Grand Rapids Goes Hollywood

Published on March 19, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Grand Rapids Rampage News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - After an impressive road win last week against the Dallas Desperados, the Grand Rapids Rampage put the wraps on the franchise's longest road swing this Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Avengers at the STAPLES Center.

The game, which kicks off at 3 p.m. (EST), is a matchup of two of the Arena Football League's elite franchises. Both Grand Rapids and Los Angeles enter Sunday's contest atop their respective divisions with identical 5-2 records. The teams' success can mostly be attributed to their prolific offenses. Grand Rapids comes into Sunday's contest scoring a league second-best 57.1 points per game, while Los Angeles is right behind the Rampage, scoring 55.3 points per contest.

This will be only the third meeting between these two teams, and the first in Los Angeles. The Avengers tied the series at a game apiece last season with a 68-61 shootout win over Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena. In that game, Avengers quarterback Tony Graziani found wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins 13 times for 162 yards and five touchdowns to defeat the Rampage in front of a sold-out crowd.

Live coverage of Sunday's contest begins at 2:40 p.m. on WBBL 1340 AM. Veteran broadcasters Joe Parson and Tom Sullivan will handle the call of the game.

The 2003 season marks the historic debut of the AFL on NBC. NBC Sports will televise up to 70 games, including all playoff games and ArenaBowl XVII on June 22. The network's coverage this week includes: Georgia at Orlando, New York at Chicago and Arizona at San Jose.

Rampage/Avengers Quick Facts:

* This will be only the third meeting between these two franchises (series tied 1-1).

* Grand Rapids boasts an impressive 21-19 all-time road record, which includes the team's 3-1 road start this season.

* Rampage OS Terrill Shaw has caught at least two touchdowns in the team's last six games.

* Los Angeles' roster features four players that played college football in the state of Michigan (FB/LB Kevin Clemens - Grand Valley State, QB Scott Dreisbach - Michigan, K Remy Hamilton - Michigan, and WR/DB Russell Shaw - Michigan).

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 19, 2003


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