Rattlers bite Brigade, win fourth straight

Sunday June 8, 2008

Team sets record for most points scored in half, quarter in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY – The playoff-bound Arizona Rattlers defeated the Kansas City Brigade this afternoon at the Sprint Center, breaking two team records en-route to a 73-34 win. The 39 points is the largest margin of victory for Arizona this season.

The Rattlers racked up 49 points in the first half, breaking the team’s previous mark of 48 (set twice, most recently against Utah on 4/20/07). The team also broke a record for the most points in a quarter, piling on 36 in the second quarter, edging a five year old record of 34 (Grand Rapids, 4/19/03).

“One thing we talked about this week was finishing,” said Rattlers Head Coach KEVIN GUY. “Against Orlando, we jumped out quickly but we let the Predators back into the game. This week, we finished; we played for all four quarters. It’s all about us improving as we move towards the playoffs.”

While this win does not improve Arizona’s playoff standing in the American conference – the team remains the third seed behind San Jose and Chicago – it does help to solidify the team’s position as no other American conference team can reach Arizona’s eight wins. The Rattlers are still alive in the Western Division, one game behind the division leader San Jose with two games to go.

“It has always been our goal to lock down the highest possible seed,” said Guy. “I believe this win makes us at least the third seed in the playoffs. We’ll see what happens the next few weeks.

“Every time we reach a goal, we set new ones.”

Arizona scored in all three phases of the game, with the offense racking up eight scores, while special teams added 10 points and the defense contributed an interception return for a touchdown. Overall, the team eclipsed 70 points for the first time this season. The team improves to 6-0 when scoring over 60 in a game.

QB MATT SAUK, who got the starting nod again, had another solid outing, completing over 65% of his passes for 214 yards and seven scores. The offense led the team to a score on every possession in the game save one. WR’S SIAHA BURLEY and TRANDON HARVEY, one of the league’s best tandems this season, scored three touchdowns apiece, and Burley was named the game’s Offensive Player of the Game for hauling in nine passes for 104 yards.

DB ISAIAH TRUFANT will be a candidate for the league’s Defensive Player of the Week again after winning his second-consecutive game award. He paced the Rattlers with nine tackles, broke up a pass, forced a fumble and grabbed an interception from Kansas City’s QB Quincy Carter, who was making his first start for the Brigade tonight. DB CHRIS MCKENZIE took home the game’s Ironman award with 8.5 tackles, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. LB KURT KAHUI led a ferocious pass-rush, notching one of the team’s two sacks and 1.5 of the group’s five tackles for a loss. Each of the team’s four active defensive linemen DL’S DUSTIN BARNO, WENDALL GAINES, ANTTAJ HAWTHORNE and DARRELL SHROPSHIRE contributed on the team’s tackles for loss, with Hawthorne adding a second sack.

The Rattlers dominated in the first half and particularly in the second quarter, where they scored five touchdowns to Kansas City’s one. FB/LB CHRIS ROBINSON also converted a pair of two-point conversions. By halftime, Sauk had already tossed five touchdowns, three of them to Harvey, and had scored every time down the field. The Brigade, by contrast, lost three fumbles to Arizona. DB TERRANCE JOSEPH also notched his first interception on the season, stepping in front of a Carter pass and returning it 15 yards for a touchdown in the middle of the second period.

Arizona comes home to finish out its regular season slate with two straight conference home games. First up is the Colorado Crush (4-10) on Russell Athletic ESPN Monday Night, Monday, June 16. The team will then close out the 2008 season with a division tilt against the Utah Blaze, Saturday, June 21, before moving on into the playoffs.

GAME NOTES

Arizona held Kansas City scoreless for 23 minutes and 49 seconds, spanning from late in the second quarter until the middle of the fourth…the streak was broken after the Rattlers stopped the Brigade 10 times in the red-zone…Arizona also held Kansas City to one touchdown for 36 minutes and 5 seconds, spanning from late in the first until early in the fourth…the Rattlers forced turnovers on the second play from scrimmage in both halves…Arizona held Kansas City to -2 rushing yards in the first half…Sauk became the first QB to pass for five touchdowns in a half since Shedrick Bonner did it on March 23, 2007…Joseph is the first Rattler to return an interception for a touchdown since DB KEYUO CRAVER did it against Chicago in Week 5…four forced turnovers in the first half matches last week’s season high…

BOX SCORE
                                                            1          2          3          4          F
Arizona Rattlers                               13        36        14        10        73
Kansas City Brigade                       14        6          0          14        34

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing
Arizona – Matt Sauk, 19/29, 214 yards, 7 touchdowns, 1 interception
Kansas City – Quincy Carter, 23/43, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions

Rushing
Arizona – Johnathan Ingram, 6 rushes, 30 yards, 1 touchdown
Kansas City – Quincy Carter, 3 rushes, 2 yards

Receiving
Arizona – Siaha Burley, 9 receptions, 104 yards, 3 touchdowns
Kansas City – Charles Fredrick, 7 receptions, 90 yards

Defense
Arizona – Isaiah Trufant, 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 1 pass-breakup
Kansas City – Jerald Brown, 5 tackles, 1 interception

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Offensive – WR Siaha Burley, Arizona
Defensive – DB Isaiah Trufant, Arizona
Ironman – DB Chris McKenzie, Arizona

The 2008 Arizona Rattlers guaranteed a trip to the playoffs for its season ticket holders, and have come through on that promise. Any Rattlers fan who purchases or renews season tickets between now and June 23rd will be guaranteed FREE PLAYOFF TICKETS for the 2008 season. Season tickets, group tickets and premium single game tickets can be purchased by calling the Rattlers ticket hotline at 602-514-TDTD. Single game tickets are now on sale at the USAirways box office and all Ticketmaster locations. More information is available at www.azrattlers.com.