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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

The Avengers and the Arena

by Tim Peterson
March 6, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)


Opening Night Nerves

A 46 yard opening kick off return by Wendall Williams for a touchdown, an interception, and another touchdown pass to a wide open receiver and before the first A-Team routine, the Avengers found themselves down 13-0 to New Orleans Friday night. The defense took control in the second half and the Avengers got back on track for a 59-42 win but things were a little dicey early.

"I think it was the first game jitters. The Voo Doo came out and made some plays. We just needed to settle down a little bit," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss.

Just Kicking It

Any fears the Avengers may have had about their kicking game were laid to rest against the Voo Doo. Former AFL 2 Kicker of the year David Davis was a perfect eight for eight on extra point attempts and nailed a 24 yard field goal to boot. Remy Hamilton, the kicker that Davis replaced, split the uprights with 24 seconds left to ice Dallas' 51-41 win over Georgia.

Spreading the Wealth

Sonny Cumbie threw for 268 yards and seven touchdowns which isn't a bad night's work. But more impressively was the way he got everybody involved. Timon Marshall caught nine passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns, Kevin Ingram hauled in eight for 79 and a score and LaShaun Ward caught three for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Cumbie's former teammate at Texas Tech, Jarrett Hicks had three receptions for 21 yards and a score.

"I have a lot of playmakers around me," Cumbie said.

Thank You Very Much

Damen Wheeler's strip of Williams and subsequent 15 yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave the Avengers its first lead and proved to be the turning point. Wheeler had a simple explanation.

"He tied to run me over a couple of plays before and I told him ‘don't do that'. I like being physical but he tried it again and it didn't work out for him," Wheeler said. "He tried to run me over and when I stood up the ball was in my stomach."

AvengersReunited and it Feels so Good

Former Avengers Tony Graziani and Chris Jackson are connecting again. Graziani threw nine touchdown passes including four to Jackson to spark the Philadelphia Soul to a 77-56 win over the Orlando Predators. Philadelphia won it's fourth straight opening night game.

Chucky Lives

Predators coach Jay Gruden can put his record up against anybody's. Gruden became the first man in the Arena league to win a Championship as both player and coach in 1998 and has never missed the playoffs in two stints as Orlando's head coach. But no matter how hard he tries he'll never look as scary as his brother-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Coach Jon Gruden- who is affectionately known as "Chucky."

Mistake by the Lake - Or Not

Cleveland welcomed the Gladiators with open arms as 17, 391 fans showed up to the Quicken Loans Arena Monday night to cheer the home team to a 61-49 win over the New York Dragons. The franchise moved to Cleveland from Las Vegas in the off season giving Clevelanders something to do besides watch Lebron James. Former Avenger assistant Mike Wilpot got his first victory in as head coach in his debut.

Cats are Rushed out of Chi- Town

Chicago won the battle of the last two Arena Bowl Champions Monday night in a 70-47 rout of San Jose. 15 year veteran Sherdrick Bonner hit Damian Harrell on the first play from scrimmage for a 29 yard touchdown and it got better from there. Bonner, in his first year with Chicago, after 14 years with Arizona, threw six scoring strikes on the night to out duel San Jose's Mark Grieb.

Rattlers and the James Gang

Arizona surprised Utah 63-62 Saturday led by receiver Jerrian James who caught nine passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Lang, who took over for Bonner, fired eight touchdown passes and 319 yards overall. Arizona is next on the agenda for the Avengers. LA will travel to the U.S Airways Center on Monday night.

"It's a divisional game on the road so it will be tough," Hodgkiss said.

AFL Now; NFL Next?

"I wish it were that easy but obviously it's a complicated transaction," said Avengers owner Casey Wasserman about putting a group together to bring an NFL franchise to Los Angeles. "It's something we're very interested in doing but it may happen at any moment and it may not happen for a long time. We just want to do the right thing for the community.

The Avengers, who averaged nearly 14,000 fans per game last year, drew 13, 209 Friday night.

"There's no question LA would support an NFL team in a very passionate way," Wasserman said. "Frankly that's not the problem. We just got to put the right pieces together and hopefully that will happen sooner than later."

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 6, 2008


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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