Trio of SaberCats Earn All-Arena Offensive Honors

Published on August 2, 2012 under Arena Football League (AFL)
San Jose SaberCats News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Arena Football League and the SaberCats announced today that offensive lineman Rich Ranglin (First Team), offensive lineman Manny Akah (Second Team) and kicker Nich Pertuit (Second Team) were named to the league's All-Arena Offensive teams. These three offensive players join their teammates defensive lineman Joe Sykes (First Team) and linebacker Francis Maka (Second Team) as the five SaberCats to earn All-Arena honors. San Jose produced the second most All-Arena selections behind the Arizona Rattlers, who had six.

"This was the first season for all three of these players in San Jose and they earned every bit of this recognition," Owner and Head Coach Darren Arbet said regarding the announcement today. "We as an organization are very proud of Manny, Nich and Rich for this honor."

Ranglin (6-3, 315, Central Connecticut State) who is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League, appeared in nine games in 2012 for the SaberCats and brings home All-Arena honors for the second consecutive season (also did so in 2011 as a member of the Kansas City Command). San Jose allowed just nine sacks through the first half of the season with Ranglin as a key fixture as part of the offensive line.

Akah (6-3, 335, Winston Salem State) was an anchor along the SaberCats offensive line that did their job in protecting quarterback Mark Grieb. The offensive line only allowed 20 sacks, which ranked tied for fifth in all of the AFL. The London native, who came over from the Tampa Bay Storm in the offseason, only missed one game in 2012 and was a consistent force in keeping Grieb upright.

SaberCats kicker Nich Pertuit joined San Jose mid-season and in 13 appearances immediately stabilized a position that had been a trouble spot early in the year. Pertuit connected on 103/114 (90.4%) of his extra point attempts, including a streak of 41 consecutive conversions and played a huge role in the successful recoveries of six onside kick attempts, which tied for the most in the AFL with the Orlando Predators and Utah Blaze. On top of that, his knack for hitting the bar on kickoffs played a key role in several momentum-shifting plays throughout the course of the season for the SaberCats.

First Team All-Arena

QB Tommy Grady Utah Blaze

FB Derrick Ross Philadelphia Soul

WR Jesse Schmidt Iowa Barnstormers

WR Maurice Purify Arizona Rattlers

WR Aaron Lesue Utah Blaze

C Kyle Young Arizona Rattlers

OL Rich Ranglin San Jose SaberCats

OL Michael Huey Arizona Rattlers

K Kenny Spencer Spokane Shock

DL Joe Sykes San Jose SaberCats

DL Mike Lewis Utah Blaze

DL Victor Degrate San Antonio Talons

MLB Aaron Robbins Jacksonville Sharks

JLB Alvin Ray Jackson New Orleans VooDoo

DB Kent Richardson Philadelphia Soul

DB Jason Simpson Iowa Barnstormers

DB Terrance Sanders Spokane Shock

ST PJ Berry Pittsburgh Power

Second Team All-Arena

QB Nick Davila Arizona Rattlers

FB Odie Armstrong Arizona Rattlers

WR Reggie Gray Chicago Rush

WR Tiger Jones Philadelphia Soul

WR Dominick Goodman Cleveland Gladiators

C Billy Eisenhardt Chicago Rush

OL George Bussey Tampa Bay Storm

OL Manny Akah San Jose SaberCats

K Nich Pertuit San Jose SaberCats

DL Scooter Berry Jacksonville Sharks

DL Bryan Robinson Philadelphia Soul

DL Luis Vasquez Milwaukee Mustangs

MLB Francis Maka San Jose SaberCats

JLB Marcus Everett Milwaukee Mustangs

DB Arkeith Brown Arizona Rattlers

DB Jeremy Kellem New Orleans VooDoo

DB Tracy Belton Georgia Force

ST Terrance Sanders Spokane Shock

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