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San Jose SaberCats game notes

April 18, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: Austin Wranglers (8-4) at SaberCats (6-6).
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2006.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (PDT).
Site: HP Pavilion at San Jose (14,041).
Officials: Referee: Tom McCabe; Umpire: Paul Frerking; Head Linesman: Brent Durbin; Line Judge: Bob McElwee; Back Judge: Keith Washington.
Television: Comcast Sports Net will televise the game with Barry Tompkins (play by play) and Mike Pawlawski (color) calling the action. The game will air tape delayed locally on Comcast digital cable channel 400 on Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 p.m.
Radio: San Jose's flagship station KNBR-1050 will broadcast the game live with Bob Fitzgerald calling the play-by-play and former San Francisco 49er great Keena Turner supplying the commentary. The station will air an extended pre-game show with Damon Bruce and Ray Woodson starting at 5:00 p.m.
Internet: Log on to www.KNBR.com to hear a live webcast of Saturday night's game.
Series Record: Teams have not played.
Last Meeting: Teams have not played.
Series Streak: First meeting.
Coaches: San Jose, Darren Arbet (8th season; 79-37 regular season, 88-41 overall). Austin, Skip Foster (3rd season; 22-22 regular season and overall).

OVERVIEW: The SaberCats reached the .500 mark for the first time this season and won their third straight game with a 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. San Jose continues its homestand with its first-ever meeting with the Austin Wranglers on Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast Sports Net on tape delay on Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 p.m. The SaberCats posted their highest point total of the season in their win over Las Vegas while moving ahead of the Gladiators into second place in the Western Division and remained one game behind Arizona. QB Mark Grieb threw for 388 yards, the 6th highest game total in team history, to establish a new team season record with six 300-yard passing games. One week after not throwing a TD pass for the first time in his career as the SaberCats starting QB, Grieb tossed 8 against the Gladiators to lead the offensive onslaught. James Roe tallied a game-high 11 receptions to bring his career total to 500 and also had 3 TD grabs, including the 150th of his career, and rookie Ben Nelson continued his impressive play tallying a game-high 160 yards on nine receptions with 4 TDs. Now in their third AFL season the Wranglers have matched a franchise record with 8 wins and are tied with Orlando for first place in the Southern Division.
THE SCHEDULES:

2006 SAN JOSE SABERCATS (6-6)
Date Opponent Result Score (Rec)
Jan. 28 UTAH Lost 35-48 (0-1)
Feb. 6 @Las Vegas Lost 48-51 (0-2)
Feb. 12 @Arizona Won 58-50 (1-2)
Feb. 19 @Grand Rapids Lost 52-66 (1-3)
Feb. 26 @Chicago Lost (ot) 48-54 (1-4)
Mar. 4 @Utah Won 65-50 (2-4)
Mar. 12 LOS ANGELES Lost 61-75 (2-5)
Mar. 17 GEORGIA Won (ot) 56-55 (3-5)
Mar. 25 @Nashville Lost 48-51 (3-6)
Apr. 2 ARIZONA Won 61-49 (4-6)
Apr. 7 @Tampa Bay Won 52-43 (5-6)
Apr. 14 LAS VEGAS Won 69-59 (6-6)
Date Opponent Time (PT) Radio/TV
Apr. 22 AUSTIN 7:30 pm 1050/CSN
Apr. 29 @Los Angeles 7:30 pm 1050/20
May 6 COLORADO 7:30 pm 1050
May 13 COLUMBUS 7:30 pm 1050

2006 AUSTIN WRANGLERS (8-4)
Date Opponent Result Score (Rec)
Jan. 27 LAS VEGAS Won 64-46 (1-0)
Feb. 3 @Arizona Won 53-34 (2-0)
Feb. 12 @Kansas City Won 37-33 (3-0)
Feb. 17 @Dallas Won 56-49 (4-0)
Feb. 25 @Tampa Bay Lost 48-58 (4-1)
Mar. 4 @Georgia Won 53-52 (5-1)
Mar. 12 NEW YORK Lost 56-59 (5-2)
Mar. 18 KANSAS CITY Won 64-37 (6-2)
Mar. 25 ORLANDO Lost 37-47 (6-3)
Mar. 31 @Philadelphia Won 43-38 (7-3)
Apr. 9 GEORGIA Lost 29-61 (7-4)
Apr. 15 TAMPA BAY Won 60-59 (8-4)
Date Opponent Time (PT) TV
Apr. 22 @San Jose 7:30 pm CSN
Apr. 29 COLUMBUS 5:00 pm AFL Net
May 7 GRAND RAPIDS 12:00 pm
May 12 @Orlando 4:30 pm

THE SERIES: San Jose and Austin will be meeting for the first time when the teams collide on Saturday...The Southern Division Wranglers have matched their 2004 franchise record for wins in a season with 8...The SaberCats have won 11 consecutive home games against Southern Division opponents.

WHAT'S AHEAD: San Jose plays its final regular season road game of 2006 next week when it travels to Los Angeles for a Western Division battle with the Avengers on Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. San Jose's flagship radio station KNBR 1050 will air the game live and the Bay Area's TV20 will televise the game live locally.

SABERCATS SIDELINE REPORT: Bob Fitzgerald returns as host of the SaberCats Sideline Report, which airs every Sunday during the season on NBC11 at 11:50 p.m. immediately following Sports Sunday. Join Fitz and a special guest every week for this action-packed 8-minute segment.

ARENA FOOTBALL ON COMCAST:
Comcast Sports Net will televise four games this weekend including the SaberCats/Austin Wranglers game. CSN will air a pair of games live beginning with the Tampa Bay at Orlando tilt on Saturday, April 22 at 4:30 p.m. and the Las Vegas at Chicago game on Sunday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. The Austin at San Jose game will air tape delayed on Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 p.m. and the Dallas at Georgia contest will be tape delayed on Sunday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. CSN is available on Comcast Digital Cable channel 400, Dish Network channel 409 and DirecTV channel 656.

ABOUT AUSTIN: The Wranglers are in their third season in the AFL and have already matched the 2004 squad for most wins in a season with 8...Austin currently has an all-time record of 22-22 (.500) and is 11-11 (.500) both at home and on the road. The Wranglers are 3-3 against teams from the Western Division and have a 2-2 road record against Western Division foes...Austin's early season schedule mirrored that of the SaberCats. The Wranglers began the season with a home game before playing their next five on the road and going 4-1. San Jose's early season five-game road trip resulted in a 2-3 record...Austin is not the first team with the nickname Wranglers to play in the AFL. The Oklahoma Wranglers played in the Western Division from 2000-01 and competed against San Jose five times. Oklahoma won its first meeting against the SaberCats, 68-64, back on April 21, 2000 in Oklahoma City, before losing the next four...Austin QB John Fitzgerald, no relation to SaberCats broadcaster Bob Fitzgerald, has faced San Jose three times previously with three different teams. Fitzgerald played against the SaberCats as a member of the Houston ThunderBears in 2001, and started against them with Carolina in 2002 and New Orleans in 2004. His teams have never beaten San Jose...Austin signed former SaberCat Fred Coleman on Apr. 11 after the WR/LB was waived from the San Jose roster on Apr. 3.

2006 TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Category (Rank) SaberCats Wranglers
Scoring Offense 54.4 (4) 50.0 (10)
Scoring Defense 54.2 (T-14) 47.8 (8)
Total Offense 318.4 (1) 257.7 (16)
Total Defense 289.3 (11) 298.8 (16)
Pass Offense 303.8 (1) 229.2 (16)
Pass Defense 272.3 (12) 281.1 (16)
Rushing Offense 14.6 (14) 28.5 (5)
Rushing Defense 17.0 (3) 17.8 (5)
Pass Rating 116.7 (5) 103.9 (10)
Pass Defense Rating 113.5 (13) 102.0 (6)
Interceptions 11 (T-9) 9 (T-16)
Kickoff Return Avg. 16.0 (16) 19.4 (T-3)
Field Goal Return Avg. 9.5 (15) 9.3 (T-17)
Turnover Margin +4 (T-4) -2 (13)
3rd Down Conversions 45.0% (13) 48.3% (7)
4th Down Conversions 43.5% (12) 76.2% (1)
Sacks By 14 (T-7) 11 (12)
Sacks Against 11 (T-9) 2 (T-1)
2006 SABERCATS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Player Category No. Rank
Mark Grieb Total Offense 308.8 1st
Mark Grieb Pass TDs 62 4th
Mark Grieb Pass Completions 297 2nd
Mark Grieb Passing Yards 3,702 1st
Mark Grieb Pass Avg/Game 308.5 2nd
Mark Grieb Passer Rating 116.2 4th
Mark Grieb Pass Attempts 455 3rd
Mark Grieb Completion Pct. 65.5 10th
Clevan Thomas Fumbles Recovered 3 T-3rd
Clevan Thomas Fumbles Forced 4 T-3rd
Clevan Thomas Total Tackles 66.0 11th
Clevan Thomas Interceptions 5 T-10th
Clevan Thomas Passes defended 16 T-10th
Brian Schmitz PAT Kicks Made 72 5th
Brian Schmitz PAT Kick Attempts 82 5th
Phil Glover Rushing TDs 10 T-2nd
Phil Glover Rush Attempts 35 8th
Marquis Floyd Fumbles Forced 3 T-7th
Joe Jacobs Sacks 4.0 T-8th
Joe Jacobs Tackles for Loss 5.5 T-7th

THE IFS...:
If the SaberCats defeat Austin it would...
*Put the SaberCats over .500 for the first time this season.
*Give them a 1-0 all-time series lead.
*Give them a 4-game winning streak.
*Be their 4th straight home win.
*Be their 12th straight home win over a Southern Division opponent.
*Give them a 28-14 all-time record against Southern Division opponents.
*Give them a 17-6 all-time home record against Southern Division opponents.
*Give them a 61-24 all-time regular season home record.
*Give them a 109-62 all-time regular season record.
*Give them a 118-69 all-time record.

THE COACHES:
San Jose - Darren Arbet, 8th season
79-37 (.681) reg. season; 88-41 (.682) overall
0-0 career vs. Austin
0-0 career vs. Skip Foster
Now in his eighth season at the helm of the SaberCats, two-time Coach of the Year Darren Arbet moved into sole possession of 5th place on the AFL's all-time wins list surpassing Perry Moss when San Jose defeated Tampa Bay on Apr. 7. It was Arbet's 87th career victory. Last season Arbet led the SaberCats to their 6th consecutive winning season and playoff appearance. Since the start of the 2000 season his teams have compiled a 73-29 (.716) regular season record and have set league records for most regular season wins (13 - 2002), most wins in a season (16- 2002), most consecutive wins in a regular season (12 - 2002), most wins to end a season (11 - 2000) and the longest regular season win streak (15 - 2000-01). Last season Arbet became the second fastest head coach to reach 80 career wins, doing it in 111 games. Only Tampa Bay's Tim Marcum, who reached the 80-win mark in 96 games, got to that milestone quicker.

Austin - Skip Foster, 3rd season
22-22 (.500) reg. season and overall
0-0 career vs. San Jose
0-0 career vs. Darren Arbet
Head Coach Skip Foster is entering his third AFL season with the Austin Wranglers. In the Wranglers second season (6-10), the offense scored 109 touchdowns, with 18 different players recording points on the year. Five of his receivers combined for 11 games in which they had 100 or more receiving yards. In the team's inaugural season performance (8-8), Foster's offense scored 104 touchdowns, an average of 47.8 points per game, led the AFL in total offense for five weeks and remained one of the League's top three total offenses for a total of fifteen weeks in 2004. Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2-Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster compiled a record of 82-39-2 at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before moving to Arena Football.

JUST WIN BABY! - With San Jose's win at Tampa Bay on Apr. 7, head coach Darren Arbet moved past Perry Moss into sole possession of 5th place on the all-time wins list with 87. In that game Arbet beat the league's career wins leader Tim Marcum to break the tie and with San Jose's win against Las Vegas on Apr. 14 he is just two wins away from 90. Arbet has posted a winning record in games against the four coaches ahead of him going 6-2 against Marcum, 11-7 against Danny White, 5-2 against Mike Hohensee and 4-2 against Mike Dailey for a combined 26-13 (.667) record.

CAREER COACHING RECORDS
Rk. Coach Team Record
1. Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 180-74
2. Danny White Utah 145-73
3. Mike Hohensee Chicago 99-93
4. Mike Dailey Colorado 97-61
5. Darren Arbet San Jose 88-41
6. Perry Moss None 86-35

ROSTER MOVES: The SaberCats activated WR/LB Jason Geathers and OL/DLs Joe Jacobs and Fitu Tu'ua on Apr. 13 prior to their game with Las Vegas. To make room on the roster the club placed DS Terrance Joseph and OL/DL Chuck Reed on the injured list.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES
Date Action
Mar. 16 Activated OL/DL Albrey Battle and WR/LB Jason Geathers from IR. Placed OL/DL Joe Jacobs and OL/DL George Williams on IR.
Mar. 23 Signed OL/DL Frank Beede. Activated WR/LB Kevin McKenzie from IR. Placed WR/DB Marquis Floyd and WR/LB Jason Geathers on IR.
Apr. 1 Activated FB/LB JaJuan Huddleston, OL/DL Chuck Reed and WR/DB Rodney Wright from IR. Placed OL/DL Van Brown, OL/DL Julius Gant and WR/LB Kevin McKenzie on IR. Released OL/DL Nikia Adderson.
Apr. 3 Activated from IR and waived WR/LB Fred Coleman.
Apr. 6 Activated WR/DB Marquis Floyd from IR. Placed WR/DB Rodney Wright on IR.
Apr. 13 Activated WR/LB Jason Geathers, OL/DL Joe Jacobs and OL/DL Fitu Tu'ua from IR. Placed DS Terrance Joseph and OL/DL Chuck Reed on IR.
INJURY REPORT: At press time the SaberCats had 12 players on injured reserve. League rules stipulate that players on IR must be inactive for two weeks. The players listed below with an asterisk by their name are eligible to be activated to the 24-man roster for this week's game.

INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Atnaf Harris* L foot stress IR
Chris Lewis* Back strain IR
Rufus Brown* L wrist sprain IR
Alan Harper* Flu symptoms/Knee IR
Calvin Schexnayder* R Ankle Sprain IR
George Williams* L knee IR
Van Brown* Hyperextended Elbow IR
Julius Gant* R Quad tendonitis IR
Kevin McKenzie* R Ankle sprain IR
Rodney Wright* Foot IR
Chuck Reed L groin strain IR
Terrance Joseph L ankle IR

MILESTONES
Player Milestone Needs
Phil Glover 100 career rush attempts 8
Phil Glover 20 career rush TDs 2
Mark Grieb 500 career pass TDs 6
Kevin McKenzie 3,000 career receiving yds 276
Kevin McKenzie 50 career TD catches 6
Joe Jacobs 40 career sacks 0.5
Brian Schmitz 60 career FGs made 1
Barry Wagner 50 career INTs 2
Barry Wagner 2nd place on team's career receptions list 2
Clevan Thomas 200 career solo tackles 1
Terrance Joseph 10 career INTs 1
Charles Pauley 1,000 career receiving yds 98
Charles Pauley 15 career receiving TDs 2

RECENT RESULTS: SABERCATS 69, Las Vegas 59 - Friday, April 14, 2006 - HP Pavilion at San Jose - Mark Grieb threw for 388 yards and eight touchdowns and the San Jose SaberCats won their third straight game to even their record at 6-6 on the year with a 69-59 win over the Las Vegas Gladiators (5-7) in an Arena Football League game Friday night. Grieb threw four touchdown passes in the first half to three different receivers and had thrown for 181 yards by the intermission. For the game Grieb completed 28-of-41 passes and reached the 300-yard passing mark for a team record sixth time with the sixth-highest single-game total in team history. Las Vegas rookie QB Jason Fife accounted for six touchdowns by rushing for three and throwing for three more. Fife ran for a pair of scores in the second quarter and threw a 7-yard scoring pass to OS Marcus Nash helping the Gladiators to a 31-28 halftime lead. Fife ran for a game-high 28 yards on eight carries and completed 19-of-34 passes for 205 yards. With the SaberCats clinging to a three point lead early in the fourth quarter, lineman Joe Jacobs sacked Fife and forced a fumble in the Las Vegas endzone that was recovered by Rex Richards for the lineman's first career touchdown increasing San Jose's lead to 55-45 with 12:07 left in the game. Gladiators' Aleric Clark returned the ensuing kickoff 56-yards for a touchdown to reduce the lead back to three points. Grieb threw scoring passes to James Roe and Ben Nelson sandwiched around a 1-yard Joe Douglass touchdown run to close out the scoring. Roe led all receivers with 11 catches for 147 yards and 3 scores while Nelson had a game-high 160 yards and 4 touchdowns on 9 catches.

Score By Quarters
Gladiators................................ 7 24 14 14 - 59
SaberCats................................ 14 14 13 28 - 69

SCORING SUMMARY
SAN Roe 5 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
LVG Lord 13 pass from Fife (Houle kick)
SAN Nelson 22 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
LVG Fife 1 run (Houle kick)
SAN Pauley 31 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
LVG Fife 3 run (Houle kick)
SAN Nelson 13 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
LVG Nash 7 pass from Fife (Houle kick)
LVG FG Houle 18
SAN Nelson 26 pass from Grieb (kick failed)
LVG Douglass 43 pass from Fife (Houle kick)
SAN Floyd 2 run (Schmitz kick)
LVG Fife 3 run (Houle kick)
SAN Roe 24 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
SAN Richards 0 fumble recovery (Schmitz kick)
LVG Clark 56 kickoff return (Houle kick)
SAN Roe 13 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)
LVG Douglass 1 run (Houle kick)
SAN Nelson 26 pass from Grieb (Schmitz kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing-LV: Fife 19-34-1-205. SJ: Grieb 28-41-0-388.
Rushing-LV: Fife 8-28; Filer 3-14; Kinsinger 2-3; Douglass 1-1. SJ: Johnson 3-8; Glover 2-6; Floyd 2-3.
Receiving-LV: Lord 9-100; Douglass 4-54; Nash 4-31; Kinsinger 2-20. SJ: Roe 11-147; Nelson 9-160; Pauley 4-44; Floyd 3-24; Johnson 1-13.
Kick Returns-LV: Clark 6-145; Douglass 1-46. SJ: Pauley 6-76.

TRENDS:
HOME COOKIN - The SaberCats won their third straight home game with their 69-59 decision over Las Vegas on Apr. 14 and are now 3-2 at HP Pavilion on the year. Since Darren Arbet became the team's head coach in 1999 the SaberCats have posted an impressive 46-11 (.807) record in regular season home games and are 54-13 (.806) in all games played in HP Pavilion. In their 12-year history the SaberCats have a 60-24 (.714) record in regular season home games.

THAT 60's SHOW - San Jose reached the 60-point mark for the 4th time this season and the 53rd time in team history in a regular season game in their 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. The SaberCats raised their all-time record to 46-7 (.868) when scoring 60 or more points in a game.

DUE SOUTH - The SaberCats are hoping their recent run of success at home against Southern Division teams continues on Saturday. San Jose has won 11 straight home games against Southern Division opponents and currently owns a 16-6 (.727) all-time home mark against the South. The last time San Jose lost a home game to a Southern Division opponent was on May 26, 2001 when the Orlando Predators posted a 59-35 win.

HEADS OR TAILS - The SaberCats won the opening coin toss, again, in their game against Las Vegas on Apr. 14 and have been successful 11 times in the team's 12 games. San Jose also won the coin toss to start overtime in both OT games to give them a 92.9 percent success rate this year.

GETTING OFFENSIVE - The SaberCats amassed over 400 yards of total offense for the second time this season and the fifth time in franchise history with 405 in their 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. It also marked the 9th time this season the club totaled 300 or more yards of total offense in a game matching the 2001 and 2005 team record. San Jose currently leads the AFL in total offense averaging 318.4 yards per game.

MOST TOTAL YARDS, TEAM, GAME
Rank Opponent Date Total Yds
1. vs Florida June 30, 2001 444
2. vs Nashville June 16, 2001 443
3. at Los Angeles Feb. 20, 2005 410
4. vs Las Vegas Apr. 14, 2006 405
5. vs Los Angeles Mar. 12, 2006 402

LATE GAME HEROICS - Though San Jose's offense has put up gaudy numbers recently, the late game heroics of the defense has been instrumental in the last two victories accounting for a pair of 4th quarter TDs. In a win at Tampa Bay on Apr. 7, DS Omarr Smith returned an interception 16-yards for the go-ahead points late in a 53-42 win and last week a sack and forced fumble by Joe Jacobs resulted in a TD when Rex Richards recovered the loose ball with just over 12 minutes left in the game.

THE SACK EXCHANGE - The SaberCats have posted a sack in each of the last five games and have tallied 14 on the year, surpassing their entire 2005 season total of 12 and ranking in a 7th place tie in the AFL. San Jose could be hard pressed to keep their streak alive as Austin has allowed a league-low 2 sacks on the season.

ZERO RETURNS - The SaberCats went another game without returning a kickoff for a TD and are one of seven teams without a KOR score this season. Rashied Davis and Clevan Thomas were the last San Jose players to return a kickoff for a score doing so in the 2005 regular season finale against Georgia on May 21. San Jose has never gone an entire season without a KOR touchdown.

NOTES:
ON THE MARK - One week after not throwing a TD pass in a game for the first time in his career as San Jose's starting QB, Mark Grieb threw 8 in the SaberCats 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. Grieb completed 28-of-41 attempts in the game for 388 yards, the 6th highest single-game total in franchise history, and his 6th 300-yard passing game of the year established a new team record. Grieb leads the AFL with 3,702 passing yards and is on pace for 4,936, which would break his 2005 league record of 4,796. Grieb has been particularly sharp at home over the last four games throwing for 1,479 yards (369.8 ypg) and 29 TDs with just one INT for a passer rating of 133.1. Over that stretch of four home games he has completed 112-of-165 (67.9%) of his passes guiding the team to an average of 383 yards of total offense and 61.8 points per game. The team is 3-1 over that time with wins in each of its last three home contests.
MOST PASSING YARDS, TEAM, GAME
Rk Player Opponent, Date Yards
1. Mark Grieb v Nashville (6/16/01) 430
2. Mark Grieb v Florida (6/30/01) 418
3. Mark Grieb at Los Angeles (2/20/05) 399
4. Mark Grieb v Los Angeles (3/12/06) 393
Tony Kimbrough at Arizona (5/4/96) 393
6. Mark Grieb v Las Vegas (4/14/06) 388

THE WACKY WEST - It was expected to be a competitive division, and it has been all season long. The SaberCats moved one game ahead of the Gladiators with their win on Apr. 14 and remain one game back of the Rattlers. San Jose holds the head-to-head tie breaker over Las Vegas by virtue of their 10-point win and also has the tie-break advantage over Arizona. Both the Rattlers and Gladiators play three of their final four games on the road while San Jose has three of its last four at home. Since the AFL went to a four-division format in 1995, no team with a sub-.500 record has won a division title and just two teams, Orlando (2002) and New York (2003), have won division titles with a .500 mark.

2006 WESTERN DIVISION STANDINGS
Team W L GB Pct Div Conf
Arizona 7 5 -- .583 4-3 6-3
San Jose 6 6 1.0 .500 4-3 4-6
Las Vegas 5 7 2.0 .417 3-2 4-4
Utah 4 8 3.0 .333 3-4 4-5
Los Angeles 3 9 4.0 .250 2-4 3-6

ROE-LIFIC - WR/LB James Roe continues to be San Jose's silent assassin. The 7-year vet snared a game-high 11 catches against Las Vegas on Apr. 14 with his last being the 500th of his career. Roe also had 3 TD grabs, including the 150th of his career, and totaled 147 yards in the win. With his 11 grabs, Roe tied his own 2004 and 2005 season record with four double-digit reception games and it was the 18th time in his career he snared 10 or more balls in a game. In addition, Roe had his 6th 100-yard receiving game of the season putting him within one of tying the team season record of seven, and he increased his team career record of 100-plus receiving yard games to 26. Roe added an assisted tackle, PBU and FF to earn game Ironman honors for the 4th time this season.

TEAM CAREER RECEPTIONS
Rank Player Receptions
1. James Roe (00-present) 500
2. Steve Papin (97-01) 326
3. Barry Wagner (00-present) 325
4. James Hundon (01-04) 307
5. Shalon Baker (98-05) 263

TEAM CAREER TD RECEPTIONS
Rank Player TD Receptions
1. James Roe (00-present) 152
2. James Hundon (01-04) 99
3. Jerry Reese (95-04) 76
4. Steve Papin (97-01) 65
5. Shalon Baker (98-05) 61

REXTASY - OL/DL Rex Richards scored his 1st career AFL TD, and according to him his 1st at any level of football, when he recovered a fumble in the Las Vegas endzone in the fourth quarter of San Jose's 69-59 win on Apr. 14. With the SaberCats clinging to a 3-point lead, Las Vegas QB Jason Fife dropped back to pass in his own endzone and had the ball stripped by lineman Joe Jacobs. Richards alertly fell on the ball to give San Jose a 10-point lead. The second-year player out of Texas Tech is the only San Jose lineman to play in all 12 games and one of just seven men on the squad to participate in every game. An offensive lineman by trade, Richards started the first two games of the year at center while Dan Loney was on IR and has started five of the last 8 games on the offensive line while seeing an increased amount of minutes on defense.

PAPER OR PLASTIC - Lineman Joe Jacobs returned to the SaberCats lineup against Las Vegas on Apr. 14 after missing the previous three games on IR with low back discomfort. Jacobs posted his 4th sack of the year and career No. 39.5 when he stripped Las Vegas QB Jason Fife of the ball in the fourth quarter in a play that resulted in a San Jose TD. Jacobs tied Robert Stewart for 5th place on the league's career sacks list and is just half a sack away from reaching the 40-mark. Jacobs matched his San Jose season career-best with his 4th sack and it's the most for the four-time All-AFL pick since he tallied 7.5 sacks in his final year with Albany in 2000. Jacobs has recorded 16.5 of his career total 39.5 sacks as a member of the SaberCats and ranks 2nd all-time behind Sam Hernandez on the team's chart.

AFL CAREER SACKS LEADERS
Rk Player 2006 Team Sacks
1. Sam Hernandez None 59.0
2. Sylvester Bembery None 43.0
3. James Baron Nashville 42.5
4. Tom Briggs Austin 41.0
5. Joe Jacobs San Jose 39.5
Robert Stewart None 39.5
7. B.J. Cohen Kansas City 36.0
Andre Bowden None 36.0
9. John Moyer Chicago 34.5

THE INTERCEPTOR - Two-time Defensive Player of the Year Clevan Thomas snared his 5th interception of the season and 30th of his career in San Jose's 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. Thomas was a one-man wrecking crew as he also posted a career-high 10.0 tackles along with 2 pass breakups and a fumble recovery to earn the league's ADT Defensive Player of the Week award. It was the second such award for Thomas and first since Week 14 of the 2003 season. Thomas has played in all 12 games and leads the team in tackles (66.0), interceptions (5), pass breakups (11), fumbles forced (4) and recovered (3).

TEAM CAREER INTERCEPTIONS
Rank Player INTs
1. Clevan Thomas (02-present) 30
2. Pat McGuirk (95-98) 24
3. Barry Wagner (00-present) 19
4. Omarr Smith (00-present) 17
Tommy Jones (98-01) 17

FULL NELSON - Rookie Ben Nelson continues to shine as the team's OS. In his seventh start Nelson hauled in 9 catches for 160 yards with 4 TDs in San Jose's 69-59 victory over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. It was Nelson's 5th 100-yard receiving game this season and with 994 yards on the season he needs just 6 yards to become the 13th player in franchise history to register 1,000 in a season. Nelson has played in 8 games this season and is averaging 124.2 receiving yards a game, which would put him atop the league stat leaders in that category. Averaged over a full season, Nelson would be on pace for 1,988 receiving yards, which would best the league record of 1,982 set by current teammate Calvin Schexnayder in 1998 while with Arizona. Ironically, Nelson got the starting nod at OS after Schexnayder sustained an ankle injury during a game in Chicago on Feb. 26. Ten of Nelson's 17 TD receptions have been 20 yards or longer and six have been from more than 30 yards out.

RUNNING MEN - FB/LBs Phil Glover and Brian Johnson have each played in all 12 games this season at arguably the toughest position on the Arena Football League field and the two have strikingly similar numbers. Johnson leads the team with 77 rushing yards and has 33 carries and 7 TDs. Glover leads with 35 rush attempts and 10 TDs with 75 yards. Glover has a slight edge on defense with 17.5 tackles and 3.0 sacks compared to 16.5 and 1.0 for Johnson and each player has a PBU and a forced fumble. Glover is tied for 2nd in the AFL with his 10 rush TDs while Johnson is tied for 9th with his 7.

MOST RUSH TDs, TEAM, SEASON
Rank Player Year Rush TDs
1. Barry Wagner 2003 18
2. Steve Papin 1999 13
3. Barry Wagner 2004 12
Derrick Chachere 1999 12
5. Steve Papin 2000 11
6. Phil Glover 2006 10
Keala Keanaaina 2003 10
Barry Wagner 2002 10
Joey Dozier 2001 10

CHASING 500 - With his 8 TD performance against Las Vegas on Apr. 14, QB Mark Grieb has moved closer to becoming the 6th player in league history to reach the 500 mark. Grieb has tossed 62 scoring strikes on the year, good for a 4th place tie in the AFL with Georgia's Matt Nagy, and has increased his career total to 494. Grieb set a team season record with 84 TD passes last season and owns the seven highest single-season marks in club history. His total so far this season is tied for the 5th highest in franchise history. Grieb tied his own team single-game record with 9 TD passes against Arizona on Apr. 2, a number he reached twice previously, and has thrown 8 in a game three times this year and seven times in his San Jose career.

AFL CAREER TD PASSES
Rank Player, Team TD Passes
1. Aaron Garcia, New York 757
2. Andy Kelly, Utah 748
3. Clint Dolezel, Dallas 739
4. Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona 723
5. John Kaleo, Columbus 546
6. Mark Grieb, San Jose 494

MARQUIS PERFORMER - Rookie WR/DB Marquis Floyd started on both sides of the ball against Las Vegas on Apr. 14 and scored his 1st career AFL rushing TD on his very first attempt and also added 3 catches for 24 yards and contributed 3.0 tackles on defense. The 2005 af2 Ironman of the Year scored on a 2-yard run midway through the 3rd quarter on his 1st career rush attempt in the team's win over the Gladiators. Floyd has three TDs on the year with the other two coming at Grand Rapids on Feb. 19 on a 51-yard interception return and a 44-yard reception.

GETS HIS KICKS - K Brian Schmitz signed with the SaberCats as a free agent in the offseason knowing he'd get the opportunity to kick PATs with the team's high-scoring offense. In San Jose's 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14, Schmitz attempted a career-high 10 PATs and converted a career-high tying 9. Schmitz has converted 21 of his last 22 PAT attempts and ranks 5th in the league with 72 made PATs and 82 attempted. With the SaberCats scoring 10 TDs on their 13 possessions, Schmitz did not attempt a field goal for just the second game all year and must wait at least another week to get a chance at making his 60th career field goal.

AWARD WINNERS - DS Clevan Thomas was named the AFL's ADT Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in San Jose's 69-59 win over Las Vegas on Apr. 14. Thomas is the 3rd SaberCat to win a weekly league award joining Charles Pauley (Ironman Wk 3) and Ben Nelson (Offensive Wk 10). Nelson also captured AFL Rookie of the Month honors for March and was the Beckett.com AFL collectibles Player of the Week for week 10. Mark Grieb was named the ArenaFan Online Offensive Player of the Week for week 10.

PLAYOFF BREAKDOWN - Six teams from the American Conference qualify for postseason play, two division winners and four wild card teams (best records among non division winners). Division winners get a first-round bye while the highest-seeded wild card team hosts the lowest seed and the second-highest seed hosts the second-lowest. Below is the American Conference breakdown through 12 weeks of the season.

1) Colorado 9-3 (Central Division leader)
2) Arizona 7-5 (Western Division leader)
3) Nashville 7-5
4) San Jose 6-6
5) Las Vegas 5-7
6) Chicago 4-8 (win common opponents vs. UTA)
--------------------
7) Utah 4-8
8) Grand Rapids 3-9 (win head-to-head vs. LAA)
9) Los Angeles 3-9

If the playoffs were to start this weekend, the SaberCats would host Las Vegas and Nashville would host Chicago with Colorado and Arizona getting a bye. But we all know the playoffs DON'T start this weekend.

IN THE LAS VEGAS GAME:
*The SaberCats won the opening coin toss for the 11th time in 12 games.
*Defensive Player of the Game Clevan Thomas had his 30th career interception and a career-high 10.0 total tackles.
*Ironman of the Game, James Roe had his 500th career reception and 150th career TD reception.
*Mark Grieb had his 6th 300-yard passing game of the season setting a new team record.
*Lineman Fitu Tu'ua played in his first career AFL game.
*Marquis Floyd scored his first career rushing touchdown and has three TDs on the year, one rushing, one receiving and one interception return.
*The SaberCats are 46-7 all-time when scoring 60 or more points in a game.
*The SaberCats had 405 yards of total offense reaching the 400 mark for the second time this season and the fifth time in franchise history.

AUSTIN PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB JOHN FITZGERALD - Now in his second season with the Wranglers Fitzgerald has also played with the Houston ThunderBears, Carolina Cobras, Dallas Desperados and New Orleans VooDoo in his 7-year AFL career. Fitzgerald has started all 12 games this season throwing for 2,737 yards and 46 TDs completing 260-of-393 passes with 11 INTs. In three career games with three different teams against the SaberCats Fitzgerald has completed 53-of-90 attempts for 667 yards but has thrown as many interceptions (8) as TD passes (8) and has failed to win a game. His most recent outing against San Jose came on May 1, 2004 as a member of the VooDoo when he tied a SaberCats opponent record by tossing 4 INTs in a 68-34 loss. While with Houston in 2001, he relieved Todd Hammel and completed 16-of-20 passes in an 80-27 defeat. Over his career, the former Tulsa star has completed 831-of-1,366 passes for 9,576 yards with 156 TDs and 44 interceptions.

OS DERRICK LEWIS - The former San Diego State star is in his rookie AFL season. He joined the Wranglers after attending training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lewis has started all 12 games this season compiling a team-best 1,126 receiving yards, ranking him 4th in the AFL. Lewis has hauled in 90 passes for 18 touchdowns and is averaging 93.8 yards per game.

DS DAMON MASON - The three-time second-team All-Arena veteran broke the league's all-time tackle mark last season and became the first player to reach 700 career tackles. Entering his first season with the Wranglers, Mason has played with the Orlando Predators, New Jersey Gladiators, Las Vegas Gladiators, Carolina Cobras and Grand Rapids Rampage during his nine-year career. Mason has played against the SaberCats three times over the years and has yet to help his team to a victory. Last season he played against San Jose as a member of the Predators and led his team in tackles with 7.0 and had a PBU in a 57-38 loss on Mar. 6. In the other two games against San Jose Mason has totaled 7 total tackles. Mason currently ranks 3rd in the AFL with 8 interceptions and has recorded 67.5 tackles and 15 PBUs while playing in all 12 games.

WR/DB SEDRICK ROBINSON - One of the premier all-purpose performers in the AFL, Robinson joins the Wranglers for his first season after stops in Columbus, New Jersey, Las Vegas and Houston. He leads the Wranglers and ranks 7th in the AFL with 1,585 all-purpose yards and leads the league in kickoff return yards with 1,272 on 58 attempts. During his career Robinson has returned 21 kicks for touchdowns, including a league-high tying 3 this year. The sixth-year AFL veteran has played against the SaberCats three times with two different teams recording 14 receptions for 207 yards and 4 TDs with 9 KORs for 151 yards and 12.5 total tackles on defense.

WEEKLY PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Opp. (Date) Player
v UTA (1/28) QB Joe Germaine, UTA
@LVG (2/6) OS Marcus Nash, LVG
@ARZ (2/12) OS Calvin Schexnayder, SJS
@GRR (2/19) WR/DB Timon Marshall, GRR
@CHI (2/26) OS C.J. Johnson, CHI
@UTA (3/4) QB Mark Grieb, SJS
v LAA (3/12) WR/LB James Roe, SJS
v GEO (3/17) WR/LB Derek Lee, GEO
@NAS (3/25) WR/LB Cory Fleming, NAS
v ARZ (4/2) OS Ben Nelson, SJS
@TBY (4/7) OS Freddie Solomon, TBY
v LVG (4/14) QB Mark Grieb, SJS
v AUS (4/22)
@LAA (4/29)
v COL (5/6)
v CLB (5/13)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Opp. (Date) Player
v UTA (1/28) DS Kelvin Hunter, UTA
@LVG (2/6) DL Wilky Bazile, LVG
@ARZ (2/12) DS Clevan Thomas, SJS
@GRR (2/19) DS Johnnie Harris, GRR
@CHI (2/26) DS Jeremy Unertl, CHI
@UTA (3/4) DS Clevan Thomas, SJS
v LAA (3/12) DS Antuan Simmons, LAA
v GEO (3/17) DS Nate Coggins, GEO
@NAS (3/25) DS Monty Montgomery, NAS
v ARZ (4/2) DS Joe Todd, ARZ
@TBY (4/7) DS Omarr Smith, SJS
v LVG (4/14) DS Clevan Thomas, SJS
v AUS (4/22)
@LAA (4/29)
v COL (5/6)
v CLB (5/13)

IRONMAN PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Opp. (Date) Player
v UTAH (1/28) WR/DB Orshawante Bryant, UTAH
@LVG (2/6) WR/DB Coco Blalock, LVG
@ARZ (2/12) WR/DB Charles Pauley, SJS
@GRR (2/19) WR/DB Marquis Floyd, SJS
@CHI (2/26) WR/LB James Roe, SJS
@UTAH (3/4) WR/LB James Roe, SJS
v LAA (3/12) WR/DB Kevin Ingram, LAA
v GEO (3/17) FB/LB Phil Glover, SJS
@NAS (3/25) WR/LB Cory Fleming, NAS
v ARZ (4/2) WR/LB James Roe, SJS
@TBY (4/7) WR/LB Lawrence Samuels, TBY
v LVG (4/14) WR/LB James Roe, SJS
v AUS (4/22)
@LAA (4/29)
v COL (5/6)
v CLB (5/13)

THE SABERCATS RECORD WHEN...:

Scoring Allowing
0 - 9 points 0-0 0-0
10-19 points 0-0 0-0
20-29 points 0-0 0-0
30-39 points 0-1 0-0
40-49 points 0-3 2-1
50-59 points 3-1 4-3
60-69 points 3-1 0-1
70-79 points 0-0 0-1
80+ points 0-0 0-0

Games decided
by 7 or fewer points 1-3
by 3 or fewer points 1-2

Leading after the 1st 4-3
Trailing after the 1st 2-1
Tied after the 1st 0-2

Leading at Half 3-1
Trailing at Half 3-5
Tied at Half 0-0

Leading after the 3rd 4-2
Trailing after the 3rd 2-4
Tied after the 3rd 0-0

Scoring First 4-4
Opp. Score First 2-2

More Total Offense 4-5
Less Total Offense 2-1

More Pass Yards 3-5
Less Pass Yards 3-1

More Rushing Yards 4-0
Less Rushing Yards 2-5

Thursday games 0-0
Friday games 3-0
Saturday games 1-2
Sunday games 2-3
Monday games 0-1

On NBC 1-2
On TV20 3-2
On NBC11 0-1
On FSN 2-1

vs. West 4-3
vs. Central 0-3
vs. South 2-0
vs. East 0-0

Winning coin toss 5-6
Losing coin toss 1-0

Outscoring Opponent 6-0
Being Outscored 0-6

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 18, 2006


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