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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

VooDoo Vex Rattlers, 49-45

March 19, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


PHOENIX- In between all the penalty flags and injuries, an Arena Football Game was played in front 11, 441 at America West Arena. The expansion New Orleans VooDoo continued their surprising romp through the AFL, this time knocking off the Rattlers 49-45. VooDoo quarterback John Fitzgerald threw all four of his TD passes to Aaron Bailey, and the VooDoo's top ranked defense held the Rattlers on the game's final play to get the win.

It was a slow and sloppy game from the beginning, and the two teams combined for 22 penalties, with each team being flagged 11 times. Arizona was penalized for a whopping 105 penalty yards, including a costly holding penalty late in the fourth. After putting up 64 points in the loss to Las Vegas last week, the Rattlers offense seemed to struggle in the quarter. Arizona scored on its first possession on a Siaha Burley 29-yard touchdown pass from Sherdrick Bonner. New kicker Jason Witczak missed his first AFL PAT attempt, but the evening would get much worse for the rookie. Witczak tore his right ACL in the third quarter, forcing Hunkie Cooper to take over the kickoff duties for the remainder of the game. Witczak was signed on Tuesday, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. He was one of three Rattlers to leave the game early. The VooDoo also lost a player for the game due to injury.

After New Orleans answered the Rattlers score with a touchdown of their own, Arizona missed a FG attempt to end the first quarter trailing 7-6. Randy Gatewood would come up with a big defensive play, picking off Fitzgerald's pass for his second INT of the season. Siaha Burley would turn that into a 2-yard touchdown reception to give the Rattlers a 13-7 lead. The two teams would trade scores throughout the entire game. Siaha Burley ended the night with eight catches for 82 yards and four touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown. He was matched by Aaron Bailey's nine catches for 103 yards and four scores. Dan Curran added two TD rushes for New Orleans.

The VooDoo scored on Curran TD run with: 57 left in the game, to go ahead 49-45. Arizona appeared to be in perfect position for the game winning TD after a 31-yard reception by Burley, but a holding penalty negated the big gain, pinning the Rattlers at their own five. Arizona would move to the VooDoo 17, but time expired before they could reach the endzone. New Orleans now moves to 6-1, while Arizona drops to 3-4. The Rattlers travel to Colorado to battle the much-improved Crush on Saturday, March 27 at 7:00 PM. The Colorado game will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 19, 2004


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