Avengers win pair of Arena Football League awards
May 28, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- The Arena Football League announced today that Chad Dukes and Chris Jackson of the Los Angeles Avengers have been honored with two of the league's three weekly awards for their outstanding performances in last Friday's 74-53 victory over the Georgia Force.
Dukes is the AFL's "Ironman of the Week" and Jackson is the "Offensive Player of the Week." Donvetis Franklin of the New York Dragons took "Defensive Player of the Week" honors.
This marks the first time in three years that two members of the same team have been honored with a pair of AFL awards in the same week.
Dukes, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound fullback-linebacker, was everywhere for the Avengers versus the Force. He scored three touchdowns, rushed for 19 yards, caught a 24-yard pass, returned a kickoff 12 yards, made a game-high 8.5 tackles, recovered a fumble and forced a fumble.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound offensive specialist, caught a team-record 13 passes for 194 yards and six touchdowns. He also set an Avenger record for single-game scoring with 38 points (six touchdowns and a two-point conversion). Incredibly, Jackson came off the injured reserve list two days prior to the game and played with a soft cast to protect a broken right wrist. Despite missing two games, he leads the AFL in scoring (116 points) and receiving yards (708).
It is the third time in Jackson's Avenger career that he has earned a weekly league honor. After catching 12 passes for 145 yards and scoring five touchdowns (four receiving, one rushing) in a 43-25 season-opening victory over the New York Dragons on April 19, he was selected as the "Offensive Player of the Week." Last season, as a two-way player (wide receiver-linebacker), Jackson was named the "Ironman" for a similar performance on June 23, 2001, which included 12 catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns, as well as two tackles and an interception versus the Arizona Rattlers.
The Avengers (4-2) host the Dallas Desperados (2-4) on Saturday, June 1, at STAPLES Center. The game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m., will be televised live on Fox Sports Net 2.
Avenger season tickets are still available and can be purchased over the telephone at 1-888-AVENGERS. Single-game tickets, which start as low as $8, can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets and the STAPLES Center box office.
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