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Cobras News & Notes

March 4, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Carolina Cobras (0-5) vs. Las Vegas Gladiators (2-3)
Date: March 9, 2003
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m.
Site: Charlotte Coliseum (12,229)
Officials: Wes Fritz (Referee), Tony Payne (Umpire), Rich Grube (Head Linesman), Kent Payne (Line Judge), James Cole (Back Judge)
Series Record: Carolina leads all-time 4-0
Coaches: Carolina: Mike Hold (1st Season, 0-5) LV: Frank Haege (2nd Season, 11-8)

THE SERIES: Carolina leads all-time 4-0
@ Carolina 77, New Jersey 47 – July 14, 2000
Carolina 52, @ New Jersey 21 – April 14, 2001
@ Carolina 68, New Jersey 22 – June 8, 2001
Carolina 40, @ New Jersey 28 – May 11, 2002

COBRAS LAST WEEK: The Carolina Cobras suffered their fifth consecutive defeat to open the 2003 Arena Football League season with a 68-34 loss to the Grand Rapids Rampage. A trio of stars stood out for the Rampage led by quarterback Clint Dolezel, who completed 19-of-27 passes for 222 yards and seven touchdowns. Game MVP Terrill Shaw caught four of those TD passes, while Ironman Steve Smith had three touchdown receptions and a kickoff return for another. Glen Gauntt made his first career start at quarterback for the Cobras and finished with 182 yards on 21-of-45 passing. He threw four touchdown passes and ran for another, but also had three interceptions. Jamaal Garman had two TD receptions for the second straight game for Carolina. GLADIATORS LAST WEEK: Quarterback Mark Grieb threw four touchdown passes and the San Jose defense scored a pair of touchdowns to propel the SaberCats to a 72-37 win over the Las Vegas Gladiators at the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday afternoon. Gladiators QB Jay McDonagh completed 9-of-21 for 86 yards and two interceptions before being pulled in favor of Todd Hammel In just over two quarters of play, Hammel completed 13-of-23 for 228 yards and three scores. Mike Horacek led all receivers with 11 receptions for 166 yards.

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.

Frank Haege is in his second season with the Las Vegas Gladiators. He led the Gladiators to the biggest turnaround in AFL history in 2002, as the team went 9-5 and won the Eastern Division championship after winning just two games a year earlier. The Gladiators set records in almost every offensive category and went to the playoffs for the first time in the franchise history. Prior to joining the Gladiators, Haege spent two years as head coach and director of football operations for the Quad City Steamwheelers in af2. In his two years there, the Steamwheelers won back-to-back af2 championships and had a record of 37-1, including a 19-0 season in 2000, the first perfect season ever in AFL or af2.

LAST YEAR'S COBRAS-GLADIATORS MEETING:

Carolina 40, New Jersey 28 (5/11/02 at New Jersey) The Cobras won their third game in a row, knocking off the New Jersey Gladiators 40-28 at Continental Airlines Arena. The Cobras defense blanked New Jersey in the fourth quarter and held the Gladiators to just 28 total points. Cobras quarterback Connell Maynor completed 12 of 21 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Cory Fleming led Carolina with 80 yards receiving on two catches and Carl Bond chipped in with five receptions for 49 yards while filling in for injured offensive specialist Aaron Bailey. New Jersey quarterback Jay McDonagh passed for 249 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Gladiators offensive specialist Mike Horacek had nine catches for 72 yards and a touchdown for New Jersey.

FAMILIAR FACES: Gladiators K Steve Videtich returns to his home state, after growing up in Winston-Salem and playing his college ball at N.C. State...Las Vegas OL/DL Wilky Bazile played for the Charlotte Rage in 1996...Gladiators FB/LB Jermaine Younger and Cobras OL/DL Ben Crosland were college teammates at Utah State...Gladiators WR/DB Jeriod Johnson and Carolina OL/DL Kelvin Ingram were college teammates at Oklahoma State.

INJURY UPDATES: OL/DL Kelvin Ingram (foot) and OL/DL Craig Moore (wrist) are probable for this week...DS Derek Stingley is questionable with a shoulder injury suffered last week at Grand Rapids...OS Ben Bronson was placed on injured reserve this week with a bone bruise in his knee.

COBRAS MILESTONES:

FB/LB Jason Bratton needs:
• 2.0 tackles to reach 50

K Matt George needs:
• 2 field goals made to reach 50
• 16 points to reach 400

WR/LB Van Johnson needs:
• 9 receptions to reach 250

WR/LB Ty Law needs:
• 36 receiving yards to reach 2,500
• 7.0 tackles to reach 100

DS Derek Stingley needs:
• 1.5 tackles to reach 350

COBRAS NEXT WEEK: The Cobras travel to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Force. The Southern Division rivals meet Saturday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m.

SNAKE BITES:

A Missing Link: WR/DB Bernard Holmes, who made a huge impact for the Cobras in weeks three and four, missed last week's game at Grand Rapids to be with his family after the death of his grandmother. In his previous two games played, Holmes had 18 receptions for 202 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 17 kickoff returns for 343 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown against Detroit, the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Cobras player since Carl Bond did it on April 26, 2002 in week two of the 2002 season. His 272 all-purpose yards in week three and 283 all-purpose yards in week four rank as the fourth and third (respectively) highest single-game totals in Cobras history. Holmes will move to OS for good this week due to Ben Bronson being placed on the injured list with a knee injury.

Garman's Touchdowns: In his last two games, WR/DB Jamaal Garman has just five receptions, but four of those have been for touchdowns. He had two touchdowns on three receptions on February 21 against Orlando and followed that up with two scores on two receptions last week at Grand Rapids. The four touchdowns match his total from all of last season.

A Record For The Rookie: Rookie QB Glen Gauntt, starting the first game of his AFL career, set a franchise record with 45 pass attempts last week at Grand Rapids.

Hitting The High Notes: Carolina's 221 yards of total offense and 43 rushing yards at Grand Rapids both marked season highs...OS Ben Bronson went over the 3,500 career receiving yard mark before injuring his knee...WR/LB Van Johnson caught the 50th touchdown pass of his career...Michael Blair's 29-yard run in the second quarter was the second longest run in franchise history.

A Rough Night For The Defense: The Grand Rapids offense posted several numbers that will go in the Cobras record books. The 34-point margin was the third worst loss in franchise history. 42 points given up in the first half ranks as the fourth most ever given up in the first half of a game and is the most the Cobras have given up in any half this season. The 21 points by Grand Rapids in the first quarter is tied for the second most ever by an opponent. Grand Rapids' K Brian Gowins 10 PAT attempts and eight PATs made are tied for second and third most (respectively) by an opposing kicker. In addition, the Rampage's three penalties and 15 penalty yards are the second lowest ever by a Cobras opponent.

Defensive Struggles: Over the last two games, the Cobras defense hasn't had much to show for its efforts. The Cobras last two opponents, Orlando and Grand Rapids, averaged 69.0 points against the Carolina defense. The Predators scored nine touchdowns in 10 offensive possessions and the Rampage scored 10 touchdowns in 11 offensive possessions. Kicking Accuracy: At a perfect 14-of-14, Matt George is the only kicker in the league that has not missed an extra point this season.

The Quarterback Carousel: In five games this season, the Cobras have started four different quarterbacks. Chad DeGrenier started the season opener at Tampa Bay, throwing four interceptions. Stewart Patridge got the nod in week two at Buffalo. Robert Hall was the starter in weeks three and four against Detroit and Orlando, throwing 10 touchdown passes in two games. Rookie Glen Gauntt was the latest candidate, getting the start last week in Grand Rapids.

Changing Numbers: With some of the roster moves that the Cobras have made in the past few weeks, several players have chosen to change their jersey numbers to numbers that were previously unavailable. K Matt George has made the switch from 9 to 12, allowing him to reclaim his nickname "K-12." QB Glen Gauntt took over George's former number 9, switching from 13. Also, WR/LB Ty Law has changed from 81 to 10.

The AFL's Version Of Slash: Cobras QB Robert Hall has seen action as both a quarterback and offensive specialist in the AFL. He is the first and only player in league history to have 2,000 passing yards and 2,000 receiving yards in his career. Entering the season, Hall was ranked eighth on the AFL's all-time career completion percentage list, having completed 62.6 percent of his career pass attempts.

From Teammate to Coach: OS Ben Bronson, WR/LB Terence Davis, QB Robert Hall and WR/DB 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.

Holmes Among The All-Time Best: Entering the 2003 season, WR/DB Bernard Holmes ranked among the AFL's all-time Top 25 in several receiving categories. Holmes was tied for 22nd in receptions (338), ranked 23rd in receiving touchdowns (78) and ranked 24th in receiving yards (4,204).

Coming With The Coach: QB Glen Gauntt, WR/LB Chris Johnson, 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.

Moving On Up: The Cobras roster features six players making their AFL debut after playing in af2 last season. Not only did Gauntt, Johnson, Mensch and Mitts make the move with Mike Hold, but WR/LB Gabe Amey (Macon) and OL/DL Tim McGill (Quad City) are also making the jump.

Smile For The Cameras: In addition to his time on the AFL field, head coach Mike Hold has also spent time playing football on the silver screen. He has played roles in several football-themed movies, most notably "The Waterboy" starring Adam Sandler.

COBRAS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

WR/DB Bernard Holmes: In his last two games played before missing last week's contest due to the death of his grandmother, Holmes had 18 receptions for 202 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 17 kickoff returns for 343 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown against Detroit, the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Cobras player since Carl Bond did it on April 26, 2002 in week two of the 2002 season. His 272 all-purpose yards in week three and 283 all-purpose yards in week four rank as the fourth and third (respectively) highest single-game totals in Cobras history. Holmes will move to OS for good this week due to Ben Bronson being placed on the injured list with a knee injury.

WR/LB Ty Law: Law is the Cobras third leading receiver this season with 19 receptions for 170 yards. With OS Ben Bronson out indefinitely due to a knee injury, Law will be counted on to provide an offensive boost.

DS Larry Casher: Casher is tied for the team lead in tackles with 13.5, despite having played in only three games. He had 4.5 tackles and his first career interception last week against Grand Rapids.

WR/DB Jamaal Garman: In his last two games, Garman has four touchdowns in five receptions. He has played just three games this season after beginning the season on the practice squad. Garman's four touchdowns in his last two games equals his season total from last year.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES:

March 4: Waived Zac Zedalis.

February 27: Placed Buddy Crutchfield on injured reserve.

February 26: Signed Michael Blair and Zac Zedalis, signed Thaddeus Bullard from the practice squad, placed Robert Williams on injured reserve.

February 25: Released Deryl Lane, activated and released Chad DeGrenier from injured reserve, placed Jim Stiebel on injured reserve.

February 20: Signed Chris Johnson from practice squad.

February 19: Signed Van Johnson and Ben Crosland, signed Thaddeus Bullard to the practice squad, released Michael Harrison, activated and waived Tim Dumas from injured reserve, placed Glen Mitts and Rj Anderson on injured reserve.

February 13: Signed Stewart Patridge and Decorye Hampton to the practice squad.

February 12: Signed Jason Bratton, signed Jamaal Garman and Glen Gauntt from the practice squad, placed Ethan Banning on injured reserve, signed Chris Johnson to the practice squad, released Stewart Patridge, waived Decorye Hampton and waived Dunstan Anderson from the practice squad.

February 8: Signed Dunstan Anderson to practice squad.

February 6: Signed Desmond Byrd and Derek Stingley, signed Glen Gauntt to the practice squad, placed Tim Dumas on injured reserve, waived Richard Holland and reinstated Chad DeGrenier to injured reserve.

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