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Avengers Game Notes

March 4, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Game: Los Angeles Avengers at New York Dragons
Date: Sunday, March 9, 2003
Kickoff: 9 a.m. (Pacific)
Site: Uniondale, New York
Arena: Nassau Coliseum (11,216)
Television: NBC (Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Lewis Johnson) -- will not be aired on the West Coast
Radio: XTRA Sports 690 & 1150 (Larry Kahn, Troy West)
Web Radio: http://www.xtrasportsradio.com
Series Record: Los Angeles leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Los Angeles 43, New York 25 -- April 19, 2002, STAPLES Center
Officials: Perry Havener (R), Roy Ellison (U), Derrick Bowers (HL), David Meslow (LJ), Greg Steed (BJ), Bob Mantooth (supervisor)
Head Coaches: Los Angeles -- Ed Hodgkiss (second season, 11-8). New York -- Todd Shell (first season with Dragons; fifth overall, 29-26).

THE AVENGERS: After starting the season with a 3-0 record and some fantastic finishes, the Avengers have struggled in all three phases of the game in the past two weeks and have fallen to 3-2. In their last outing, a 46- 35 loss to the Georgia Force at STAPLES Center on Sunday (March 2), the Avengers nearly tied the franchise record for fewest points in a game (21), but rallied for two touchdowns in the final minute. Uncharacteristically, the Avengers turned the ball over three times, gained a season-low 232 yards of total offense and scored on only five of their 10 possessions. For the second consecutive week, pass protection was spotty for Los Angeles.

Quarterback Tony Graziani took several hits two weeks ago in a 54-53 loss at Chicago (Feb. 23), including one that resulted in a sprained left ankle. Against Georgia, he avoided injury but was under constant pressure and sacked three times. Graziani, who has taken every snap from center this season for L.A., will try to get what was one of the league's elite offensive units back on track. His favorite targets are offensive specialist Chris Jackson, who has scored a touchdown in every AFL game he has played in (38 games, 86 touchdowns), wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins (the 2002 AFL "Ironman of the Year") and wide receiver/defensive back Kevin Ingram, who also leads Los Angeles with two interceptions this season.

THE DRAGONS: After limping to a 0-4 start, the Dragons fired head coach John Gregory and his entire staff.

Todd Shell was installed as the new head coach, but the Dragons responded with their most lopsided loss of the season, getting beat by the Orlando Predators, 72-56, on March 2. Three of New York's other four losses have come in the final moments of each contest as the Dragons lost by one, three and four points. Quarterback Aaron Garcia leads the AFL with 36 touchdown tosses this season and ranks second in league history with 480 career touchdown passes. New York will be looking to get their first victory of the season in the finale of a three-game home stand.

THE STORYLINE – "A GAME OF FIRSTS": Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss has fond memories of the New York Dragons. He made his he ad-coaching debut versus the Dragons in last year's season opener. The Avengers won that game, 43-25, and went on to their best season in the franchise's short history. In battling the Dragons on Sunday, Hodgkiss will be facing a team looking for its share of "firsts." New York has yet to win a game this season in five tries and fired its entire coaching staff after loss No. 4. New head coach Todd Shell will be seeking his first AFL victory since 1998. Shell was the head coach of the San Jose SaberCats for four years (1995-98).

THE HEAD COACHES: One of the brightest offensive masterminds in the AFL, Ed Hodgkiss led the Avengers to a franchise-best 8-6 record and No. 5 seed in the AFL playoffs last season in his first year with the club. He became the head coach of the Avengers on Oct. 5, 2001, and signed a five -year contract extension shortly after the 2002 season. Not only did Hodgkiss lead the Avengers into the postseason for the first time in franchise history, he also instantly established the Av enger offense as one of the most feared in the AFL. In the final 2002 league statistics, the Avengers ranked at No. 2 in passing efficiency (115.0), No. 4 in total offense (275.6), No. 4 in rushing yards (20.8) and No. 5 in scoring (52.2). Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, Hodgkiss served as the offensive coordinator for the Indiana Firebirds for three seasons (1999-2001) ... In hopes of improving their defense to go along with a high -powered offense, the Dragons hired defensive -minded Todd Shell to become only the second coach in franchise history, as John Gregory and his staff were fired after a 0 -4 start. Shell was the first coach of the San Jose SaberCats, guiding them to an 8-4 record and a division title in their inaugural 1995 season. He compile d a 29-25 record in four years with the SaberCats and took them to the playoffs three times. Prior to that, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers (1992 -94).

Shell was selected by San Francisco in the first round of 1994 NFL Draft and went on to win two Super Bowl rings with the 49ers (1984 and 1988).

THE SERIES: L.A. leads the series 1 -0, as the Avengers beat N.Y., 43-25, at STAPLES Center on April 19, 2002.

THE NEXT GAME: The Avengers travel to face the Indiana Firebirds at Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday, March 16. The game will kickoff at 9 a.m. (Pacific) and be televised by NBC, however, it will not be shown on the West Coast. XTRA Sports 690 & 1150 will broadcast the game live (Larry Kahn and Ed Cunningham).

QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE: Twenty-four of L.A.'s 39 offensive touchdown drives this season have been just three plays or less. In fact, six of them have been one - play "drives," including three in a loss to the Chicago Rush on Feb. 23. Ironically, one of the seven "long" drives was the six-play, 13-yard game-winning march in the victory over San Jose that consumed 25 of the final 26 seconds. Additionally, the Avengers scored one "zero -play drive" this season on Siaha Burley's net recovery while covering a kickoff in the victory at Colorado on Feb. 23.

THE "IF" SECTION:

If the Avengers defeat the Dragons, it would ...
- Give L.A. a 9-3 record in the past two years versus non-Western Division foes (13 -12 alltime)
- Assure the Avengers of holding at least a share of first place in the Western Division
- Give L.A. a 2-1 record when facing winless teams this season

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss on the offensive struggles: "The main problem has been protection. Tony (Graziani) is getting hit way too much an d you can't be successful when your quarterback is on his back. We haven't converted on turnovers the defense has given us and the offense getting stopped is a direct reflection of not protecting the quarterback."

Hodgkiss on last week's 46-35 loss to the Georgia Force: "We were kind of cursed with the injuries to Mathias (Vavao) and Tony (Plantin), who are two of our best pass protectors, and we didn't execute in the red zone because we didn't do a good job of running the football."

Hodgkiss on the team's character really coming to the forefront now: "I have great confidence in our guys. I'm not down on anyone individually. That's why they're here, because the players and coaches all have great confidence that we will accomplish our goals. No one is panicking.

Hodgkiss on the New York Dragons: "They've shown they can put up a lot of points. They are highly explosive, but have had problems on defense. They went out and hired Todd Shell, who is well respected for his defensive knowledge. They went out and did the right things to get back on track and hopefully we can go in and do what we were doing that made us successful earlier in the year."

PERFECT GAME: Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani tossed a "perfect game" against the Las Vegas Gladiator s on opening day (Feb. 2). His passer rating of 158.3 from that contest is the highest mark possible and ties an AFL record. In the 60-48 victory, Graziani was 18-of-23 for 288 yards. He threw a 31 -yard touchdown pass to offensive specialist Chris Jackson on the first play of the 2003 season and went on to throw for a total of seven scores. Graziani also rushed for a touchdown from three yards out to cap the scoring with 53 seconds remaining.

ALMOST PERFECT: The Avengers were called for only two penalties in the season opener on Feb. 2, and the yardage marked off against L.A. totaled just one yard. Both of those numbers represent new team records and brought a smile to the face of head coach Ed Hodgkiss, whose motto is "Play Hard, Play Smart." The Av engers are averaging just under five flags per game (27.6 yards).

ALL-PURPOSE AVENGER: Over the past three seasons, L.A.'s new offensive weapon Siaha Burley has racked up the second most all-purpose yards in the league (4,954). That yardage is the equivalent of 2.7 miles, which is roughly the distance between STAPLES Center and Dodger Stadium. Acquired in a trade with the Orlando Predators, Burley moves to the WR/DB position (he was primarily an offensive specialist with the Predators). He is currently 62 yards behind Steve Papin of the New York Dragons.

THE MILLENNIUM'S FINEST: Wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins and offensive special ist Chris Jackson are not only L.A.'s top pass catchers, they're also among the most productive in the AFL since the dawning of the new millennium. In fact, Hopkins leads the way with a grand total of 340 receptions for 4,162 yards since the 2000 season (Jackson is third with 278 for 3,844).

ARENABOWL CHAMPION AVENGERS: Two Avenger players and a pair of coaches own a total of five ArenaBowl world championship rings. Lineman Mike Ulufale was a key member of the San Jose SaberCats team that won ArenaBowl XVI in a rout last year. WR/LB Greg Hopkins was with the Albany Firebirds when they took the title in 1999, along with Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss, who was the Firebird offensive coordinator at the time. Avenger defensive coordi nator Doug Kay has been part of two ArenaBowl championship teams. He was the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Storm when they won the title in 1993, and then got his second championship ring in 1997 with the Arizona Rattlers working with the team in that same capacity.

DEFENDING THE HOME FRONT: In the "Ed Hodgkiss Era," which began at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Avengers have been particularly stingy on defense at home, allowing just 45.4 points per game at STAPLES Center (454 points in ten games). The 24 points allowed by the Avengers in their victory over the Tampa Bay Storm on May 17, 2002, is an all -time best for the L.A. defense. It surpassed the effort in the 200 2 season opener, which saw the Avengers defeat the New York Dragons, 43-25, on April 19, 2002.

PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

Avenger QB Tony Graziani: Prior to L.A.'s current twogame losing streak, Graziani had won the previous two contests on his final toss. In the pair of nail -biting victories, he hit WR/LB Greg Hopkins for a two -point conversion with one second remaining against San Jose (Feb. 9) and for a 21 -yard touchdown pass in overtime at Colorado (Feb. 16). He threw an interception on his final toss against the Chicago Rush two weeks ago, in a game the Avengers lost, 54 -53. In that contest, he suffered a sprained ankle and bruised knee, which slowed him in last week's 46-35 loss to the Georgia Force. In the season opener versus the Las Vegas G ladiators (Feb. 2), Graziani earned a perfect passer rating of 158.3, completing 18 -of- 23 for 288 yards and seven touchdowns. He currently has five 300-yard passing performances in his AFL career.

Dragon QB Aaron Garcia: The winless start that the Dragons have gotten off to in 2003 cannot be blamed on Garcia and the high-powered offense he directs. That offense has scored the most points in the Eastern Division, and Garcia leads the league with 36 touchdown passes. He has played for four different fran chises in his nine -year AFL career and ranks second in league history with 480 touchdown passes. In 2001, he was named the AFL's "Offensive Player of the Year" as he set single -season records by throwing for 104 touchdowns, 4,515 yards and completing 69.6 percent of his passes. Garcia missed nine games in 2002 as he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason and participated in their mini-camp.

Avenger WR/LB Kevin Ingram: With his play on offense, defense and special teams, Ingram has become a triple threat star for the Avengers. He earned "Ironman of the Game" honors two weeks ago even though the Avengers lost at Chicago. In that game, he made six catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, returned three kickoffs for 50 yards, made 4.5 tackles and had an interception. On the season, Ingram has 19 receptions for 132 and three touchdowns, 26 tackles, two interceptions, two pass break-ups and has 11 kickoff returns for 230 yards. He came to the Avengers last season along with head coach Ed Hodgkiss and WR/LB Greg Hopkins after spending one year with the Indiana Firebirds. Last season in a game at Toronto, Ingram "arrived" as an Avenger, when he led the team in receiving and returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown in the closing minute to seal the victory.

Dragon WR/LB Mike Furrey: As a rookie last season, Furrey was named to the All -Arena second-team and All- Ironman squad. He leads N.Y. with 42 receptions for 669 yards and 16 touchdowns, and averages 136.0 all -purpose yards per game. Furrey has won "Ironman of the Game" honors twice this season, already matching last year's total. Two weeks ago in a loss to the Las Vegas Gladiators, he earned the honor, catching seven passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns (he also recorded his 100th career reception). In the season opener against the Dallas Desperados, he caught seven passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, as well as picking off a pass.

LAST WEEK'S GAME:

FORCE BEAT AVENGERS

LOS ANGELES (March 2, 2003) -- Continuing to struggle in all three phases of the game, the Los Angeles Avengers lost for the second consecutive time, falling to the Georgia Force, 46-35, before 12,728 at STAPLES Center.

After starting the season with some fantastic finishes and a 3-0 record, the Avengers ar e now 3-2 and will play their next two games on the road. With its first victory over Los Angeles, Georgia improved to 3 -2. Force quarterback Donnie Davis was 26 -of-37 for 272 yards and five touchdowns, but Georgia didn't need much offense to defeat the Avengers, who turned the ball over three times and scored just 21 points in the first three quarters.

The Avengers gained a season -low 232 yards and scored on only five of their 10 possessions. Los Angeles missed two field goals, threw two interceptions and turned the ball over on downs once.

Defensive specialist Kevin Gaines came down with both interceptions for the Force on his way to game "MVP" honors. Georgia lineman Jermaine Smith was selected as the "Ironman" after finishing with 2 ½ tackles, a sa ck and a forced fumble.

Playing with a sprained left ankle (suffered a week earlier in a 54-53 loss at Chicago), Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani had another tough outing as he was under constant pressure and sacked three times.

"We didn't come to play, " Graziani said. "I don't have an answer for it. You have to give the Force credit. They came out and played harder than we did."

Graziani was able to complete 19 -of-37 for 245 yards and four touchdowns, but his first of two interceptions allowed the Force take a 34-21 advantage with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter. Prior to that point, neither team held a lead of more than seven points.

The Force went on to widen the gap to 43 -21 midway through the fourth quarter.

Graziani connected with WR/LB Greg Hopkins for a pair of touchdowns in the final minute to close the margin and help the Avengers avoid tying the franchise record for fewest points in a single game.

Hopkins led Los Angeles with seven receptions for 113 yards. Offensive specialist Chris Jackson also had seven catches for the Avengers, which were good for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Even before the game started, there was some indication that this might not be the Avengers' day.

Fullback/linebacker Mathias Vavao, who came into the contest having scored five rushing touchdowns in the first four games of the season, injured his ribs during pregame warm-ups and was only able to make a cameo appearance in the second half. In addition, lineman Tony Plantin was unable to overcome a st rained lower back and did not play despite suiting up.

THE TOUCHDOWN MAKER: Offensive specialist Chris Jackson has scored at least one touchdown in every game he has played in for the Aven gers. In 38 games, Jackson has accounted for 86 touchdowns. All but four of those scores came as a pass receiver. Jackson's other touchdowns were as a runner, kickoff returner and two as a passer. He has caught a touchdown pass in all but one of his games with the Avengers (June 8, 2002, vs. San Jose), but in that contest he ran back the opening kickoff 51 yards for a score, keeping "The Streak" alive. Jackson is L.A.'s all-time leading receiver and scorer. He has racked up 271 receptions for 3,748 ya rds and has scored 504 points in his four -year Avenger career.

THE ORIGINAL AVENGER: Offensive specialist Chris Jackson is the only player on L.A.'s 2003 roster who played for the Avengers in their inaugural 2000 season (he was an WR/LB at the time). Jackson shared that distinction last season with wide receiver/defensive back Anthony Rice, who was released on Jan. 25, following the conclusion of training camp.

HOT TICKET: Five of the six largest crowds to see the Avengers play have come within L.A.'s last six regularseason games, dating back the end of the 2002 campaign. In consecutive games (Feb. 16, at Colorado and Feb. 23, at Chicago), the Avengers played before their two largest crowds ever. The Avengers are averaging 14,182 fans at home this season in three games at STAPLES Center.

AVENGERS ON RADIO: All Avenger games are broadcast live on the radio throughout the Southern California area on XTRA Sports 690 & 1150, with Larry Kahn and Ed Cunningham calling all the action, and Troy West on the sidelines. The games are also available live over the Internet at http://www.xtrasportsradio.com.

AVENGERS ON TELEVISION: The Avengers will have nine of their 16 games televised by NBC (although two of those games will not be aired on the West coast). Six other games, including the season opener (Feb. 2, vs. the Las Vegas Gladiators) will be shown on Fox Sports Net 2, as Bill Macdonald and Artie Giga ntino return to call all the action.

THE INTERCEPTION KING: In addition to being the AFL's 2002 "Ironman of the Year," WR/LB Greg Hopkins is the league's all -time leader in interception returns for touchdowns. He returned his record -setting eighth p ick for a score on June 22, 2002, in L.A.'s 62 -32 romp over the Carolina Cobras. Hopkins stepped in front of a pass and raced 37 yards for the score and then celebrated by leaping under the crossbar and into the crowd at STAPLES Center. Coming into that contest, Hopkins was tied with former Avenger teammate Mark Ricks at the top of the AFL chart.

MAKING HIS POINTS: Avenger placekicker Remy Hamilton currently ranks at No. 5 on the AFL's all -time scoring by kickers chart. He jumped past Joe Cimadevilla, who scored 609 points between 1992 and 1998, by scoring 16 points in L.A.'s win over Colorado on Feb. 16. In his first year with the Avengers in 2002, Hamilton set nine team records, while scoring 131 points on 16 field goals and 83 extra points. He booted the longest field goal in Avenger history on July 6, 2002, blas ting a 52- yarder versus the Arizona Rattlers at STAPLES Center.

CLUTCH KICKS IN COLORADO: Lost amid the excitement of L.A.'s overtime victory over the Colorado Crush on Feb. 16, was the outstanding all -around performance by kicker Remy Hamilton. Not only did he split the uprights on an 18 -yard field goal on the last play of the game to force overtime, while 17,417 Crush fans were trying to blow the Pepsi Center's roof off, he was also perfect on his two other field goal attempts and all six of his extra points. In addition, he blasted four of his kickoffs over the entire net system for touchbacks and also bounced one high off the net frame, which resulted in a recovery by teammate Siaha Burley for a key Avenger touchdown. And, as if that weren't eno ugh, Hamilton had two solo tackles, including one late in the fourth quarter that saved a touchdown.

"SAMOAN SEMI" CARRIES HUGE LOAD: At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds Mathias Vavao isn't your average fullback/linebacker. But, that's not just because he's gigantic. Vavao is also quite productive on both sides of the ball. He's scored five rushing touchdowns this season, including the one that led to the game -winning two-point conversion in the 73 -72 victory over the San Jose SaberCats in Week 2. Vavao has al so caught two passes for 25 yards so far this season and recorded the team's first sack of the year on Feb. 9, versus San Jose. If Jerome Bettis is Pittsburgh's "Bus," Vavao is L.A.'s "Samoan Semi." Coming into this season, the last time he played running back was in high school. The FB/LB position was somewhat of a concern for the Avengers coming into the 2003 season since they chose not to re - sign free agent Chad Dukes, who led the AFL in rushing last year and is currently ranked at No. 3 on the league 's all-time rushing chart. In just 14 games with the Avengers, Dukes broke 11 team records, while rushing for 223 yards and 12 touchdowns on 81 carries. The other FB/LBs on the roster are second-year man Ron Puggi, rookie Lonnie Ford, who was a defensive end and tight end during his collegiate career at USC, and Kevin Clemens, who was signed following the season opener.

Ford is currently on the injured reserve list with a sprained left ankle.

BIG MEN CAN CATCH: While L.A.'s well -known receivers get all the headlines, four Avenger linemen -- Mathias Vavao (recently converted into a fullback/linebacker), Tony Plantin, Vince Amey and John DeWitt – have quietly made a "heavy" impact in the passing game since the beginning of last season. Those four players , who weigh a combined 1,190 pounds, have caught a total of 16 passes for 200 yards in the past 19 games. That's an average of 12.5 yards per reception for the "big men." This statistical comparison will forever be known as "The Arthur D. Gigantino Key to Success" in honor of Avenger Fox Sports Net 2 color commentator Artie Gigantino, who has been known to say, "Throwing to those big guys always works."

PICKED FROM THE PAC: Seven Avengers hail from Pacific-10 Conference schools -- OL/DL Vince Amey (Arizona State), FB/LB Lonnie Ford (USC), WR/DB Derrick Gardner (California), QB Tony Graziani (Oregon), OS Chris Jackson (Wash. State), DS Wasswa Serwanga (UCLA) and WR/DB Rodney Williams (Arizona). Three of those Avengers played in the Rose Bowl -- Graziani (1995), Amey (1997) and Jackson (1998). In addition, OL/DL Carlos Fowler played in the 1994 Rose Bowl for Wisconsin (against UCLA) and WR/DB Russell Shaw played in the 1998 Rose Bowl for Michigan (against Washington State and current teammate Chris Jackson).

RECORD SETTING SIGNALCALLER: Quarterback Tony Graziani has set 14 team records during his three-year career with the Avengers.

GOOD TO SEE FAMILIAR FACES: In a departure from previous seasons, the majority of the opening -day Avenger roster contains players who already have a history with the franchise. Seventeen of the 24 players on the active roster played for the Avengers last season. Among the seven newcomers are a pair of All-Arena caliber performers -- wide receiver/defensive back Siaha Burley and offensive/defensive lineman Mike Ulufale. Last season, the roster was equally divided between holdovers from 2001 and newcomers to the squad.

THE LAST MEETING:

AVENGERS 43, DRAGONS 25

LOS ANGELES (April 19, 2002) -- Although it was just the first of 14 regular -season games for the Los Angeles Avengers, their 43 -25 victory over the New York Dragons could not be minimized. It might not have been the most scintillat ing display of what the AFL has to offer, but in many ways it couldn't have looked any better to the 13,142 red -clad Avenger fans on hand at STAPLES Center.

Considering that the Avengers had not won a regular - season game prior to May 26, in their previous two seasons, a victory on the opening night was certainly a most welcome sight.

Not only did the win put the Avengers above .500 for the first time in franchise history, but also the 18 -point margin of victory and 25 points allowed by the defense are new team records.

Adding to the good vibrations is the belief that the Avengers turned the corner under the direction of new head coach Ed Hodgkiss, an offensive wizard who came to L.A. via the Indiana Firebirds organization.

"We have confidence in the syst em that Coach Hodgkiss has put in place," said Avenger offensive specialist Chris Jackson, who was selected as the game's "MVP" after catching 12 passes for 145 yards and four touchdowns. "All we need to do is to execute it and perform well."

Jackson, who also rushed for a two-yard touchdown, fueled the Avenger offense with help from quarterback Tony Graziani, who was 26-of-39 for 273 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for a three -yard score.

"I leaned a lot on Chris today, especially in third - down situations," said Hodgkiss, who notched a victory in his head-coaching debut. "He came through for us tonight. Chris was my guy."

Three consecutive pass completions from Graziani to Jackson midway through the fourth quarter culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass that put the Avengers up, 40 - 18, essentially ending the first -ever meeting between the two teams.

In addition to the offensive chemistry demonstrated by Graziani and Jackson, the Avengers were impressive on defense, led by lineman Tony Plantin, who had two sacks and one pass deflection. Los Angeles held New York to 176 total yards and only 16 pass completions.

If not for a fumbled center -quarterback exchange in the first quarter, the Avengers might have held the Dragons without a touchdown until the final minutes. New York recovered the fumble at the L.A. four -yard line to set up a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Danny Ragsdale to offensive specialist Steve Papin. The Dragons would not score another touchdown until backup quarterback Matt Nagy hit Papin for a 16 -yard score with just 4:32 remaining in the game.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 4, 2003


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