Week 2 Highlighted with Battle out West

April 6, 2016 - Arena Football League (AFL) News Release

LAS VEGAS - The Arizona Rattlers (1-0) will travel to the Honda Center to challenge the Los Angeles KISS (1-0) in an early-season battle of unbeatens on Saturday, April 9 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and WatchESPN. Also on Saturday, the Cleveland Gladiators (0-1) host the Tampa Bay Storm (0-1) at Quicken Loans Arena (WatchESPN), and the Portland Steel (0-1) head to Amway Arena to face the Orlando Predators (1-0) (WatchESPN). A re-match of the American Conference Championship game wraps up the Week 2 slate of games on Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. ET when the Jacksonville Sharks (0-1) play the Philadelphia Soul (1-0) (CBS Sports Network).

WEEK 2 MATCHUPS

TAMPA BAY STORM (0-1) AT CLEVELAND GLADIATORS (0-1)

Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. ET (WATCHESPN)

TAMPA BAY CLEVELAND

SERIES LEADER Cleveland leads 9-8

STREAKS L1 L1

LAST WEEK L 76-25 vs. Predators L 69-41 vs. Soul

LAST REG SEASON MEETING 6/19/2015: Storm 52, Gladiators 48

TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK) 212.0 (6) 206.0 (7)

TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK) 300.0 (8) 244.0 (4)

POINTS SCORED (RANK) 25.0 (8) 41.0 (5)

POINTS ALLOWED (RANK) 76.0 (7) 69.0 (6)

TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK) -4 (8) -3 (t-5)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: STORM: The Tampa Bay storm fell to the Orlando Predators, 76-25, in Week 1... QB Adam Kennedy threw for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns in his Storm debut last week... WR T.T. Toliver caught 3 of Kennedy's passes for 56 yards and scored 2 TDs in the season opener... WR Gerald Young hauled in 6 passes for 81 yards and took it into the end zone one time... Young also returned 5 kick returns for a total of 96 yards and recorded 177 all-purpose yards... DB Cameron McGlenn led the Storm in tackles last week with 6.5... During his 13-year career, WR T.T. Toliver has climbed the ranks as one of the best receivers in League and professional football history. On April 10, 2015, T.T. Toliver completed one of the greatest receiving accomplishments in professional football history - he caught his 1,000th career reception. He became the fourth player in AFL history to accomplish this feat and 17th player in professional football history. T.T. now has 1,092 career receptions, putting him in sole possession of second place in all-time AFL history and puts at seventh all-time ahead of Terrell Owens... GLADIATORS: The Cleveland Gladiators lost to the Philadelphia Soul, 69-41, at Wells Fargo Arena last week... QB Chris Dieker completed 19 passes while throwing for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns... WR Dominick Goodman caught 9 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown last week against the Soul and is now the franchise's current leader in receptions (736), receiving yards (7,357) and touchdowns (133)... WR Collin Taylor scored one touchdown while hauling in 3 catches for 30 yards. Taylor blew up in his second season with the Gladiators in 2015. Taylor led the team with 144 receptions, 1,597 receiving yards, and 43 touchdowns en route to a career year that saw him become Cleveland's most dangerous weapon on offense. 'CT' saw success against the Tampa Bay secondary in three matchups last season, catching 24 passes for 258 yards and seven touchdowns in those three games... DB Joe Powell intercepted the ball twice, returning both for touchdowns... Powell's 45-yard INT return for a TD was named the AFL Highlight of the Week for Week 1.

PORTLAND STEEL (0-1) AT ORLANDO PREDATORS (1-0)

Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET (WATCHESPN)

PORTLAND ORLANDO

SERIES LEADER Orlando leads 1-0

STREAKS L1 W1

LAST WEEK L 80-28 vs. Rattlers W 76-25 at Storm

LAST REG. SEASON MEETING 5/23/2015: Predators 69, Portland 43

TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK) 265.0 (4) 300.0 (1)

TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK) 193.0 (1) 212.0 (3)

POINTS SCORED (RANK) 28.0 (7) 76.0 (2)

POINTS ALLOWED (RANK) 80.0 (8) 25.0 (1)

TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK) -3 (t-5) +4 (1)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: STEEL: The Portland Steel look to bounce back from their loss to Arizona in their home opener... QB Danny Southwick had a strong Steel debut throwing for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns... WR Tom Gilson hauled in 12 catches for 128 yards and recorded one touchdown... WR Jared Perry caught 8 passes for 117 yards and found the end zone once last week... Perry has an active streak of 12 straight games with at least one TD reception and had 9 receptions for 85 yards and 2 TDs in their last meeting on May 23, 2015... DB Bryce Peila recorded 5.5 tackles in Week 1 and had 57.0 total tackles, 3 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries in 2015... Current Portland head coach Ron James previously served as the head coach of the Utah Blaze for four seasons (2010-13). Orlando Predators head coach Rob Keefe served as the defensive coordinator for the Blaze under James in 2012 and 2013, while Predators offensive coordinator Matthew Sauk served as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Blaze from 2011-13... PREDATORS: The Orlando Predators look to start the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2014 season... QB Randy Hippeard completed 66.7% of his passes against the Storm last week while throwing for 241 yards and 6 touchdowns... Hippeard's performance (20-of-30 passing for 241 yards and 6 TDs) earned him Week 1's Under Armour Offensive Player of the Week... WR Greg Carr saw the end zone 4 times in last week's win, hauling in 7 catches for 113 yards... DB Varmah Sonie came up big defensively against the Storm, recording 7.5 tackles and 2 INTs... DL Mike Lewis, a four-time All-Arena performer has racked up 56.5 sacks in his career and is now just 4.5 sacks shy of setting the all-time record, previously held by 13-year AFL veteran Sam Hernandez... WR Brandon Thompkins recorded 10 catches for 107 receiving yards, 106 return yards and 4 total TDs (3 receiving and 1 return) in the last meeting on May 23, 2015.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (1-0) AT LOS ANGELES KISS (1-0)

Saturday, April 9 at 11 p.m. ET (ESPN2 and WatchESPN)

Play-by-play: Ari Wolfe; Analyst: Randy Gatewood

ARIZONA LOS ANGELES

SERIES LEADER Arizona leads 5-0

STREAK W1 W1

LAST WEEK W 80-28 at Steel W 64-39 vs Sharks

LAST REG. SEASON MEETING 7/26/2015: Rattlers 68, KISS 55

TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK) 193.0 (8) 297.0 (t-2)

TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK) 265.0 (5) 297.0 (t-6)

POINTS SCORED (RANK) 80.0 (1) 64.0 (4)

POINTS ALLOWED (RANK) 28.0 (2) 39.0 (3)

TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK) +3 (t-2) +3 (t-2)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: RATTLERS: The Rattlers offense already looked to be in mid-season form, with QB Nick Davila connecting on 10-of-16 passes for 119 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushing for another... WR Rod Windsor, who earned Cutters Catch of the Game, recorded 7 catches for 86 receiving yards and 4 TDs... FB Mykel Benson scored 3 more TDs on the ground and added a fourth in the air... The Rattlers are 5-0 when Benson scores multiple TDs... The Rattlers defensive line earned six sacks, DL Damien Borel and DL Luis Vasquez each got two. Borel and Vasquez earned the Riddell Co-Defensive Player of the Week award... The secondary also pitched in, with five pass breakups to go along with the two picks... Arizona has played 104 games so far since 2011, more than any professional football team at any level ... KISS: WR Donovan Morgan continues to add to his outstanding AFL career as his first touchdown of the evening - an 11-yard score from QB Nathan Stanley in the first quarter - gave him 250 for his career and the Cutters Catch of the Week. The six-year veteran receiver added two more and currently sits tied with former AFL star Mike Horacek in the No. 8 spot with 252 touchdowns... Morgan has a current streak of 10 straight games with at least one TD... QB Nathan Stanley, who earned Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game honors, connected on 27-of-36 passes for 283 yards and 5 TDs... WR DJ Stephens lead the LA KISS receiving core with nine receptions for 101 yards, but also added a "net" recovery for a TD... 2015 All-Arena Second Team DB Rayshaun Kizer had 6.0 total tackles and an INT against Jacksonville... Kizer's INT was his sixth with the KISS and 63rd (No. 3 in AFL history) of his seven-year career. Current teammate, DB Clevan Thomas, is No. 2 all-time with 79 INTs.

JACKSONVILLE SHARKS (0-1) AT PHILADELPHIA SOUL (1-0)

Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)

Play-by-play: Brent Stover; Analyst: Sherdrick Bonner; Sideline: Tina Cervasio

JACKSONVILLE PHILADELPHIA

SERIES LEADER Tied at 4-4

STREAK L1 W1

LAST WEEK L 64-39 at KISS W 69-41 vs. Gladiators

LAST REG. SEASON MEETING 7/18/2015: Sharks 74, Soul 67

TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK) 297.0 (t-2) 244.0 (5)

TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK) 297.0 (t-6) 206.0 (2)

POINTS SCORED (RANK) 39.0 (6) 69.0 (3)

POINTS ALLOWED (RANK) 64.0 (5) 41.0 (4)

TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK) -3 (t-5) +3 (t-2)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: SHARKS: Jacksonville defeated Philadelphia in 61-56 in the 2015 American Conference Championship Game at the Wells Fargo Center in their last meeting... 2015 All-Arena First Team FB Derrick Ross, who played for Philadelphia 2012-14, had 18 rushing yards on 9 carries and 2 TDs in the loss to Los Angeles last week... QB Tommy Grady, who earned Offensive Player of the Game honors in last year's Conference Championship, completed 15-of-29 passes for 238 yards and 8 TDs in the victory... WR Tiger Jones, who played for Philadelphia from 2012-14, has caught at least 1 TD in 11 of his last 12 games... 2015 All-Arena Second Team WR Joe Hills caught 5 balls for 55 yards and 5 TDs on his way to earning J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game honors in the 2015 American Conference Championship... SOUL: QB Dan Raudabaugh led the Soul to East Division Champs for three seasons (2012-13, 2015). In 2015, he threw 4,992 yards and 119 touchdowns with a QB rating of 122.39. Raudabaugh was awarded the AFL MVP, First Team All-Arena, and Russell Offensive Player of the Year. So far this season, he has completed 21- of-33 passes for 233 yards and seven touchdowns and earned Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game... DB Tracy Belton is expected to make a big impact for the Soul in 2016 and he impressed everyone in Week 1 against the Cleveland Gladiators with his 6.5 tackles, 3 PBs, and an INT for 27 yards... DB Dwayne Hollis leads the team in INTS after last week's game against the Cleveland Gladiators. In Week 1, Hollis had 2 INTS for 33 yards, 1 tackle, 2 PBs, and a TD and earned Riddell Defensive Player of the Game. Last year, Hollis had 1 INT all season... WR Darius Reynolds will suit up in with the Soul for the second time ever this week. In his first game of 2016 the season, Reynolds tallied 3 TDs for 79 yards... WR Shaun Kauleinamoku tallied 7 receptions for 95 yards and 3 TDs on his way to AFL Playmaker of the Week honors for Week 1.

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Arena Football League Stories from April 6, 2016

• Week 2 Highlighted with Battle out West - AFL
• Week 2 Preview: Sharks Look to Bounce Back against Soul - Jacksonville Sharks
• Tampa Bay Storm Announces Away Schedule Change - Tampa Bay Storm
• Hippeard Named Offensive Player of the Week - Orlando Predators

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