AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Drive to ArenaBowl XVIII begins with battle of champions on NBC

March 31, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


NEW YORK – The Drive to ArenaBowl XVIII returns to NBC with three games this Sunday, April 4 at noon ET, highlighted by the defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay Storm (3-5) hosting ArenaBowl XVI champion San Jose SaberCats (6-1). It will be the SaberCats No. 1 scoring offense (60.0 PPG) against the Storm's No. 1 total defense (221.5 YPG).

Detroit Fury QB JIM KUBIAK, who is currently on injured reserve, joins host AL TRAUTWIG and analyst GLENN PARKER in the studio for a preview of Sunday's match-ups, halftime game updates and postgame wrap-up interviews.

The ArenaBowl XVI champion SaberCats are led by the arm of QB MARK GRIEB (1,645 yards, 31 TDs and 2 INTs) and the receiving hands of WR/DB JAMES ROE (43 receptions and 12 TDs), OS JAMES HUNDON (37 and 11) and WR/DB RASHIED DAVIS (22 and 9).

Tampa Bay QB SHANE STAFFORD (1,315 yards, 25 TDs and 6 INTs) will guide the Storm offense with weapons like WR/LB LAWRENCE SAMUELS (51 receptions for 616 yards and 5 TDs) and OS FREDDIE SOLOMON (40 receptions and 18 TDs) at his disposal.

In Philadelphia, the dynamic duo of Dallas OS JASON SHELLEY (51 receptions and 13 TDs) and WR/DB WILL PETTIS (38 receptions and 10 TDs) will face off against the Philadelphia tandem of OS TYRONNE JONES (44 receptions and 10 TDs) and WR/DB RICKY ROSS (35 receptions and 9 TDs). The Soul hope to avenge their Eastern Division rival for their 51-47 loss in Dallas in Week 2 this Sunday at noon ET on NBC.

There will be a lot of familiar faces when the New York Dragons (4-3) travel to Carolina to battle former players and their former head coach this Sunday at noon ET on NBC. Carolina head coach JOHN GREGORY spent nine seasons (1995-2003) at the helm for the New York/Iowa franchise, guiding the team to two ArenaBowl berths and four division titles. Eight players, including starting QB MATT NAGY (1,845 yards, 29 TDs and 5 INTs), emerging star OS TODD DOXZON (67 receptions for 741 yards and 15 TDs) and WR/DB DAMIEN GROCE (37 receptions and 12 TDs) spent time on the Dragons roster.

New York QB AARON GARCIA (1,554 yards, 41 TDs and 5 INTs) will be looking to help the Dragons' rise in the Eastern Division standings with the assistance of OS WILL HOLDER (34 receptions and 15 TDs) and WR/DB LINCOLN DUPREE (19 receptions and 7 TDs).

Games slated for Week 9 include: Georgia at Detroit on Thursday; Indiana at Colorado and Austin at Los Angeles on Friday; San Jose at Tampa Bay (NBC); Dallas at Philadelphia (NBC); New York at Carolina (NBC); Orlando at Columbus; Arizona at Grand Rapids and Chicago at Las Vegas on Sunday. New Orleans has a bye week.

GEORGIA FORCE (4-4) AT DETROIT FURY (3-4)
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, AT 7:30 P.M. ET
(TV: COMCAST/BRIGHTHOUSE, DETROIT – MARK CHAMPION and JIM BRANDSTATTER)

The last time these two teams played, Georgia was shut out in the fourth quarter, losing 38-31... The Force was outscored 18-7 in the second half... This season, QB LEON MURRAY has a 5-1 regular-season record in road contests... Averaging 29.6 yards a game rushing, the Force currently ranks No. 5 in the League in rushing offense... Murray is No. 2 among all QBs with 72 yards rushing on 22 carries scoring six TDs on the ground... This will be the first Thursday night game ever for the Force... In 2003, the Force defense caused Detroit QB ANDY KELLY to throw two INTs and forced a fumble... Last week, Kelly was 22-of-31 for 306 yards, seven TDs and one INT against Chicago... He also rushed for two scores, resulting in a 72-71 victory... Kelly is on pace to beat his personal best in passing yards in a season by over 500 yards... After scoring 70-or-more points, Detroit has a 1-2 record in games the following week... Detroit WR/LB THABITI DAVIS had 12 catches for 155 yards and 5 TDs against Chicago and was voted Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Week... Detroit is No. 1 in total offense... In the month of March, Kelly accumulated four passing games of over 300 yards.

INDIANA FIREBIRDS (3-5) AT COLORADO CRUSH (6-2)
SATURDAY, APRIL 3, AT 3 P.M. ET
(TV: COMCAST, COLORADO – MITCH HYDER and DAMON BOWERS)

Colorado head coach MIKE DAILEY, who led the Firebirds to an ArenaBowl XIII title in 1999, faces his former team for the first time... One of only two games that the Crush won in 2003 was against the Firebirds... In that game, the Crush held the Firebirds to 35 points, Colorado's best defensive showing of the season... In 2004, the Crush have a 6-2 record and a unique pattern of winning two straight games, then losing one...They have won the last two games... The Crush are 2-3 for Saturday games... Colorado OS DAMIAN HARRELL is tied for the No. 2 spot among leading scorers in the League, with 21 receiving TDs for 126 points... Colorado's DS RASHAD FLOYD leads the League with 5 INTs for 43 yards and 1 TD... Firebirds QB ADRIAN MCPHERSON is No. 2 in the League for rushing, with 35 attempts for 144 yards and 11 TDs... Overall, the Firebirds are No. 1 in the League for rushing offense... McPherson has also not thrown an INT in their three-game winning streak... McPherson has 20 TDs and 1 INTs in his last five games... The Firebirds rank No. 4 in the AFL in turnover differential (+7)... The defense is ranked No. 2 in combined first downs allowed, 3rd and 4th down percentage... MIKE WILPOLT could tie the best start by a Firebirds head coach at 4-0 with a win against Colorado (MIKE HOHENSEE accomplished that in 1994).

AUSTIN WRANGLERS (5-2) AT LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (4-3)
SATURDAY, APRIL 3, AT 10:30 P.M. ET
(TV: FOX SPORTS WEST 2 – BILL MACDONALD and ED CUNNINGHAM)

Avengers QB TONY GRAZIANI is No. 2 in the League for passing TDs (43)... The Avengers are No. 2 in the AFL in turnover margin with a +10... LA has turned the ball over just four times this season... Graziani had his string of 210 attempts without an INT broken in the third quarter of last week's loss at San Jose... LA leads the AFL in red-zone offense, scoring on 32 of its 33 trips (27 TDs, five FGs)... Avengers OS CHRIS JACKSON has scored a TD in every game he has played in for L.A. except one (5/10/03 vs. Colorado)... Jackson's numbers now stand at 133 TDs in 55 games... On defense, L.A. has come up with eight INTs, three by WR/DB KEVIN INGRAM (No. 2 in the AFL)... Austin QB JOHN KALEO (159-of-243 for 1,897 yards and 41 TDs) looks to surpass the 2,000-yard mark this weekend... He is tied for No. 3 for most passing TDs in the League (41)... On third down, he has converted 34-of-48 to give Austin a League-leading 70 percent success rate... Wranglers' OL/DL TOM BRIGGS leads the Wranglers with four sacks... Against Philadelphia last week, he had two tackles, two QB hurries and a pair of forced fumbles.

SAN JOSE SABERCATS (6-1) AT TAMPA BAY STORM (3-5)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT NOON ET
(TV: NBC – BOB PAPA, RAY BENTLEY and J.P. PETERSON)

SaberCats QB MARK GRIEB became the 12th QB in AFL history to throw 300-career TD passes when he passed for six in the win against L.A. last week... Grieb increased his career total to 304 and moved into 11th place on the all-time list... Though WR/DB RASHIED DAVIS did not get a KO return for a TD last week against the Avengers, he leads the League with 21 returns for 614 yards (29.2 Avg) and four TDs... His longest return of the season has been 58 yards, the League-high this season... San Jose is No. 1 in rush defense, but No. 19 in pass defense... SaberCat WR/LB JAMES ROE earned U.S. Army Ironman of the Week honors after catching a season-high tying 10 balls for 100 yards and 2 TDs and returning an INT 7 yards for a score against the Avengers... The SaberCats have reached the 50-point mark in every game this season and they are the only team in the league to do so... The Storm has the best total defense in the League, and is No. 3 in the League for rush and pass defense... Storm OS FREDDIE SOLOMON eclipsed the 2,000-career receiving yards Saturday against Georgia after hauling in four passes for 65 yards... He has 2,039 career receiving yards in 23 games played... Tampa Bay leads the all-time series over San Jose 5-3, but the SaberCats have won the last three games, including two straight in Tampa... San Jose is 2-4 in regular season meetings with the Storm - their worst winning percentage (.333) against a team they've faced at least six times.

ORLANDO PREDATORS (3-4) AT COLUMBUS DESTROYERS (1-6)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT NOON ET

Predators' QB CONNELL MAYNOR, who started in place of the injured JOE HAMILTON, completed 14-17 passes for 243 yards and five TDs last week against Las Vegas... Maynor came close to the Predators all-time pass completion percentage record (No. 4 all-time with 82.4 %)... He also rushed five times for 17 yards and two more scores to account for seven TDs. Predators WR/LB CORY FLEMING has caught at least one TD pass in 16 consecutive games with the Predators... Fleming has scored at least one TD in 22 of 24 career games with Orlando... Against Las Vegas last week, Fleming grabbed six passes for 112 yards (18.6 average) and two scores... It was his third 100-yard game of the season, ninth with the Predators and 31st in his AFL career... OS TRAVIS MCGRIFF, making his season debut for the Predators last week, caught three passes for 42 yards and two TDs... This week, the Predators face Columbus WR/LB CORNELIUS WHITE, who is ranked No. 5 in the League with 51 catches for 684 yards and 14 TDs... Destroyers' WR/DB SEDRICK ROBINSON is a threat on KO returns with a 23.6 average and 2 TDs on 21 returns.

DALLAS DESPERADOS (5-2) AT PHILADELPHIA SOUL (3-5)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT NOON ET
(TV: NBC – TOM HAMMOND, PAT HADEN and LEWIS JOHNSON)

A win for Dallas could increase the Desperados road-win streak to six consecutive games, dating back to the end of the 2003 season... It would improve Dallas' record against MICHAEL TRIGG-coached teams to 3-1... It would also mark the Desperados third straight victory on NBC... Dallas WR/DB WILL PETTIS was voted U.S. Army Ironman of the Game when he had 4 catches for 51 yards and 1 TD, 1 rush for 28 yards and 1 TD, 5 kickoff returns for 77 yards, 1 MFG return for 13 yards, two tackles and two passes defensed against the Soul on 2/15/04... Rookie WR/LB BOBBY SIPPIO recorded 3 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD, a 23-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard MFG return during the last Dallas/Philly matchup... Sippio is leading all AFL rookies in receiving yards (544) and receiving TDs (15) and is No. 2 in receptions (32)... The Soul has shut out their opponent in the 3rd quarter in three of the last six games... The Soul have blocked a kick in all but two games this season (2/8, 2/21)... FB/LB CHRIS RYAN leads the team in blocks with three, all of which were blocked field-goal attempts.

NEW YORK DRAGONS (4-3) AT CAROLINA COBRAS (3-5)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT NOON ET
(TV: NBC – ALLEN BESTWICK, CHARLES DAVIS and CHUCK HOWARD)

Cobras head coach JOHN GREGORY spent the first nine seasons of his AFL coaching career with the New York Dragons/Iowa Barnstormers franchise, guiding the team to two ArenaBowl berths and four Central Division titles from 1995 to 2003... A two time AFL Coach of the Year, he led the franchise to six playoff appearances and had an offense that averaged 52.8 PPG... This season, the Cobras offense is No. 2 in the League in the red-zone with a 93.1 conversion percentage... In 29 trips inside their opponents' 10-yard line, Carolina has scored 24 TDs and three FGs... Carolina WR/DB JARRICK HILLERY was the U.S. Army Ironman of the Week for his performance against Tampa Bay on Sunday, recording two KO returns for TDs, catching three passes for 39 yards and a score and adding four solo tackles and an INT on defense... Defensively, Cobras DS DAMON MASON currently ranks No. 2 in the league with 52.0 tackles... He ranks third all-time with 554.5 career tackles... New York and Carolina have played one of the more famous games in AFL history... On 7/7/01 against the Cobras, New York scored 99 points (the most points ever scored in an AFL game) en route to a 99-68 victory... Dragons QB AARON GARCIA threw for 378 yards and a record 11 TD passes, including seven to current NFL receiver KEVIN SWAYNE (currently with the New York Jets), who pulled in 11 catches for 171 yards... In 2004, New York OS WILL HOLDER leads the Dragons with 34 catches for 525 yards and 15 TDs... A defensive force as well, he has added 10.5 tackles and an INT.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (3-5) AT GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE (0-7)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT 3 P.M. ET

Arizona WR/LB HUNKIE COOPER needs only 24 yards to reach 20, 000 all-purpose yards for his career... Rattlers' OS SIAHA BURLEY is tied for No. 2 on the leading scorers list, with 21 TDs (17 receiving, two rushing and two KO returns)... OL/DL BRYAN HENDERSON is tied for No. 1 in the AFL with five QB sacks... Henderson has now sacked his way to the second-highest total for sacks in a season in franchise history... He is three sacks away from the Rattlers career-sacks record... The Rattlers will face their all-time leading tackler on Sunday... Grand Rapids DS CECIL DOGGETTE had 321.0 tackles as a Rattler... Last year against the Rampage, Arizona QB SHERDRICK BONNER threw for 358 yards and a career- high nine TDs in the Rattlers' 82-81 victory... The 81 points put up by the Rampage were the most points scored by a losing team in 2003... The defeat started a skid that has cost the Rampage 12 consecutive losses.

CHICAGO RUSH (5-2) AT LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (3-5)
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, AT 6 P.M. ET

The Detroit Fury came into the Allstate Arena last Sunday and registered a 72-71 victory in the highest-scoring game in the history of the Rush... It was also the first time that the Rush has scored 70 points in a game and lost... Chicago QB RAYMOND PHILYAW had six TD passes for the Rush and has yet to throw an INT in 164 passes this season... He is the only QB in the League that has not thrown an INT this season... Chicago's defense has recorded 10 INTs and six fumbles and their offense has only turned the ball over four times (4 fumbles) all season... Las Vegas WR/LB MARCUS NASH has had 4 100-yard (192, 189, 153, 109) receiving games in 2004... Nash replaced Tampa Bay Storm OS FREDDIE SOLOMON to take the No. 1 spot on the leading scorers list... Nash has 19 receiving TDs and 2 rushing TDs for a total of 128 points... Gladiators' QB CLINT DOLEZEL leads the League in TDs (46)... The Gladiators are one of three teams who have put up more points (408) than they have allowed (407) despite a losing record (Indiana, 379-347 and Philadelphia, 363-360)... WR/LB MARCUS NASH, WR/DB CORNELIUS BONNER and WR/LB MAURICE BRYANT have combined to lead the AFL in receptions (142), receiving yards (1,680) and are No. 2 in receiving TD's (35) to Dallas (38)... Las Vegas is 2-1 inside the Thomas & Mack Center.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 31, 2004


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