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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Rattlers Offense Crashes in HP Pavillion

by Andrew Nordmeier
April 4, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers


The Arizona Rattlers 41-27 loss to the San Jose SaberCats Sunday night in the HP Pavillion is can be explained by the numbers one, two, three and four.

One was the number of weeks ago that 6-3 San Jose put up 81 points but the Arizona (2-8) defense held San Jose to 301 yards and even kept the SaberCats off the board in a scoreless first quarter.

Two was the number of times Rattlers' quarterback Joe Germaine was sacked in the game. Germaine finished 17-of-34 passing for 210 yards and three scores but looked weak at times including seven straight incompletions during the first half.

Three was the number of rushing touchdowns San Jose lineman/fullback Steven Warren scored. He scored on runs of two, eleven and one yards. He finished with 16 yards on seven carries. Warren had only scored two other touchdowns in his AFL career earlier this season against Philadelphia. Before that, his last touchdown came in middle school.

Four was the number of touchdown passes SaberCats' quarterback Mark Grieb threw for. He finished up with a strong performance of 26-for-34 with 289 yards through the air. His passes were sharp and found his receivers all game long. James Roe was the beneficiary with 10 catches for 115 yards and three scores.

Other numbers involved include 56 which was the number of yards in Tom Pace's kickoff return for an Arizona touchdown to cut the game to a 34-21 deficit. A zero went by the way side when Germaine hooked up with Orshawante Bryant for a seven-yard touchdown with 4:27 left to keep Arizona in striking range at 41-27. It was the first time all year San Jose had aloowed points in a home game in the fourth quarter.

Arizona returns home for a short-week game Friday night against the Columbus Destroyers while San Jose has a bye week coming up.

Notes: Arizona is the only team to have beaten the SaberCats in San Jose in the last 19 SaberCat home games, doing so twice...San Jose is now 25-9 against division rivals at home...San Jose is 5-1 when scoring first and 6-0 when leading at the half...Even the channel the game was televised on worked against Arizona as San Jose is now 4-0 when their games air on Fox Sports Net...Arizona never led in the game...Arizona would have been shutout in the first half if not for a score with 2:28 left in the second quarter...Rattlers' offensive specialist Siaha Burley didn't score for the first time all season.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 4, 2005


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