San Jose clinches sixth consecutive playoff berth
Published on May 22, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 21, 2005) - In a game the SaberCats (9-7) needed to win, they did just that, defeating the Georgia Force (11-5) 54-48 to break their three-game losing streak and earn their sixth consecutive trip to the playoffs in front of 13,892 fans at HP Pavilion.
QB Mark Grieb threw for five touchdowns and 235 yards, breaking the AFL record for most passing yards in a season. Grieb, the Offensive Player of the Game, completed 21-of-32 passes without an interception and finished the season with 4,803 yards, breaking Jim Kubiak's (4,762) single season passing mark set in 2003.
Ironman of the Game James Roe caught 12 passes for 121 yards and three TD's while Rashied Davis added four catches for 57 yards and three scores of his own, including his sixth kickoff return TD of the season, a 56-yard dash to begin the game. It was San Jose's first kickoff return for a TD to open the game since June 22, 2002.
The game was starting to look like a blowout when Grieb connected with Davis on a six-yard strike as time expired in the half to give the SaberCats a commanding 40-13 halftime lead. But Georgia's talented rookie duo of Troy Bergeron and Derek Lee, who combined for 19 catches, 222 yards and five TDs in the game, scored four times in the second half as Georgia tried furiously to erase a 27-point halftime deficit.
Backup QB Glen Gauntt's 1-yard run with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter pulled Georgia within six points, but their ensuing onside kick attempt was knocked out-of-bounds by Roe and the SaberCats ran out the clock to seal the win.
The SaberCats will now await the results of Sunday's game between Chicago and Nashville to determine their playoff seeding and where they will be traveling for their first round match-up. If Chicago wins on Sunday, San Jose will be the #4 seed and head to Colorado. If Chicago loses, San Jose will be the #3 seed and make the short flight to L.A. The Force, who entered Saturday's contest with the #1 seed already in hand, will also wait until Sunday to find out who they will face.
Notes: Barry Wagner was named Defensive Player of the Game after registering a TFL, a forced fumble, two PBUs and a team-high 5.5 tackles ¬Â¦Clevan Thomas returned an onside kick 14 yards for the score, his first TD of the season ¬Â¦K Derek Schorejs made his SaberCats debut, converting on 6-of-8 PATs ¬Â¦Mark Grieb increased his team record for most passing TDs in a season to 84 and became the first player in history to reach the 80-TD mark ¬Â¦Rashied Davis tied a team record for most kickoff return TDs in a season with six and finished the season with a team record for TDs (44) and scoring (264) ¬Â¦Jeff Ruffin collected his first career sack ¬Â¦Rex Richards registered his first career assisted tackle ¬Â¦Inactives for the San Jose were Calvin Schexnayder, Erin Damond, Matt Kinsinger and Joe Jacobs.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 22, 2005
- SaberCats travel to Colorado for playoff opener - San Jose SaberCats
- Drive to ArenaBowl XIX Las Vegas pairings set - AFL I
- Avengers Finale not so Grand - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Soul drop season finale, 77-63, to Dallas Desperados - Philadelphia Soul
- Destroyers end season with 78-53 loss to Tampa Bay - Columbus Destroyers
- Rush shuts down Kats, 45-21 - Chicago Rush
- Gladiators get snake bit by Rattlers, 49-42 - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Kats End Season Without a Rush - Nashville Kats
- L.A. Avengers to host Chicago Rush in divisional round of AFL Playoffs - Los Angeles Avengers
- Storm clinch playoff berth with win - Tampa Bay Storm
- Timely News, Notes And Tidbits About The Arena Football League - AFL I
- Avengers gear up for playoffs - Los Angeles Avengers
- San Jose clinches sixth consecutive playoff berth - San Jose SaberCats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
