Grand Rapids Rampage game notes

Published on May 12, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Grand Rapids Rampage News Release


RAMPAGE QUICK FACTS
Grand Rapids Rampage (1-12) at Columbus Destroyers (4-9)
Date: Friday, May 14, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Site: Nationwide Arena (17,078)
Officials: Referee: Steve Pamon; Umpire: Jeff Carr; Head Linesman: Dale Newhouse; Line Judge: Roger McMinn; Back Judge: Tony Lombardo

Series Record: Rampage 4-0

Coaches:
Rick Frazier, GR – 5th season (24-34)
Earle Bruce, CLB – 4th season (17-25)

Radio: WBBL 1340 AM with Joe Parson and Tom Sullivan.

2004 Rampage Schedule/Results
Feb. 8 at Chicago L 30-50 *
Feb. 14 COLORADO L 37-55
Feb. 22 LAS VEGAS L 14-51
Feb. 29 at San Jose L 31-62
March 6 at Dallas L 50-66
March 14 LOS ANGELES L 33-48 *
--- BYE ---
March 26 at Indiana L 42-45
April 4 ARIZONA L 41-51
April 10 at Detroit W 49-45
April 17 INDIANA L 49-67
April 23 at Colorado L 30-69
May 1 AUSTIN L 27-40
May 8 CHICAGO L 35-63
May 15 at Columbus 7:30
May 22 at Carolina 7:30
May 29 DETROIT 7:30

* indicates a game broadcast on NBC

All times are Eastern, in the PM and subject to change.


ON YOUR RADIO DIAL
All Rampage games can be heard live on WBBL 1340 AM with Joe Parson & Tom Sullivan calling all the action. Pre-game starts twenty minutes before kickoff.

Join radio Analyst Tom Sullivan and Interim Head Coach Rick Frazier for Rampage Roundup each Wednesday night from 6-7pm at THE STACK at the American Seating Park for all the news on the Rampage straight from the Coach.

THIS WEEK
After a two-game home stand, the Rampage will go on the road for two weeks before coming home for the season finale. This week, Grand Rapids will play their first-ever game in the state of Ohio; however, the opponent is one that is all too familiar to the Rampage. In the off season, the Buffalo Destroyers moved to Columbus. The Rampage have won all four games in the series.

NEXT GAME: Saturday, May 22 at Carolina Cobras (7:30pm)
The Rampage head to Charlotte for their final road game of 2004 the Saturday after next to take on the Carolina Cobras. Carolina has had three different head coaches at one point or another during the 2004 season. Heading into this week, the Cobras are 4-9 and will play at New York this Saturday.

SMITH NEARS ANOTHER RAMPAGE RECORD
With 194 all-purpose yards, Steve Smith will pass Thomas Bailey for the team's single-season all-purpose yardage mark. He already has team single-season marks in all kickoff return categories. Here's a look at his 2004 season thus far. NOTE: numbers is parenthesis are how far away Smith is from the team record.

CATEGORY RAMPAGE SINGLE SEASON RANK STAT
Kickoff Returns 1st 61
Kickoff Return Yards 1st 1,493
Kickoff Returns for TDs 1st 5
Combined Returns 1st 68
Combined Return Yards 1st 1,655
Combined Returns for TDs 1st 5
All-Purpose Yards 2nd 2,298 (194)
Missed FG Returns 3rd 7 (3)
Missed FG Return Yards 3rd 162 (61)

SMITH STILL TOPS/NEAR THE TOP IN THE AFL
Despite missing last week's contest with food poisoning, Steve Smith still ranks at the top or near the top in numerous AFL categories.
Categories AFL Rank Stats
All-purpose Yds/Game 2nd 192.0
Kick Return Yards 1st 1493
MFG Return Yards 2nd 162
All-purpose Yards 2nd 2298
Kick Returns T-2nd 61
Kick Return for TDs 1st 5
Kick Return Yds/Avg. 2nd 24.5
MFG Return Yds/Avg. 1st (min 5 ret) 23.1
MFG Returns T-2nd 7















AVERY RUSHING STRONG
Chris Avery has propelled himself from 39th in rushing after Week Five to four in the league thanks to 172 yards over his last eight games. His 4.8 yards per rush is tops in the AFL. He needs just 18 yards to become the Rampage's all-time leading rusher.


PLAYER RUSHES YARDS AVG TDs
Dan Curran, NO 67 276 4.1 18
Bob McMillen, CHI 62 232 3.7 18
A. McPherson, IND 57 225 3.9 18
Chris Avery, GR 39 188 4.8 5
M. Moye-Moore, ORL 42 179 4.3 6

BUICH THIRD IN ALL PASSING CATEGORIES
Anthony Buich stands as the third all-time leader in team history in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns in just ten games played.

Completions Attempts Yards TDs
Dolezel – 1,065 Dolezel – 1,625 Dolezel - 12,260 Dolezel – 248
Kusick – 552 Kusick – 851 Kusick – 6,210 Kusick – 109
Buich – 167 Buich – 282 Buich – 1,848 Buich – 30

CECIL DIESELS TO TWO NEW TACKLE MARKS
Two weeks ago against Austin, Cecil Doggette set shattered team marks for single game tackles and became the Rampage's all-time leader in tackles. Here's a look at the top five single-season and career tackle leaders in Rampage history. He also is the all-time leader in tackles and pass breakups with two Arena teams – Grand Rapids & the Arizona Rattlers.

TACKLES – GAME
Cecil Doggette 5/01/04 vs. AUS 15.0
Anthony Bridges 6/05/99 vs. TB 10.5
Joseph Todd 4/27/02 vs. IND 10.0
Cecil Doggette 3/16/03 at DAL 9.5
Jamal Ellis 7/01/99 vs. NAS 9.5

TACKLES – CAREER
Cecil Doggette 2003-04 125.5
Michael Baker 1998-02 114.0
Jo Jo Polk 2001-02 103.5
Raphael Ball 98-99, 01, 04 102.5
Anthony Bridges 1998-99 90.5

OH MY JOSH
It took a month, but since then rookie WR/DB Josh Bush has become the team's go-to receiver. Over his next seven games, he caught more passes for more yards and touchdowns than any other player on the team. Last week after missing a game with an injury, Bush did not record any stats.

GAMES REC YDS AVG TD 10+ GAINS
1st 4 gms 10 82 8.2 0 2
Next 7 31 462 14.9 8 13

DUTCHER IS IN THE CLUTCH
Since being signed from the practice squad in week four, Jeremy Dutcher has become the starting WR/LB for the team. The Ottawa Hills grad is the most prolific receiver to have spent time on any AFL practice squad this season.

REC YDS AVG TD
37 429 11.6 7

DEFENSIVE DUOS
Cecil Doggette and Mark Ricks are two of the most veteran defensive specialist in the league. No other defensive specialist tandem has more tackles, interceptions, breakups or games played in the AFL.

STATS DOGGETTE RICKS
AFL Games Played 98 114
Tackles 447.0 (8TH) 448.5 (7TH)
Interceptions 28 42 (T-3rd)
Pass Breakups 131 (2ND) 114 (4TH)


DOGGETTE TOPS AFL IN PASS BREAKUPS
Despite missing nearly three games with injuries, Cecil Doggette ranks third all-time (tops active) in AFL pass breakups and currently the 10-year vet leads the AFL in the category. Additionally, he lists as the all-time leader in pass breakups in Rampage and Rattlers history.

2004 AFL PASS BREAKUP LEADERS
1. Cecil Doggette, Grand Rapids 23
2. Joseph Todd, Philadelphia 21
3. Monty Montgomery, New Orleans 19
4. Jonathan Ordway, Tampa Bay 19
5. Anthony Derricks, Indiana 18
6. Rashad Floyd, Colorado 16

DAWGMAN TWO BREAKUPS AWAY FROM AFL RECORD
Cecil Doggette needs two pass breakups to tie former Orlando Predator Chris Barber as the AFL's all-time leader in pass breakups. Here's a look at the top six breakup artists in league history. Last week, he added four and is the single-season all-time leader with the Rampage.

PLAYER PASS BREAKUPS
Chris Barber 133
Cecil Doggette - GR 131
Tracey Perkins 130
Mark Ricks - GR 115
Derek Stingley - DAL 106
Barry Wagner - SJ 104

DOGGETTE GETTING BETTER WITH AGE
In his tenth season, Cecil Doggette is on pace for career highs in tackles and pass breakups. This despite missing two complete games with an injury and another when he was banged up on the first play of the game

Category 2004 pace Career high
Tackles 77.0 68.0 – 2000
Breakups 29 32 - 2000

RAMPAGE INJURY REPORT
Player Position Injury Status
Josh Bush WR/DB Hip Probable
Cecil Doggette DS Knee Probable
Jeremy Dutcher WR/LB Ribs Probable
Israel Raybon OL/DL Shin Probable
Paul LaQuerre OL/DL Foot Probable
Stephen Scaldaferri K Back Questionable

AFL ALL-TIME LEADERS - DEFENSE (Italics = active)
PLAYER TACKLES
Barry Wagner, SJ 658.0
Darryl Hammond, AUS 578.0
Damon Mason, ORL 571.0
Cedric Walker, AUS 522.5
Carlos James, TB 466.0
D. Roquemore 462.5
Mark Ricks, GR 453.5
Cecil Doggette, GR 447.0
Derek Stingley, DAL 430.0
Shea Showers, TB 426.0
Adrian Lundsford, DET 427.0

STATISTICAL COMPARISON: Here's a breakdown of where the two teams stand compared to each other and to the rest of the AFL. Note: 19 = last in the AFL.

Statistical RAMPAGE DESTROYERS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 19 36.0 15 47.2
Scoring Defense 17 54.8 18 54.9
Total Offense 19 220.2 16 249.9
Total Defense 12 268.5 16 270.7
Pass Offense 19 195.8 14 227.1
Pass Defense 19 248.3 14 238.0
Rushing Offense 7 24.5 8 22.8
Rushing Defense 9 20.2 16 32.7
Kick Returns-Avg. 8 22.4 1 18.5
Turnover Margin 14 -5 19 -22


FAMILIAR FACES
The Rampage-Destroyers pipeline has had 18 players don the uniforms of Grand Rapids and Buffalo/Columbus which is more than any other team for each club. Here's a list of all 18, bolded players are currently on one of the team's roster.

Thomas Bailey, Anthony Bridges, Nick Browder, David Caldwell, Lee Cole, Terry Grooms, Juan Long, Jeff Loots, Ramon Luster, Hardy Mitchell, Kenyatte Morgan, Stan Petry, Anthony Phillips, JoJo Polk, Corey Pullig, Terrill Shaw, Steve Smith, James Spencer

CURRENT DESTROYERS WITH RAMPAGE TIES
JoJo Polk, Columbus DS
Polk, the 2001 AFL Most Inspirational Player, was a member of the Rampage from 2001-02 and still resides in Grand Rapids in the off season. During his two seasons, he compiled 103.5 tackles (3rd in team history) and three interceptions.

Sedrick Robinson, Columbus WR/LB
Though never playing a down in a Rampage uniform, Robinson was part of the trade that sent Clint Dolezel to Las Vegas. Robinson was then traded to Columbus for QB Jeff Loots and WR/DB Jason Waters. Both

SMITH DOES IT "ALL"
In eleven of his twelve games this season, Steve Smith has posted some of his highest yardage marks in terms of all-purpose yards. Here's a look at his top 12 all-purpose yardage games. Italics = 2004 game.

Rank Game All-purpose Yards
1. 3/06 at DAL 252
2. 2/14 vs. COL 250
3. 4/17 vs. IND 224
4. 5/08 vs. CHI 215
5. 5/01 vs. AUS 204
6. 2/08 at CHI 193
7. 2/22 vs. LVG 192
8. 5/11/02 vs. ORL 176
9. 4/04/04 vs. AZ 169
10. 3/26 at IND 163
11. 2/28 at SJ 162
12. 3/14 vs. LA 161

HOT ROD OUT FOR SEASON
Through 12 games, the 2004 season was a banner year for Rod Manuel, who equaled his career total for tackles and more than doubled his sack total this season. However, he injured his ACL in the Rampage's 40-27 loss to Austin. He was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. Here's a look at his 2004 season compared to his previous three AFL seasons.

2001-03 2004
Games Played 28 12
Tackles 20.0 20.0
Sacks 1.0 2.5
Pass Breakups 6 3
Forced Fumbles 0 2
Fumble Recoveries 0 1

2004 RAMPAGE GAME AWARD WINNERS

Wk Offensive Defensive IRONMAN
1 Philyaw, CHI Sawyer, CHI Fleshman, CHI
2 Dutton, COL Floyd, COL McKenzie, COL
3 Dolezel, LVG TJ Hill, LVG D. Robinson, LVG
4 Grieb, SJ C. Thomas, SJ Wagner, SJ
5 Gauntt/Sippio, DAL C. Moore, DAL Weatherington, DAL
6 Graziani, LA R. Manuel, GR Ingram, LA
8 McPherson, IND Doggette, GR Hlavacek, IND
9 Bonner, AZ Doggette, GR Gatewood, AZ
10 Avery, GR Ricks, GR Avery, GR
11 McPherson, IND Derricks, IND Penright, IND
12 Harrell, COL Floyd, COL Marshall, COL
13 Kaleo, AUS Doggette, GR Chiaverini, AUS
14 Philyaw, CHI Moyer, CHI McMillen, CHI

2004 AFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Wk Offensive Defensive IRONMAN
1 M. Nagy, Car O. Smith, SJ W. Holder, NY
2 M. Cooper, Geo K. Ingram, LA K. McKenzie, COL
3 N. Browder, Phi J. Moyer, Chi R. Davis, SJ
4 C. Dolezel, LV L. Samuels, TB H. Cooper, AZ
5 A. Garcia, NY L. Moore, NO J. Smith, ORL
6 Grieb/Nash D. Burks, GEO L. Dupree, NY
7 T. Fontaine, AUS B. McMillen, CHI J. Hillery, CAR
8 T. Davis, DET R. Floyd, COL J. Roe, SJ
9 C. Jackson/J. Roe C. Ryan, PHIL J. Polk, CLB
10 J. Hamilton, ORL M. Ricks, GR K. McKenzie, COL
11 S. Bonner, AZ M. Montgomery, NO TT Toliver, TB
12 T. Graziani, LA K. McEntyre, ORL C. Blaylock, LVG
13 M. Grieb, SJ C. Johnson, NY S. Robinson, CLB

RAMPAGE PLAYER MILESTONES IN REACH
Player MILESTONE NEEDS
Chris Avery Most career – rush yards 24
Steve Smith Most team history – TDs Scored 5
Cecil Doggette Most PBUs – AFL history 2

THOSE PESKY TURNOVERS
The Rampage enter this week's contest having turned over the ball 30 times. Sadly, those turnovers have resulted in 161 points for Grand Rapids' opponents. Seven of the turnovers have been returned for scores, while only four turnovers have not resulted in points.

Category Rampage Opponents
Turnovers by (points off) 30 (161) 8 (30)
Score resulting from turnover 5 26
TDs resulting from turnover 4 23
Games with at least one turnover 12 of 13 5 of 12
Games with 2 or more turnovers 9 of 13 3 of 12
Games with 3 or more turnovers 6 of 13 None
Games with 4 or more turnovers 3 of 13 None

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 12, 2004


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