SaberCats Kicker Earns Honor for Second Straight Month
April 30, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 30, 2008) - San Jose SaberCats kicker A.J. Haglund was handed his second Arena Football League Kicker of the Month award in as many months after producing the top kicking output in the AFL for April, the league announced today.
Haglund (5-8, 175, Central Oklahoma) scored a league-high 45 kicking points in April after connecting on 24-of-29 PAT attempts and converting 7 of his 8 field goal tries. He has strung together one of the most prolific first halves of the season in league history by hitting 17-of-18 FGs (94.4%) and 58 out of his 63 PATs (92.1%) for a league-best 109 points, which also ranks 13th among overall scoring leaders.
"A.J. has been great this season, especially because we've struggled on offense at times," attested San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb. "He's given us points when we've needed them and he has also saved us on a lot of kick returns."
Haglund doesn't fit the mold of a typical kicker and has been referred to by coaches as a linebacker in a kicker's body. He leads all kickers in special teams tackles with 12.0 after posting the highest total (15.5) in the league in 2007.
"A.J. really worked hard this offseason and stays in great shape," Grieb said. "He is the type of guy you don't think about as a kicker because he comes out to practice everyday and works hard just like everybody else. Most of the time you don't see that with a kicker."
With his production the first two months of the season, Haglund looks to be well on his way to claim the Kicker of the Year title that many believed he deserved last year.
Defensive lineman Alan Harper, who leads the league in forced fumbles with five, was a nominee for ADT Defensive Player of the Month, as was Steve Watson, who has compiled the most sacks (5.0) by a linebacker this season.
New York Dragons QB Aaron Garcia was named the Offensive Player of the Month, DB Norman LeJeune from the New Orleans VooDoo earned ADT Defensive Player and Rookie of the Month honors and Tampa Bay's FB/LB Torrance Marshall was tabbed the league's Ironman.
A premiere franchise in the Arena Football League, San Jose has won three ArenaBowl championships and captured seven Western Division titles, eight consecutive playoff appearances and owns the league's best regular season record this decade.
Season and group tickets for the 2008 season are on sale. Contact a SaberCats' account executive at (408) 573-5577 to reserve your seats today. Individual game tickets can be purchased at the HP Pavilion ticket office, all Northern California Ticketmaster locations and on line at ticketmaster.com.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 30, 2008
- Crush sign two to roster - Colorado Crush
- SaberCats Kicker Earns Honor for Second Straight Month - San Jose SaberCats
- New York's Garcia, New Orleans' Lejeune, Tampa Bay's Marshall And San Jose's Haglund Earn Honors - AFL I
- Dallas' Dolezel Can Become All-Time Leading Passer On Saturday - AFL I
- Philadelphia Looks To Stay Perfect In Week 10 - AFL I
- Gladiators Sign Former Browns DL Mark Word - Cleveland Gladiators
- Dragons Ride Four Game Win Streak Into Bye Week - New York Dragons
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