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San Jose SaberCats Game Notes

April 9, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: Detroit Fury (5-5) at SaberCats (7-3).
Date: Friday, April 11, 2003.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (PDT).
Site: HP Pavilion at San Jose (14,041).
Officials: Referee: Tom McCabe; Umpire: Rick Lowe; Head Linesman: Royce Cooley; Line Judge: Art Lucky; Back Judge: Billy Beckett.
Television: No Local television.
Radio: San Jose's flagship station KNBR-1050 will broadcast the game live with Barry Tompkins handling play-by-play duties and former San Francisco 49er and four-time Super Bowl champion Keena Turner supplying the color commentary.
SaberCats Sideline Report: Hosted by Bob Fitzgerald, SSR is shown every Sunday at 11:52 p.m. on NBC11. The information packed 8-minute segment will get you up close and personal with the World Champions.
Internet: Log on to www.ticket1050.com to hear a live webcast of the game.
Series Record: First meeting.
Last Meeting: First meeting.
Series Streaks: First meeting. Coaches: San Jose, Darren Arbet (5th season; 48-18 regular season, 53-20 overall). Detroit, Al Luginbill (1st season; 5-5 regular season and overall).

OVERVIEW: The SaberCats return home after seeing their six-game winning streak snapped with a 67-64 loss in Dallas on Apr. 6. San Jose will be shooting for its 19th consecutive home win when the Detroit Fury visits HP Pavilion on Friday, April 11. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. (PDT). This contest will be the first ever meeting between San Jose and Detroit, which entered the league in 2001 as an expansion franchise. San Jose suffered another heartbreaking defeat when Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown with 22.3 seconds remaining. Daron Alcorn sailed a 41-yard field goal attempt wide left as time expired that would have tied the score. San Jose's three losses on the year have come by a combined six points and each defeat came in the waning moments of the contest. OS James Hundon was activated from injured reserve prior to the Dallas game after missing four contests recovering from hernia surgery. He looked in good form grabbing 10 catches for a game-high 160 yards and a pair of TDs. He and James Roe (11 receptions) became the second set of teammates in SaberCats history to register double-digit receptions in the same game. San Jose also added a pair of rush TDs to increase its league leading total to 34, just seven shy of the league season record of 41 (St. Louis, 1996).

WHAT'S AHEAD – Friday's game is the beginning of a critical three-game stretch for the SaberCats. Entering Week 11, San Jose's next three opponents (Detroit, Apr. 11; Indiana, Apr. 19, Colorado, Apr. 27) are a combined 10-20 on the season. Three wins would go a long way in helping the SaberCats capture a fourth straight Western Division title and a top four seed in the upcoming playoffs, which begin in six weeks.

THE IFS...:

If the SaberCats defeat Detroit it would...
*Be San Jose's 19th straight home win.
*Give San Jose a 1-0 series edge over the Fury
*Give San Jose an 8-3 season record.
*Give San Jose a 78-43 all-time regular season record.
*Give San Jose a 45-21 regular season home record.
*Give San Jose a 16-7 record vs Eastern Division.
*Give San Jose a 9-2 home record vs Eastern Division.
*Be San Jose's 5th straight win over an Eastern Division team.
*Be San Jose's 6th straight home win over an Eastern Division team.

THE COACHES:

San Jose – Darren Arbet, 5th season
48-18 (.727) reg. season; 53-20 (.726) overall 0-0 career vs. Detroit

Arbet became the 8th head coach in AFL history to win 50 games and the second fastest to reach the milestone with San Jose's win at Chicago on Mar. 9. Arbet reached 50 in his 69th game while Tim Marcum got win No. 50 in 63 games. Last season Arbet guided the SaberCats to the best regular season record (13-1) ever in league history, the most victories in a season (16) and the franchise's first league title. Arbet has compiled a 48-18 (.727) career mark in regular season games and currently owns the third-best regular season winning percentage in AFL history among coaches with at least 10 victories. Named AFL Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002, Arbet's teams have gone 47-12 (.797) overall in the past four seasons. Spanning the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Arbet led the SaberCats to a league record 15-game regular season winning streak and twice in the last three years the SaberCats have had 12-game win streaks.

Detroit – Al Luginbill, 1st season
5-5 (.500) reg. season and overall 0-0 career vs. San Jose

In his first year coaching in the Arena Football League, Luginbill also serves as the Fury's general manager bringing over 33 years of football experience to the team. Luginbill has compiled a 5-5 (.500) record in his first year after the Fury posted a 1-13 mark in 2002. A veteran collegiate and professional coach, Luginbill guided the NFL Europe Amsterdam Admirals for six seasons, including a World Bowl appearance, and he led the XFL's Los Angeles Xtreme to that league's only championship in 2001. He spent five seasons as head coach at San Diego State University, becoming the only coach at that school to record five consecutive winning seasons.

RECENT RESULTS: Will Pettis scored on a 2-yard run with 22.3 seconds remaining following a controversial defensive holding penalty against the SaberCats and Dallas ended San Jose's six-game winning streak with a 67-64 win. The Desperados got the opportunity to score the winning touchdown after George Williams batted down a Jim Kubiak pass at the line of scrimmage on a fourth down play. The referees flagged San Jose's Clevan Thomas for holding prior to the knockdown and Pettis scored on the next play to give Dallas the advantage. San Jose kicker Daron Alcorn had a chance to tie the score with no time remaining but his 41-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. The lead changed hands five times in the fourth quarter as Dallas outscored San Jose 29-14 to overcome a 12-point third quarter deficit. Kubiak tossed three of his eight touchdown passes in the final stanza and completed 17-of-24 for 303 yards without an interception for the game. Barry Wagner gave San Jose a 64-60 lead scoring on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 41 seconds left. The SaberCats opted for an on-side kick following the score and Dallas' Tom Briggs recovered the ball at the SaberCats 6-yard line. San Jose QB Mark Grieb connected with James Roe on an 18-yard scoring play with just over three minutes left in the third to stake the SaberCats to their biggest lead of the game at 50-38. Grieb threw his seven scoring passes in the first three quarters and completed 28-of-40 for a season-high 329 yards. He was intercepted twice. James Hundon, playing his first game in over a month, amassed a game-high 160 receiving yards and a pair of scores on 10 receptions and James Roe hauled in 11 balls for 122 yards and four scores. It marked just the second time in SaberCats history that two receivers had double-digit receptions in the same game. Kubiak connected with Dialleo Burks on a 45-yard scoring play on the game's first offensive play just 30 seconds after the opening kickoff to give Dallas a quick start. San Jose responded with a pair of Grieb scoring passes and a Sam Hernandez sack for a safety for a 16-7 lead with 4:12 left in the opening quarter. Wagner hauled in his only scoring pass of the game, a 4-yarder with no time left in the first half, to give the SaberCats a 36-31 lead at the break.

ROSTER MOVES: After missing four games recovering from hernia surgery, OS James Hundon was activated from IR on April 4. The SaberCats placed WR/LB Jerry Reese (hamstring) and WR/DB Aaron Bailey (groin) on injured reserve on April 4. San Jose played its game in Dallas on April 6 with just 22 players on the active roster.

MILESTONES:

*K Daron Alcorn needs 4 FGs for 100 career.
*OS Aaron Bailey needs 2 TD catches for 40 career.
*FB Matt Kinsinger needs 7 rush yards for 200 career and 1 rush TD for 15 career.
*WR/DB Barry Wagner needs 3 rush TDs for 100 career and 19.5 tackles for 600 career.
*DS Clevan Thomas needs 2 INTs to tie team season record and 3 to tie league season record.
*QB Mark Grieb needs 6 TD passes for 250 career.
*WR/LB James Roe needs 19 receptions for 200 career.
*WR/LB Jerry Reese needs 10 receptions for 250 career and 45 yards for 3,500 career.
*FB/LB Keala Keanaaina needs 30 rush yards for new team single-season record (215).
*OL/DL Sam Hernandez needs 2 sacks for 55 career.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT: After a 1-13 record in 2002, the Fury has gone 5-5 in 2003 under the direction of new head coach/general manager Al Luginbill. The 2002 New Jersey Gladiators hold the league record for largest turnaround in a single season (7) when they went from 2-12 in 2001 to 9-5 and an Eastern Division title...Detroit was a member of the AFL's Central Division its first two years in the league before being moved to the Eastern Division this season...The Fury is 3-2 on the road this year and has won two straight road games for the first time in franchise history. Detroit has already eclipsed its entire road win total from the previous two seasons combined...As a team last season the Fury tossed a league-high 24 interceptions. So far in 2003, veteran Andy Kelly leads the league with 14 interceptions thrown.

TALE OF THE TAPE: The SaberCats continue to lead the league in scoring at 63.6 ppg and are on pace to lead the league for a second straight year and the third time in the last four seasons. With the addition of two games to the schedule, San Jose can also set a new mark for points in a season. The SaberCats are on pace to score 1,018 for the season. San Jose also leads the circuit in rushing (39.7 ypg), rush TDs (34), pass defense rating (97.8) and interceptions (18).

TRENDS:

FIRST DOWNS – The SaberCats amassed the second highest single-game total in league history and set a team record with 32 first downs in their loss at Dallas on Apr. 6. Over the last three games San Jose has totaled 77 first downs (25.7 pg) and currently ranks 3rd in the league with 205. Over the first seven games of the year the SaberCats tallied 130 first downs (18.5 pg).

OPENING SCORES – In each of the last four games the SaberCats have allowed a game opening possession touchdown to the opponent, and three times, including two straight, the score came on the very first offensive play. Dallas' Jim Kubiak connected with Dialleo Burks on a 45-yard scoring pass just 30 seconds into the game on Apr. 6 and the week before, Carolina's Robert Hall hit Tramain Jones on a 38-yard TD pass just 31 seconds after the opening kickoff. San Jose has started the game on defense in each of the last six contests.

JUST WIN – In his career as a member of the SaberCats, Mark Grieb owns a 36-7 (.837) regular season record as the team's starting quarterback.

SACK EXCHANGE – After recording two sacks in their first four games, the SaberCats have registered nine in their last five contests and currently rank tied for 4th in the league with 11 sacks. Sam Hernandez, the AFL's all-time leader in sacks, and Chuck Reed, one of 15 players with over 20 career sacks, each got to Dallas' Jim Kubiak on Apr. 6.

WHAT'S THE POINT – The SaberCats suffered just their fourth loss in 36 games when scoring 60 or more points when Dallas beat them 67-64 on Apr. 6. Under the direction of offensive coordinator Terry Malley, the team has reached the 60-point mark 30 times in 65 games (includes playoffs). Prior to his arrival the SaberCats had scored 60 or more points six times in 65 games. All four of San Jose's 80-point games and 15 of the team's 17 70-plus point games have come with Malley as the team's offensive coordinator.

SCORING – Since the start of the 2002 season, San Jose has scored 50 or more points in 25 of 27 games. The two times the SaberCats failed to reach the half-century mark they put up 49 points. San Jose leads the league in scoring average this season at 63.6 ppg.

SIMPLY RED ZONE – The SaberCats lead the league in red zone scoring efficiency at 97.9 percent having scored 47 of 48 times once inside the opponents 10-yard line. San Jose went 6-for-6 in red zone opportunities at Dallas on Apr. 6 and is 12-for-12 in the last two games.

PAYDIRT – San Jose has scored at least one rushing TD in each of its 10 games this season and leads the league with 34 on the year. The SaberCats scored two times on the ground at Dallas on Apr. 6 and twice this season they matched the league single-game record with 6 rush TDs in a game. They are on pace to score 54 rush TDs on the year, which would shatter St. Louis' 1996 league record of 41, and make them league leaders for a fifth consecutive season.

NOTES:

HOME COOKING – The SaberCats extended their overall home winning streak to 18 straight with a 62-40 win over Carolina on Mar. 28. San Jose has also won 21 of their last 22 and 27 of their last 29 games played in HP Pavilion. Since the start of the 2000 season the SaberCats own a 28-3 (.903) record at home and under Head Coach Darren Arbet, the SaberCats are 32-6 (.842) in games played in San Jose. The SaberCats currently have the second longest regular season home winning streak in league history at 14 straight, trailing the Orlando Predators' record of 19 consecutive regular season home wins. Ironically, it was Orlando that last won in San Jose, beating the SaberCats, 59-35, on May 26, 2001.

HE KEEPS GOING – Now in his 12th AFL season, Barry Wagner just keeps going. Wags scored his 8th rush TD of the season and 97th of his career at Dallas on Apr. 6 and currently ranks tied for 3rd in the AFL in rush TDs. Wagner also ended a stretch of seven straight games without a TD reception by snaring a 4-yard strike at the end of the first half. It was the longest streak of games without a TD catch in his illustrious career. Prior to his streak, Wagner's longest stretch was two games without a TD catch, which was done on several occasions.

EXPANSIONS – In games against six of the most recent true expansion teams, the SaberCats have never lost the first meeting and own a 17-3 record against Dallas, Chicago, Carolina, Los Angeles, Colorado and Buffalo. San Jose is 1-0 vs. Colorado, who entered the AFL this season, 2-1 vs. Dallas (2002), 2-0 vs. Chicago (2001), 2-0 vs. Carolina (2000), 5-2 vs. Los Angeles (2000) and 5-0 vs. Buffalo (1999). Detroit, which entered the league in 2001, and San Jose will play for the first time ever on April. 11.

CLEVAN THE MAN – After intercepting a pass in a league record 7 consecutive games, DS Clevan Thomas has not had one in his last three games. Thomas still leads the circuit with 9 INTs and needs two picks to match Tommy Jones' 1998 team record of 11 in a season and three to tie the league season record of 12. Only 13 players in the history of the league have had more INTs in a season than Thomas with Dameon Porter and Tracey Perkins leading the way with 12. Thomas ranks third on the SaberCats career INT list with 14 and trails only Jones (17) and Pat McGuirk (24) for the all-time lead.

HE'S BAACK – OS James Hundon returned after missing four games recovering from hernia surgery and it looked as if he didn't miss a beat. Jhun caught 10 balls for 160 yards and a pair of TDs at Dallas and moved past Steve Papin (65) into 2nd place on the team's career list with 66 TD receptions. Despite missing those four games, Hundon is 2nd on the team with 16 TD catches and has 2 or more TD grabs in all six games he's played. Dating back to last season, he has multiple TD grabs in 12 straight regular season games and during his 26 game regular season AFL career, Hundon has at least one TD catch in all but one game and has multiple TD grabs in a game 22 times.

OFF THE MARK – QB Mark Grieb tossed a pair of interceptions at Dallas on Apr. 6 to raise his total on the year to 11 bringing him within one of his total from the previous three seasons combined. Covering the 2000 to 2002 seasons, Grieb threw just 12 interceptions in 950 attempts. This season Grieb has been picked 11 times in 283 attempts. Dallas' Jason Shelley extended Grieb's stretch of INTs in a game to a career-long five straight. The team mark for consecutive games throwing an INT is six, established by John Kaleo during the 1997 campaign.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS – With season-highs of 28 completions and 329 yards at Dallas on Apr. 6, QB Mark Grieb reached the 900 mark (910) in career pass completions and the 12,000-yard mark (12,254) in career passing yards. Grieb has already climbed two spots on the league's career pass yards list this season moving ahead Kurt Warner and Ron Lopez into sole possession of 14th place. Next on the list is Pat O'Hara, who has 12,712 career passing yards.

PAPER OR PLASTIC – Sam Hernandez, the AFL's career leader in QB sacks, tallied his 4th of the season and 53rd of his career at Dallas on Apr. 6 when he nailed QB Jim Kubiak in the endzone for a safety. It was his 1st career sack against the Desperados making them the 21st team he has registered at least one full sack against in his illustrious career. It was also the 5th time in his career that a sack resulted in a safety.

RUNNING MAN – FB/LB Keala Keanaaina continues to impress in his first year in the AFL. K.K. ran for a game-high 18 yards on 3 carries and continues to lead the league in rushing with 185 yards, a total that represents the 3rd highest season mark in team history. He also leads the league with 10 rush TDs, which is tied for the fourth most in team history. Keanaaina needs 30 rush yards to eclipse Tom Petithomme's 1996 club record of 214 and is just 3 rush TDs shy of Steve Papin's 1999 record of 13.

ROE, ROE, ROE – WR/LB James Roe continued his stellar play with 11 catches for 122 yards and 4 TDs at Dallas on Apr. 6. It was Roe's 4th career double-digit reception game and first since June 16, 2001 when he also snared 11 vs. Nashville. In that game, Roe and Shalon Baker (11) became the first San Jose teammates with double-digit receptions in the same game. Roe and James Hundon (10) became the second pair of mates with double-digit receptions in a game at Dallas. Roe has at least six catches in each of the last eight games and leads the team with 67 catches, 806 yards and 18 TDs.

WEEKLY BESTS – Daron Alcorn became the 4th kicker in AFL history to record 700 points...Barry Wagner played in his 150th career AFL game...OL/DL Dan Loney matched a career-high with 2 solo tackles and a TFL. (all accomplished at Dallas on April 6)

DETROIT PLAYERS TO WATCH:

DS/KR RON CARPENTER – The four-year AFL veteran is also one of the finest runback specialists in the league. Carpenter is the only opposing player to run back a missed field goal and kickoff for a touchdown in the same game against San Jose. That was accomplished on July 25, 1998 when the 6-foot-1 Carpenter played for the defunct New York CityHawks. This season, the former Miami (Ohio) standout has 62 kickoff returns, three for touchdowns, and a team-leading three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He also leads the team in all-purpose yardage (171.6 per game). Last week against Chicago, Carpenter had nine kickoff returns for 250 yards that included a 56-yard TD run.

QB ANDY KELLY – The AFL's all-time leader in pass attempts (3,821), completions (2,355) and yards (26,370), he also ranks 2nd behind New York's Aaron Garcia in career TD passes with 513. During his career, Kelly has started 10 games for three different teams against San Jose completing 212-of-360 passes for 2,307 yards with 47 TDs and 14 interceptions. Kelly is best known to San Jose fans as Nashville's starting QB when the Kats bested the SaberCats in the 2000 and 2001 semifinals. Kelly threw a SaberCats opponent record 51 passes as a member of the Dallas Desperados on May 25, 2002 and he owns a 4-6 record in career starts against San Jose.

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