Grand Rapids' MacPherson, San Jose's Floyd and Cleveland's Rue earn divisional round honors

Tuesday July 8, 2008

NEW YORK – Grand Rapids Rampage QB JAMES MACPHERSON, San Jose SaberCats DB MARQUIS FLOYD and Cleveland Gladiators FB/LB JAMES RUE have been named Offensive Player, ADT Defensive Player, and Ironman of the Week, respectively, for the Divisional Round of the 2008 playoffs.

OFFENSIVE: MacPherson (6-2, 200, Wake Forest) completed 33-of-39 passes for 326 yards and accounted for seven touchdowns (6 – passing, 1 – rushing) and set an AFL postseason record for completion percentage (84.6) as the Grand Rapids Rampage (8-10) defeated the Chicago Rush (11-6), 58-41, on Sunday. MacPherson led the Rampage’s offense on scoring drives on nine of the teams 10 possessions while posting a passer rating of 129.2. Grand Rapids travels to HP Pavilion to face the San Jose SaberCats (12-5) in the American Conference Championship Game on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Saturday, July 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN HD, ESPN360.com, SIRIUS Radio – Channel 127).

ADT DEFENSIVE: Floyd (6-2, 192, West Georgia) registered six tackles, one pass defensed and one interception returned for a touchdown as the San Jose SaberCats (12-5) defeated the Colorado Crush (7-11), 64-51, on Saturday. On third-and-five on the SaberCats seven-yard line during Colorado’s second possession of the game, Floyd’s pass defensed forced fourth-down and resulted in a field goal that allowed the SaberCats to keep a three-point lead. On Colorado’s second possession of the fourth quarter, Floyd intercepted Crush QB JOHN DUTTON on the SaberCats three-yard line and returned the interception for a postseason-best 47 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.

IRONMAN: Rue (6-2, 245, Duquesne) tied a Divisional Round high with two rushing touchdowns on five carries for 16 yards and one tackle on defense as the Cleveland Gladiators (11-7) defeated the Georgia Force (10-7), 73-70, on Monday. Rue registered rushing touchdowns of two and 10 yards, with the second giving the Gladiators their first lead of the game. Rue’s 10-yard touchdown run marked the first score of the second-half as Cleveland outscored Georgia 33-28. The Gladiators travel to the Wachovia Center to face the Philadelphia Soul (14-3) in the National Conference Championship game on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Saturday, July 12 at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN HD, ESPN360.com, SIRIUS Radio – Channel 127).

Offensive Player of the Week candidates included: Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw and WR Otis Amey, Grand Rapids WR Cole Magner and WR Kenny Higgins, Philadelphia QB Matt D’Orazio, WR Chris Jackson and WR Larry Brackins, San Jose QB Mark Grieb and WR/DB Rodney Wright.

ADT Defensive Player of the Week candidates included: Cleveland DB Alex Teems and DB Sakeen Wright, Grand Rapids DB William Haith, Philadelphia DB Eddie Moten, San Jose DB Clevan Thomas and DB Omarr Smith.

Ironman of the Week candidates included: Grand Rapids WR/DB Jermaine Lewis, Philadelphia FB/LB Clifton Smith and San Jose WR/LB Jason Geathers.

2008 WINNERS:
Week 1: Philadelphia’s Tony Graziani (Offensive), Los Angeles’ Damen Wheeler (Defensive), Chicago’s DeJuan Alfonzo (Ironman)
Week 2: New Orleans’ Danny Wimprine (Offensive), New York’s Levy Brown (Defensive), Cleveland’s Robert Redd (Ironman)
Week 3: Georgia’s Chris Greisen (Offensive), Philadelphia’s Gabe Nyenhuis (Defensive), Dallas’ Will Pettis (Ironman)
Week 4: Grand Rapids’ James MacPherson (Co-Offensive), Philadelphia’s Chris Jackson (Co-Offensive), New Orleans’ Calvin Spears (Defensive), Chicago’s DeJuan Alfonzo (Ironman)
Week 5: Philadelphia’s Matt D’Orazio (Offensive), Chicago’s John Moyer (Defensive), Orlando’s Marlon Moye-Moore (Ironman)
Week 6: Colorado’s Ben Nelson (Offensive), Georgia’s Cam Newton (Co-Defensive), New York’s John Walker (Co-Defensive), New York’s Chris Anthony (Ironman)
Week 7: Orlando’s T.T. Toliver (Offensive), Colorado’s Rashad Floyd (Defensive), Dallas’ Will Pettis (Ironman)
Week 8: Cleveland’s Otis Amey (Offensive), New Orleans’ Norman LeJeune (Defensive), San Jose’s Jason Geathers (Ironman)
Week 9: New Orleans’ Danny Wimprine (Offensive), Philadelphia’s Eddie Moten (Defensive), Tampa Bay’s Lawrence Samuels (Ironman)
Week 10: Utah’s Joe Germaine (Offensive), Orlando’s Kenny McEntyre (Defensive), Los Angeles’ Josh Jeffries (Ironman)
Week 11: Dallas’ Clint Dolezel (Offensive), Tampa Bay’s Traco Rachal (Defensive), Georgia’s Matt Huebner (Ironman)
Week 12: Georgia’s Tiger Jones (Offensive), Chicago’s Dennison Robinson (Defensive), Tampa Bay’s Lawrence Samuels (Ironman)
Week 13: San Jose’s Mark Grieb (Offensive), San Jose’s Marquis Floyd (Defensive), Dallas’ Will Pettis (Ironman)
Week 14: Georgia’s Carl Morris (Offensive), Arizona’s Isaiah Trufant (Defensive), Dallas’ Will Pettis (Ironman)
Week 15: Grand Rapids’ James MacPherson (Offensive), Tampa Bay’s Traco Rachal (Defensive), Philadelphia’s Clifton Smith (Ironman)
Week 16: Philadelphia’s Matt D’Orazio (Offensive), San Jose’s Clevan Thomas (Defensive), Georgia’s Carl Morris (Ironman)
Week 17: San Jose’s Cleannord Saintil (Offensive), Philadelphia’s Eddie Moten (Defensive), Tampa Bay’s Lawrence Samuels (Ironman)

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