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San Jose SaberCats Game Notes

May 7, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: SaberCats (10-4) at Tampa Bay Storm (11-3).
Date: Sunday, May 11, 2003.
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. (PDT).
Site: St. Pete Times Forum (20,082).
Officials: Referee: Darrel Leftwich; Umpire: Jeff Carr; Head Linesman: Bill Ward; Line Judge: Jim Hatfield; Back Judge: Tony Lombardo.
Television: NBC will televise the game nationally with Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Pat Haden (color) and Lewis Johnson (sideline) calling the action. KNTV (NBC11) will show the game in the Bay Area.
Radio: San Jose's flagship station KNBR-1050 will broadcast the game live with Bob Fitzgerald handling play-by-play and George Atkinson commentating.
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: Tampa Bay leads series 5-2.
Last Meeting: San Jose 55, Tampa Bay 48 (Playoffs, August 3, 2002 in San Jose).
Series Streaks: San Jose Won 2.
Coaches: San Jose, Darren Arbet (5th season; 51-19 regular season, 56-21 overall). Tampa Bay, Tim Marcum (15th season; 132-46 regular season, 154-54 overall).

OVERVIEW: The SaberCats continue their quest for the top overall seed once the AFL playoffs begin on May 24. San Jose took a big step with an exciting come-from-behind 56-55 win over Grand Rapids on May 3 and can clinch a first-round bye for the fourth consecutive season with a win at Tampa Bay on May 11. No easy task as the Storm holds the league's best record at 11-3 entering the final two weeks of the regular season. San Jose edged Grand Rapids when Mark Grieb tossed a 9-yard scoring pass to James Roe with four seconds left in regulation then ran for the two-point conversion to give the SaberCats their fourth straight 10-plus win season in a row. San Jose must win its final two games to have a shot at the top overall seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The top seeded team, including the SaberCats last year, has won the last two league titles. San Jose had lost the first five meetings with Tampa Bay until pulling out two close games last season, including a 55-48 win in a quarterfinal playoff game. Tampa Bay still leads the all-time series 5-2. The game will be televised live on NBC and can be seen in the Bay Area on KNTV.

THE SERIES: The Storm leads the all-time series 5-2, but the SaberCats won both games last season, including a 55-48 quarterfinal playoff win on Aug. 3, in San Jose...The Storm owns a 2-1 record in games played in Tampa, but San Jose pulled out a 61-54 win on Apr. 27, 2002, that was San Jose's first-ever win over the Storm...The last three contests between the teams have been decided by seven or fewer points.

WHAT'S AHEAD: The SaberCats conclude the 2003 regular season by hosting the Los Angeles Avengers on Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. There is a strong possibility that the winner of this game will take the division title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

SERIES NOTABLES: Barry Wagner tied a SaberCats playoff game record by scoring five TDs against the Storm in a 55-48 win on Aug. 3, 2002...Of all the teams San Jose has played more than once, Tampa Bay was the last one the SaberCats posted a victory over. The SaberCats had lost five straight to the Storm before a 61-54 win at Tampa Bay on Apr. 27, 2002...Tampa Bay has recorded six safeties in the series with all coming in the first three meetings. The Storm produced three safeties on three consecutive San Jose possessions in a 58-34 win on Aug. 2, 1997. LAST SERIES MEETING: San Jose 55, Tampa Bay 48 (Quarterfinal Playoff • Saturday, August 3 • Compaq Center) – John Dutton threw for six touchdowns and Barry Wagner scored five as the San Jose SaberCats overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Storm 55-48. Dutton's 35-yard pass to James Roe with just over a minute left broke a 48-48 tie and sent the SaberCats into the Arena Football League semifinals. On the game's final play, Wagner broke up a shuffle pass in the end zone on Tampa Bay's fourth-and-goal play. San Jose, which set a league record with its 13-1 regular-season mark, won its 12th straight home game. Dutton was 24-of-38 for 327 yards, setting team playoff marks for completions, attempts and yards. He threw two interceptions. Storm quarterback Shane Stafford completed 14-of-39 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Darion Connor tackled Dutton in the end zone for a Tampa Bay safety, than Lawrence Samuels caught a 45-yard pass from Stafford as the Storm pulled away from San Jose in the third quarter. Samuels returned an interception 18 yards for a score early in the third quarter to put the Storm up 45-27, the largest deficit San Jose faced all season. The SaberCats closed the gap to 45-41 by the end of the quarter. Wagner's fifth touchdown reception - a 10-yarder from Dutton - put San Jose up 48-45 with 9:43 remaining to play. Pete Elezovic connected on a 39-yard field goal to tie the score at 48 with 2:45 left. Dutton's 14-yard touchdown pass to Shalon Baker put the SaberCats up 20-10 less than two minutes into the second quarter. Tampa Bay then scored 20 unanswered points as Stafford threw for three touchdowns, two of them to David Saunders.

ALL-TIME SERIES SCORES

Date Result
Aug. 3, 2002 @San Jose 55, Tampa Bay 48 (po)
Apr. 27, 2002 San Jose 61, @Tampa Bay 54
July 24, 1999 Tampa Bay 52, @San Jose 48
Aug. 8, 1998 @Tampa Bay 65, San Jose 46 (po)
May 1, 1998 Tampa Bay 45, @San Jose 23
Aug. 2, 1997 Tampa Bay 58, @San Jose 34
June 1, 1996 @Tampa Bay 36, San Jose 22

THE IFS...:

If the SaberCats defeat Tampa Bay it would...
*Be San Jose's 3rd straight win over the Storm.
*Give San Jose an 11-4 season record.
*Give San Jose an 81-44 all-time regular season record.
*Give San Jose a 38-25 regular season road record.
*Give San Jose an 18-12 record vs Southern Division.

THE COACHES:

San Jose – Darren Arbet, 5th season 51-19 (.729) reg. season; 56-21 (.727) overall 2-1 (.667) career vs. Tampa Bay

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 51-19 (.729) 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 50-13 (.794) 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.

Tampa Bay – Tim Marcum, 15th season 132-46 (.742) reg. season; 154-54 (.740) overall 5-2 (.714) career vs. San Jose

In his 15th season as a head coach in the AFL, Marcum owns a career regular season record of 132-46 (.742) and is 88-36 (.710) in his 9th season with Tampa Bay. Overall during his Storm tenure, Marcum has a record of 99-42 (.702). Marcum is the winningest coach in league history (154), has won six ArenaBowl titles, has coached in nine championship games and is the only coach to lead three different teams to league titles. He is a charter member of the AFL Hall of Fame and has been named Coach of the Year twice. Tampa Bay's 6-8 record in 2002 marked the first time in Marcum's career that his squad finished below .500.

RECENT RESULTS: Mark Grieb threw a 9-yard scoring pass to James Roe with four seconds left in regulation, then ran for the 2-point conversion to give the San Jose SaberCats a come-from-behind 56-55 win over the Grand Rapids Rampage. Grieb's last second touchdown pass was his sixth of the game and second to Roe. Grieb completed 21-of-31 attempts for 251 yards and no interceptions to earn game MVP honors. Rampage quarterback Clint Dolezel tossed his seventh scoring pass of the game, a 3-yard strike to Terrill Shaw, to give Grand Rapids a 55-48 lead with 34 seconds left in the game. Kevin McKenzie got the SaberCats within striking distance for the game-winner by returning the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the Rampage 9-yard line. Following a rushing attempt for no gain and an incomplete pass, Grieb connected with Roe. Grieb faked a handoff to McKenzie on the 2-point try and ran into the corner of the endzone untouched on a bootleg for the game-winning points. San Jose struck first when Grieb connected with James Hundon on a 22-yard pass play just 55 seconds into the game. Hundon had six receptions for 55 yards and three scores to match Jerry Reese as the team's career touchdown reception leader with 76. Grand Rapids tied the game on its first possession when Dolezel hit Shaw on a 23-yard scoring play. The game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, 21-21 at half and 35-35 entering the fourth quarter. In all, there were five ties in the contest between the evenly matched squads. San Jose defensive specialist Clevan Thomas tied the team record for interceptions in a season when he pilfered his league-leading 11th of the campaign in the second quarter. Thomas matched the 1998 record set by Tommy Jones. Barry Wagner, named Ironman of the Month by the AFL earlier in the week, ran for two scores, caught four passes for 42 yards and tallied a team-high 5.0 tackles to earn his fourth straight Ironman of the Game honor. Wagner upped his league-leading rushing touchdown total to 16. The SaberCats rushed for 35 yards on the night increasing their season total to 557, currently the 10th highest single-season total in league history.

ROSTER MOVES: The SaberCats activated WR/LB Aaron Bailey off IR and waived DS Hamin Milligan on Apr. 29. Milligan was signed to the team's practice squad two days later. San Jose also added a third quarterback by signing former San Jose State University star Clint Carlson to the practice squad on Apr. 25. The move was predicated by the signing of Bob Bees with the Buffalo Destroyers.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES

Date Action
5/1 Signed DS Hamin Milligan to PS.
4/29 Activated WR/LB Aaron Bailey from IR. Waived DS Hamin Milligan.
4/25 Signed QB Clint Carlso to PS.
4/18 Activated WR/DB Anthony Cobbs from IR. Signed QB Bob Bees to PS.
4/16 Signed QB Kevin Daft. Signed OL/DL Menson Holloway to PS. Waived QB Bob Bees. Waived QB Johnny Turman from PS.
4/9 Signed DS Hamin Milligan.
4/5 Placed WR/DB Aaron Bailey on IR.
4/4 Activated OS James Hundon from IR. Placed WR/LB Jerry Reese on IR.
3/26 Placed WR/DB Anthony Cobbs on IR.
3/22 Activated OL/DL Dan Loney, OL/DL Chuck Reed, WR/LB Jerry Reese and FB/LB James Williams off IR.
3/22 Placed OL/DL Frank Beede, FB/LB Kevin Buck and WR/DB Rashied Davis on IR.

INJURY REPORT: Outside the usual bumps and bruises associated with a professional football game, the SaberCats emerged from their contest with Indiana relatively healthy.

INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Kevin McKenzie Hip pointer Probable

MILESTONES:
*K Daron Alcorn needs 2 FGs for 100 career.
*DS Clevan Thomas needs 1 INT to tie AFL season record.
*QB Mark Grieb needs 7 completions for 1,000 career.
*OL/DL Sam Hernandez needs 1 sack for 55 career.
*FB Matt Kinsinger needs 5 rush yards for 250 career.
*OS James Hundon needs 1 TD catch to become teams career leader.

TRENDS:

DOUBLE TROUBLE – The SaberCats posted their 10th win of the season against Grand Rapids on May 3 and have reached double-digits in wins for a fourth consecutive season, the longest current streak in the AFL. The Arizona Rattlers own the league record of five straight seasons with 10 or more wins from 1996 to 2000.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN – The SaberCats conclude the road portion of their 2003 season on Sunday and with a win they will post their fourth straight winning record in road games. San Jose went 6-1 on the road in 2000 and 2002 and was 4-3 in 2001. San Jose is 4-3 on the road in ‘03.

PAYDIRT – San Jose has scored at least one rushing TD in all 13 games and twice matched a league game record with six. The SaberCats have already established a league season record with 44 rushing TDs on the year and seven different players have scored a rush TD, led by Barry Wagner with a league-leading 16.

JUST WIN – In his career as a member of the SaberCats, Mark Grieb owns a 39-8 (.830) regular season record as the team's starting quarterback. He is 1-0 against the Storm directing San Jose to a 61-54 win on Apr. 27, 2000.

SIMPLY RED ZONE – The SaberCats lead the league in red zone scoring efficiency at 98.4 percent having scored 60 of 61 times once inside the opponents 10-yard line. San Jose went 6-for-6 in red zone opportunities vs Grand Rapids on May 3, and is 26-for-26 in its last six games. The only time San Jose failed to score inside the red zone was on Mar. 23 against Arizona when a fumbled handoff from the Rattlers 5-yard line dribbled out of the endzone.

TOUCHDOWN – The SaberCats scored eight TDs in their win over Grand Rapids on May 3 to increase their season total to 124 establishing a new league record for TDs in a season. San Jose eclipsed its own 2002 mark of 123, which was also shared by the 2001 New York Dragons. San Jose has scored at least six touchdowns in every game this year and has reached double figures five times.

MR. IRONMAN – The AFL might have to rename its Ironman award to the Barry Wagner award soon. Wagner was named the league's Ironman of the Month for April and earned Ironman honors for the fourth straight game against Grand Rapids on May 3.

NOTES:

MAKING HIS (TEAM) MARK – QB Mark Grieb set team season records for pass completions (266) and yards (3,442) by going 21-of-31 for 251 yards against Grand Rapids on May 3. Also on his radar screen are records for pass attempts and touchdowns. Grieb needs to throw 25 passes to break Scott Wood's 1999 mark of 422 and is six TD passes shy of breaking his own 2002 record of 70.

MAKING HIS (LEAGUE) MARK – Grieb began the season in 16th place in career passing yards but has leapfrogged Kurt Warner, Ron Lopez and Pat O'Hara into 13th place with 13,352 yards. With 993 career pass completions, Grieb needs just seven to become the 13th player in AFL history with 1,000 in a career.

TOP RUSHERS – The SaberCats rushed for 35 yards in their win over Grand Rapids on May 3 to increase their league-leading total to 557 yards. San Jose's total ranks as the 10th highest in league history and the most in a season since Orlando ran for 655 yards in 1997. The SaberCats have rushed for 30 or more yards in a game eight times this season with a league season-high of 86, the second highest one-game total in team history, at Colorado on Apr. 27. The SaberCats have rushed for 197 more yards on the year than second place Indiana (360) and are on their way to leading the league for a second straight season.

MOST RUSH YARDS (SEASON)
Rush Yds Team Year
747 Columbus ThunderBolts 1991
721 Milwaukee Mustangs 1996
655 Orlando Predators 1997
612 Tampa Bay Storm 1991
606 Cleveland ThunderBolts 1994
600 Denver Dynamite 1991
600 Orlando Predators 1996
592 Cleveland ThunderBolts 1992
589 Milwaukee Mustangs 1997
557 San Jose SaberCats 2003

THE JAMES GANG – Since James Hundon returned to the lineup five games ago, he and James Roe have been the main focus of San Jose's aerial attack. The pair has combined for 85 of the team's 111 receptions (76.6%), 1,216 yards and 26 TDs over the last five weeks. Roe had 9 catches against Grand Rapids on May 3 to break Hundon's 2002 record of 98 grabs to become the first SaberCat player with 100+ catches in a season. Hundon had 3 TD receptions in the game and tied Jerry Reese for the team's career lead with 76. The two have set a team record for TD catches by teammates (55) and are close to becoming the most prolific pass catching duo in team history. With 173 combined receptions and 2,342 yards so far, Roe and Hundon need just eight catches and 14 yards between them to become the top pass catching combo in team history.

SCORE A PAIR – WR/DB Barry Wagner has scored twice on the ground in each of the last four games to increase his league-leading total to 16, the 6th highest in league history. Wags also upped his career rush TD total to 105 with 36 coming as a member of the SaberCats. Wagner broke a tie with Derrick Chachere for 2nd place on the team's career chart and trails Steve Papin by seven for the SaberCats' career lead.

RUSH TDs, SEASON
Rush TD Player, Team Year
26 Bernard Hall, St. Louis 1996
21 Barry Wagner, Orlando 1995
20 Broderick Sargent, Detroit 1993
17 Chad Dukes, Albany 1997
17 Barry Wagner, Orlando 1997
16 Barry Wagner, San Jose 2003

STORM WATCH – During his 12-year career, Barry Wagner has faced the Tampa Bay Storm 18 times during the regular season. In those games Wagner has 87 receptions for 1,244 yards and 23 TDs. He has rushed the ball 29 times for 57 yards and eight scores and has totaled 65.0 tackles (62 solo), six interceptions, one of which was returned for a TD, 11 pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

RUNNING MEN – San Jose's FB duo of Keala Keanaaina and Matt Kinsinger rank first and second respectively in the league in rushing. K.K. ran for a game-high 17 yards against Grand Rapids on May 3 to up his season total to 243. He set a team season record for yards on Apr. 27 in Colorado and his total is the 15th highest in league history. Kinsinger added 14 yards to increase his total to 172, the 4th highest total in team history. The two have combined to run for 415 yards, which is more than any other team in the league. Only twice in league history have teammates finished first and second in rushing yards, the last coming in 2000 when Orlando's Rick Hamilton and Connell Maynor topped the category.

PAPER OR PLASTIC – Sam Hernandez, the league's all-time leader in quarterback sacks, has more sacks against Tampa Bay (6.0) than any other team during his career. However, since joining San Jose in 1998, Hernandez has just one sack in four games, that coming in Tampa Bay last April 27. With 5.0 sacks on the year, Hernandez is the first player in AFL history to have 5.0 or more sacks in six different seasons.

CLEVAN THE MAN – Clevan Thomas tied a team season record with his league-leading 11th interception of the year in a win against Grand Rapids on May 3. Thomas tied the 1998 record held by Tommy Jones with the second-highest season total in league history. Thomas has all his picks in just 12 games played and he set a league record with an INT in seven straight games at the start of the year. In the two games he missed with turf toe, opposing QBs threw for 588 yards (294 ypg) and 14 TDs completing 62.2 percent of their passes (51-of-82). Since his return to the lineup tow games ago, opposing QBs have a 55.6 completion percentage (35-of-63) for 513 yards and 11 TDs. Thomas has an INT in each of the last two games and needs one to tie the league record.

RUN vs RUN – San Jose's top ranked rushing offense will go against Tampa Bay's top ranked rushing defense. The SaberCats lead the league with 557 yards (39.8 ypg) and 44 touchdowns scored and have surpassed the 30 rushing yard mark in a game eight times. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has allowed a league-low 121 rushing yards (8.6 ypg) and is tied with Georgia for the fewest rush TDs allowed (15). Tampa Bay has allowed 10 or more rushing yards in a game five times with a high of 30 coming at New York on Apr. 27.

RECORD SETTERS – With a 16-game schedule for the first time this year, many season records will be broken. Some have already been in just 14 games. Keala Keanaaina (243) broke Tom Petithomme's 1996 mark of 214 rush yards...Barry Wagner (16) broke Steve Papin's 1999 record of 13 rush TDs...Mark Grieb (249 completions and 3,442 yards) broke his own 2002 records of 249 and 3,346...James Roe (102) broke James Hundon's 2002 record of 98 receptions...Wendell Davis (62.5) broke the mark of 62.0 tackles in a season set by Barry Wagner (2001) and Pat McGuirk (1998)...Daron Alcorn broke his own 2002 record for PAT attempts (118) with 120, which is also a league record.

TAMPA BAY PLAYERS TO WATCH:

QB JOHN KALEO – The former San Jose signal-caller has been consistent if not spectacular for the Storm. Kaleo has completed 276-of-429 attempts (64.3%) for 3,657 yards and 66 TDs. He ranks in the top 8 in all five categories and his passer rating of 120.0 ranks him 4th in the league. Kaleo started seven games for the SaberCats in 1997 throwing for 1,386 yards on 115-of-214 passing. He tossed 20 TD passes but was also intercepted 10 times. Kaleo went 3-4 in his seven starts before being dealt to Anaheim on June 17, 1997.

DS OMARR SMITH – A member of the SaberCats for his first three seasons in the league and the Ironman of ArenaBowl XVI, Smith has been a standout defensive player for Tampa Bay in his first season with the Storm. Smith ranks 3rd in the league with 80.0 tackles, is tied for 3rd with 8 interceptions and ranks 5th with 21 passes defended. After posting just one INT in his first six games, Smith has tallied 7 picks in the last eight games.

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