season
be their first win since the first round of the 2006 playoffs (57-34 vs. Utah)
Rattlers Coaching History
Season - Head Coach Record
1992-2004 Danny White 141-57 (playoffs 20-10)
2005 Todd Shell 7-9
2006- Gene Nudo 8-11 (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 12-23 during the first half of the season, including last week's loss to Colorado. Despite the slow starts, the Rattlers were still able to make title runs in 2003 and 2004 and advance to the semifinals last season after a 0-3 beginning.
Top of the Charts
The Rattlers rank among the AFL's top offenses this season following their 65-point output against the Force, 71-point game vs. the Blaze and 54 at Colorado.
Following are categories where Arizona either leads or ranks near the top of the 19-team league:
Passing Yards - Total (2nd) 946 (Utah, 1,091)
Passing Attempts - Total (2nd) 123 (Grand Rapids, 131)
Passing Completions - Total (T-3rd) 77 (Utah, 87)
Rushing Yards (5th) 87 (Kansas City, 134)
Rushing Attempts (4th) 31 (Kansas City, 43)
Total Points Scored (T-2nd) 190 (Utah, 193)
Total Touchdowns - (T-1st) 28 (Utah)
BO KELLY, Arizona's all-time rushing leader, is now also the AFL's all-time leader. Kelly's 18 rushing yards against Colorado last week gave him 1,430 for his 12-year career. The mark passed former Rattler and current Chicago Rush runner BOB McMILLEN for the all-time league lead in rushing yards.
A week after facing Colorado's DAMIEN HARRELL - the reigning AFL Offensive Player of the Year - Arizona will try to slow down another award-winning wide receiver in Las Vegas' KEVIN PRENTISS. Prentiss ranks second in the league with 376 receiving yards, second in receiving touchdowns with 11 and tied for fourth place with 26 receptions. His shining moment this season came in Week 2, when he set an AFL record with nine scoring receptions against Grand Rapids, earning the league's Offensive Player of the Week award.
The Rattlers find themselves in a familiar position, having lost the first three games of a season for the second consecutive year. The 2006 Rattlers also dropped their first three contests before notching their first win in week four. Despite the similarity, however, there is a striking difference with this year's team. Last year's squad lost their opening three games by a combined 36 points, while this year's Rattlers have played their opponents much closer, having fallen by a combined 10 points.
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.
After allowing 69 and 75 points, respectively in the first two games of the season, the Rattlers defense has found its groove. Arizona picked off Colorado's John Dutton twice last week, raising the unit's season total to four - tied for fourth place in the league. The Rattlers have also been stalwarts against the run, holding opponents to just nine yards on the ground - tied for the second stingiest in the league (New Orleans, 8). Individual stars include JOE TODD, who ranks third in the AFL this season in tackles with 24 (32.5, Rashad Floyd, Colorado) and ERIN DAMOND, who is tied for third in the league with a pair of interceptions (3, Ryan Bowers, Orlando and Jermaine Jones, Dallas).
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 21, 2007
- Wranglers WR Derrick Lewis to sing national Anthem Saturday - Austin Wranglers
- AFL Week Four Wednesday Injury Report - AFL I
- Arizona Rattlers Week Four game notes - Arizona Rattlers
- Murphy lost for four weeks - Orlando Predators
- Georgia Force Host Book Drive this Saturday at Philips Arena - Georgia Force
- Filer earns weekly AFLWA award - Tampa Bay Storm
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.
