This week in the AFL

by Mark Sargent
Published on May 1, 2002 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)

After just two short weeks of Arena Football League action, only two teams, the San Jose Sabercats and Toronto Phantoms, remain unbeaten. Detroit and Tampa Bay are winless, while the remaining 12 teams are all tied at 1-1.

Just like the opening week, the AFL featured several exciting games last weekend. In Orlando, the Predators, led by their former coach Jay Gruden, defeated the Chicago Rush 49-38. Gruden completed 22 of 28 passes for 243 yards and five touchdowns on the evening. For his efforts, Gruden was named the game's MVP. Siaha Burley proved to be Gruden's favorite target on the night, pulling in nine receptions for 76 yards and a pair of scores. The Predators will be at home again this weekend against the New Jersey Gladiators and have a good chance to take their second in a row.

The Toronto Phantoms also played another outstanding game last weekend as they had very little trouble beating up on the Detroit Fury 50-30. Quarterback Chad Salisbury had an excellent game for the Phantoms, completing 21 of 32 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns. Damian Harrell recorded another solid game for Toronto by hauling in seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown on the night. Toronto not only has a solid passing game, but they also have a great rushing attack, as they racked up 40 yards on the ground against Detroit.

In other action, New Jersey squeaked by Dallas 45-44, Indiana edged Grand Rapids 49-43 and Arizona defeated LA 63-59.

Looking ahead to week number three, we have some excellent matchups on tap. San Jose will try to keep its unbeaten streak intact when they host the Georgia Force. Both teams are led by very experienced and feature talented quarterbacks who can put up big numbers. Georgia leads the league in offensive scoring at 121 points, while San Jose is close behind at 113. Mark Grieb has already tossed 13 touchdown passes this season for the Sabercats, while Andy Kelly is right behind him with 10 for the Force. This game should be a close one that is definitely too hard to call.

Also attempting to remain undefeated, the Toronto Phantoms take to the road to visit the Rattlers in Arizona. Last season both of teams finished with identical 8-6 records. Although the Rattlers lost in week one, don't for one minute think that they are push overs. They lost their opening game by only one point, 52-51, to arch-rival San Jose, and they rebounded very well last weekend by defeating LA 63-59.

Toronto has a solid offense led by Chad Salisbury, but Arizona has another solid veteran quarterback in Sherdrick Bonner. Last weekend, Bonner completed 25 of 32 passes for 344 yards and seven touchdowns. Arizona has one other factor that also makes them explosive and dangerous both on offense and defense and that is none other than the "Hunkie Factor". For the past nine seasons "Hunkie" Cooper has dominated the AFL on both sides of the ball and has numerous records and awards to his credit. Now entering his tenth season, he looks like he has not even lost a step, and he is still one of the best all around, two way players in the league. This weekend I give the edge to the home team Rattlers by seven points.

By the start of week four, there may no unbeaten teams left in this year's highly competitive AFL.

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 1, 2002

• This week in the AFL - OSC Original by Mark Sargent
• Defending His Home Turf - Los Angeles Avengers
• Desperados Game Notes - Dallas Desperados
• AFL Hot Questions - AFL I
• Arena Football League Transactions - AFL I
• Georgia Force Makes Four Roster Moves - Georgia Force

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.