Quick hitters: week two

Published on February 3, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release

HOME AT LAST: After three years, five months and 25 days, the Nashville Kats are set to take the field again on Friday, February 4 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The original Kats Franchise played at the GEC from 1997-2001, posting a 22-13 overall record on their home field during five seasons of play. The Kats' last game in the GEC was a 71-47 victory over the San Jose SaberCats on August 11, 2001.

DEJA VOODOO: There has never been an AFL game played in Nashville without ANDY KELLY starting at quarterback, a streak that will continue for one more week. Kelly, who started every game with the previous Kats franchise during their 1997-2001 run, is now the starting QB for the New Orleans VooDoo. He returns to face the Kats in the team's first home game since 2001.

Kelly currently holds the AFL career-passing records for completions (2,896), attempts (4,722), and passing yards (32,389) and ranks second in touchdowns (626). He also holds the record for consecutive starts by a quarterback (120).

TOP FIVE CAREER-PASSING YARDS
PLAYER TEAM YARDS
Andy Kelly New Orleans 32,389
Sherdrick Bonner Arizona 30,820
Aaron Garcia New York 30,570
Clint Dolezel Las Vegas 29,375
John Kaleo Los Angeles 26,275

THAT 70's SHOW: The SaberCats have scored 70-or-more points in a game 19 times in team history, including twice in three games against the Las Vegas Gladiators. San Jose won at Las Vegas, 72-37, on March 2, 2003 and posted the fifth-highest point total in team history in a 79-62 win over the Gladiators in San Jose on March 20, 2004.

The SaberCats look to post another 70-point performance against the Gladiators Saturday, February 6 at 9 p.m. ET at HP Pavilion on FSN.

SABERCATS HIGHEST-SCORING GAMES
POINTS DATE OPPONENT RESULT
85 June 9, 2000 New England W, 85-76
83 July 22, 2000 Buffalo W, 83-54
80 February 22, 2003 Colorado W, 80-40
80 July 21, 2001 Houston W, 80-27
79 March 20, 2004 Las Vegas W, 79,62
79 May 8, 1999 Portland W, 79-51

VENOMOUS BITE: The Arizona Rattlers have won their last nine regular-season games dating back to April 4, 2004. During the streak, the Rattlers have outscored their opponents by an average score of 57-43. Including the playoffs, the Rattlers have won 11 of their last 12 games with their only loss coming in ArenaBowl XVIII to the San Jose SaberCats.

RATTLERS LAST TWELVE GAMES
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
April 4, 2004 at Grand Rapids W, 51-41
April 10,2004 Las Vegas W, 80-63
April 18, 2004 Dallas W, 71-48
April 25, 2004 at Indiana W, 46-43
May 1, 2004 at Los Angeles W, 42-38
May 9, 2004 San Jose W, 58-41
May 15, 2004 at Detroit W, 57-33
May 30, 2004 at San Jose W, 50-43
June 6, 2004* Los Angeles W, 59-42
June 13, 2004* Colorado W, 45-41
June 27, 2004* San Jose L, 62-69
January 28, 2005 at Grand Rapids W, 58-38
*playoffs

LIVING IN A FANTASY: Entering this weekend's games, Philadelphia OS STEVE SMITH is the top player in AFL Fantasy, racking up 49 fantasy points in Week 1. This Sunday on NBC at 1 p.m. ET, Smith and the Soul travel to AllState Arena to face the Chicago Rush, including WR/LB ETU MOLDEN (2nd, AFL fantasy leaders) and OS HENRY DOUGLAS (t-4th, AFL fantasy leaders). Nashville QB LEON MURRAY banked 44 points last week with a standout performance – three passing touchdowns and two more on the ground – putting him at the No. 3 spot among fantasy leaders.

TOP AFL FANTASY POINT PLAYERS
RANK PLAYER, POSITION TEAM FP
1 Steve Smith, OS Philadelphia 49
2 Etu Molden, WR/LB Chicago 47
3 Leon Murray, QB Nashville 44
4t Freddie Solomon, OS Tampa Bay 37
4t Shane Stafford, QB Tampa Bay 37
4t Clint Stoerner, QB Dallas 37
7t Siaha Burley, OS Arizona 35
7t Henry Douglas, OS Chicago 35
7t Tony Graziani, QB Philadelphia 35
7t Greg Hopkins, WR/LB Los Angeles 35
7t Sean Scott, WR/DB Philadelphia 35

KNOCK ON WOOD: It appears that there is no such thing as a cover jinx in the AFL...at least for now. The four players appearing on the cover of the AFL's first ever preview magazine, Philadelphia QB TONY GRAZIANI, Chicago FB/LB BOB MCMILLEN, San Jose QB MARK GRIEB and Orlando DS KENNY MCENTYRE had a combined record of 2-2 in Week 1. Graziani led the pack with an impressive 352-yard, eight-touchdown performance.

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 3, 2005

• Los Angeles Avengers game notes - Los Angeles Avengers
• Quick hitters: week two - AFL I
• Must-see matchups: week two - AFL I
• AFL games televised internationally - AFL I

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