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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Rattlers Bite Brigade; Win Fourth Straight

June 8, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


KANSAS CITY - The playoff-bound Arizona Rattlers defeated the Kansas City Brigade this afternoon at the Sprint Center, breaking two team records en-route to a 73-34 win. The 39 points is the largest margin of victory for Arizona this season.

The Rattlers racked up 49 points in the first half, breaking the team's previous mark of 48 (set twice, most recently against Utah on 4/20/07). The team also broke a record for the most points in a quarter, piling on 36 in the second quarter, edging a five year old record of 34 (Grand Rapids, 4/19/03).

"One thing we talked about this week was finishing," said Rattlers Head Coach KEVIN GUY. "Against Orlando, we jumped out quickly but we let the Predators back into the game. This week, we finished; we played for all four quarters. It's all about us improving as we move towards the playoffs."

While this win does not improve Arizona's playoff standing in the American conference - the team remains the third seed behind San Jose and Chicago - it does help to solidify the team's position as no other American conference team can reach Arizona's eight wins. The Rattlers are still alive in the Western Division, one game behind the division leader San Jose with two games to go.

"It has always been our goal to lock down the highest possible seed," said Guy. "I believe this win makes us at least the third seed in the playoffs. We'll see what happens the next few weeks.

"Every time we reach a goal, we set new ones."

Arizona scored in all three phases of the game, with the offense racking up eight scores, while special teams added 10 points and the defense contributed an interception return for a touchdown. Overall, the team eclipsed 70 points for the first time this season. The team improves to 6-0 when scoring over 60 in a game.

QB MATT SAUK, who got the starting nod again, had another solid outing, completing over 65% of his passes for 214 yards and seven scores. The offense led the team to a score on every possession in the game save one. WR'S SIAHA BURLEY and TRANDON HARVEY, one of the league's best tandems this season, scored three touchdowns apiece, and Burley was named the game's Offensive Player of the Game for hauling in nine passes for 104 yards.

DB ISAIAH TRUFANT will be a candidate for the league's Defensive Player of the Week again after winning his second-consecutive game award. He paced the Rattlers with nine tackles, broke up a pass, forced a fumble and grabbed an interception from Kansas City's QB Quincy Carter, who was making his first start for the Brigade tonight. DB CHRIS MCKENZIE took home the game's Ironman award with 8.5 tackles, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. LB KURT KAHUI led a ferocious pass-rush, notching one of the team's two sacks and 1.5 of the group's five tackles for a loss. Each of the team's four active defensive linemen DL'S DUSTIN BARNO, WENDALL GAINES, ANTTAJ HAWTHORNE and DARRELL SHROPSHIRE contributed on the team's tackles for loss, with Hawthorne adding a second sack.

The Rattlers dominated in the first half and particularly in the second quarter, where they scored five touchdowns to Kansas City's one. FB/LB CHRIS ROBINSON also converted a pair of two-point conversions. By halftime, Sauk had already tossed five touchdowns, three of them to Harvey, and had scored every time down the field. The Brigade, by contrast, lost three fumbles to Arizona. DB TERRANCE JOSEPH also notched his first interception on the season, stepping in front of a Carter pass and returning it 15 yards for a touchdown in the middle of the second period.

Arizona comes home to finish out its regular season slate with two straight conference home games. First up is the Colorado Crush (4-10) on Russell Athletic ESPN Monday Night, Monday, June 16. The team will then close out the 2008 season with a division tilt against the Utah Blaze, Saturday, June 21, before moving on into the playoffs.

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