NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Arizona Rattlers

Rattlers D leads to a W Over Columbus, 70-53

by Andrew Nordmeier
April 10, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers


There's an old adage in sports that says offense wins games and defense wins championships. The Arizona Rattlers are looking like a championship team with the way they have been playing defense of late.

For the third game in a row, Arizona (3-8) shutout its opponent for a quarter. With Friday night's 70-53 win over the 1-9 Columbus Destroyers at America West Arena, the Rattlers have won two of those games.

The third quarter was where Arizona outscored Columbus 21-0 to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Arizona clung to 39-34 edge and got the ball to start the second half. The Rattlers, under the direction of quarterback Joe Germaine, marched down the field on a five-play, 45-yard drive that ended with offensive specialist Siaha Burley scoring one of his five touchdowns on the night.

Things went from bad to worse quickly for the Destroyers. Their first possession of the second half ended in seven seconds. That was how long it took Columbus' Justin Isom to get hit by Arizona's Orshawante Bryant and fumble the ball at his own 12-yard line. Rattler Wendall Gaines picked it up and ran it back six yards, giving his team an easy 1st-and-goal setup.

The Rattlers cashed it in three plays later with another Germaine-to-Burley touchdown pass and Arizona went up 53-34.

Columbus mounted a drive to try and stop the Rattlers' momentum but three straight incompletions by Destroyers' quarterback Matt D' Orazio caused a turnover. The last one came on fourth-and-three at the Arizona 13.

One play later, Germaine hooked up with Jerald Brown for a 37-yard touchdown pass and a 60-34 edge that Arizona wouldn't give up. Brown earned the Ironman of the Game honor with his five catches for 68 yards as well as three tackles and a pass break up.

Outside of the third quarter, the teams traded scores on nearly every possession.

Germaine turned in his best outing yet with a 23-of-35 passing performance for 324 yards and eight touchdowns. He has been filling in for Sherdrick Bonner, who has been sidelined for thelast three weeks with a knee sprain.

Burley finished with seven grabs for 86 yards and five scores while Randy Gatewood's four catches rang up 101 yards in the winning effort.

D' Orazio finished 21-of-36 for 272 yards and a career-best six scores in the losing cause. Damien Groce was the offensive star by grabbing 10 passes for 112 yards and two scores.

Next week, the Rattlers have a bye before hosting Austin April 22; Columbus visits New Orleans and will tangle with the VooDoo on the 16th.

Notes:Columbus' backup quarterback, Scott McMullen, made his professional debut in the fourth quarter. He went 4-of-6 for 34 yards...Arizona outrushed Columbus 42-3 and averaged 5.2 yards per carry...The Rattlers held the ball for 35:42 compared to Columbus' 24:18...Columbus hit on 5-of-9 third-down chances while Arizona went 4-of-5...Brandon Hefflin led all players with 6.5 tackles for Columbus while Clarence Lawson (5.5) and Bryant (5.0) paced Arizona.

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 10, 2005


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central