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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Saturday Night Recaps

June 9, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- FRED MCNAIR scored a rushing touchdown and STEVE MCLAUGHLIN kicked a field goal within the final minute of the contest to help the Buffalo Destroyers deny the New York Dragons their first road win of the season, 40-35.

McNair, who finished 13-for-34 with a pair of touchdowns, notched his sixth rushing touchdown of the year from 1-yard out to give Buffalo (4-4) a 37-29 lead with 56 seconds left in the contest. McLaughlin, who connected on a 20-yard field goal in the second period, nailed a 35-yarder 26 seconds later to push the Destroyers advantage to 11 points.

DANNY KANELL attempted to rally New York (2-6) with a 4-yard touchdown pass to SHON KING with 14 seconds remaining, but the Dragons ran out of time, falling to 1-3 within the Eastern division. Kanell finished 14-for-36 with four touchdowns, but also had a pair of interceptions. STEVE PAPIN had six catches for 50 yards and had a 57-yard kickoff return for New York.

JASON BRATTON had a rushing touchdown and both CARLOS JAMES and THOMAS BAILEY caught a score for Buffalo, which avenged a 69-54 loss to the Dragons back on April 28.

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NEW JERSEY 70, Grand Rapids 42 (5,992)

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- JAY MCDONAGH threw for eight touchdowns, including three to MIKE HORACEK, to help the New Jersey Gladiators defeat the defending AFL champion Grand Rapids Rampage, 70-42.

McDonagh completed 15-of-29 attempts, including a 36-yard strike to DENNISON ROBINSON with 10 seconds left in the first half for a 42-21 lead.

Horacek, who hauled in four catches for 82 yards, caught a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter as New Jersey (5-3) jumped out to a 21-14 lead. JEREMY WILKINSON scored twice and DAMON MASON had a pair of interceptions and five tackles for the Gladiators.

CLINT DOLEZEL threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns for Grand Rapids (5-3), but finished with three interceptions and was sacked twice. Dolezel tossed a 15-yard score to WILLIS MARSHALL with 2:59 remaining in the second, but New Jersey scored twice within the final 29 seconds to open up the seven-point contest.

Marshall finished with six catches for 92 yards, three touchdowns and 82 return yards for the Rampage, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

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CHICAGO 53, Detroit 17 (7,374)

ROSEMONT, Ill. (Ticker) -- BILLY DICKEN threw for four touchdowns and JAMIE MCGOURTY ran for a pair of scores and collected a sack to help the Chicago Rush beat the Detroit Fury, 53-17.

Dicken, who finished 10-for-14 for 147 yards, tossed a pair of first-period scores and connected with DAMEON PORTER on a 22-yard strike early in the third for a 43-10 lead. Porter also had a pair of interceptions for Chicago (5-3), which improved to 1-3 all-time versus Detroit (1-7).

McGourty, who recorded his first sack of the season and finished with two tackles, had a pair of rushing touchdowns from one yard out. ANTONIO CHATMAN returned a missed field goal 58 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter and caught a 16-yard scoring pass with 27 seconds left in the half for the Rush, who have yielded just 31 points over their last two victories.

SCOTT SEMPTIMPHELTER finished 6-for-18 with no touchdowns and two interceptions and backup NICK BROWDER converted 8-of-25 passing attempts for two scores and a pair of interceptions for the Fury, who recorded 182 yards of total offense.

CHUCK LEVY finished with four catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns and CHUCK WINTERS hauled in four receptions for 44 yards for Detroit, which have been outscored, 102-48, in its last two games.

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DALLAS 79, Indiana 65 (11,364)

DALLAS, Texas (Ticker) -- ANDY KELLY threw for 219 yards and 10 touchdowns - and ran for another - to lead the Dallas Desperados past the Indiana Firebirds, 79-65. With his performance, Kelly became the AFL's career leader in passing touchdowns with 427 all-time. (Arizona Rattlers quarterback SHERDRICK BONNER is close behind with 423.)

Kelly converted 28-of-37 passes, including seven to DIALLEO BURKS for 74 yards and three touchdowns. Two of the three were scored 59 seconds apart for a 34-17 lead with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter.

ADRIAN LUNSFORD, JASON SHELLEY and ANDY MCCULLOUGH each collected two touchdown receptions for Dallas (4-4), which won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

RAYMOND PHILYAW completed 25-of-43 passes for 355 yards, seven scores and two interceptions for Indiana (3-5). He connected with TERENCE DAVIS 10 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns for the Firebirds, which produced their highest offensive output of the season, but also lost its third straight.

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San Jose 52, LOS ANGELES 33 (10,122)

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- BARRY WAGNER scored four touchdowns, including three on the ground, to help the San Jose SaberCats tie a team record of five rushing touchdowns and remain the league's only undefeated team with a 52-33 victory over the Los Angeles Avengers.

Wagner ran in from three yards out to tie the score at 7-7 early in the first quarter, rushed for a one-yard TD with 4:42 remaining in the third and had another 20 seconds into the fourth to supply a 42-33 lead to San Jose (8-0), which outscored the Avengers 31-3 in the second half. Wagner, who earned both game MVP and Ironman honors, also returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown at 10:06 of the fourth quarter and caught a game-high seven passes for 86 yards.

MARK GRIEB completed 17-of-32 attempts for 179 yards, one touchdown and an interception for the SaberCats. BOB MCMILLEN ran for 35 yards and a score, JAMES WILLIAMS had a team-high five carries for 25 yards and a touchdown and JERRY REESE caught two passes for 22 yards and the lone receiving touchdown for San Jose.

TONY GRAZIANI connected on 16-of-36 attempts for 106 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Los Angeles (4-4), who are now 1-4 versus Western Division opponents. CHRIS JACKSON, who finished with six catches for 24 yards, returned the opening kickoff 51 yards for a touchdown. GREG HOPKINS caught six passes for 50 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown reception with 48 seconds left in the opening stanza for the Avengers, which led at the half, 30-28.

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QUICK PREVIEW TONIGHT'S GAMES

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TAMPA BAY AT ORLANDO -- When these two rivals meet inside TD Waterhouse Centre today at 4:30 p.m. (ET), it will be as friendly as an NFL Redskins-Cowboys or the Yankees-Red Sox match-up. The intensity steps up a notch as the Tampa Bay Storm (2-5) travel down Interstate-4 to battle the Orlando Predators (3-4) for playoff positioning. New Tampa Bay offensive specialist CALVIN SCHEXNAYDER showed Storm fans a glimpse of things to come with last week's four-touchdown performance against Indiana. However, ball-hawking Orlando defensive specialist KENNY MCENTYRE, who has already snared a league-high six interceptions, has a different plan in mind. (TNN)

TORONTO AT GEORGIA -- Coach MARK STOUTE and his league-leading defense (allow just 41.9 points on average) hope to pick up a non-divisional victory to keep the Toronto Phantoms (4-3) on top of the Eastern Division tonight when they face the Georgia Force (2-5) inside Atlanta's Philips Arena at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Fresh off last week's win, new Georgia head coach MARTY LOWE will have his fourth-ranked scoring offense ready to battle as they fight to climb the Southern Division standings. (No TV)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 9, 2002


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