Game summary
ArenaBowl XVIII featured the league's two top-seeded teams and one of its more storied and bitter rivalries. The Rattlers were looking for redemption, having been demolished by San Jose 52–14 in ArenaBowl XVI and again falling short, 43–29 to the Tampa Bay Storm in the previous year's contest. Meanwhile, the SaberCats were seeking revenge after the Rattlers had swept them during the regular season, winning the Western Division championship and the top seed in the playoffs in the process.
The game did not disappoint, as the two teams' offenses matched each other blow-for-blow virtually all game. Perhaps the most stereotypically "arena football" of all ArenaBowls to date, neither defense proved capable of slowing the opposing offense, and the game appeared as though it would be decided by which team had the final possession.
The final play of the first half, however, proved to be decisive. Rattlers legend Hunkie Cooper had scored a rushing touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the half to tie the game at 28. However, the SaberCats were able to get one final offensive play in before time expired, and James Roe made the most of it by catching a short pass from Mark Grieb and breaking multiple tackles en route to a spectacular 38-yard touchdown – his fourth of the game – to end the half with San Jose leading 35–28, thus preventing the Rattlers from gaining the lead with their first possession of the second half.
The second half played out largely the same as the first, with the two teams again exchanging touchdowns virtually at will. With San Jose leading 63–56, Arizona quarterback Sherdrick Bonner connected with receiver Siaha Burley for a nine-yard score. Rattlers coach Danny White elected to attempt to break the string of ties by attempting a two-point conversion, but San Jose defender Omarr Smith broke up a Bonner pass intended for Hunkie Cooper, leaving the SaberCats in front, 63–62. White elected to attempt an onside kick to regain possession, but San Jose's Chuck Reed recovered the ball and quickly returned it seven yards for a touchdown. Scoring so soon could have proven costly for San Jose, as the Rattlers regained possession with 30 seconds left and trailing just 69–62, thanks to a missed extra point by San Jose kicker Dan Frantz.
Bonner and the Rattlers mounted one final drive, however, advancing to the San Jose five-yard line with two seconds on the clock. However, Bonner's final pass was incomplete, and the SaberCats emerged victorious, 69–62.
The game was the highest-scoring game in ArenaBowl history, with a combined 131 points being scored, shattering the five-year-old ArenaBowl XIII mark of 107. Roe caught eight passes for 119 yards and an ArenaBowl-record-tying five touchdowns to earn Ironman of the Game honors, while San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb completed 27 of 36 passes for 328 yards and eight scores to be named Offensive Player of the Game. Bonner threw seven touchdown passes – four to Siaha Burley and three to Orshawante Bryant to lead the Rattler offense, while Arizona defensive specialist Ricky Parker was named Defensive Player of the Game.
The game marked Danny White's last as head coach of the Rattlers, and indeed the end of an era for the franchise itself. Legendary Hunkie Cooper would see limited playing time early in the 2005 season before retiring, while White, the only coach to date in the 13-year history of the Rattlers organization, would not be retained by new owner Robert Sarver. Additionally, defensive coordinator Doug Plank would depart to become the head coach of the Georgia Force, who he would lead to ArenaBowl XIX the following year. Meanwhile, it was the second title in three years for coach Darren Arbet and the SaberCats.
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 ; and until 2015, they belonged to the AFL's National Conference. Over nineteen seasons of play, the SaberCats emerged as one of the Arena Football League's most successful franchises; at the conclusion of the 2015 season, the SaberCats boasted a lifetime regular season record of 198–98. Moreover, the SaberCats had won a total of four AFL Championships. Their lifetime postseason record stood at 19–12.
Aaron Garcia is a former professional American football quarterback who played 19 seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL), from 1995 to 2014. He played college football at Washington State University before transferring to California State University, Sacramento. After retiring from the AFL, Garcia was named the head coach of the Las Vegas Outlaws in September 2014, and was formally introduced as the head coach of the Outlaws on October 11, 2014. Garcia is married to Bryn Garcia and has five children, Gigi, Bella, Anthony, Christian, and Jaxon.
John Dutton is a former Arena Football League quarterback. He was drafted out of University of Nevada, Reno in the 6th round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. In 2005, he led the Crush to the ArenaBowl XIX title. In 2006, he was on the cover of the EA Sports first AFL video game, Arena Football, making him the first player to pose for the cover. He had been the backup quarterback for the San Jose SaberCats behind Mark Grieb. After Grieb's suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the year, Dutton quarterbacked the SaberCats to a 52–14 victory over the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI. He was named Offensive Player of the Game for his performance. In June 2009, Dutton was signed by the RiverCity Rage of the Indoor Football League. On February 12, 2010, it was announced that Dutton had been signed by the Cleveland Gladiators.
ArenaBowl XVII was played on June 22, 2003 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida before a sellout crowd of 20,496. The Tampa Bay Storm earned their AFL record fifth ArenaBowl title, by defeating the Arizona Rattlers, 43–29. The win was just months after the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, making Tampa Bay the first metropolitan area to simultaneously hold both NFL and AFL championships.
ArenaBowl XVI was played between the San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers in San Jose, California on August 18, 2002. A game with considerable expectations given the teams' intense rivalry and respective success that year, the SaberCats surprised everyone by posting the most dominant victory in ArenaBowl history, holding the Rattlers scoreless until the final period, and winning the game by the lopsided score of 52–14 to earn their first Arena Football League title in franchise history. Arizona's 14 points are the second-lowest in ArenaBowl history, just above the Chicago Bruisers' 13 points in ArenaBowl II. With the SaberCats' victory, Darren Arbet also became the first African-American head coach to win a North American pro football championship.
Mark Richard Grieb is a former Arena football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL). Grieb currently serves as the head coach of the Sacred Heart Prep Gators football team in Atherton, California. He was a 13-year veteran of the AFL, having played quarterback for the Anaheim Piranhas (1997) and San Jose SaberCats. Grieb also played in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores (1998) and in the XFL with the Las Vegas Outlaws (2001). Grieb is the second quarterback in AFL history to throw for over 47,000 yards, over 900 touchdowns, over 3,800 completions, and over 10,000 pass attempts. He officially retired on November 8, 2012. He played college football at University of California, Davis. Grieb passed for 48,080 yards between the Arena League, XFL and NFL Europe.
Siaha Burley is an American former arena football wide receiver and currently the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before returning to the team for 2022.
ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship of the 2006 season of the Arena Football League (AFL). For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. It pitted the National Conference Champions, the Orlando Predators, against the American Conference Champions, the Chicago Rush. The Chicago Rush won 69–61. This game was televised on AFL on NBC, and was the final game played under the AFL's contract with NBC.
ArenaBowl XXI was the 2007 championship game of the Arena Football League and was played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, July 29, 2007. It was the third-ever neutral site title game in league's history and the first held in the state of Louisiana. ArenaBowl XXI pitted the Columbus Destroyers of the National Conference against the San Jose SaberCats of the American Conference.
ArenaBowl VIII was the Arena Football League's eighth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #3 Arizona Rattlers (8–4) of the American Conference against the #1 Orlando Predators (11–1) of the National Conference. The Rattlers were making their first ArenaBowl appearance in their three-year history, while the Predators were in their second ArenaBowl in their four years in the league.
ArenaBowl XI was the Arena Football League's eleventh ArenaBowl. The game featured two American Conference teams, the #2 Iowa Barnstormers (11–3) against the #1 Arizona Rattlers (12–2). Iowa was coming from losing ArenaBowl X to the Tampa Bay Storm and were still looking for their first championship title, while Arizona was making its second appearance after winning ArenaBowl VIII against the Orlando Predators three seasons ago. Now, they were trying to acquire their second league title.
The 2007 Chicago Rush season was the seventh season for the franchise. They looked to win the ArenaBowl again after winning it in 2006 with a 7–9 record. They won the American Football Conference Central Division with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #2 playoff seed in the conference, losing in the conference championship to the San Jose SaberCats.
The 2007 Los Angeles Avengers season was the eighth season for the franchise. The Avengers began their season, trying to improve on their 5–11 record from 2006. Their 9–7 record allowed them to clinch their first playoff spot since they won the division in 2005. After defeating the Utah Blaze 64–42, they lost 52–20 to the Chicago Rush in the divisional round. This was the final playoff appearance for the Avengers.
ArenaBowl XXII was played on July 27, 2008 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the 22nd and final championship game in the history of the original Arena Football League. This was the fourth neutral site ArenaBowl in AFL history and the second ArenaBowl in the state of Louisiana. It was the last ArenaBowl before the AFL's economic suspension, until 2010 when the AFL was reformed, continuing on with ArenaBowl XXIII.
Omarr Ali Hasan Smith is a former American football defensive back who was most recently the head coach of the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played professionally for the San Jose SaberCats of the AFL, and played college football at San Jose State.
Marquis Floyd is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Tennessee Valley Vipers, Rio Grande Valley Dorados, San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers in the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Tennessee Valley Vipers as a street free agent in 2004. He played college football at West Georgia.
Clevan Nathaniel Thomas is a former American football cornerback. Along with Kenny McEntyre, he is regarded as one of the top defensive backs in Arena Football history. He spent ten of his seasons in the AFL with the SaberCats; over this span, he won four ArenaBowl championships and three Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards. In 2012, Thomas was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
Nick Davila is an arena football quarterback who is currently a free agent. A three-time AFL champion, and three-time MVP, he also played for the Arizona Rattlers from 2010 to 2016. Davila is of Mexican American descent. He is nicknamed the "Latin Laser". In 2017, he was the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach for the Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL), who went on to win the 2017 United Bowl.
David Hyland is an arena football defensive back who is currently a free agent.
Darius Reynolds is an American football wide receiver who is currently a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He first enrolled at Reedley College before transferring to Iowa State University. He attended C. D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. Reynolds has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers, Iowa BarnstormersSan Jose SaberCats and Philadelphia Soul
