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AFL Arizona Rattlers

Rattlers Game Notes

March 5, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


The Stakes: The Rattlers hope to get back into the win column when they take on Detroit Friday night. Arizona is coming off a gut-wrenching 65-64 overtime loss to Dallas. Detroit hopes to bounce back from a 62-60 loss to Tampa Bay.

The Series: Friday's game will be the first ever regular season meeting between the two franchises. Arizona defeated the Fury 52-44 on July 29, 2001 in the first round of the AFL Playoffs.

TV: Today's game can be seen locally on WB-61. Tom Leander and Gene Nudo will call the action.

Radio: All Rattler games are broadcast on KMVP 860 AM. Kent Derdivanis and Ron Wolfley will provide the commentary.

Head Coaches: Head Coach and General Manager Danny White (117-55 overall, 102-47 regular season) is in his 12th season with the Arizona Rattlers. The 2002 Arena Football Hall of Fame inductee is second all-time in coaching victories, with 117 wins. White is only the second coach in AFL history to notch 100 wins. White's career winning percentage of .680 ranks fifth all-time in AFL history. He is a two-time ArenaBowl Champion (1994, 1997).

Al Luginbill is in his first season with the Fury, and first season in the Arena Football League. Luginbill was the Head Coach at San Diego State for five seasons (1987-1992) before leaving to coach in NFL Europe. Luginbill also spent six years as a member of the Arizona State University coaching staff. He guided the Los Angeles Xtreme to the first and only XFL championship in 2001.

Last Meeting: Arizona's only meeting with Detroit came in the 2001 playoffs. The first round match-up was a back and forth battle that saw the Rattlers rally in the fourth quarter to pull out a 52-44 victory. The game featured seven lead changes.

Bonner Performance: Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner continued his stellar play against the Dallas Desperados last Sunday. Bonner completed 24-36 passes, for 338 yards and eight touchdowns. In the last two games, he has combined for 647 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Pace Yourself: Rookie WR/LB Tom Pace is quickly making a name for himself in the AFL. Pace added two highlight reel touchdown catches to his resume, part of his six catch, 89-yard day. The former Sun Devil hauled in a spectacular touchdown grab earlier in the season in Buffalo.

He's Still Got It: WR/LB Hunkie Cooper continued his fantastic season Sunday. Cooper had five catches for 44 yards and a score, and added 4.5 tackles. Cooper ranks first all-time in kickoff returns, second all-time in all-purpose yards, third in kickoff return touchdowns, and fourth in pass receptions. Cooper is also third in Interceptions Returned for Touchdowns with six.

Kardiac Kids: If Rattler fans were wondering if they had any heart problems, the last four weeks would have been a good indicator. The Rattlers last four games have been decided by a total of 17 points, with each game being decided on the final play. Last week's loss to Dallas came on an extra point in overtime. In Indiana, a Randy Gatewood interception in the end zone sealed the victory over the Firebirds. A fumble in the final seconds gave Buffalo a win over Arizona, and an interception on the last play versus Las Vegas cinched up the win for the Rattlers.

More Milestones: The Rattlers all-time leading rusher, Bo Kelly, reached 300 career carries on 2/9 against Las Vegas. Kelly is 113 yards away from becoming only the third player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 yards. Lineman Robert Stewart needs only 1.5 sacks to become the third player in AFL history with 40 career sacks. He had one sack versus Buffalo in week three. Sherdrick Bonner needs 187 passing yards to eclipse the 24,000 yards mark.

1,000 Yard Horn: OS Chris Horn needed only five games to surpass the 1,000 all-purpose yards mark. Horn has 1,128 all-purpose yards already, thanks to his 227 on Sunday. Chicago's Antonio Chatman is a distant second for the league lead in all-purpose yardage.

Next Week: The three game home stand concludes when the Rattlers take on the expansion Colorado Crush on Sunday March 16. The NBC game is set for a 4:00 PM kickoff.

Old Friends: Ricky Parker is quite familiar with Detroit coach Al Luginbill. Parker played for Luginbill in college at San Diego State. He also played for him in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, and with the XFL's Los Angeles Xtreme. The two were members of the first and only XFL Champions.

Last Week: The Rattlers suffered their third loss of the season when they fell 65-64 to the Dallas Desperados. Nelson Garner's missed PAT in overtime proved costly, as Dallas QB Jim Kubiak found Shannon Culver for the game-tying touchdown. Jason Wells added the extra point to give Dallas the victory. The teams combined for 725 yards and 18 touchdowns in the offensive explosion.

Practice: The Veteran's Memorial Coliseum is the official practice facility of the Arizona Rattlers. Contact the Rattlers PR Department at (602) 514-8302 for more information.

Officials: Officials for today's game are: Bill McCabe (Referee), Doug Wilson (Umpire), Royce Cooley (Head Linesman), Gary Cavaletto (Line Judge), and Joe Duncan (Back Judge). Passing Fancy: Rattlers Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is third all-time in Arena Football history with 462 touchdown passes. He is also third in passing yards (23,813) and third in completions (1,879). Bonner ranks fourth for pass attempts (3,059).

Yellow Flagging: The Rattlers are the most penalized team in the Arena Football League. They have been flagged 46 times, tied for most in the league, for a total of 271yards. They average 54.2 penalty yards a game.

Sun Devil Ties: Detroit Head Coach Al Luginbill is a former Arizona State football coach. Luginbill spent six seasons with the Sun Devils, first on Sun Devil legend Frank Kush's staff, then with Darryl Rogers on his coaching staff.

Thunder Struck: Former Phoenix Suns player Dan Majerle will participate in the coin flip on Friday night. "Thunder" Dan will have his jersey #9 retired by the Suns on Sunday evening.

Lucky "7": The number seven has reached mythical proportions at the America West Arena. The Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Arizona Rattlers have all honored the people who wore it. The Suns Ring of Honor added #7 Kevin Johnson in 2001. The WNBA's Mercury retired the number during the 2002 season to honor guard Michele Timms. The Rattlers retired the number in 1998 to honor the late Milton Vaughn.



Arena Football League Stories from March 5, 2003


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