ArenaBowl XXVIII

Last updated

ArenaBowl XXVIII
DateAugust 29, 2015
Stadium Stockton Arena,
Stockton, California
MVP Reggie Gray, San Jose
Attendance9,115
Winning coach Darren Arbet
Losing coach Les Moss
TV in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Ari Wolfe, Anthony Herron and Sherdrick Bonner

ArenaBowl XXVIII was the championship game of the 2015 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks and the National Conference Champion San Jose SaberCats. The game was played at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.

Contents

This was the San Jose SaberCats' fourth ArenaBowl championship and fifth overall ArenaBowl appearance. It was the Jacksonville Sharks second ArenaBowl appearance, having won ArenaBowl XXIV in 2011.

The SaberCats finished the 2015 season with a combined 20-1 record, becoming the first team in league history to win twenty combined regular season and postseason games. [1]

Venue

The game was played at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California, as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had booked the SaberCats' usual home arena of SAP Center from August 20 to 30. [2]

Television

This was the second consecutive ArenaBowl televised on ESPN.

Background

Jacksonville Sharks

In 2015, the Sharks began the regular season with a 1–5 record, after having lost the first four games of the season. The Sharks then won their next five games and eventually finished the season with a 10-8 record, earning the third seed in the American Conference. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the Orlando Predators on the road in a 55–33 contest. They then won the conference finals on the road against the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 61–56.

TeamOverallPointsRecords
WLTPCTPFPADIVCONHomeAway
East Division
(1) Philadelphia Soul 1530.83310608236–011–39–06–3
(4) Cleveland Gladiators 8100.4449539593–36–83–65–4
New Orleans VooDoo 3141.1946929190–62–123–60–8–1
South Division
(2) Orlando Predators 1260.66710239515–110–47–25–4
(3) Jacksonville Sharks 1080.5569719012–48–67–23–6
Tampa Bay Storm 7110.3898209422–45–95–42–7
WeekDateOpponentResult
1March 28at New OrleansL 50–51
2April 3OrlandoL 54–55
3April 12at PhiladelphiaL 52–63
4April 17San JoseL 68–48
5April 24Las VegasW 60–28
6May 2at Tampa BayL 28–63
7May 8at ClevelandW 46–43
8May 16PhiladelphiaW 55–47
9May 23at New OrleansW 70–41
10May 31at Los AngelesW 41–35
11June 6OrlandoW 66–51
12June 12at Tampa BayL 56–63
13Bye
14June 27ClevelandW 74–41
15Bye
16July 11at PortlandL 48–72
17July 18PhiladelphiaW 74–67
18July 25Tampa BayW 63–16
19August 1at OrlandoL 50–64
20August 8New OrleansW 36-33
August 15at OrlandoW 55–33
August 23at PhiladelphiaW 61-56

San Jose SaberCats

In 2015, the SaberCats began the regular season with eleven straight wins. They clinched their second consecutive (and tenth overall) division championship when the Portland Thunder lost on June 7. The SaberCats' undefeated streak was snapped when they lost at home to the Los Angeles Kiss, who had a 1–9 record entering the game. The SaberCats won their last six games to finish with a franchise-best record of 17–1, with home-field advantage for the playoffs. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the Portland Thunder at home by a score of 55–28. They then won the conference finals at home against the Arizona Rattlers in a 70–67 contest.

TeamOverallPointsRecords
WLTPCTPFPADIVCONHomeAway
Pacific Division
(1) San Jose SaberCats 1710.94410616626–013–18–19–0
(3) Spokane Shock 7110.3898479712–46–84–53–6
(4) Portland Thunder 5130.2788199081–54–105–40–9
West Division
(2) Arizona Rattlers 1440.77810038255–110–48–16–3
Las Vegas Outlaws 5121.3067409093–35–93–5–12–7
Los Angeles Kiss 4140.2227249151–54–103–61–8
WeekDateOpponentResult
1March 30at Las VegasW 59–41
2April 4Los AngelesW 54–28
3April 10at Tampa BayW 36–27
4April 17at JacksonvilleW 68–48
5April 25PortlandW 64–45
6May 2at ArizonaW 56–34
7May 9Las VegasW 61–28
8May 16at SpokaneW 83–28
9May 23ClevelandW 70–58
10May 30at PortlandW 61–42
11June 5SpokaneW 55–26
12June 13Los AngelesL 42–48 (OT)
13June 21at Las VegasW 63–21
14June 26at SpokaneW 62–27
15Bye
16July 10New OrleansW 56–35
17July 18PortlandW 55–49 (OT)
18Bye
19July 31ArizonaW 56–29
20August 8at Los AngelesW 60–38
August 14PortlandW 55–28
August 22ArizonaW 70–67

Box score

Quarter1234Total
Sharks (AC)141901447
SaberCats (NC)621281368

at Stockton Arena, Stockton, California

  • Date: August 29, 2015
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 9,115
  • Referee: Dave Cutala
Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP JAXSJ
111:086483:52JAX Hills 23-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good70
18:423391:49SJ Gray 18-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick no good76
14:015453:58JAX Jones 15-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good146
213:457454:35SJGray 4-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good1413
210:583362:04JAXHills 29-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good2013
23:449456:30SJ Armstrong 1-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good2020
21:54281:09JAXHills 3-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good2720
20:41360:33SJMeyer 6-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good2727
20:155470:26JAXHills 8-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good3327
313:203451:40SJ Stephens 26-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good3334
36:29SJInterception returned 10 yards for touchdown by Hyland, Pertuit kick good3341
34:42282:15SJ Reynolds 9-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good3348
33:54SJHyland 5-yard net recovery touchdown off kickoff, Pertuit kick good3355
410:545453:13SJMeyer 17-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick no good3361
49:072451:04JAX Smith 24-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good4061
47:371110:59SJGray 6-yard touchdown reception from Stanley, Pertuit kick good4068
41:508454:41JAXSmith 9-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good4768
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.4768

Source: [3]

References

  1. Markowitz, Adam (August 29, 2015). "ArenaBowl XXVIII Records and Factoids". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  2. "Local sports digest: SaberCats' potential ArenaBowl clincher would be in Stockton". San Jose Mercury News. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  3. "Jacksonville Sharks vs San Jose SaberCats (Aug 29, 2015)". www.afldigital.com. Arena Football League. Retrieved September 15, 2017.