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Carolina Cobras Game Notes

May 1, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Carolina Cobras (0-13) vs. Chicago Rush (6-7)
Date: May 4, 2003
Kickoff: 3:00 p.m.
Site: Charlotte Coliseum (12,229)
Officials: Pat Garvey (Referee), Tony Payne (Umpire), Rusty Spindel (Head Linesman), James Mello (Line Judge), Rich Wilborn (Back Judge)
Series Record: Chicago leads all-time series 1-0
Coaches: Carolina: Eddie Khayat (4th Season, 23-15) Chicago: Mike Hohensee (10th Season, 66-63)

THE SERIES: Chicago leads all-time series 1-0 @Chicago 41, Carolina 38 – April 28, 2001

COBRAS LAST WEEK: The Cobras season-long struggles continued with a 62-22 loss to Arizona at America West Arena. The loss was a franchise-record 13th straight. After trailing by only six at the break, the Cobras committed four turnovers and were outscored 34-0 in the second half. It was the second straight week that Carolina was held scoreless in the second half and the team's second consecutive 40-point loss. Bernard Holmes registered his 10th consecutive game of 200 or more all-purpose yards with 230 against the Rattlers. Stewart Patridge played the first half at quarterback before leaving with a back injury and completed 6-of-15 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. After starting the game at OS, Robert Hall moved to quarterback for the second half and completed 6-of-14 passes for 73 yards, but threw three interceptions.

RUSH LAST WEEK: Billy Dicken and the Rush avenged a previous loss to Grand Rapids and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 54-46 victory over the division-leading Rampage at Allstate Arena. Dicken completed 20-of-24 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns, with just one interception in leading the Rush to its third victory in the last four weeks. For the second straight week, Dicken also rushed for a TD. Antonio Chatman, who came into the game leading the AFL in all-purpose yards, finished the game with eight catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Fullbacks Bob McMillen and Jamie McGourty both had rushing scores for Chicago.

HEAD COACHES: Eddie Khayat makes his coaching debut with Carolina on Sunday after being named to the position on an interim basis on April 28. He joined the Cobras organization as senior advisor of football operations in February. Khayat spent five years with the Nashville Kats, where he served as head coach in 1997 and 1998 and as general manager from 1999-2001. Khayat was honored as the AFL's Coach of the Year in 1997 after guiding the expansion Kats to a division championship. In his two years as head coach, the Kats had a 19-11 record and made the playoffs both years. In his three seasons as general manager, the Kats made the playoffs each year and played in the ArenaBowl in 2000 and 2001. Khayat also served as head coach of the New Orleans Night in 1991. Khayat played in the NFL for nine seasons with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles before ending his playing career with the AFL's Boston Patriots. He began his coaching days as defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, where he served for four seasons before taking over as head coach of the Eagles in 1971. After two years in Philadelphia, he was a defensive line coach with Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore, New England and Tampa Bay.

Mike Hohensee is in his third season as the head coach of the Rush, his 10th as an Arena Football League head coach, and his 15th as a member of an AFL coaching staff. He became the sixth coach in AFL history to record 60 regular-season victories when the Rush defeated Dallas (58-52 overtime) July 13, 2002, joining Tim Marcum, Danny White, Perry Moss, John Gregory and Michael Trigg. During his nine seasons as a head coach, his teams have reached the playoffs six times. He was hired as the first head coach in Rush history on September 26, 2000.

INJURY UPDATES: Stewart Patridge (back) and Robert Hall (ankle) are listed as probable for the game against Chicago...Derek Stingley (neck) is questionable...Six players remain on the Cobras injured reserve list...15 players have spent time on injured reserve this season...Carolina has lost a total of 88 player games due to injury.

COBRAS MILESTONES:

OS Ben Bronson needs:
• 1 receiving touchdown for 50

QB Robert Hall needs:
• 57 passing yards to reach 7,500

OS Bernard Holmes needs:
• 6 receiving touchdowns to reach 50
• 7 receptions to set a new Cobras season record
• 108 receiving yards to set a new Cobras season record

WR/LB Ty Law needs:
• 258 receiving yards to reach 3,000
• 4 receiving touchdowns to reach 50

DS Derek Stingley
• 1 pass breakup for 100

COBRAS NEXT WEEK: The Cobras travel to Orlando for their final road game of the 2003 season. The game will be played Friday, May 9 instead of Sunday, May 11. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

SNAKE BITES:

Record-Setting Losing Streaks: Last week's loss at Arizona was the Cobras' franchise-record 13th straight. The previous long streak of eight came during the 2000 campaign. The AFL record for consecutive losses to start the season is 14 set by Memphis in 1996. Carolina has lost six straight at home and seven straight on the road -- both franchise records.

Holmes Continues To Shine: No player has had a bigger impact for the Cobras this season than OS Bernard Holmes.

He has recorded 200 or more all-purpose yards in each of his last 10 games played and leads the AFL with 240.1 all-purpose yards per game. So far this season, he has recorded six of the top eight single-game all-purpose yardage totals in franchise history, including the third-best overall performance in AFL history with 413 all-purpose yards against Georgia on April 18. Holmes has already set new franchise season records for touchdowns (20), 100-yard receiving games (6), kickoff returns (74), kickoff return yards (1,546), combined return yards (1,644) and all-purpose yards (2,641). His 180 receiving yards on March 9 against Las Vegas and 13 receptions on April 4 at Los Angeles were career highs.

Climbing The Charts: Despite missing two games this year, Holmes ranks as one of only three players in AFL history to have 10 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
Bernard Holmes 2003 Carolina 10

One For The Record Book: Bernard Holmes had the best game of his career and the third-best overall performance in Arena Football history on April 18 when he recorded a franchise-record 413 all-purpose yards in the Cobras loss to Georgia. Holmes had nine receptions for 125 yards, returned nine kickoffs for 216 yards and had two missed field goal returns for 72 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown. Below are the top three all-purpose yardage games in Arena Football history:

Player Date Team Yards
Barry Wagner 6/21/96 Orl. vs. Iowa 434
Lamont Cooper 5/4/02 Buf. at Det. 415
Bernard Holmes 4/18/03 Car. vs. Geo. 413

Two Weeks To Forget: The Cobras have posted back-to-back 40-point losses the last two weeks to Georgia and Arizona. They are the first AFL team ever to lose by 40 or more points in consecutive weeks and the first team ever to have three losses by 40 or more in one season (also at Tampa Bay on January 31). Carolina was held scoreless in the second half each of the last two weeks and committed a total of 13 turnovers in the two outings. Below is a chart breaking down the last two games:

Statistics Cobras Opp.
Points 20.5 60.5
First Half Points 20.5 26.0
Second Half Points 0.0 34.5
Net Yards 178.5 228.0
Net Yards Passing 174.5 208.5
Net Yards Rushing 4.0 19.5
Total Turnovers 13 0

The AFL's Version Of Slash: Robert Hall has started games at both QB and OS for the Cobras this season and played both positions in last week's loss at Arizona. He has thrown 24 touchdowns this year, rushed for six more and has five receptions for 80 yards. He is the only player in league history to have 2,000 passing yards and 2,000 receiving yards in his career.

Third Quarter Woes: The Cobras have scored just 68 points in the third quarter this season, an average of only 5.2 points per game. Carolina has been outscored 191-68 in the period, including 48-0 the last two weeks.

The Quarterback Carousel: The Cobras have used five different quarterbacks this season, but have settled in with Stewart Patridge as the starter the last four weeks. Chad DeGrenier started the season opener at Tampa Bay, throwing four interceptions. Patridge got the nod in week two at Buffalo. Robert 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. Ron Lopez got the starting nod in week six against Las Vegas. Lopez was replaced in the fourth quarter of that game by Hall, who started the next three weeks. Patridge returned to the starting lineup in week 10 at Los Angeles.

A Tale Of Two Halves: The Cobras have been within a touchdown at halftime in each of their last six games, but have been outscored 185-72 in the second half to stretch their losing streak to 13 games. Below is a chart showing the comparison:

Statistics Cobras Opponents
First Half Points 138 (23.0) 153 (25.5)
Second Half Points 72 (12.0) 185 (30.8)

Trading Places: After appearing as an OL/DL in 10 of the Cobras first 12 games, rookie Tim McGill moved to FB/LB last week against Arizona and responded with the best outing of his AFL career. He recorded a season-high 4.0 tackles and his second sack of the season.

Post To Post: Carolina has allowed a franchise record five kickoff returns for touchdowns this season and one missed field goal return for a touchdown. In the previous three years of the team's history, the Cobras had allowed only six kickoff returns for touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Bernard Holmes has returned three kickoffs for scores and one missed FG for a touchdown.

He Only Scores Touchdowns: WR/DB Jamaal Garman has scored seven touchdowns in his eight games played this season. Six of his 18 receptions have been for scores and he added the first rushing touchdown of his career on April 18 against Georgia.

Cobras Among League Leaders: OS Bernard Holmes leads the AFL in all-purpose yards per game with 240.1 per outing...Holmes is 2nd in kickoff returns (74), 2nd in all-purpose yardage (2641), 2nd in kickoff return yardage (1546), tied for 4th in kickoff return TDs (3), 8th in receiving yards per game (90.5) and 10th in receptions (83)...K Matt George is second in field goal attempts (33), is tied for 3rd in field goals made (11) and is 10th in scoring among kickers (70)...DS Larry Casher is 14th in the league in tackles with 54.5.

The True Ironmen: WR/DB Nick Ward and K Matt George are the only two players that have appeared in every game for the Cobras this season. Ward had the best game of his three-year AFL career on April 11 against Tampa Bay. Ward had seven receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns on offense, all of which are new career-highs. Defensively, he had 5.0 tackles, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one interception. George's 51-yard field goal on April 11 against Tampa Bay tied the longest in Cobras franchise history. It was the fourth 50-plus yard field goal of his career.

Patridge Makes His Mark: QB Stewart Patridge made his second start of the season on April 4 at Los Angeles and quickly put his mark on the Cobras record book. He posted franchise records of 30 completions and 46 pass attempts, throwing for 287 yards and six touchdowns, both of which are season-highs for a Cobras quarterback.

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 and WR/DB Nick Ward as a member of the Florida Bobcats in 2001. Supporting Our Military: To show their support for the men and women serving in our armed forces at home and overseas, the Carolina Cobras are offering special discounts and, when available, complimentary tickets for all armed forces personnel and their families to any Cobras game for the remainder of the 2003 season. To take advantage of this offer, armed forces personnel and/or their families will be asked to present a military ID at the Charlotte Coliseum box office to receive the tickets.

COBRAS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

OS Bernard Holmes: Holmes has posted 200 or more all-purpose yards in each of his last 10 games, including a franchise-record 413 yards on April 18 against Georgia. He leads the AFL with 240.1 all-purpose yards per game and has recorded six of the top eight all-purpose yardage games in franchise history this season. His 180 receiving yards on March 9 against Las Vegas and 13 receptions on April 4 at Los Angeles are career highs. Holmes is 2nd in the league in kickoff returns (74), 2nd in all-purpose yardage (2641), 2nd in kickoff return yardage (1546), tied for 4th in kickoff return TDs (3), 8th in receiving yards per game (90.5) and 10th in receptions (83).

QB Stewart Patridge: Patridge has started each of the last four games since taking the starting role on April 4 at Los Angeles. In that four-game span, he has completed 72-of-137 (.526) passes for 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for two touchdowns.

DS Derek Stingley: Stingley ranks among the league's leaders with 12 passes defended and 41.0 tackles this season. He has recorded at least one pass breakup in nine of his 11 games played. Stingley has posted a season-high with 8.0 tackles three times – February 14 vs. Detroit, March 21 vs. Dallas and April 11 vs. Tampa Bay.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 1, 2003


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