Quick hitters: semifinals
Published on June 10, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
TITLE GAME HEADED TO VALLEY OF THE SUN?: The Arizona Rattlers earned the No. 1 seed in the 2004 AFL playoffs for the second time (1997) in franchise history. Led by Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Year candidate QB SHERDRICK BONNER (ArenaBowl VIII MVP), the Rattlers have a chance to become the third No. 1 seed in the last four seasons to host and win the ArenaBowl.
ALL-TIME NO.1 PLAYOFF SEEDS
YEAR NO. 1 SEED REG. SEASON PLAYOFF RESULT
2004 ARIZONA RATTLERS 11-5 ???
2003 San Jose SaberCats 12-4 Lost in Semifinals
2002 San Jose SaberCats 13-1 Won ArenaBowl XVI
2001 Grand Rapids Rampage 11-3 Won ArenaBowl XV
2000 San Jose SaberCats 12-2 Lost in Semifinals
1999 Tampa Bay Storm 11-3 Lost in First Round
1998 Tampa Bay Storm 12-2 Lost ArenaBowl XII
1997 Arizona Rattlers 12-2 Won ArenaBowl XI
1996 Iowa Barnstormers 12-2 Lost ArenaBowl X
1995 Tampa Bay Storm 10-2 Won ArenaBowl IX
1994 Orlando Predators 11-1 Lost ArenaBowl VIII
1993 Detroit Drive 11-1 Lost ArenaBowl VII
1992 Orlando Predators 9-1 Lost ArenaBowl VI
1991 Detroit Drive 9-1 Lost ArenaBowl V
1990 Detroit Drive 6-2 Won ArenaBowl IV
1989 Detroit Drive 3-1 Won ArenaBowl III
1988 Chicago Bruisers 10-1 Lost ArenaBowl II
1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators 4-2 Lost ArenaBowl I
BACK TO BACK TO BACK: San Jose SaberCats DS OMARR SMITH has won consecutive titles with two different teams and has a chance to become the first player in league history to win three consecutive championships. Smith was a starting two-way player with San Jose in 2002 before moving to Tampa Bay and claiming another title as a DS last season.
THREE IS THE CHARM: The No. 3 seed now has a 16-13 all-time record in the AFL playoffs, including 2002 when the Chicago Rush advanced to the AFL semifinals before losing to Arizona. The No. 3, however, has an undefeated 3-0 record in the ArenaBowl with the 1993 Arizona Rattlers, 1994 Tampa Bay Storm and 1999 Albany Firebirds each winning the title from the number three seed. The Firebirds are the only number three seed to ever host an ArenaBowl.
HOME SWEET HOME: In the past, home-field advantage has proven very beneficial to teams in the Semifinal Round of the playoffs. In the thirty-two semifinal games played in AFL history, the home team owns a convincing 24-7 record (the August 12, 1989 game between Pittsburgh and Denver was played at a neutral site) giving them an all-time win percentage of .750. The seven teams that pulled off semifinal road victories are listed below.
SEMIFINAL ROAD VICTORIES*
DATE WINNER LOSER SCORE SITE
August 14, 1993 Tampa Bay Orlando 55-52 Orlando
August 27, 1994 ARIZONA Albany 40-33 Albany
August 19, 1995 Orlando Iowa 56-49 Des Moines
August 15, 1998 Orlando ARIZONA 38-33 Phoenix
August 13, 1999 Orlando Iowa 48-41 Des Moines
August 12, 2000 Nashville SAN JOSE 51-42 San Jose
June 8, 2003 ARIZONA SAN JOSE 66-49 San Jose
* 2004 semifinal teams listed in ALL CAPS
HIP-HIP CHALUPA? Every time Arizona Rattlers score 50-or-more points in a home game, Taco Bell gives each fan a free chalupa. Including last week's 59-42 Quarterfinal-Round victory over the Los Angeles Avengers, the Rattlers have given away 77,133 chalupas this season. Arizona is 6-3 at home in 2004 and scored over 50 points in all six victories, while scoring under 50 in all three loses.
THE THREE AMIGOS: In their first season together, OS DAMIAN HARRELL, WR/LB KEVIN MC KENZIE and WR/DB WILLIS MARSHALL have been instrumental in the Colorado Crush's AFL record-setting +9-victory single-season turnaround. As a trio, the Crush receivers ranked No. 2 in receiving yards (3,592) and receptions (285). Following is a look at the AFL's top receiving trios based on yardage:
2004 AFL RECEIVING-YARD TRIOS
RECEIVERS TEAM YARDS
Shelley, Pettis & Sippio Dallas 3,598
HARRELL, MCKENZIE & MARSHALL COLORADO 3,592
Nash, Bonner & Blalock Las Vegas 3,452
Jackson, Ingram & Hopkins Los Angeles 3,396
Solomon, Samuels & Toliver Tampa Bay 2,929
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 10, 2004
- Must-see matchups: semifinals - AFL I
- Quick hitters: semifinals - AFL I
- San Jose fined $20,000 for operations violations - AFL I
- New Orleans' Mike Neu named Coach of the Year - AFL I
- John Elway, Danny White Q&A - AFL I
- New Orleans VooDoo Coach Mike Neu named Arena Football League's Coach of the Year - New Orleans VooDoo
- SaberCats announce All-Decade Team - San Jose SaberCats
- AFL Q&A: Colorado OS Damian Harrell - AFL I
- Ron Jaworski to chat live on USAToday.com this Friday - AFL I
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