Arizona Rattlers

The Arizona Rattlers maintain their best season start in franchise history by defeating the Kansas City Command in a back-and-forth match between a potent offense and a smash-mouth defense.

The first half played out like a brawl between two desperate teams. The Rattlers drew first blood with a quick drive ending in a Rod Windsor touchdown.

But the Command was not taking the game lightly. They took their time and answered with their own scoring drive.

The rest of the half played on like that, and at one point the Rattlers controlled the field with a 14-point lead. Odie Armstrong steamed into the end zone for his own rushing touchdown to keep the lead.

We also saw the new Rattlers kicker Fabrizio Scaccia, who would have a perfect night, and rookie Gary Reed scored his first AFL touchdown as well. The Command proved their offensive prowess and cut the lead to seven with two minutes left in the half.

Then the Command defense proved too much for Davila, when he was forced to begin the drive with a sack. Davila and Harvey were able to get within 15 yards of the end zone as they attempted to open up their lead. The Rattlers won a lucky break when an interception taken to the end zone was called back because of an offside flag against Kansas City. 

The Rattlers may have maintained a larger lead going into the half if not for three ill-timed pass interference calls and an unnecessary roughness call that lead to Command touchdowns.

But the half was still a success.

Rod Windsor was back to his old self, as he would carry the night with five touchdowns overall. He is back to his habit of following receptions with big runs.

The Command leveled the score with a kick returned for a touchdown right at the opening of the second half. But the Rattlers sprang right back with a Rod Windsor touchdown.  The game again took a back-and-forth pattern until Rattlers defensive lineman Antajj Hawthorne recorded the Rattlers first sack of the game.

That broke the Command rhythm and the defense forced a field goal that was missed.

The Rattlers took advantage of the stop and again led the game with 14 points. Going into the fourth quarter, it was the command offense that began wearing down to the constant Rattler attack.

Throughout the night, the Rattlers' defense made the Command receivers pay for their yards. The Rattlers followed any receptions with a quick and thorough tackle that kept the command for gaining any more ground.

Finally, with two and a half minutes left, Arizona safety Vince Hill intercepted the ball, ending any thoughts of a comeback. While trying to kill the clock, Nick Davila was intercepted with 29 seconds left. The Command needed three touchdowns to come back.

The Command did score but failed to recover the onside kick and the Rattlers finished their victory 69-49.

In a game of endurance, the Arizona Rattlers barely escaped the clutches of the Orlando Predators and left the field victorious. Arizona Quarterback Nick Davila’s high-powered engine stalled in the first half but came back to life and finally took the lead with eight seconds left on the clock.

The first half of the game was all Predators all the time. Their defense picked Davila’s passes out of the air three times and returned one for a touchdown. Davila was off with his receivers as they dropped multiple catches and could only put up twelve points in the entire first half. Kicker Joe Schroeder could not get any kicks through the uprights as he missed a field goal and two extra points.

As the Arizona offense was reeling, the Rattlers defense completely underwhelmed the Predators as Orlando quarterback Nick Hill had his choice of open receivers for 30 minutes. If Hill could not find an open receiver, he mastered the scramble against the Rattlers.

With the double threat of big passes or a sneaky rushing game by Hill, the Rattlers defense only relied on multiple fumbles by Hill to kill the clock. The only sparks of defense coming from the Arizona side of the ball were defensive lineman Tyre Glasper’s fumble recovery and a single sack.

Watching the second half of the game, there was a new team that took the field wearing Rattlers uniforms. The passes were still thrown off-rhythm, but receivers Nate Forse, Rod Windsor and Trandon Harvey began pulling them down. Trandon Harvey carried the receiving corps with four of the six touchdown catches thrown.

Joe Schroeder began making most of his extra point attempts but still has trust to win from head coach Kevin Guy as Rod Windsor was called on to make a two-point conversion.

The Arizona defense, though still not in their usual smashmouth form, was able to slow down the Predators and keep the game within a touchdown during the fourth quarter. With only half a minute left and the Predators leading the Rattlers 47-40, defensive back Virgil Gray came down with a key interception that left the Rattlers with the ball and 25 seconds on the clock.

Receiver Jason Geathers, who had not seen any snaps yet, entered the game with a 25-yard pass and on the next play scored a short touchdown that put the Rattlers within one point. With an inconsistent kicker, coach Kevin Guy didn’t hesitate to call for the two point conversion and Trandon Harvey added two points to his total when he came down with it.

With only eight seconds on the clock, the Predators didn’t have enough to work with, and on the final play of the game defensive back Riley Swanson intercepted the Hail Mary by Nick Hill and sealed the victory, a two-game lead in the NC west as well as a 4-0 start to the season.

The Arizona Rattlers are poised to take command of their division as they slither into Tulsa to take on the Talons.

In the last decade, the Rattlers have not started any season 2-0. This year, they are tied with the San Jose Sabercats for the early division lead and could have the opportunity they need to take it early.

The Talons have a two-game losing streak to start to their season and will be looking for their first victory. Their only problem is they may not have the team necessary to hold off the Rattlers' attack on any side of the ball.

The Talons have a team of inexperience that has only scored 87 points in the last two games. That's would be the lowest points total for a team in their division if the barnstormers didn’t have a humble 28 points to start their season.

However, they do lead their division in the most points allowed. Statistically speaking, the Talons will have their hands full against the Rattlers.

But we know statistics only speak six days out of the week during the season.

When the Rattlers take the field, they will have all the tools necessary to craft a blowout. With record-breaking Rod Windsor back to support quarterback Nick Davila and fellow receiver Trandon Harvey, the Rattlers should be all over the field, leaving the Talons in their wake.

The Rattlers defense leads their division by allowing only 83 points after two games and were the major force behind last week’s win against the Mustangs. With coach Kevin Guy masterminding the assault, the Talons may have to wait another week before getting that win they need.

The stars have aligned, and with the San Jose Sabercats facing the Chicago Rush, the division lead is up for grabs.

With the Rush only allowing 69 points after two games, they may do the job for the Rattlers and hand them an early lead. The Rattlers need to obtain that lead early, because if the Sabercats win, then the story will flip flop next week when the Rattlers face the Orlando Predators and the Sabercats should steamroll the Iowa Barnstormers.

The AFL betting Playoffs continue on Thursday, August 12th at 8pm ET with the National Conference Championship. This match-up pit’s the Milwaukee Iron (12-5, 10-7 ATS) taking their high-powered offense to the west coast to do battle with the Spokane Shock (14-3, 10-7 ATS). Both teams took care of business in their divisional round match-ups as the Iron eliminated the Chicago Rush 64-54 as 5.5-point favorites, while the Shock knocked out the Arizona Rattlers 57-49 as 6-point chalk.

Milwaukee’s QB Chris Greisen had a monster first round game completing all but six passes, while throwing for 312 yards to go with a TD/INT ratio of 9/1. The Iron also received great games from receivers Antoine Burns who accumulated nine receptions for 135 yards and four TD’s, while Damian Harrell finished the game with eight receptions good for 90 yards and five TD’s. The Iron’s defense picked up two sacks and one INT against Rush QB JJ Raterink. They also forced two fumbles recovering one of them. The Iron is now a perfect 5-0 SU and ATS in their L/5 games. The offense must continue to put pressure on the Shock if they’re to escape Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena with a ‘W’.

The Shock’s offense has been spearheaded by the consistency of QB Kyle Rowley all season long. He completed 68% of his passes and threw for 160 yards while recording a perfect TD/INT ratio of 7/0 last week against the Rattlers. WR Greg Orton was the beast of the receivers and led the team with an awesome 11 receptions (2 TDs) two touchdowns while WR Markee White led the Shock with 66 receiving yards while also hauling in a pair of touchdown catches. Travis Williams was a huge contributor defensively racking up six tackles and an INT. The Shock went 7-2 at home this season with one of those defeats coming in the teams AFL debut at home against tonight’s opponent.

The Shock did however avenge that defeat on June 26th when it went into the Bradley Center and scored the 62-48 outright win as three-point underdogs. The Iron split its four regular season road games both SU & ATS, but secured pointspread victories in each of their L/3 trips away from beer country.

Related posts:

1. AFL Playoffs Betting: Chicago Rush vs. Milwaukee Iron Outlook: August 7th 2010
2. AFL Betting: Arizona Rattlers vs. Spokane Shock Outlook: August 6th 2010
3. AFL Betting: Orlando Predators vs. Jacksonville Sharks Outlook: August 6th 2010

The 2010 AFL Playoff betting Divisional Round continues Friday Night August 6^th at 10:30 ET when the feisty Arizona Rattlers (10-6, 10-5-1 ATS) slither into the Spokane Veterans memorial Arena to take on the Spokane Shock (13-3, 9-7 ATS). Both clubs closed out their regular season campaigns on the wrong end of the scoreboard. The Rattlers felt the wrath of the Iowa Barnstormers 67-47 as 10.5-point calk, while the Shock lost to Jacksonville 64-49 as 6.5-point underdogs. The defeat ended their 11-game winning streak, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter because the Shock already earned the right to host every game including the ArenaBowl if indeed they qualify.

The Rattlers finished up the regular season with a 10-6 SU mark and made AFL bettors happy churning out a 10-5-1 ATS mark. They went 5-3 in their eight road games and put forth a sparkling 7-1 ATS record. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rattlers scored an average of 59.8 PPG and gained an average of 323.8 YPG, while the defense gave up 55.3 PPG and only allowed 275.1 YPG. QB Nick Davila was the leader of the Rattlers offensive attack throwing for 4,858 yards to go along with a 102/17 TD/INT ratio.

The Shock has been the best team in AFL all season (13-3, 9-7 ATS) long. After splitting their first four games of the season, HC Rob Keefe’s club rattled off 11 wins in a row before falling last week in Jacksonville. They were great at home winning six of their eight games overall while recording a 5-3 ATS mark. They are the best team coming out of the National Conference regular season, and start the playoffs as the overall #1 seed. QB Kyle Rowley lit up opponents all season compiling an astounding 4,475 yards through the air to go with an amazing TD/INT ratio of 102/11.

In the two previous AFL betting match-ups of these west division rivals this season, the Shock claimed a sweep. The first meeting was held in Arizona where the Shock came away with a 63-56 win as 1.5-point underdogs, and they took the second game in Spokane 37-36 as 7-point favorites; much to the dismay of their AFL betting backers.

The Shock currently sit as 7-point home favorites with a game ‘total’ set at 112 for tonight’s AFL betting battle.

Related posts:

1. AFL Betting: Orlando Predators vs. Jacksonville Sharks Outlook: August 6th 2010
2. Arena Football League Playoffs Power Poll – August 5th 2010
3. Week 12 Arena Football League Power Poll – June 16th 2010

Originally posted on Phoenix.Fanster.com

The Arizona Rattlers  have decided to make quite a splash for their first home game in almost two years and it immediately conjured up a quote from the Simpsons in my mind–although pretty much everything in life can be connected to a Simpsons quote.

Marge: Do you really think we can afford this?
Homer:  Nothing a month? Yeah, I think we can afford it.

The Valley’s Arena Football League franchise has decided to give away all 17,000 tickets to their home opener next Friday, April 16th at the US Airways Center.

The promotion marks the first time in history a team has given away every ticket to a sporting event (Unless you believe the Canadians claims that that is what the Phoenix Coyotes have been doing for years.)

The tickets will be available Saturday, April 10th from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Casino Arizona and 15 selected Napa Auto Parts stores on a first come, first serve basis. Fans can find all the locations distributing tickets at www.azrattlers.com .

When I heard the offer, I had to go check the team’s website to make sure that Danny White was still the team’s President, and that the former MLB owner, and “promoter,” Bill Veeck wasn’t running the team posthumously (that’s after death, not after being funny.)

The deal is great for fans longing for a fix of the AFL, after the league’s season long hiatus. The question is just how many of them are willing to take a chance on a team and a league that is trying to reemerge in an already crowded sports landscape.

Like Veeck once said, “you can draw more people with a losing team, plus bread and circuses, than with a losing team and a long, still silence.”

Luckily for the Rattlers, having a winning team has never been a problem, it’s the long, still silence of a work stoppage and bankruptcy that could prove their downfall.

At least the team is providing the bread and circuses for free, for the first week and like everyone knows, “if it’s free, I’ll take three”– or four since that’s the limit.

Here is my Week 5 Power Poll and Preview of games

This week there are some key games to watch out for in Week 5.

You have the final two undefeated teams playing this weekend and looking to stay perfect on the year.

The Philadelphia Soul (4-0), #1 in the Power Poll, hosts #5 Tampa Bay Storm (2-1), on Saturday, March 29 at 2p.m. ET (ESPN2 HD, ESPN360.com).

The Soul's offense did not look like it missed injured QB Tony Graziani at all last week against Los Angeles. Backup QB Matt D'Orazio stepped in and was 28 of 42 for 338 yards and eight touchdowns. 

The Dallas Desperados (4-0), #2, travels to the Nassau Coliseum to take on #15 New York Dragons (1-3) on Sunday, March 30 at 3 p.m. ET in a Eastern Division matchup.

Desperdos QB Chris Sanders was 20-of-28 for 276 yards and six touchdowns last week as the Desperados ended the SaberCats 15-game home winning streak 

The Desperados are looking to go 5-0 for the second consecutive season with a win. Dallas is 32-4 in their last 36 regular-season contests, including 12 in a row and six straight on the road. 

The Chicago Rush (3-1), #3, welcomes the Arizona Rattlers (2-2), #9, to the Allstate Arena on Friday, March 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET (AFL NET, FSN Arizona - Delay, at 9:30 p.m. PT, CSN Chicago - Delay, 3/29 at 4 p.m. CT, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130).

This game marks the first time Rush QB Sherdrick Bonner will face his former team of the past 14 seasons.

Bonner, left Arizona as the team's all-time leader in passing yards (40,979), attempts (5,268), completions (3,261) and touchdown passes (829).

Bonner also led the Rattlers to five ArenaBowl appearances and two championships in ArenaBowls VIII and XI.

This weeks other games include:

Saturday

#8 San Jose (2-2) at #16 Kansas City (0-3), 6:00 P.M. ET, (FSN Bay Area/NBC Local - Live, KSMO Local - Live)

#7 Orlando (2-2) at #13 Columbus (1-3), 7:00 P.M. ET, (AFL NET, WRDQ TV - Live, Columbus Sports Net - Live, CSS - Delay, 3/30 at 5:30 p.m. ET, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130).

#14 Georgia (1-3) at #17 Utah (0-4), 9:00 P.M. ET, (CSS - Live, KJZZ - Live)

Sunday

#10 Los Angeles (2-2) at #12 Grand Rapids (1-2), 2:00 P.M. ET

#4 New Orleans VooDoo (3-1) at #11 Colorado (1-2), 4:00 P.M. ET (FSN Rocky Mountain Local - Live).

Bye Week: #6 Cleveland (3-1)

Power Poll Rankings:

 1) Philadelphia Soul (4-0, LW: 1) Beat Los Angeles 71-34 on 3/20

 2) Dallas Desperados (4-0, LW: 2) Beat San Jose 59-56 on 3/22

 3) Chicago Rush (3-1, LW: 4) Beat Colorado 70-35 on 3/22

 4) New Orleans VooDoo (3-1, LW: 6) Beat Cleveland 63-24 on 3/21

 5) Tampa Bay Storm (2-1, LW: 8) BYE WEEK

 6) Cleveland Gladiators (3-1, LW: 3) Lost to New Orleans 24-63 on 3/21

 7) Orlando Predators (2-2. LW: 11) Beat Georgia 50-45 on 3/22

 8) San Jose SaberCats (2-2, LW: 5) Lost to Dallas 59-56 on 3/22

 9) Arizona Rattlers (2-2, LW: 13) Beat New York 62-33 on 3/21

10) Los Angeles Avengers (2-2, LW: 7) Lost to Philadelphia 71-34 on 3/20

11) Colorado Crush (1-2, LW: 9) Lost to Chicago 35-70 on 3/22

12) Grand Rapids Rampage (1-2, LW: 15) Beat Kansas City 92-52 on 3/24

13) Columbus Destroyers (1-3, LW: 17) Beat Utah 52-49 on 3/21

14) Georgia Force (1-3, LW: 10) Lost to Orlando 50-45 on 3/22

15) New York Dragons (1-3, LW: 12) Lost to Arizona 33-62 on 3/21

16) Kansas City Brigade (0-3, LW: 14) Lost to Grand Rapids 52-92 on 3/24

17) Utah Blaze (0-4, LW: 16) Lost to Columbus 49-52 on 3/21

WEEK 4 HONORS

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: Grand Rapids Rampage QB James MacPherson and Philadelphia Soul WR Chris Jackson

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER: New Orleans VooDoo DB Calvin Spears

IRONMAN PLAYER: Chicago Rush WR/LB DeJuan Alfonzo

The 6-feet 2-inches Liufau, who is 23 years old, finished third on the 2007 Rio Grande Dorados with 9.0 sacks for 40 yards and 12.5 tackles for loss in 15 games. He recovered three fumbles for 59 yards including one TD on a 49-yard return, the longest fumble return in team history. He also had three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.

Tolifili Liufau is entering his rookie season in the AFL with the Arizona Rattlers. He was signed out of college to play with the af2 Rio Grande Valley Dorados in 2007, where he played this past season. He played in 15 games, starting 6, and finished sixth on the team with 27 tackles and third with 9.5 sacks. 

He also finished third on the team with 14 tackles for loss, while forcing four fumbles and recovering three including a franchise record 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Where do you call home?   This Inglewood, California import still considers Hawaii to be his hometown.

What do you do when you are not playing football? Toli spends a lot of time with his family especially his brother Sione Liufau.

NFL Network or ESPN? ESPN  

Favorite Local Gym? 24-Hour Fitness

Favorite song of all time? I Will Be There For You by Reggae Singer, Beres Hammond, although he has I am A Rebel by Bob Marley

Who do you admire in the NFL at your position? Chris Jenkins – Panthers

Which coach made a lasting impression on you while growing? Coach Calvin Lee – High School Linebacker Coach, who now coaches at the University of Hawaii

If you weren't playing football, what would you be doing? Rugby 

Famous Family Member? Defensive Lineman, Stan Mataele who played in the  NFL is his uncle.

Best quote you have ever heard? Toli said that the best quote he has ever heard was from a  homeless man he gave ten dollars a few weeks ago. The man told him that “Giving to the poor enriches self”. 

Pet Peeve? Liars

Who is the person that you admire the most? Toli says he admires his mother most. 

Who is in your entourage?  His brother Sione Liufau, his friends Tua Reed, Vaka Manutauna, and his Fiancé

Alone on an island for 30 days with no food,what four things would you need to survive? A machete, unlimited amounts of underwear, his iPod loaded with Bob Marley and the Wailers.

I am sure there is an AFL player out there that you will like to play against, if so, who is he? Al Gatlin, Tony McClain and Quinton Staton

Kickboxing or yoga? Kickboxing.

What would be the title of a book that tells your life story? This Is My Life

What did you do in the off season? Got engaged and spent time with family

The last movie he has seen? Kickboxing by Van Damme

What is your biggest challenge as a defensive lineman? Staying low and maintaining good foot work.

Pre-game routine? Visualization

Who is your biggest fan? His fiancé, his mother, and sister

One word to describe training camp so far? Vicious