Rivals to meet as San Jose takes on Arizona

Published on March 12, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


OVERVIEW: The SaberCats got a split of their season-opening two-game road trip after knocking off the Grand Rapids Rampage, 66-58, on Mar. 10 and will open their 2008 home schedule on Saturday, Mar. 15 when they host former defensive coordinator Kevin Guy and division rival Arizona in a ‘Night of Champions.' The SaberCats will unveil their 2007 ArenaBowl champion banner and present the Foster Trophy to fans in a pre-game ceremony. Also, miniature replica trophies will be distributed to the first 7,500 fans through the turnstiles at HP Pavilion. San Jose's flagship radio station KNBR 1050 will begin coverage from HP at 5:00 p.m. with an extended 2-hour pre-game show with hosts Dan Dibley and Ray Woodson. FSN Bay Area will show the game tape-delayed at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 16. The SaberCats and Rattlers will be meeting for the 32nd time making this the 2nd-longest running rivalry in the AFL behind only the Tampa Bay/Orlando ‘War on I-4' series. San Jose has had the better of the series lately winning five straight games, matching the longest win streak in the series history. The SaberCats also enter the contest riding a 14-game regular season home win streak, the second-longest in AFL history, behind the Orlando Predators 19-game stretch from 1992 thru 1995. THE SCHEDULES:

2008 SAN JOSE SABERCATS (1-1)

Date Opponent Result Score Mar. 3 @Chicago Lost 47-70 Mar. 10 @Grand Rapids Won 66-58 Date Opponent Time (PT) Radio/TV Mar. 15 ARIZONA 7:30 pm 1050 Mar. 22 DALLAS 7:30 pm 1050 Mar. 29 @Kansas City 3:30 pm 1050/FSN Apr. 5 @New Orleans 4:00 pm 1050/FSN Apr. 12 PHILADELPHIA 7:30 pm 1050 Apr. 18 @Utah 6:00 pm 1050/FSN Apr. 26 LOS ANGELES 7:30 pm 1050 May 3 @Orlando 4:30 pm 1050/FSN+ May 9 @Arizona 7:00 pm 1050/FSN May 17 UTAH 7:30 pm 1050 May 24 COLORADO 7:30 pm 1050 May 31 @Los Angeles 7:30 pm 1050/FSN Jun. 14 TAMPA BAY 7:30 pm 1050 Jun. 21 GEORGIA 7:30 pm 1050

2008 ARIZONA RATTLERS (1-1)

Date Opponent Result Score Mar. 1 @Utah Won 63-62 Mar. 10 LOS ANGELES Lost 33-65 Date Opponent Time (PT) Radio/TV Mar. 15 @San Jose 7:30 pm FSN Mar. 21 NEW YORK 7:00 pm Mar. 28 @Chicago 5:30 pm Apr. 13 @Tampa Bay 11:00 am Apr. 18 NEW ORLEANS 7:00 pm Apr. 25 GEORGIA 7:00 pm May 3 @Los Angeles 7:30 pm May 9 SAN JOSE 7:00 pm FSN May 17 @Dallas 5:00 pm May 24 GRAND RAPIDS 7:00 pm May 31 @Orlando 4:30 pm Jun. 8 @Kansas City 11:00 am Jun. 16 COLORADO 7:00 pm ESPN2 Jun. 21 UTAH 7:00 pm

SABERCATS WEEKLY: SaberCats Weekly on FSN Bay Area returns once again in 2008. New shows will air every Wednesday throughout the season with two repeat showings during the week. The next ‘SaberCats Weekly' will air on Wednesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. with encore showings on Friday, March 21 at 12:30 p.m. and on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p.m. Host Chris Townsend takes an in-depth look at the defending AFL champions with interviews, previews and highlights. FSN feature reporter Jayme Sire will also contribute to the show. SaberCats Weekly is produced this season by Paul Aldridge.

THE SERIES: San Jose has won the last five meetings and leads the all-time series 17-14...The SaberCats are 11-7 in all games played in HP Pavilion and the regular season series is even at 7-7 in games played in San Jose...San Jose has won four straight games in HP Pavilion outscoring Arizona by an average of just over 20 points...The overall regular season series is tied at 13-13, but the SaberCats have won 4 of 5 playoff tilts, including wins in ArenaBowl XVI and XVIII...Eleven of the series games have been decided by 7 points or less and 17 games have been won by 11 or fewer points...Each team has two series wins of 37 or more points...This will be the 32nd series game, making it the second longest running rivalry in the AFL to only the 41 games played between Tampa Bay and Orlando in the ‘War on I-4' series (including playoffs).

SERIES NOTABLES: The SaberCats and Rattlers have combined for 12 of 13 Western Division titles since the AFL went to a four-division format in 1995. San Jose won its 7th title, and 2nd straight, in 2007, while also winning the title in 1995 and four straight from 2000-03. Arizona won four straight from 1996-1999 and sealed another title in 2004. Los Angeles became the only other team to win the West capturing the crown in 2005...San Jose's 62-48 playoff win on May 27, 2006 gave the SaberCats their first lead in the series...Eleven of the series games have been decided by 7 points or less and 17 games have been won by 11 or fewer points...This will be the 32nd series game making it the second-longest running rivalry in the AFL to only the Tampa Bay/Orlando ‘War on I-4' series. Those teams have played 41 times (including playoffs)...The SaberCats played their first ever regular season game against Arizona on May 12, 1995 losing in overtime to the Rattlers, 43-37...San Jose has played the most games (31) and has the most wins (17) against Arizona than any other opponent...San Jose handed Arizona its second-worst loss in team history with a 66-26 (40 pts) win on June 16, 2007. The Rattlers worst defeat came on July 17, 1992 in a 71-21 loss at Orlando...San Jose's current 5-game winning streak over the Rattlers matches the longest in the series. The SaberCats also won 5 straight from Jun. 1, 2000 to Apr. 20, 2002. Arizona won 4 straight from May 24, 1997 to Jun. 6, 1998...The Rattlers have dealt the SaberCats their worst two defeats in franchise history: 75-37 (38 pts) on June 5, 1999 in Arizona and 59-22 (37 pts) on June 9, 1997 in San Jose...San Jose's Mark Grieb has thrown for 5,308 yards with 110 TDs against just 5 INTs in 20 games, all starts, against Arizona. Grieb is 14-6 in those games with a passer rating of 124.2...Former SaberCats Atnaf Harris and Patrick Afif are currently on the Rattlers active roster while Jeff Ruffin and Rufus Brown are on IR...The SaberCats have former Rattlers' Phil Glover and Darrell Jones (IR) on their roster...Arizona ended the SaberCats' winning streak at 12 and handed them their only loss of the 2002 season with a 59-52 win at home on July 12. In that game, Rattlers' lineman Stacey Evans threw Mark Grieb to the turf breaking his collarbone and ending his year. San Jose went on to win ArenaBowl XVI defeating the Rattlers, 52-14, behind backup QB John Dutton...Julius Gant and Alan Harper made their AFL debuts for San Jose at Arizona on Feb. 12, 2006.

LAST SERIES MEETING: SABERCATS BEAT RATTLERS, 66-26 Defense Stifling In 9th Straight Win SAN JOSE, Calif. (June 16, 2007) - Mark Grieb threw six touchdown passes and the SaberCats held the Arizona Rattlers to six second half points posting their 9th straight win with a 66-26 win. San Jose (12-3) got an interception from Steve Watson on the game's first offensive play and Matt Kinsinger scored on a 2-yard pass five plays later for a 7-0 lead just over three and a half minutes into the contest. The SaberCats won their 14th straight regular season home game matching their own record for the second-most in AFL history. The Rattlers (4-12), playing without Sherdrick Bonner and Bo Kelly, stayed close in the first quarter behind a pair of scoring passes from Chris Sanders, who completed 22-of-49 attempts for 252 yards. Kinsinger and Brian Johnson scored on 1-yard runs, Grieb tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Wright and A.J. Haglund booted a 22-yard field goal as the SaberCats outscored Arizona 24-7 in the second quarter to take a 38-20 halftime lead. Grieb completed 21-of-28 attempts for 239 yards with no interceptions. James Roe caught nine passes for 106 yards and four scores setting team season records in receptions and touchdowns. San Jose forced a turnover on downs and intercepted a pair of passes on the Rattlers final three possessions to hold Arizona to a season-low point total. Omarr Smith returned a pick 36-yards for a score early in the fourth quarter and Clevan Thomas snared his 40th career pick on the ensuing possession. The SaberCats posted their fifth straight win over the Rattlers and improved to 58-8 all-time when scoring 60-or-more points in a regular season game.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 12, 2008


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