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Los Angeles Avengers Game Notes

March 25, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Game: Los Angeles Avengers at Orlando Predators
Date: Sunday, March 30, 2003
Kickoff: Noon (Pacific)
Site: Los Angeles, California
Arena: TD Waterhouse Centre (16,613)
Television: Fox Sports Net 2 (Bill Macdonald, Artie Gigantino)
Radio: XTRA Sports 690 & 1150 (Larry Kahn, Troy West)
Web Radio: http://www.xtrasportsradio.com
Series Record: First meeting
Officials: Pat Garvey (R), Paul King (U), Rusty Spindel (HL), James Mello (LJ), Rich Wilborn (BJ), Buddy Ward (supervisor)
Head Coaches: Los Angeles -- Ed Hodgkiss (second season, 14-8). Orlando -- Fran Papasedero (second season, 13-9).

THE AVENGERS: Buoyed by a pair of convincing victories -- a 42-20 drubbing of the Indiana Firebirds and a 61-51 decision over the Grand Rapids Rampage -- in the past two weeks, the red-hot Avengers (6-2) find themselves in a five-way tie for the best record in the AFL as they prepare for their first encounter with the Orlando Predators, who are one of those other teams at the top of the overall league standings. The first half of the 16- game regular season saw the Avengers use a pair of three-game winning streaks to go four games above .500 for the first time in franchise history. Half of L.A.'s six victories have come on the final play of the contest, thanks in large part to the performance of quarterback Tony Graziani, who has completed 162-of-259 for 2,125 yards and 46 touchdowns this season. Most of his passes have been thrown in the direction of offensive specialist Chris Jackson, who has 65 receptions for 924 yards and 23 touchdowns. Jackson is on pace to shatter all of the Avenger single-season receiving records that he owns and could threaten some league marks. Greg Hopkins, the reigning AFL "Ironman of the Year," has caught 42 passes for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Avengers have also seen the emergence of another top two-way standout in WR/DB Kevin Ingram, who earned AFL "Ironman of the Week" honors for his performance in the victory over Grand Rapids, which included four receptions for 36 yards and two touchdowns, five tackles, a fumble recovery and his third interception of the season.

THE PREDATORS: After opening the season with six victories, the Predators have lost their last two, averaging just 34 points in those defeats. After legendary starting quarterback Jay Gruden injured his ankle at Carolina on Feb. 21, Orlando seemed to not miss a beat, going on to win that game and the next two with Connell Maynor at the helm. However, after committing six turnovers the last two weeks, the Predators are now tagged with a two-game losing streak. Gruden is unlikely to return until next month. Orlando's main weapons on offense are rookie offensive specialist Travis McGriff, who leads the team with 19 touchdown receptions, and veteran WR/LB Cory Fleming, who ranks in the Top 15 in AFL history in most receiving categories.

THE HEAD COACHES: One of the brightest offensive masterminds in the AFL and a prime candidate for "AFL Coach of the Year" honors, Ed Hodgkiss led the Avengers to a franchise-best 8-6 record and No. 5 seed in the AFL playoffs last season in his first year with the club. He became the head coach of the Avengers on Oct. 5, 2001, and signed a five-year contract extension shortly after the 2002 season. Not only did Hodgkiss lead the Avengers into the postseason for the first time in franchise history, he also instantly established the Avenger offense as one of the most feared in the AFL. In the final 2002 league statistics, the Avengers ranked at No. 2 in passing efficiency (115.0), No. 4 in total offense (275.6), No. 4 in rushing yards (20.8) and No. 5 in scoring (52.2). Prior to his arrival in L.A., Hodgkiss served as the offensive coordinator for the Indiana Firebirds for three seasons (1999-2001) ... After serving as an assistant under current Orlando quarterback Jay Gruden for four years, Fran Papasedero has established himself as one of the top young coaches in the league in just his second year at the helm of the Predators. In his first year in 2002, he led Orlando to a Southern Division championship and took them to the semifinals of the ArenaBowl playoffs, while becoming just the sixth coach in league history to post nine wins in his first year as head coach. As an assistant, Papasedero was a part of two world championship squads (1998 & 2000), serving as director of player personnel, defensive coordinator, assistant head coach and line coach. In five seasons (1993-1997) as a player in the AFL, he recorded 105 tackles and 10.5 sacks while playing with four different teams. Papasedero played four seasons at Springfield College (Mass.) where he earned All-America honors and was named Male Athlete of the Year as a senior.

THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between the Los Angeles Avengers and Orlando Predators.

IN A ZONE OUT EAST: The Avengers have won five of their last six games in the Eastern Time Zone, including victories over the New York Dragons and Indiana Firebirds this season. Sunday's game at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando marks L.A.'s third consecutive road game within the Eastern Time Zone.

SKIDDING AS L.A. ARRIVES: In every road game so far this season, the Avengers have visited a team on a significant losing streak. The first three away games of the 2003 campaign were versus teams that had yet to record a victory -- Colorado (0-2), Chicago (0-3) and New York (0-5). In their last road game, Los Angeles played a 3-3 Indiana team, but the Firebirds limped into that contest on a three-game losing streak.

LAST TO MEET: Over the course of their four-year history, the Avengers have played 21 different franchises, including all but one of the clubs in the current 16-team alignment of the Arena Football League. Los Angeles will complete the circle on Sunday when it takes on the Orlando Predators for the first time. The Predators, who are one of the AFL's most storied franchises, are in their 13th season and have won two ArenaBowl championships (1998 and 2000).

AMONG THE LEAGUE'S HOTTEST: In their past 14 regular-season games, the Avengers are 10-4. Only one other Arena Football League team can boast of a better mark over that period of time ... the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats are 11-3. Just like the Avengers, the Orlando Predators have a 10-4 regularseason record during that span of time. Los Angeles and Orlando will break that tie this Sunday as they meet headto- head for the first time ever.

THE "IF" SECTION:

If the Avengers defeat the Predators, it would ...
- Would put the Avengers five games above .500 for the first time in franchise history
- Be the first four-game winning streak in Avenger history
- Give L.A. a 12-3 record in the past two years versus non-Western Division foes (16-12 alltime)
- Assure the Avengers of holding at least a share of first place in the Western Division (the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats are also 6-2)
- Give the Avengers an 11-4 record in their last 15 regular-season game, dating back to last season

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss on his team's allaround performance: "It's encouraging to see us come out and have a good performance two weeks in a row. We were able to win by a comfortable margin both times, which is rare in this league. We put all three phases of the game together and I hope we continue to do that."

Hodgkiss on what to expect the second half of the season: "We need to continue to focus on winning each quarter of the season (four game segments). Our main focus right now is winning the next quarter of the season, and more specifically at Orlando. It's a long season, but we try to keep short-term goals and have a winning record, which should set us up good for the playoffs."

Hodgkiss on the Orlando Predators: "They are coming in off of two tough losses, but are still one of the top teams in the league. They pride themselves on their defense and their offense has been playing well too. They have two of the better receivers in the league with McGriff and Fleming. They have it going on and it's tough to win at Orlando. The field is more confined and they have really rowdy crowds. Traveling to the East Coast is a tough challenge, but we've done it before so we have to be prepared and take care of business."

THE NEXT GAME: The Avengers return home to face the Carolina Cobras on Friday, April 4, in the first game of a three-game homestand (the first in franchise history). The contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and not be televised. Avenger fans can listen in on XTRA Sports 690 & 1150.

QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE: Thirty-eight of L.A.'s 61 offensive touchdowns this season have been scored on "drives" of three plays or less. In fact, 12 of them have been one-play "drives," including seven touchdown catches by offensive specialist Chris Jackson. Ironically, two of the 23 "long" drives are the six-play, 13-yard game-winning march in the victory over San Jose that consumed 25 of the final 26 seconds (Feb. 9) and the eight-play, 30-yard touchdown drive that killed off the final 34 seconds at New York (March 9). The Avengers have scored on two "zero-play drives" this season. The first one came on a net recovery by WR/DB Siaha Burley while covering a kickoff in the victory at Colorado (Feb. 23). Against Indiana (March 16), OL/DL Mike Ulufale recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

STEADY IMPROVMENT: The Avengers are three wins shy of establishing a franchise record for victories in a single season. At 6-2 and with eight games remaining in the regular season, the 2003 Avengers are already the second winningest team in the club's four-year history. The Avengers are also four games above .500 for the first time ever and will be attempting to win a team-record fourth consecutive game on Sunday at Orlando.

HEADED TO THE CENTURY MARK: With 92 touchdowns in his 41-game AFL career, Avenger offensive specialist Chris Jackson is just eight scores away from reaching the 100-touchdown plateau. He has scored four or more touchdowns in a game seven times in his Avenger career. Jackson scored a career-high six TDs at Georgia on May 24, 2002. ("C.J." has also passed for two touchdowns, but they don't count in his official scoring totals.)

HEART-STOPPING HEROICS: Three of L.A.'s six victories in 2003 have come on the final play of the game. On Feb. 9, the Avengers defeated the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats, 73-72, on a one-yard touchdown blast by FB/LB Mathias Vavao and a two-point conversion pass from Tony Graziani to Greg Hopkins with one second left. The following week in a game on the road against the Colorado Crush, L.A. forced overtime with a field goal by Remy Hamilton on the final play of regulation and then won on a TD pass from Graziani to Hopkins. On March 9, the Avengers defeated the New York Dragons, 65-61, on a one-yard touchdown run by FB/LB Kevin Clemens with no time remaining.

EARLY FIREWORKS: In addition to late-game heroics, the Avengers have also been good at the start, scoring on their very first offensive snap of the game three times so far this season -- in the season opener against Las Vegas (Feb. 2, Chris Jackson), at Chicago (Feb. 23, Kevin Ingram) and at Indiana (March 16, Jackson).

PERFECT GAME: Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani tossed a "perfect game" against the Las Vegas Gladiators on opening day (Feb. 2). His passer rating of 158.3 from that contest is the highest mark possible and ties an AFL record. In the 60-48 victory, Graziani was 18-of-23 for 288 yards. He threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to offensive specialist Chris Jackson on the first play of the 2003 season and went on to throw for a total of seven scores. Graziani also rushed for a touchdown from three yards out to cap the scoring with 53 seconds remaining.

ALMOST PERFECT: The Avengers were called for only two penalties in the season opener on Feb. 2, and the yardage marked off against L.A. totaled just one yard. Both of those numbers represent new team records and brought a smile to the face of head coach Ed Hodgkiss, whose motto is "Play Hard, Play Smart." The Avengers are averaging just under five flags per game (26.9 yards, which is the fewest in the league).

ALL-PURPOSE AVENGER: Over the past three seasons, L.A.'s new offensive weapon Siaha Burley has racked up the most all-purpose yards in the league (5,128). That yardage is the equivalent of 2.8 miles, which farther than the distance between STAPLES Center and Dodger Stadium. Acquired in a trade with the Orlando Predators, Burley moves to the WR/DB position (he was primarily an offensive specialist with the Predators).

DEFENDING THE HOME FRONT: In the "Ed Hodgkiss Era," which began at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Avengers have been particularly stingy on defense at home, allowing just 45.9 points per game at STAPLES Center (505 points in 11 games). The 24 points allowed by the Avengers in their victory over the Tampa Bay Storm on May 17, 2002, is an all-time best for the L.A. defense at home. It surpassed the effort in the 2002 season opener, which saw the Avengers defeat the New York Dragons, 43-25, on April 19, 2002.

RECORD "D" DAY: The Avengers came into their game at Indiana (March 16), allowing 55.7 points per game, but held the Firebirds to 20 points (and gave up just six points through three quarters), establishing a new team record.

THE MILLENNIUM'S FINEST: Wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins and offensive specialist Chris Jackson are not only L.A.'s top pass catchers, they're also among the most productive in the AFL since the dawning of the new millennium. In fact, Hopkins leads the way with a grand total of 357 receptions for 4,351 yards since the 2000 season (Jackson is third with 303 for 4,179).

LONG SUNDAY DRIVE: The Avengers put together what might have been the longest drive in AFL history at Indiana on March 16, using 17 plays to march 47 yards. The touchdown drive consumed an incredible 10 minutes and 14 seconds. Furthermore, 11 plays occurred after L.A. reached Indiana's one-yard line.

PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

Avenger QB Tony Graziani: The AFL's No. 4 passer, Graziani is 162-of-259 for 2,125 yards and 46 touchdowns this season. He was outstanding in establishing new career highs with eight touchdown passes and 355 yards through the air at New York (March 9), and had another solid outing last week against Grand Rapids (March 23), throwing for seven touchdowns and 222 yards on 20-of- 27 passing. In the season opener versus the Las Vegas Gladiators (Feb. 2), Graziani earned a perfect passer rating of 158.3, completing 18-of-23 for 288 yards and seven touchdowns. He currently has six 300-yard passing games in his AFL career.

Predator WR/LB Cory Fleming: In his seventh year in the AFL and first with the Predators, Fleming is widely regarded as one of the best wide receiver/linebackers in league history. He was named first team All-Arena in 1997 and 1998, while also being honored as the "Rookie of the Year" in 1997. In that rookie season, he caught 89 balls for 1,104 yards and 32 touchdowns, while making 18 tackles, intercepting three passes and breaking up nine passes. He has scored 100 or more points in five of his six seasons in the AFL (he was injured in 2001 and only played in five games) and his 17 interceptions are the most ever by a "jack" linebacker. This year, he ranks second in all receiving categories for the Predators with 47 receptions for 552 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Avenger K Remy Hamilton: The AFL's leading scorer among kickers, Hamilton has scored 76 points this season on nine field goals and 49 extra points. He has made 64.3 percent of his field goal attempts and converted pointafters at a rate of 87.5 percent. Both of those marks rank him among the league leaders (No. 2 on FGs and No. 3 on PATs). In addition to his fancy footwork, Hamilton is also a factor on kick coverage. He has made eight solo tackles this year. Only seven other Avengers have made more stops this season.

Predator OS Travis McGriff: Brought in to replace current Avenger Siaha Burley, who led Orlando in receiving and all-purpose yards last year, McGriff has had a sensational start to his AFL career, leading the team with 48 receptions for 788 yards (fifth in the league) and 19 touchdowns. The former Denver Bronco and University of Florida star is one of the top candidates for "Rookie of the Year" honors as he also leads Orlando with 1,325 allpurpose yards (sixth in the league).

Avenger WR/DB Kevin Ingram: With his play on offense, defense and special teams, Ingram has become a triple threat standout for the Avengers in 2003. He has earned "Ironman of the Game" honors three times this year -- at Chicago (Feb. 23), at New York (March 9) and last week versus Grand Rapids. He was also named "Ironman of the Week" in the AFL for his performance against the Rampage. On the season, Ingram has 29 receptions for 286 and seven touchdowns, 15 kickoff returns for 318 yards, 34.5 tackles, three pass deflections and a team-high three interceptions. He ranks second on the team in all-purpose yards, averaging 86.8 per game.

LOS ANGELES (March 23, 2003) -- In a dominant all-around performance, the Avengers defeated the Grand Rapids Rampage, 61-51, before a crowd of 13,849 at STAPLES Center.

The Avengers improved to 6-2, while the Rampage fell to 5-3. Avenger WR/DB Kevin Ingram finished with two touchdown receptions, an interception, a fumble recovery and five tackles, on his way to "Ironman of the Game" honors. Ingram, who led Los Angeles with 94 all-purpose yards, caught four passes for 36 yards.

Quarterback Tony Graziani was outstanding once again for the Avengers, completing 20-of-27 for 222 yards and seven touchdowns, and for the fourth time this season, he did not throw an interception.

For the second consecutive week, the Avengers played well on defense, forcing two turnovers and stopping the Rampage on downs in the first half. After allowing Grand Rapids to score on the second play of the game, the Rampage got shut out for the next 25 minutes as the Avengers built a 20-6 lead.

Grand Rapids quarterback Clint Dolezel did have some success through the air, passing for 290 yards and six touchdowns. He was 29-of-43 and threw one interception.

Dolezel completed passes to seven different Rampage receivers, with WR/LB Damon Hodge leading the way with eight catches for 82 yards.

One of the keys coming into the game was who was going to win the special teams battle. The Rampage feature one of the top units in the league, however, the Avenger special teams unit outshined them.

The Rampage wound up with 139 yards on seven kickoff returns, but they were unable to recover any of their four onside kick attempts and the Avengers answered by scoring each time. Kicker Remy Hamilton led the Avenger special teams with a successful onside kick and 13 points. He was 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts and also made two solo tackles. Hamilton's first three-pointer, a 17-yarder as time expired in the first half, put Los Angeles up 30-13 at the intermission.

The second half began with the Graziani finding offensive specialist Chris Jackson from 18-yards out. The score extended Jackson's scoring streak to 41 consecutive games. Down 37-13 with 12:48 left in the third quarter, Grand Rapids did fight back to get within 10 points at 61- 51, but only three seconds remained after Dolezel hit Terrill Shaw for a touchdown and Hodge for a two-point conversion.

THE TOUCHDOWN MAKER: Offensive specialist Chris Jackson has scored at least one touchdown in every game he has played in for the Avengers. In 41 games, Jackson has accounted for 94 touchdowns. All but four of those scores came as a pass receiver. Jackson's other touchdowns were as a runner, kickoff returner and two as a passer. He has caught a touchdown pass in all but one of his games with the Avengers (June 8, 2002, vs. San Jose), but in that contest he ran back the opening kickoff 51 yards for a score, keeping "The Streak" alive. Jackson is L.A.'s all-time leading receiver and scorer. He has racked up 303 receptions for 4,179 yards and has scored 560 points in his four-year Avenger career.

THE ORIGINAL AVENGER: Offensive specialist Chris Jackson is the only player on L.A.'s 2003 roster who played for the Avengers in their inaugural 2000 season (he was an WR/LB at the time). Jackson shared that distinction last season with wide receiver/defensive back Anthony Rice, who was released on Jan. 25, following the conclusion of training camp.

HOT TICKET: Five of the six largest crowds to see the Avengers play have come within L.A.'s last nine regularseason games, dating back the end of the 2002 campaign. In consecutive games (Feb. 16, at Colorado and Feb. 23, at Chicago), the Avengers played before their two largest crowds ever. The Avengers are averaging 14,182 fans at home this season in three games at STAPLES Center.

AVENGERS ON RADIO: All Avenger games are broadcast live on the radio throughout the Southern California area on XTRA Sports 690 & 1150, with Larry Kahn and Ed Cunningham calling all the action, and Troy West on the sidelines. The games are also available live over the Internet at http://www.xtrasportsradio.com.

AVENGERS ON TELEVISION: The Avengers will have half of their 16 games televised by NBC (although one of those games was not be aired on the West coast). Six other games, including the season finale (May 17, versus the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats) will be shown on Fox Sports Net 2, as Bill Macdonald and Artie Gigantino call all the action.

ROAD WARRIOR: In L.A.'s four away games this season, wide receiver/defensive back Kevin Ingram has caught 17 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns. His contributions have not gone unnoticed, winning the "Ironman" award in two of the last three road games. At Chicago (Feb. 23), Ingram had 101 all-purpose yards, one touchdown catch and an interception. At New York (March 9), he had 140 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns, 3.5 tackles and a touchdown-saving pass deflection. He followed up those performances by having a standout game at home versus Grand Rapids on March 23. Not only did he earn "Ironman of the Game" honors, but he was named the AFL's "Ironman of the Week," as he had four catches for 36 yards and two touchdowns, returned two kickoffs for 34 yards, made five tackles, had an interception, broke up a pass and recovered a fumble.

THE INTERCEPTION KING: In addition to being the AFL's 2002 "Ironman of the Year," WR/LB Greg Hopkins is tied with Georgia's Darryl Hammond as the league's alltime leaders in interception returns for touchdowns. Hopkins returned his record-setting eighth pick for a score on June 22, 2002, in L.A.'s 62-32 romp over the Carolina Cobras. Hopkins stepped in front of a pass and raced 37 yards for the score and then celebrated by leaping under the crossbar and into the crowd at STAPLES Center. Coming into that contest, Hopkins was tied with former Avenger teammate Mark Ricks at the top of the AFL chart.

Hammond tied Hopkins on March 23, 2003, when he returned two picks for scores in the Georgia's 38-36 victory over the Orlando Predators.

CLUTCH KICKS IN COLORADO: Lost amid the excitement of L.A.'s overtime victory over the Colorado Crush on Feb. 16, was the outstanding all-around performance by kicker Remy Hamilton. Not only did he split the uprights on an 18-yard field goal on the last play of the game to force overtime, while 17,417 Crush fans were trying to blow the Pepsi Center's roof off, he was also perfect on his two other field goal attempts and all six of his extra points. In addition, he blasted four of his kickoffs over the entire net system for touchbacks and also bounced one high off the net frame, which resulted in a recovery by teammate Siaha Burley for a key Avenger touchdown. And, as if that weren't enough, Hamilton had two solo tackles, including one late in the fourth quarter that saved a touchdown.

MAKING HIS POINTS: Avenger placekicker Remy Hamilton currently ranks at No. 5 on the AFL's all-time scoring by kickers chart. He jumped past Joe Cimadevilla, who scored 609 points between 1992 and 1998, by scoring 16 points in L.A.'s win over Colorado on Feb. 16. In his first year with the Avengers in 2002, Hamilton set nine team records, while scoring 131 points on 16 field goals and 83 extra points. He booted the longest field goal in Avenger history on July 6, 2002, blasting a 52- yarder versus the Arizona Rattlers at STAPLES Center.

"SAMOAN SEMI" CARRIES HUGE LOAD: At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds Mathias Vavao isn't your average fullback/linebacker. But, that's not just because he's gigantic. Vavao is also quite productive on both sides of the ball. He's scored five rushing touchdowns this season, including the one that led to the game-winning two-point conversion in the 73-72 victory over the San Jose SaberCats in Week 2. Vavao has also caught two passes for 25 yards so far this season and recorded the team's first sack of the year on Feb. 9, versus San Jose. If Jerome Bettis is Pittsburgh's "Bus," Vavao is L.A.'s "Samoan Semi." Coming into this season, the last time he played running back was in high school. The FB/LB position was somewhat of a concern for the Avengers coming into the 2003 season since they chose not to resign free agent Chad Dukes, who led the AFL in rushing last year and is currently ranked at No. 3 on the league's all-time rushing chart. In just 14 games with the Avengers, Dukes broke 11 team records, while rushing for 223 yards and 12 touchdowns on 81 carries. The other FB/LBs on the roster are rookie Lonnie Ford, who was a defensive end and tight end during his collegiate career at USC, Kevin Clemens, who was signed following the season opener, and Jermaine Benoit, who was signed this week.

ARENABOWL CHAMPION AVENGERS: Two Avenger players and a pair of coaches own a total of five ArenaBowl world championship rings. Lineman Mike Ulufale was a key member of the San Jose SaberCats team that won ArenaBowl XVI in a rout last year. WR/LB Greg Hopkins was with the Albany Firebirds when they took the title in 1999; along with Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss, who was the Firebird offensive coordinator at the time. Avenger defensive coordinator Doug Kay has been part of two ArenaBowl championship teams. He was the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Storm when they won the title in 1993, and then got his second championship ring in 1997 with the Arizona Rattlers working with the team in that same capacity.

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