Kyle Rowley

Last updated
Kyle Rowley
Kyle Rowley 2.jpg
Rowley with the Spokane Shock in 2010
Personal information
Born: (1979-01-30) January 30, 1979 (age 45)
Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Warwick (RI) Bishop Hendricken
College: Brown
Position: Quarterback
Undrafted: 2001
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena statistics
Comp. / Att.:1,730 / 2,778
Passing yards:20,021
TD–INT:422–98
QB rating:107.29
Rushing TDs:28
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Kyle Rowley (born January 30, 1979) is an American former arena football quarterback. He also played in the former af2. He played college football at Brown.

Contents

Rowley was the first quarterback to win an AFL ArenaBowl and af2 ArenaCup Championship, with Nick Davila being the second. His personal career accolades include 2006 ArenaCup Player of the Game, 2008 af2 Offensive Player of the Year, and 2010 ArenaBowl XXIII Championship MVP. During his career he broke the all-time AFL Record for touchdown passes in a game (12 TDs vs. San Jose in 2011), broke the all-time record for touchdown passes in an AFL ArenaBowl (10 TDs vs Tampa Bay in 2010). Prior to his AFL career he was voted by af2 coaches and league officials in 2009 as one of the top ten signal callers in league history. He has led the AFL in passer rating and touchdowns, led the af2 in single season completion percentage and completions (2004), passer rating and touchdown/interception ratio (2006) touchdowns and touchdown passes (2008) and passing yards (2009). He also holds every Arkansas Twister and Columbus Wardog franchise passing records. He started his Arena Football career in 2003 and has played for numerous AFL and af2 teams, including the Charleston Swamp Foxes (2003), Columbus Wardogs (2004), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (2005), Manchester Wolves (2006, Philadelphia Soul (2007), Grand Rapids Rampage (2007), Arkansas Twisters (2008 & 2009), the Spokane Shock (2006 & 2010–2012) and the Orlando Predators.

College career

Rowley attended Brown University from 1997 to 2001 and was a standout in the Ivy League, leading the league in every statistical passing category in his first and only season as the starter. In his first home start he broke the school's single game passing record with a 474 yards performance and broke the school's single game total offense record with 485 yards. [1] He was part of one of only two Ivy League Championships in school history at the time (1999 Ivy League Champions) and recorded more varsity football wins while at Brown than any other player in school history till that time.

Professional career

Spokane Shock

In 2006, while the Spokane Shock were an expansion team in the af2, he was brought in mid-season and went undefeated as a starter (9–0). He helped lead the team to a 17–2 overall record on the season, and an ArenaCup National Championship victory. He was named the ArenaCup Offensive Player of the Game and led the league that season in touchdown/interception ratio (22/1) and passer rating (127).

Philadelphia Soul

After his ArenaCup championship, Rowley was picked up by the Philadelphia Soul in 2007 to begin his AFL career.

Grand Rapids Rampage

Later during the 2007 season he was traded to the Grand Rapids Rampage where he suffered a knee injury (ACL) in the final game of the season. [2]

Arkansas Twisters

He spent the next two seasons playing for the af2's Arkansas Twisters. In the 2008 season, his first season back from ACL surgery, he threw a league leading 98 Touchdowns and 125 passer rating before being selected as the Schutt Offensive Player of the Year by a vote of head coaches and press. [3]

Spokane Shock

With the return of the AFL in 2010 from bankruptcy in 2009, Rowley was picked up by the newest AFL franchise, the Spokane Shock, brought over from the disbanded af2, and proceeded to win yet another expansion year national championship for the franchise. Over the course of the 2010 season, Rowley tallied a league best 130 touchdowns, 5,159 passing yards, 444 completions, 123 passing touchdowns en route to leading the Shock to an ArenaBowl XXIII win and being named the ArenaBowl XXIII MVP. In the league's final game Rowley set the record for Arena Bowl touchdown passes (9) and Arena Bowl total touchdowns (10) eclipsing the previous mark by two.

Prior to 2010 Rowley had played limited time for the AFL's Philadelphia Soul, and the Grand Rapids Rampage in second half of the 2007 season. After a knee injury in the final game of 2007, a return to the af2 in 2008, and an AFL league collapse in 2009, he returned to a revamped AFL in 2010 with the Spokane Shock. He signed with the Pittsburgh Power for the 2012 season but never actually played for them. He was released due to the AFL player strike. [4]

Rowley returned to the Spokane Shock for the fourth game of its season. Spokane's fortunes changed in the next game when Rowley, playing in his first home game for Spokane in 2012, helped the Shock defeat the Milwaukee Mustangs 57-26. Rowley completed 20 of 26 for 214 yards and five touchdowns. And despite only playing in 15 of 18 games for the Shock in 2012, Rowley tallied 101 total touchdowns and in a crucial game verses San Jose, broke the all-time AFL record for passing touchdowns in a single game (12 touchdowns, which was tied later in the season by Tommy Grady). Before that no one in the 25-year history of the league had ever thrown 12 touchdowns in a single game.

Orlando Predators

Rowley signed with the Orlando Predators for the 2013 season. [5] Rowley appeared in five games for the Predators, ultimately being reassigned once the Predators made a trade for Aaron Garcia.

Jacksonville Sharks

Rowley was picked up two weeks later by the Jacksonville Sharks. [6]

Return to Orlando

On April 9, 2014, Rowley was traded with Tracy Belton to the Predators to complete a trade for Aaron Garcia.

Portland Thunder

On April 14, 2014, Rowley was traded to the winless Portland Thunder for wide receiver Jeffrey Solomon. The traded reunited Rowley with Thunder head coach, Matthew Sauk, who was the Shock offensive coordinator when Rowley lead the Shock to an ArenaBowl title. [7] Rowley proceeded to lead the winless Thunder to a 2014 playoff berth and a near upset of the defending champion Arizona Rattlers. Sauk was fired after the 2014 season. When the Thunder hired Mike Hohensee for 2015, Rowley once again lead the Thunder to an unlikely playoff berth out of the Western Conference. [8]

Albany Empire

On July 19, 2018, Rowley was assigned to the Albany Empire.

Columbus Destroyers

WEEK THIRTEEN: ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSIVE: Kyle Rowley | QB, Columbus Destroyers In what was his first Arena Football game since 2015, Columbus Destroyers QB, Kyle Rowley, earned the Week 13 Offensive Player of the Week honors. Rowley threw for 253 yards and five touchdowns in the Destroyers narrow 56-50 loss to the Valor to end the season. Rowley led the Destroyers to their second-most points scored this year (most, 54 on 6/7 @ A.C. Blackjacks).

His last appearance came during a playoff game with the Portland Thunder on 8/14/15. After his appearance with the Destroyers, Rowley is a nine-year veteran of the AFL.

AFL statistics

YearTeamPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsTDIntRtgAttYdsTD
2010 Spokane 37156665.54,47510211121.1435796
2011 Spokane 29445464.83,3227815112.3522367
2012 Spokane 38458865.34,3489623110.6026265
2013 Orlando 9318051.71,153181171.37510
2013 Jacksonville 9414863.597417888.6313364
2014 Jacksonville 41136.4381069.51000
2014 Portland 16828558.92,060399102.3823231
2015 Portland 32254659.03,651712195.5716145
Career1,7302,77862.320,02142298107.2914021528

Stats from ArenaFan: [9]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spokane Shock</span> Arena football team

The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bennett</span> American football player and coach (born 1962)

Allen Beverly "Ben" Bennett II is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Jacksonville Bulls, Chicago Bruisers, Dallas Texans, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, Orlando Predators, San Jose SaberCats and Portland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, and National Arena League (NAL). He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils, earning third team All-American honors in 1983.

Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Otterbein College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Meyer</span> American gridiron football player (born 1982)

Erik Meyer is a former professional American football quarterback and current coach. He is the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, a position he has held since 2024. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Eastern Washington. He was also a member of the Cologne Centurions, Seattle Seahawks. Oakland Raiders, Utah Blaze, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Spokane Shock, San Jose SaberCats and Washington Valor.

Kahlil Rafiq Carter, is an American former professional gridiron football player and coach.

The 2007 Spokane Shock season continued the team's Cinderella story from 2006, which saw the Shock go 17-2 and become the first expansion team in af2 history. Of course, the ultimate goal in 2007 was to make it back to the ArenaCup Championship Game.

The 2006 AF2 season was the seventh season of the AF2, the Arena Football League's minor league. It was preceded by 2005 and succeeded by 2007. The league champions were the Spokane Shock who capped off an impressive inaugural season with a win over the Green Bay Blizzard in ArenaCup VII.

Christopher J. Greisen is a former American football quarterback who played professionally the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys and current coach for West De Pere High School. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He also was a member of the Rhein Fire, Green Bay Blizzard, Dallas Desperados, Georgia Force, Florida Tuskers, Milwaukee Iron, and Virginia Destroyers. He played college football at Northwest Missouri State University.

Nick Hill is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach at his alma mater, Southern Illinois University. Hill was signed by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He then played professionally in the Arena Football League (AFL) and in the af2. He played college football at Southern Illinois.

Christopher Sanders is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for SMU and Chattanooga. He signed with the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) after going undrafted in the 2001 NFL Draft. He primarily played arena football.

Nick Davila is a former arena football quarterback. 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.

The 2010 Milwaukee Iron season was the second season for the franchise, and the first in the Arena Football League (AFL), coming from the AF2, which dissolved following the 2009 season. The team was coached by Bob Landsee and played their home games at Bradley Center. For the opening round of the playoffs, the Iron played at U.S. Cellular Arena. The Iron won the Midwest Division to qualify for the playoffs, and defeated the Chicago Rush in the conference semifinals, 64–54. Advancing to the National Conference Championship, their season ended after losing on the road to the top-seeded Spokane Shock, 57–60.

The 2010 Spokane Shock season was the fifth season for the franchise, and the first in the current incarnation of the Arena Football League, coming from the AF2, which dissolved following the 2009 season. The team is coached by Rob Keefe and played their home games at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl XXIII</span>

NAPA Auto Parts ArenaBowl XXIII was an arena football game between the National Conference champion, Spokane Shock and the American Conference champion, Tampa Bay Storm. The Spokane Shock won the game successfully defending ArenaCup X of the former af2. The game was played on August 20, 2010, and was held at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington, the first non-neutral site since 2004. The game was shown live on the NFL Network, as well as a tape delay on Eurosport 2. The corporate sponsor was NAPA Auto Parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl XXIV</span> Annual league championship game

ArenaBowl XXIV was the 24th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League (AFL). The American Conference champion, Jacksonville Sharks, defeated the National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, 73–70. It was played on August 12, 2011. The game was hosted at the site of the highest remaining seed throughout the playoffs, which was US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Rattlers.

Stephen "Steve" Wasil is a former Arena football quarterback who played for the Muskegon Thunder, Texas Copperheads, Albany Firebirds, Alabama Vipers, Kansas City Command and Tampa Bay Storm. He is currently the Offensive Coordinator at Albion College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Zbydniewski</span> American football player (born 1981)

Brian Zbydniewski is a quarterbacks coach and former professional American football quarterback. Zbydniewski played college football at Belhaven University. During his collegiate career, Zbydniewski set numerous single-game, season, and career passing records. Zbydniewski was inducted into Belhaven's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

Matthew Sauk is an arena football coach and former quarterback. He played college football at Utah State, was an af2 quarterback from 2001 to 2005, and an AFL quarterback from 2002 to 2008. He has been a football coach since 2008. After being the offensive coordinator for the Utah Blaze from 2011 to 2013, he became the Portland Thunder head coach in 2014. He was the head coach of the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2017 and the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvell Nelson</span> American football quarterback (born 1988)

Arvell Nelson is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He was signed by the Alabama Hammers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at University of Iowa, before transferring to Fort Scott Community College and Texas Southern University.

References

  1. ↑ "The Quarterback".
  2. ↑ "Kyle Rowley's Page - LaunchPad - INW". www.launchpadinw.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-06.
  3. ↑ "2008 Arenacup: Quick Hitters". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 21, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Veteran Quarterback Rowley Assigned to Pittsburgh". arenafootball.com. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
  5. ↑ Brendan Sonnone (January 8, 2013). "Chris Leak out of Predators' plans as AFL team adds QB". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sharks Add Quarterbacks Kyle Rowley, Lee Chapple". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Portland Thunder try to solidify QB spot with trade for Kyle Rowley". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  8. ↑ Stephen Alexander (March 24, 2015). "Thunder's Rowley eager to put passing game to the test". www.portlandtribune.com. Portland Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Kyle Rowley". arenafan.com. Retrieved August 11, 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Kyle Rowley at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.