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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

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July 18, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


NEW YORK DRAGONS (2-11) AT TORONTO PHANTOMS (5-8), 7:00 P.M. ET, Air Canada Centre – Toronto DS/KR ANTHONY DERRICKS leads the No. 2-ranked Phantom defense against one of the AFL's most lethal all-time offensive combinations, New York OS STEVE PAPIN and QB AARON GARCIA. A loss for Toronto would eliminate them from the playoffs. (TV: New York Metro, Rogers Sportsnet Ontario)

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QUICK HITTERS

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DOLEZEL MAKING HISTORY: With his third TD against New York last week, Grand Rapids' CLINT DOLEZEL became the only QB in history to throw for 70 or more TDs four times in his career... With 1 and 5 more TDs, respectively, Dallas' ANDY KELLY and Arizona's SHERDRICK BONNER will become the 3rd and 4th QBs to throw for 70 or more three times in a career (Albany's MIKE PAWLAWSKI is the other to do so):

70+ PASSING TOUCHDOWNS, SEASON (3 or more times)
TDs PLAYER, TEAM, YEAR
72 CLINT DOLEZEL, GRAND RAPIDS, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
80 Clint Dolezel, Grand Rapids, 2001
80 Clint Dolezel, Houston, 1999
81 Clint Dolezel, Houston, 1998
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69 ANDY KELLY, DALLAS, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
73 Andy Kelly, Nashville, 1998
82 Andy Kelly, Nashville, 1997
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65 SHERDRICK BONNER, ARIZONA, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
72 Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona, 2000
70 Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona, 1998
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70 Mike Pawlawski, Albany, 2000
79 Mike Pawlawski, Albany, 1999
74 Mike Pawlawski, Albany, 1998

CHICAGO'S DOUBLE THREAT: Chicago's ANTONIO CHATMAN is currently the 17th rookie in history to be ranked among the top 10 in both Scoring and All-Purpose Yardage... he is No. 8 with 150 points; No. 3 with 2,474 total yards... Below is a list of the other 16 rookies to accomplish the feat:

PLAYER, TEAM, YEAR
Siaha Burley, Orlando, 2001
Chris Jackson, Los Angeles, 2000
Willis Jacox, Iowa, 1995
Titus Dixon, San Jose, 1995
Eddie Brown, Albany, 1994
Khevin Pratt, Charlotte, 1994
Hunkie Cooper, Arizona, 1993
Ira Hillary, Cincinnati, 1992
Barry Wagner, Orlando, 1992
Herkie Walls, Orlando, 1991
Chris Armstrong, Washington, 1990
Sam Moore, Dallas, 1990
Thomas Monroe, Pittsburgh, 1989
Steve Griffin, Detroit, 1988
Reggie Smith, Chicago, 1987
Russell Hairston, Pittsburgh, 1987

LIKE RIDING A BIKE: Four-time ArenaBowl champion QB, JAY GRUDEN, who ranks No. 7 all-time with 18,955 Passing Yards and No. 6 with 343 TDs, returned to the playing field after a five-year absence and has guided the Orlando Predators, a team he had led to a pair of crowns as their head coach from 1998 to '01, to a potential playoff berth (currently 11th) while being ranked No. 3 in passing yards and tied for No. 6 in touchdowns... Here's a look at Gruden's impact during his comeback:

CATEGORY TOTAL RANK
Passing Yds: 3332 3
Passing TDs: 63 6t
Passing Pct. 62.6 4t
Total Offense: 254.7 6

KICKING UP THE DUST - The Dallas Desperados are on track to become the highest scoring expansion team in history... behind ANDY KELLY's 69 TDs, JOE AVEZZANO's Desperados are averaging 53.9 points per game, good for No. 3 this season behind San Jose's 63.1 per game and Chicago's 54.3 ppg... the top scoring expansion team is 1997's Nashville Kats, ironically led by Kelly, who averaged 52.9 points in 14 games... Here's a look at the highest scoring expansion teams in history (min. 12 games played):

PPG TEAM, YEAR
53.9 DALLAS DESPERADOS, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
52.9 Nashville Kats, 1997
52.4 Texas Terror, 1997
49.6 Toronto Phantoms, 2001
49.4 Iowa Barnstormers, 1995 (12 games)
48.9 Chicago Rush, 2001
48.8 Mass Marauders, 1994 (12 games)
47.1 New Jersey Red Dogs, 1997
47.0 Los Angeles Avengers, 2000
45.8 Carolina Cobras, 2000
45.6 Detroit Fury, 2001

NOT YOUR ‘AVERAGE' ROOKIES - Rookies ANTONIO CHATMAN of Chicago and CLEVAN THOMAS of San Jose are currently tied for No. 2, respectively, in Kickoff Return Average (not including Missed Field Goal Returns)... Both averaging 22.7 yards Chatman on 56 returns; Thomas on 53 returns... Current Toronto Phantom, ANTHONY DERRICKS holds the No. 1 slot for rookies, with a 25.1 average in 2000... Here is a list of the top 10 Kickoff Return Averages by rookies (min. 20 kickoff returns):

AVG PLAYER, TEAM, YEAR
25.1 Anthony Derricks, New England, 2000
23.8 Willie Gaston, Connecticut, 1996
23.2 Ricky Ross, Grand Rapids, 2001
23.1 Leonard Conley, Miami, 1993
22.7 ANTONIO CHATMAN, CHICAGO, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
22.7 CLEVAN THOMAS, SAN JOSE, 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
22.6 Siaha Burley, Orlando, 2001
22.6 Sedrick Robinson, Houston, 2001
20.5 Hunkie Cooper, Arizona, 1993
20.2 Jeff Jenkins, Dallas, 1991
19.5 Rodney Mazion, Anaheim, 1995
19.1 Michael Baker, St. Louis, 1996

THIEF IN THE NIGHT - Chicago's DAMEON PORTER is No. 1 with 10 INTs... last year, Porter was the league's top thief as well, with a record-tying 12 picks... the last time the same player led the league in INTs two straight seasons was Orlando's KENNY MCENTYRE in 1999 and 2000... McEntyre is tied for No. 2 (with Georgia's RON CARPENTER) this season with 7... DURWOOD ROQUEMORE is the only other player to lead the league in that category twice – but not consecutively – in 1990 and ‘94.

HAVE WE ENTERTAINED YOU?: Win their victory in Week 13, the New Jersey Gladiators (9-4) made the biggest season-to-season improvement in history after finishing 2-12 last year... Coach FRANK HAEGE now has a 46-5 (.902) record in Arena Football games, which includes a 37-1 record with the Steamwheelers of af2... Here's a look at the biggest turnarounds in the past decade:

7-GAME IMPROVEMENT
New Jersey 2-12 to 9-4 (2001-'02 – 1 GAME REMAINING)

6-GAME IMPROVEMENT:
San Jose 6-8 to 12-2 (1999-00)
Iowa 5-9 to 11-3 (1998-99)
Milwaukee 4-8 to 10-4 (1995-96)
Orlando 3-7 to 9-1 (1991-92)

5-GAME IMPROVEMENT:
Grand Rapids 6-8 to 11-3 (2000-01)
Iowa 7-5 to 12-2 (1995-96)
Albany 5-7 to 10-2 (1993-94)

AIN'T THAT A KICK - New Jersey K STEVE VIDETICH has made 84-of-85 PATs this season for an accuracy percentage of 98.8... his sure-footedness on extra points ranks him No. 1 all-time in that category with 1 game remaining... Here 's a look at the AFL's most accurate PAT kickers:

PCT. PLAYER, TEAM, YEAR (MADE-ATT)
98.8 STEVE VIDETICH, NEW JERSEY, 2002 (77-78) (2 GAMES REMAINING)
96.0 Brian Gowins, Grand Rapids, 2001 (96-100)
95.2 Clay Rush, Iowa, 2000 (99-104)
94.0 Nelson Garner, Indiana, 2001 (96-102)
94.0 Nelson Garner, Albany, 2000 (96-102)
93.0 Clay Rush, New York, 2001 (110-118)
91.8 Don Silvestri, Albany, 1999 (102-111)
91.8 Steve Videtich, Milwaukee, 2000 (90-98)

SCORING MACHINE: With just one game left, the SaberCats boast one of the highest scoring offensive units in history, scoring 820 points in 13 games (63.1)... last year's NY Dragons hold the top spot with 898 (64.1)... Here's a look at the top 10 juggernauts in league history:

TEAM, YR PTS AVG/G
New York, 2001 898 64.1
SAN JOSE, 2002 820 63.1 (1 GAME REMAINING)
Albany, 1996 873 62.4
San Jose, 2000 871 62.4
San Jose, 2001 831 59.4
Albany, 1999 822 58.7
Albany, 2000 815 58.2
Indiana, 2001 814 58.1
Iowa, 1997 803 57.4
G. Rapids, 2001 801 57.2
Iowa, 2000 797 56.9

NO SOPHOMORE JINX: San Jose OS JAMES HUNDON, playing in his second season, is No. 1 in scoring with 198 points (33 TDs)... CHRIS HORN of Arizona, also playing in his second season, is No. 2 with 194 points... not since EDDIE BROWN in 1994 has a first- or second-year player been crowned the scoring champ... Here's a look at standouts that have finished a season as No. 1 in scoring:

YEAR PLAYER, TEAM TD PTS EXP
1988 Carl Aikens, Chi. 22 132 1st
1989 George LaFrance, Det. 11 66 2nd
1992 Stevie Thomas, TB 27 162 2nd
1993 Barry Wagner, Orl. 28 170 2nd
1994 Eddie Brown, Alb. 48 288 1st

LA'S NEWEST DUO – While they may not be stealing headlines from Kobe and Shaq, the Avengers duo of CHRIS JACKSON and GREG HOPKINS is proving to be the most explosive scoring tandem ever, combining for 366 points and 55 TDs, No. 2 all-time behind ALVIN ASHLEY and LARRY WILLIS of New Jersey in 1998... Hopkins is No. 3 with 190, while Jackson, in only 9 games, is No. 4 with 176 points, making them the only teammates to be ranked in the top 10 in scoring... Here's a look at teammates (non-kicking) ranked in the top 10 in scoring:

PTS TEAMMATES, TEAM YEAR
370 Alvin Ashley/Larry Willis, New Jersey 1998
366 GREG HOPKINS/CHRIS JACKSON, LA 2002 (1 GAME REMAINING)
338 Barry Wagner/Billy Owens, Orlando 1994
338 George LaFrance/S. Thomas, Tampa Bay 1996
320 Gary Compton/Sean Riley, Milwaukee 2000
258 Andre Langley/B. Sargent, Detroit 1993
242 Stevie Thomas/Andre Bowden, Tampa Bay 1993
222 Carl Aikens/Reggie Smith, Chicago 1998
220 Barry Wagner/Herkie Walls, Orlando 1992
146 Fred Gayles/Tom Porras, Albany 1991
120 Dwayne Dixon/Lenny Taylor, Washington 1987
116 Carl Aikens/Mitchell Ward, Dallas 1990
72 Carl Aikens/Darryl Clark, Chicago 1989

THE GAME WINNERS: Trailing in the last few minutes of a game, Arizona's SHERDRICK BONNER is the man to have under center, at least according to this season's game winning drives. Four times, Bonner has guided the Rattlers to victory in the closing seconds... Here's a look at the game winning drives by 5 quarterbacks this season (all 10 are game ending drives):

BONNER's Game Winning Drives:
* In Week 2 against Los Angeles, down 51-52 with 3:47 left, Bonner completed 4 passes for 42 yards including a 2-yard TD to HUNKIE COOPER for a 63-59 win.
* In Week 8 against Carolina, tied at 42 in overtime, Bonner completed 3 consecutive passes for 48 yards before handing off to CHRIS HORN for a one-yard TD in a 48-42 win.
* In Week 12 at Los Angeles, Bonner's 5-yard TD run in overtime lifted the Rattlers to a 52-46 win over the Avengers.
* In Week 13 against San Jose, Bonner completed a pair of passes for 32 yards before handing off the ball, again to Horn, for an 11-yard scoring run in a 59-52 win.

KELLY's Game Winning Drives:
* In Week 9 against Arizona, tied at 33 with 23 seconds left, Kelly went 2-for-5 for 27 yards to get the Desperados in position for JASON WELLS' 34-yard FG that won the game, 36-33.
* In Week 10 against Tampa Bay, Kelly hit SHANNON CULVER with a 16-yard pass in overtime to beat the Storm, 62-56.
* In Week 12 against Detroit, Kelly hit ANDY MCCULLOUGH with a 7-yard strike with three seconds remaining for a 61-54 victory over the Fury. SCOTT MILANOVICH Game Winning Drive:
* In Week 7 against Indiana, down 50-52 with 1:49 left, Milanovich went 2-for-4 for 15 yards to set up a MIKE BLACK 21-yard FG in a 53-52 win.

CLINT DOLEZEL Game Winning Drive:
* In Week 10 against Georgia, with no time on the clock, Dolezel connected with STEVE SMITH on a 31-yard TD pass. BRIAN GOWINS nailed the extra point for a 42-41 victory. Billy Dicken Game Winning Drive:
* In Week 13 against Dallas, Dicken connected with CORNELIUS BONNER on a 27-yard TD pass in a 5852 overtime victory.

COOP'S ROOST: With 52 Kickoff Return yards against San Jose in Week 13, Arizona's HUNKIE COOPER took over the top spot in that category with 9,095 for his 10-year career... he surpassed GEORGE LAFRANCE, who now stands at No. 2 all-time with 9,077.

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WEEK 14 INJURY REPORT

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**AS REPORTED TO THE LEAGUE OFFICE BY WEDNESDAY, JULY 17**

* NEW YORK DRAGONS (2-11) AT TORONTO PHANTOMS (5-8)

NEW YORK: None Reported.
TORONTO: None Reported.

* GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE (7-6) AT DETROIT FURY (1-12)

GRAND RAPIDS: PROBABLE: OS Terrill Shaw, OL/DL Israel Raybon, FB/LB Chris Ryan, OL/DL Lucas Yarnell, WR/LB Gary Compton; QUESTIONABLE: OL/DL Corey Mayfield.
DETROIT: OUT: OS Robert Gordon (R humerus fracture), DS Kevin Scott (L Achilles Tear), OL/DL Harry Deligianis (low back strain), DS Chuck Winters (L knee torn ACL), QB Drew Miller (L ankle sprain), WR/DB Chuck Levy (L knee sprain); PROBABLE: OL/DL Kelvin Kinney (L knee sprain).

* ARIZONA RATTLERS (10-3) AT NEW JERSEY GLADIATORS (9-4)

ARIZONA: None Reported.
NEW JERSEY: OUT: WR/DB Jamaine Blalock (L Achilles rupture), DS Marc Williams (L knee tear), OL/DL Dwayne Sabb (L knee tear), WR/LB George Williams (L fibula fracture), OS James Bowden (L ankle sprain); QUESTIONABLE: WR/DB Carlos Johnson (L knee contusion), FB/LB Frank Carter (R hand fracture), WR/DB Dennison Robinson (L knee sprain).

* GEORGIA FORCE (6-7) AT TAMPA BAY STORM (5-8)

GEORGIA: OUT: FB/LB Rupert Grant (L Achilles tendon rupture), FB/LB Kelron Sykes (L knee arthritis), K Stan Whitlock (L knee contusion), OL/DL Jimmy Brumbaugh (R groin chronic strain); DOUBTFUL: DS Scott Lindsey (L thumb fracture); PROBABLE: DS Cliff Green (R thumb dislocations); QUESTIONABLE: FB/LB Dan Curran (L ankle sprain) WR/DB Jarrick Hillery (R quad strain).
TAMPA BAY: None Reported.

* INDIANA FIREBIRDS (6-7) AT CHICAGO RUSH (9-4)

INDIANA: OUT: DS Cornelius Coe (ankle sprain), OS Robert Hall (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: OL/DL Brian Creel (knee sprain), FB/LB Sunungura Rusununguko (ankle), DS Donnie Caldwell (rib).
CHICAGO: OUT: K David Cool (lower extremity), OS Joe Douglass (abdominal); PROBABLE: FB/LB Jamie McGourty (lower extremity), K Adam Hicks (lower extremity), OL/DL James Baron (upper extremity).

* ORLANDO PREDATORS (6-7) AT DALLAS DESPERADOS (7-6)

ORLANDO: OUT: FB/LB Brian Goolsby, QB Craig Whelihan; QUESTIONABLE:: FB/LB Tommie Dorsey, WR/DB Andre Cooper, K Nick Gatto, WR/LB Damon Bowers, OL/DL Fred Ray; DOUBTFUL: OL/DL Reggie Lee.
DALLAS: QUESTIONABLE: QB Andy Kelly (L hip flexor strain); DOUBTFUL: DS Michael Scott (L calf strain).

* BUFFALO DESTROYERS (6-7) AT LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (7-6)

BUFFALO: QUESTIONABLE: QB Fred McNair (R knee), FB/LB Jason Bratton (R hamstring), OL/DL Silas Demary (L hip), OS Lamont Cooper (R knee); PROBABLE: OL/DL Jerry Crafts (L quad).
LOS ANGELES: None reported.

* SAN JOSE SABERCATS (12-1) AT CAROLINA COBRAS (6-7)

SAN JOSE: OUT: QB Mark Grieb (clavicle fracture).
CAROLINA: None Reported.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from July 18, 2002


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