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SaberCats Preseason #1

March 28, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


PRESEASON GAME #1
Carolina Cobras (0-0) at San Jose SaberCats (0-0)
Friday, March 29, 7:30 pm (PT)
Compaq Center at San Jose (12,700)

THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: San Jose SaberCats vs. Carolina Cobras
Date: Friday, March 29, 2002
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (PST)
Site: Compaq Center at San Jose (12,700)
Officials: R: Tom McCabe; U: Jeff Carr; HL: Brent Durbin; LJ: Bob McElwee; BJ: Jim Anderson
Television: No Television.
Radio: San Jose's flagship station The Ticket (KTCT) 1050-AM will broadcast the game live at approximately 7:30. Bob Fitzgerald, the television voice of the NBA's Golden State Warriors will call the play-by-play with former San Francisco 49er and four-time Super Bowl champion Keena Turner supplying the commentary. George Atkinson, Chris Gargano and Rod Brooks will host the SaberCats pre-game show from 3 pm to 4:45 pm live from the Compaq Center. Series Record: SaberCats lead 1-0. Last Meeting: San Jose 59, Carolina 47 (April 5, 2001).
Streaks: SaberCats Won 1
Coaches: San Jose, Darren Arbet (30-16 overall, 4th season). Carolina, Mike Neu (0-1 overall, 1st full season).

OVERVIEW: The SaberCats open their eighth season in the Arena Football League when they host the Carolina Cobras in the first pre-season game of the Arena Football League's 16th season. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Compaq Center at San Jose on Friday, March 29. San Jose has won back-to-back Western Division championships and advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons but has failed to reach its ultimate goal, the ArenaBowl. The SaberCats have posted a league-best 22 regular season victories the last two seasons thanks to the most prolific offense in the AFL. San Jose has averaged 60.8 points per game over the last two seasons and became just the second team in league history with consecutive 800-point scoring seasons (871 in '00, 831 in '01). San Jose brings a 4-game preseason winning streak into this contest and has an all-time record of 8-6 (.571) in pre-season competition.

THE SERIES: The two teams have only met once and it was in the preseason last year. San Jose pulled out a 59-47 win at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena. The teams will meet in the 2002 regular season finale when the SaberCats travel to North Carolina for game scheduled to be nationally televised by The New TNN.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Following Friday night's pre-season opener, The SaberCats will take two weeks off from game action before concluding the 2002 exhibition season with a game at the Georgia Force on Friday, April 12. The SaberCats open regular season play on Saturday, April 20 when they host Western Division foe Arizona. Three of San Jose's first four regular season games and four of their first six will be played in the Compaq Center.

LAST SERIES MEETING: SAN JOSE 59, Carolina 47 (April 5, 2001) – Quarterback John Dutton completed 19 of 24 passes with three touchdowns in three quarters of action and the SaberCats overcame a 16-point second quarter deficit to defeat the Carolina Cobras, 59-47, in the final pre-season tune up for both teams on April 5. San Jose completed the exhibition season with a 2-0 record for the second consecutive season. San Jose fell behind 9-0 less than five minutes into the game after Otis Mounds tackled Steve Papin in the endzone f or a safety and Fred McNair tossed a 29-yard TD pass to David McLeod, and trailed 23-7 early in the second quarter following McNair's third TD pass of the game, an 11-yard toss to Dexter Dawson. But San Jose countered and scored 35 of the game's next 41 points starting with a 2-yard TD plunge by fullback Bob McMillen. Joey Dozier scored from a yard out with 45 seconds left in the first half to pull the SaberCats within eight points, 29-21, at the half. The SaberCats blanked the Cobras and scored the only two touchdowns in the third quarter. Shalon Baker caught a 17-yard TD pass and Barry Wagner scored on a 2-yard run to give San Jose a 35-29 lead after three quarters. Dutton hit James Roe on a 27-yard TD strike to open the fourth giving the SaberCats a 42-29 lead with 14:55 remaining in the game. Backup quarterback Mark Garcia threw his first AFL touchdown pass, 19-yards to Tyrone Taylor four minutes into the final quarter, to make the score 49-35. Following a pair of Lance Funderburk touchdown passes, Dozier put the game away with his second touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run with 58 seconds left, to give San Jose a 56-47 lead. Jason Wells booted a 41-yard field goal with :23 left on the clock to supply the final margin.

SERIES SCORES
Date Score
April 5, 2001 SAN JOSE 59, @Carolina 47

THE COACHES:
Darren Arbet, 4th season (28-14, 2-2 playoffs) Arbet became the SaberCats winningest head coach when San Jose beat Arizona in the quarterfinals of the AFL playoffs last year. The win gave Arbet 30 victories in 46 career games. He surpassed former head coach Todd Shell, who posted 29 wins in 57 career games. Arbet owns a 30-16 (.652) overall record and is 28-14 (.667) in regular season games. The SaberCats are 4-2 (.667) in pre-season games under Arbet. Named the AFL's Coach of the Year in 2000 following a league record tying 12 regular season wins, Arbet has also guided the SaberCats to an AFL record 15 consecutive regular season victories. Arbet is the only head coach in team history to post a postseason victory. Carolina: Mike Neu 1st season (0-0, 0-1 playoffs) Neu enters his first full season at the helm of the Cobras after being promoted from offensive coordinator on July 26, 2001, three days before the Cobras' first-ever playoff game. At 31, Neu is the youngest head coach in the Arena Football League. Neu was the head coach and director of football operations for Augusta of af2 and led the Stallions to a 14-4 overall record earning Coach of the Year honors in 2000.

PRE-SEASON HISTORY: The SaberCats are riding a four-game pre-season win streak and are 8-6 (.571) in exhibition games all-time. San Jose won both pre-season games in 2000 and went on to post a league-best 12 regular season wins that season. San Jose also posted its first-ever playoff win in 2000 defeating Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. San Jose again went undefeated in pre-season play in 2001 and notched a 10-win season and another playoff appearance. The SaberCats notched their second playoff win beating Arizona last season. Carolina and San Jose ended the pre-season last year with the SaberCats posting a 59-47 win over the Cobras in North Carolina. The two teams will play the first game of the 2002 AFL season on Friday and conclude the regular season with a game in Raleigh on July 21.

PRE-SEASON RESULTS
Date Opponent Result Score
April 5, 2001 @Carolina Won 59-47
Mar. 23, 2001 TORONTO Won 56-33
April 8, 2000 ARIZONA Won 45-38
Mar. 25, 2000 @Oklahoma Won 37-30
April 14, 1999 @Arizona Lost 41-64
April 7, 1999 PORTLAND Lost 33-55
April 24, 1998 @Nashville Won 58-51
April 17, 1998 NEW YORK Won 30-27
April 26, 1997 NASHVILLE Lost 22-31
April 21, 1997 @New York Won 44-40
April 17, 1996 @Milwaukee Lost 23-29 ot
April 13, 1996 MILWAUKEE Lost 22-26
May 5, 1995 ALBANY Lost 21-48
April 29, 1995 @Memphis Won 39-30

A LOOK BACK- The 2001 season ended much like that of 2000. No matter how many wins or records broken it ended all too familiar for San Jose. The SaberCats could not get by the Nashville Kats for the second straight year. They lost in a semifinal playoff game at Nashville, 71-47. The season began with the SaberCats winning their third straight season opener and extending their regular season win streak to 12. The SaberCats won their first four games of the season breaking the Tampa Bay Storm's record of 14 consecutive regular season wins with a 73-17 thumping of Oklahoma on May 5. The 56-point margin of victory was also a San Jose record. The streak came to an end the following week at the hands of the New York Dragons in a 62-58 loss. San Jose proceeded to lose two of the next three games and headed into the bye week with a 5-3 record. San Jose's first game following the off-week was a re-match of the 2000 semifinal contest against the Nashville Kats on June 16. The SaberCats overcame a 17-point fourth quarter deficit and posted an exciting 58-57 overtime victory in QB Mark Grieb's first start of the season. Grieb threw for a team record 430 yards and seven touchdowns in the win. More remarkable was his performance in the fourth quarter and overtime. Grieb completed 16 consecutive passes and totaled a team record 30 completions for the game, giving San Jose the revenge it was looking for. In a nationally televised game, San Jose defeated Oklahoma, 60-41, and returned home to face Florida. In another dramatic overtime game, the SaberCats beat the Bobcats 56-55 on June 30 behind Grieb's 418 passing yards. With that performance Grieb became just the third player in league history to have multiple 400-yard passing games in a career, and he did it in three weeks! San Jose traveled to Arizona on July 6 for a showdown with division rival the Rattlers. San Jose notched its first-ever season sweep of the Rattlers and clinched its second straight Western Division title with a 73-63 win. Grieb entered the SaberCats' record book again as he tossed a team record nine TD passes. San Jose ended the season with an 80-27 win over Houston and became the first team in league history with two 50-plus point wins in a season. For the second straight year the SaberCats earned a first-round playoff bye becoming the only team to do so in the two seasons after the league changed its playoff format. The SaberCats quarterfinal round opponent turned out to be a familiar foe as the playoffs brought the Arizona Rattlers in for a third meeting between the bitter Western Division rivals. It's almost unheard of for a team to play three times in one season and for the same team to be victorious in all three. San Jose pulled it off with a 68-49 win for its second playoff victory in franchise history.

PRE-SEASON NOTES:

SAN JOSE STATE CONNECTION: The SaberCats now have four former Spartans on their roster. The WR/DB position is flooded with former San Jose State players and has been for some time. Five-year veteran, and original SaberCat, Jerry Reese became the first SaberCat player to score six touchdowns in a game when he caught five TD passes and returned an interception for a score against Houston on July 21 last year. His last catch in the final game of the season, a 7-yard TD, was the 200th of his career. Omarr Smith, a two-year AFL veteran, was named the SaberCats defensive player of the year in 2001. He led the team with 4 interceptions and finished 4th in tackles. Smith returned his first career INT 45-yards for a touchdown last season vs Arizona. It was the 4th-longest INT return in team history. Two rookie prospects out of San Jose State are WR/DB Rashied Davis and DS Travis Seaton. Davis played on both sides of the ball during his two-year Spartan career while Seaton was one of the top defenders in his final two seasons. Both players earned honorable mention All-Western Athletic Conference honors during the 2000 season.

FULLBACKS or LINEBACKERS: A question mark in camp for the SaberCats has been the Fullback/Linebacker position. Veteran Bob McMillen will get the starting nod but the backups are fighting for a roster spot. With last season's leading rusher Joey Dozier signed by the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Mike Jones not signed, rookies Keala Keanaaina and Josh White as well as second-year player Matt Kinsinger will get some looks. Kinsinger played with the Houston ThunderBears last season and was with the Augusta Stallions of af2 in 2000. Keanaaina was a practice player with the SaberCats last season and White was a member of the San Francisco 49ers and played in five pre-season games in 2001.

OLD SCHOOL: Aging like a fine wine is the SaberCats roster. Six players have at least six years of Arena League experience and of those six; four have won an ArenaBowl championship. The elder statesman of the group is WR/DB Barry Wagner. The six-time Ironman of the Year enters his 11th season in the AFL and captured a title with the 1998 Orlando Predators. OL/DL Darrin Kenney enters his 9th AFL season and owns rings from the 1993 Tampa Bay Storm and the 1997 Arizona Rattlers. FB/LB Bob McMillen was a teammate of Kenney at Arizona in '97 and enters his 8th season. Sam Hernandez, the league's career leader in sacks, starts his 10th year in the AFL and 5th with San Jose. Free agent OL/DL Chuck Reed is in his 7th year and first with the SaberCats, while OL/DL Joe Jacobs (RTR) has six years of service under his belt. Jacobs won a title with Albany in 1999 leaving Hernandez and Reed as the only veterans without a championship.

ROOKIES: They may be rookies to the AFL but they are definitely not rookies to the game of football. OL/DL Frank Beede was a member of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks for five seasons. He played in 46 NFL games making 8 starts in his Seahawks career. In 1996 Beede became the first free agent rookie offensive lineman to start a game in club history. DS Wendell Davis was a 6th-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1996. He played in 34 career games with Dallas over three seasons. DS Clevan Thomas comes to San Jose from Florida State University where he played in the 2000 and 2001 NCAA National Championship game.

OLD FRIENDS REUNITE: Quarterback Mark Grieb, OL/DL Chuck Reed and OL/DL Sam Hernandez were all teammates with the Anaheim Piranhas in 1997. DS Wendell Davis and OL/DL Mike Ulufale were both drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1996 NFL Draft. Ulufale was a 3rd-round pick (95th overall) and Davis was selected in the 6th-round (207th overall). The two played together on the '96 Cowboys squad that finished the season 10-6, won the NFC East title and advanced to the Divisional Playoffs.

FRIEND OR FOE: Chuck Reed has been a familiar opponent to the SaberCats over the last six seasons. During his AFL career, Reed has always been a member of a Western Division foe of San Jose and has gone head-to-head with SaberCats linemen in at least two games every season. Reed played two years with the Anaheim Piranhas (1996-97), two with the Portland Forest Dragons (98-99) and two with the Oklahoma Wranglers (00-01). During his 13-game career against the SaberCats (1 playoff game with Oklahoma in '00), Reed has posted 22.0 tackles (17ua – 10at), 2.0 quarterback sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 pass breakups.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 28, 2002


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