WEEK THREE RESULTS

IOWA 43, Spokane 42

CHICAGO 54, San Jose 41

JACKSONVILLE 64, New Orleans 33

ORLANDO 68, Utah 53

Cleveland 66, TAMPA BAY 26

Arizona 69, TULSA 20

Pittsburgh 49, MILWAUKEE 47

Home team in ALL CAPS

BYE: Dallas, Kansas City, Georgia, Philadelphia

 

• This is the first time Spokane has dropped three straight games in a season in franchise history (dating back to its time in the af2).
• Counting the 2010 regular season finale, the Shock has lost four straight regular season games.
• The 42 points scored by Spokane is the fewest in a loss since 2007.
• Dating back to the af2, Iowa is 2-1 at home in its last three games against Spokane. In fact, the Barnstormers are the last team to defeat the af2 Shock on the Fourth of July 2009 (54-48).
• In its final eight drives, Spokane turned the ball over four times, scored two touchdowns and turned the ball over on downs.
• The teams failed to score any points for the final 13 minutes of the game. In that time, both squads combined for three turnovers and a turnover on downs.
• Iowa trailed by 16 with less than two minutes left in the first half before scoring the game’s next 25 points.
• In a losing effort, Shock WR Greg Orton caught nine balls for 203 yards and five touchdowns.
• For the third straight game, Spokane QB Kyle Rowley
• The Shock now has as many losses as it had all of its 2010 ArenaBowl championship season.
• Rowley has as many interceptions in the first three games of this season as he did in the previous 13 games (including playoffs). This is his second three-INT game of the season – he had just one of those last year and the Shock still won.
• The ArenaBowl XXIII MVP has posted over 300-yards passing in all three games this season. His longest streak in the AFL is four games (done in games 3-6 last year).
• Iowa QB Brad Banks had 244 yards through the air and added 44 on the ground. He had five passing scores and two more rushing.
• Another reason real Ironman football is dead – the attending media at this game gave the Ironman of the Game award to the QB, who didn’t play defense or special teams. The stats have him credited for a tackle, but it was sack/fumble when he coughed up the ball and touched the already down lineman. He was still on offense.
• Iowa kicker Piotr Czech made just one of his seven extra point attempts. I’m sure this will be the last time his name will ever be associated with Arena Football. Something similar to this happened in 2000 when the Storm cut a kicker that was utterly horrible. He made one of just FG attempts as Tampa Bay lost 31-30 to the pathetic Florida Bobcats for the first time. A year later that kicker was selected to the NFL’s All-Rookie team and is still on an NFL roster – Yes; Jay Feely sucked in the AFL and now has converted 82% of his field goals in over a decade in the NFL. Rumor has it that Storm head coach Tim Marcum refused to let Feely on the bus back to Tampa following that game – it was, obviously, his last Arena game.

• The Rush is 3-0 for the second straight season.
• San Jose has lost its last five games in the Windy City. The last time the SaberCats won in Chicago was in 2003.
• SaberCats QB Mark Grieb tossed his first INT of the season and added two more in the loss. It’s his first three INT game since losing at New Orleans in Week Six of 2008.
• In his last four games in Chicago, Grieb has tossed eleven interceptions (three games with three INTs and one with two).
• For the third straight season, San Jose has lost its first game of the season at Chicago.
• San Jose's first points of the game came on a failed two-point conversion attempt by Chicago. SaberCats DB Dwight McLean intercepted the two-point try and ran back for two points for San Jose.
• This helped San Jose build a 21-13 late in the first half, but Chicago scored three straight touchdowns and never trailed again.
• San Jose WR/KR Rodney Wright had league season high 15 catches to go along with his 241 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. However, this Monday he left the team to handle family matters. His return in the future is uncertain. Through three weeks, Wright led the AFL in receptions (38), receiving yards (399) and is second in all-purpose yardage (683).
• Chicago QB Russ Michna had five passing touchdowns to just six incompletions in the game. He also added two rushing touchdowns.

• Jacksonville QB Aaron Garcia posted a perfect passer rated game of 158.33. He completed 17-of-19 for 308 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Garcia completed 89.5% of his passes, in which 42.1% were touchdowns.
• Garcia’s first pass of the night was a 45-yard touchdown, so was his last, a 5-yard score. The league’s all-time leader in TD passes sat the final 14 minutes because the game was out of reach for the VooDoo.
• The Sharks scored 13 points in the first and third quarters, while scoring 19 points in the second and fourth quarters.
• Six of Jacksonville’s nine receiving TDs came from a distance of at least 20 yards, including Garcia and Jomo Wilson hooking up for scores from 45 and a 48 yards.
• VooDoo WR/KR P.J. Berry continues to be the lone bright spot on this terrible team. He posted his third straight 200+ all-purpose yard game (242). Berry had 12 catches for 120 yards and a TD as well as 122 more yards in kick returns.
• The teams combined for 25 penalties (VooDoo, 13; Sharks, 12).
• New Orleans led 6-0 to start the game, but never led again.
• This marks the first time since 1992 that a team from New Orleans has started 0-3. That year, the New Orleans Night put up a goose egg for the entire season (0-10). If the VooDoo’s time as the BattleWings is included, then this is the first 0-3 start since 2006 when Bossier-Shreveport was 0-7.

• Both quarterbacks passed for over 300 yards, had eight touchdowns, were sacked twice and were intercepted once.
• All three Orlando players that caught passes gained over 100 yards and scored at least twice.
• For Utah, receivers Ernest Pierce and Aaron Boone each had 12 catches.
• Boone posted six receiving scores.
• There were 26 penalties in this game (16 by Orlando, 10 by Utah). The Blaze was penalized for just 36 yards on those ten flags.
• The teams combined for 50 first downs (30 by Utah, 20 by Orlando).
• Orlando defensive back Rayshaun Kizer posted three interceptions (one returned for a TD), forced a fumble and ten tackles.
• This marked the first game played at the new Amway Center for the Predators. Previously, the Preds played at the Amway Arena, which hosted more AFL games than any other venue.

• The 40-point loss is the worst in Storm history.
• Tampa Bay has scored ten points less than it did in the previous game each game this year. In Week One, the Storm scored 46, 36 in Week Two and then just 26 this week.
• In back-to-back weeks, Cleveland has beaten the two teams from ArenaBowl XXIII in the home opener for both teams.
• For Gladiators head coach Steve Thonn, this is his first 2-0 start in his seven years as an AFL head coach. In fact, in those previous six years he never won his first game of the year. Last year, Thonn's Gladiators were 0-3 before winning their first game.
• Cleveland QB Kevin Rocco, in his first AFL start, completed 20-of-23 for 270 yards with six passing scores and a rushing TD.
• Gladiators WR Troy Bergeron caught just four passes, but three of them went for touchdowns.
• The Glads led 25-0 before the Storm got on the board thanks to a 56-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Tampa Bay's offense was held scoreless for the first 29 minutes and 47 seconds.
• Storm LB Cliff Dukes has recorded at least a sack in all three games this season and leads the league with six.
• Tampa Bay's special teams gave up a safety and a net recovery in the loss. The Storm's offense gave the ball up on downs three times to go with three interceptions.

• The Talons were held scoreless for the first 38 minutes and 15 seconds; and trailed 42-0 until that point.
• Tulsa QB Bobby Reid was held to his lowest rushing total of the season (29) and completed just 46.9% of his passes for 108 yards, a touchdown and was picked off four times.
• Arizona forced six turnovers (five INT, one fumble).
• The Rattlers scored touchdowns on their first eight possessions.
• Arizona WR Trandon Harvey caught 11 balls for 150 yards and four touchdowns. He ended with 211 all-purpose yards.

• The Power won its first road game in franchise history and has won two games in a row.
• In Pittsburgh AFL history, this is the first two-game winning streak since July 14-21 of 1990 when the then Pittsburgh Gladiators (now Tampa Bay Storm) beat Albany and Washington. Those were the final wins for the Gladiators before the move to the Sunshine State.
• Milwaukee’s offense didn’t touch the ball until it trailed 14-0 because of a net recovery on a kickoff recovered by the Power. The Mustangs trailed 21-0 before scoring their first points.
• Pittsburgh allowed Milwaukee back into the game thanks to two fourth-quarter Kevin McCabe interceptions (one that was returned 54 yards for the final points of the game).
• Down by 15 at halftime, the Mustangs switched QBs and R.J. Archer started off slow misfiring on his first three passes.
• There were no 100-yard receivers in this game (only game this week).
• The teams combined to go 0-for-5 on fourth downs.

• There will be at least two less undefeated teams as Chicago and Cleveland play each other, as do Orlando and Arizona.
• No teams will be on a bye.
• There will be at least one less winless team as Kansas City and Spokane play.
• Milwaukee will host its final Monday night game after having its first three home games fall on this horrible night for an AFL game.

Andy Lopusnak is an 11-year AFL front office veteran, spending time with the Tampa Bay Storm, San Diego Riptide and Grand Rapids Rampage. He works as a statistician for NFL and college sports for CBS Sports and is a freelance photographer. Lopusnak received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Florida and has been a fan of ArenaBall since its inception.