L.A. Ends Great Season on Sour Note
Steven Herbert
Monday June 2, 2003
The fourth-seeded Avengers were 70-63 losers to the fifth-seeded Arizona Rattlers Sunday at Staples Center, with quarterback Tony Graziani fumbling the ball away twice and throwing an interception on the opening series.
“We made too many mistakes against a good opponent,” said Graziani, who completed 23 of 37 passes for 361 yards and 6 touchdowns. “You just can’t do that in the playoffs.”
In the first half, the Los Angeles defense blunted the effects of the turnovers, limiting Arizona to two Nelson Garner field goals after the first two turnovers. But in the second half, the Rattlers converted both turnovers – fumble recoveries by Hunkie Cooper – into touchdowns.
Arizona sealed the victory by scoring touchdowns on each of its first three possessions of the fourth quarter, offsetting 28 points by the Avengers, and recovering two Los Angeles onside kickoffs.
“I`m disappointed obviously,” said Avengers head coach Ed Hodgkiss, whose team lost last year as the No. 5 seed to 12th-seeded Tampa Bay, 66-41, in a first-round playoff game. “I thought this year we had a better opportunity to go further than we did last year. I truly believe we should still be playing, but you’ve got to come out and get it done and we didn’t.”
Although the Los Angeles defense failed to fulfill Hodgkiss’ goal of creating a turnover, it recorded a stop late in the first quarter and on the opening drive of the second half in addition to holding the Rattlers to field goals after the first-half turnovers.
“Their defense did a great job against us,” Arizona head coach Danny White said. “I don`t think any team stopped us that many times.”
The Avengers fourth turnover came on special teams. Jahine Arnold, who had not returned a kick all season, was inserted as a returner in the third quarter in place of Siaha Burley, who had a strained calf.
Garner’s kick went off the rebound net, Arnold fumbled the ball away, with Cooper recovering for a touchdown putting the Rattlers ahead 47-35 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Hunkie Cooper was the difference in the game,” White said after the Rattlers eighth win in their last nine games. “There`s just something real special about the kid. I don’t what it is, but he’s a big-play guy and a big-game guy. There’s nobody in this league that I would rather have on the field, with the ball, with the game on the line, than Hunkie Cooper.”
In addition to recovering Arnold’s fumble for a touchdown, Cooper also caught two second-half touchdown passes from Sherdrick Bonner (16-for-30 for 275 yards and 7 touchdowns) and ran for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
"When you play your best and you lose, you`re kind of okay with that, but when you play like we did today and lose….It`s going to be a long off-season for us," said Graziani, who threw three interceptions in the Avengers playoff game last season.
The loss ends a spectacular season for the four-year old Avengers, having set a franchise record with 11 victories.
"I think we took a step forward," Graziani said. "It`s a process and we`ve got to continue to work hard and get better. I think we just have to have a little bit more confidence. We get that swagger back in the off-season. We`ll get it going."
Graziani said 2004 "will be a good year for us."
"We`re going to continue to grow," Graziani said. "We`re all hungry. In the off-season, we`re going to work out hard getting ready for the next year. We`re going to be one of the teams to beat next year."
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
