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Carolina Cobras Game Notes

April 2, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Carolina Cobras (0-9) vs. Los Angeles Avengers (7-2)
Date: April 4, 2003
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m.
Site: STAPLES Center (16,096)
Officials: William LeMonnier (Referee), Dan Ferrell (Umpire), Tim Pedroza (Head Linesman), Dana McKenzie (Line Judge), Billy Beckett (Back Judge)
Series Record: Carolina leads all-time series 2-1
Coaches: Carolina: Mike Hold (1st Season, 0-9) Los Angeles: Ed Hodgkiss (2nd Season, 15-8)

THE SERIES: Carolina leads all-time series 2-1
Carolina 58, @ Los Angeles 50 – April 20, 2000
@ Carolina 66, Los Angeles 28 – July 13, 2001
@ Los Angeles 62, Carolina 32 – June 22, 2002

COBRAS LAST WEEK: The Carolina Cobras suffered their franchise-record ninth consecutive loss with a 62-40 loss to the defending AFL champion San Jose SaberCats before 13,141 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose. The game was tied at 33 in the third quarter when the SaberCats scored 22 consecutive points to break away for their 18th straight home victory. Barry Wagner led San Jose with three rushing touchdowns, one kickoff return for TD and three receptions for 41 yards. Carolina was led by rookie Chris Johnson, who caught nine passes for a career-high 112 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Robert Hall tied his season-high with five touchdown passes on 20-of-34 passing. Bernard Holmes recorded his sixth consecutive game of 200 or more all-purpose yards with 221 yards against the SaberCats.

AVENGERS LAST WEEK: Although it was the fourth time this season that they won a game on the final play of the contest, the Los Angeles Avengers took it to another level, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the final 35 seconds to shock the Orlando Predators, 64-63. QB Tony Graziani finished 19-of-31 for 319 yards and six touchdowns for Los Angeles, which won its fourth consecutive game. Chris Jackson had seven receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Greg Hopkins had two catches for 40 yards, including the game-winning touchdown pass off the net.

HEAD COACHES: After two seasons as head coach of the af2 Augusta Stallions, Mike Hold is making his AFL coaching debut with the Cobras in 2003. He led the Stallions to a combined 22-10 record in his two years, including a 13-3 mark and playoff appearance in 2002. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Hold spent 12 seasons as an AFL quarterback. He saw action for eight teams during his tenure and was the last remaining active player from the league's first season when he retired in 2000. Hold had training camp stints with the Denver Broncos (1986) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987, 88). He appeared in three games for Tampa Bay during the NFL strike in 1987. A 1985 graduate of the University of South Carolina, Hold led the Gamecocks to the school's only 10-win season in 1984 and earned MVP honors of the Gator Bowl. Despite playing only two seasons, he ranks seventh on the school's all-time passing yards list with 2,981 yards.

Ed Hodgkiss led the Los Angeles 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, but signed a five-year contract extension shortly after the 2002 season. Hodgkiss led the Avengers into the postseason for the first time in franchise history and established the Avengers 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 joining the Avengers, Hodgkiss had been with the Indiana Firebirds since 1997. He was the team's offensive coordinator for three seasons (1999-2001).

LAST YEAR'S COBRAS-AVENGERS MEETING:

Los Angeles 62, Carolina 32 (6/22/02 at Los Angeles)

Chris Jackson caught four touchdown passes and Chad Dukes added two scores to help the Los Angeles Avengers beat the Carolina Cobras, 62-32. Jackson caught eight passes for 135 yards and was named Player of the Game. Dukes had a 23-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and added a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter. Tony Graziani completed 16-of-21 attempts for 206 yards and four touchdowns. Greg Hopkins added seven catches for 75 yards and a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown for Los Angeles. Cobras quarterback Aaron Sparrow completed 21-of-39 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions and was sacked three times. Aaron Bailey had six receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns and Cory Fleming caught six passes for 84 yards and a score for the Cobras.

FAMILIAR FACES: Avengers K Remy Hamilton was with the Cobras in 2000...Avengers defensive coordinator Doug Kay was the first head coach of the Cobras and was with the team in 2000 and 2001, going 10-18 in two years as head coach.

INJURY UPDATES: OL/DL Kelvin Ingram (knee), OL/DL Craig Moore (ankle) and WR/LB Chris Johnson (ribs) are all probable for this week's game...OL/DL Decorye Hampton (foot) and WR/LB Van Johnson (wrist) were placed on the injured list...OL/DL Jim Stiebel, DS Buddy Crutchfield and QB Ron Lopez are day-to-day to return to practice.

COBRAS MILESTONES:
QB Robert Hall needs:
• 159 passing yards to reach 7,500

OS Bernard Holmes needs:
• 35 receiving yards to reach 5,000
• 12 receptions to reach 400

WR/DB Tramain Jones needs:
• 1.5 tackles to reach 100
• 1 reception to reach 50
• 72 receiving yards to reach 750

WR/LB Ty Law needs:
• 0.5 tackle to reach 100
• 3 receptions to reach 200
• 6 receiving touchdowns to reach 50

COBRAS NEXT WEEK: The Cobras return home to face the Tampa Bay Storm on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay defeated the Cobras 60-20 in the season opener on January 31.

SNAKE BITES:

Record-Setting Losing Streaks: Last week's loss at San Jose was the Cobras ninth straight overall setting a new franchise record. The previous long streak of eight came during the 2000 campaign. The AFL record for losses to start the season is 14 set by Memphis in 1996.

From Out Of Nowhere: The surprise star of last week's game at San Jose was rookie WR/LB Chris Johnson. Johnson caught nine passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in just his second career game played. Since being signed from the practice squad on February 20, he has been inactive in four games and had just one reception for a 12-yard touchdown in his lone game played on March 9 against Las Vegas.

Holmes Continues To Shine: No player has had a bigger impact for the Cobras this season than WR/DB turned OS Bernard Holmes. He has recorded 200 or more all-purpose yards in each of his last six games played (he missed week five due to a family death). During that stretch, he has 49 receptions for 643 yards and 11 touchdowns and 42 kickoff returns for 884 yards, including 56-yard touchdowns against Detroit and Georgia. Last week against San Jose, Holmes had just three receptions for 37 yards and one score, but had nine kickoff returns for 184 yards. So far this season, he has recorded the third (284 in week seven at Georgia), fourth (283 in week four vs. Orlando), fifth (272 in week three vs. Detroit) and sixth (258 in week six vs. Las Vegas) best single-game all-purpose yardage totals in franchise history. His 180 receiving yards on March 9 against Las Vegas marked a career high. Below is a chart of the top six all-purpose yardage games in Cobras history. Player Date Opp Rec Ret Tot
Corey Johnson 7/7/01 NY 0 326 326
Jack Jackson 4/14/01 FLA 155 148 303
Bernard Holmes 3/15/03 GEO 106 178 284
Bernard Holmes 2/21/03 ORL 92 191 283
Bernard Holmes 2/14/03 DET 110 162 272
Bernard Holmes 3/9/03 LV 180 78 258

Climbing The Charts: In seven games played, Holmes already ranks as one of only five players in AFL history to have six or more games of 200 or more all-purpose yards in a season.

Player Season Team Games
Lamont Cooper 2001 Oklahoma 12
Steve Papin 1998 San Jose 10
Steve Papin 2002 New York 9
Steve Papin 2000 San Jose 8
Ben Bronson 2000 Houston 7
Steve Papin 1999 San Jose 7
Lamont Cooper 2000 Milwaukee 6
Bernard Holmes 2003 Carolina 6
Chris Horn 2003 Arizona 6

The AFL's Version Of Slash: Cobras QB Robert Hall set a franchise record with four rushing touchdowns on March 21 against Dallas and has six of the team's seven rushing touchdowns this season. He has also thrown for 24 TDs and has two receptions for 31 yards. Hall has seen action as both a quarterback and offensive specialist throughout his AFL career. He is the only player in league history to have 2,000 passing yards and 2,000 receiving yards in his career.

On The Road Again: The Cobras have struggled in their five road games this season – losing by an average of 22.4 points per outing. The good news is that after this week's game at Los Angeles, Carolina plays four of their final six games at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Site Yards/Gm TO/Gm Margin
Road (5 games) 200.8 3.2 -22.4
Home (4 games) 240.5 1.3 -11.8

Cobras Among League Leaders: OS Bernard Holmes is one of only three players in the league that is averaging over 200 all-purpose yards per game and ranks 2nd in that category with 221.4...In other categories, Holmes is 2nd in kickoff returns (42), 4th in all-purpose yardage (1550), 5th in kickoff return yardage (884) and tied for 5th in kickoff return touchdowns (2)...DS Larry Casher ranks 10th in the league in tackles with 44.5...QB Robert Hall is tied for 6th with six rushing touchdowns...FB/LB Michael Blair ranks 2nd in rushing yards per game (14.8) and 9th in rushing yards (74)...DS Derek Stingley is tied for 7th in passes defended (10)...K Matt George is tied for the league lead in field goal attempts (26), ranks 4th in field goals made (9) and is tied for 8th in PAT percentage (81.2)

A Passing Frenzy: The Cobras defense has allowed opponents to complete 69.2 percent of their passes over the last five games (101-of-146)...Dallas QB Jim Kubiak became the first QB to post over 300 yards against Carolina this season, throwing for 330 yards on March 21.

Post To Post: Carolina has allowed a franchise record five kickoff returns for TDs this season and one missed field goal return for TD. In the previous three years of the team's history, the Cobras had allowed only six kickoff returns for touchdowns. Last week, San Jose returned two Carolina kickoffs for scores.

The Quarterback Carousel: After starting five different quarterbacks in their first six games, the Cobras settled in with Robert Hall as the starter for their last three outings. Chad DeGrenier started the season opener at Tampa Bay, throwing four interceptions. Stewart Patridge got the nod in week two at Buffalo. Hall was the starter in weeks three and four against Detroit and Orlando. Rookie Glen Gauntt got the start in week five at Grand Rapids. Seven-year AFL veteran Ron Lopez got the starting nod in Week 6 against Las Vegas. Lopez was replaced in the fourth quarter of that game by Hall, who started the last three weeks.

Hall vs. The Field: Continuing with the quarterback trend, here's how Robert Hall matches up in his seven games playing quarterback against the other four quarterbacks. Hall has a touchdown to interception ratio of 6.0 compared to the other quarterbacks' ratio of 1.0.

Gm QB C-Att Pct. Yds TD INT
7 Hall 120-219 .548 1385 24 4
4 Others 54-114 .474 556 10 10

Carolina Connection: The Cobras signed a pair of North Carolina collegiate products this week in OL/DL Jerness Gethers and DS Adrian Jones. Gethers played at the University of North Carolina from 1993-96, while Jones played at North Carolina Central from 1994-97.

Casher Sets Franchise Record: Rookie DS Larry Casher posted a new Cobras record and tied the AFL season-high with 12.0 tackles on March 15 at Georgia. Despite playing in only seven games, he ranks 10th in the league with 44.5 tackles on the season. Casher had 6.0 tackles last week against San Jose.

From Teammate to Coach: OS Ben Bronson, QB Robert Hall and OS Bernard Holmes were teammates of Cobras head coach Mike Hold with the Houston ThunderBears.

It's A Small World: Defensive coordinator Flint Fleming was a teammate of OL/DL Jim Stiebel with the Buffalo Destroyers in 2000. Fleming played with WR/DB Bernard Holmes, WR/DB Tramain Jones and WR/DB Nick Ward as a member of the Florida Bobcats in 2001.

Coming With The Coach: WR/LB Chris Johnson, DS Adrian Jones, OL/DL Blaine Mensch, FB/LB Glen Mitts and defensive backs coach Maurice Blanding came to Carolina with head coach Mike Hold from the af2 Augusta Stallions. RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

April 1: Signed Adrian Jones, signed Jerness Gethers from the practice squad, placed Decorye Hampton and Van Johnson on injured reserve.
March 25: Signed Jerness Gethers to the practice squad.
March 20: Signed Decorye Hampton from the practice squad.
March 19: Signed Johnny Frost to the practice squad.
March 17: Waived Thaddeus Bullard.
March 13: Signed Stewart Patridge from the practice squad, placed Ron Lopez on injured reserve.

COBRAS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

OS Bernard Holmes: Against San Jose last week, Holmes had just three receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown, but returned nine kickoffs for 184 yards, topping the 200 all-purpose yardage mark for the sixth consecutive game. In his last six games played (he missed week five due to a family death), he has 49 receptions for 643 yards and 11 touchdowns and 42 kickoff returns for 884 yards, including 56-yard touchdowns against Detroit and Georgia. So far this season, he has the third (284 in week seven at Georgia), fourth (283 in week four vs. Orlando), fifth (272 in week three vs. Detroit) and sixth (258 in week six vs. Las Vegas) best single-game all-purpose yardage totals in franchise history. His 180 receiving yards on March 9 against Las Vegas marked a career-high for the six-year veteran. Holmes ranks 2nd in the league in kickoff returns (42), 2nd in all-purpose yards per game (221.4), 4th in all-purpose yards (1550), 5th in kickoff return yards (884) and is tied for 5th in kickoff return touchdowns (2).

DS Larry Casher: Casher leads the Cobras and ranks 10th in the AFL with 44.5 tackles. Last week against San Jose, he had 6.0 tackles. Casher also has two interceptions on the season. An AFL rookie, Casher posted a Cobras franchise record 12.0 tackles on March 15 against Georgia, matching the most by an AFL player this season.

DS Derek Stingley: Stingley is tied for seventh in the league with 10 passes defended this season. He has recorded at least one pass breakup in each of his seven games played. Stingley has twice posted a season-high with 8.0 tackles – February 14 vs. Detroit and March 21 vs. Dallas.

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