ArenaBowl XVI was played between the

San Jose 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 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

and

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League a ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

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 The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

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 African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "brea ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

to win a North American pro football championship.

Game summary

For much of the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

season, the San Jose SaberCats were entertaining the possibility of an undefeated year, which would have been and would still remain a first for the Arena Football League. The SaberCats' roster included superstars such as Bob McMillen,

Omarr Smith Omarr Ali Hasan Smith (born April 7, 1977) 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 ...

, Mark Grieb,

Barry Wagner Barry Wagner (born November 24, 1967) is a retired American football player in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators, with whom he won his first ArenaBowl Championship, and the San Jose SaberCats, with whom he won two championships ...

Sam Hernandez Sam Hernandez (born November 18, 1969) is a former American football defensive lineman in the Arena Football League. He is from San Jose, California, and played college football at Sonoma State University. Hernandez played for the Charlotte Rag ...

, and rookie sensation

Clevan Thomas Clevan Nathaniel Thomas (born April 6, 1979) 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 SaberCa ...

; of those, only Grieb is not currently enshrined in the

Arena Football League Hall of Fame An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

. They defeated their Western Division rivals, the Arizona Rattlers, 52–51 in the season opener, and continued their success en route to a 12–0 start. However, their rematch with the Rattlers in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

on July 12 cost them not only their undefeated record, but also starting quarterback Mark Grieb, who suffered a season-ending broken collarbone in the SaberCats' 59–52 loss. Though it would prove to be San Jose's only loss of the season, it set the stage for what figured to be an extremely competitive ArenaBowl championship game. That was not the case, however, as coach Arbet's San Jose squad took a 24-point lead by halftime, and extended it to 45–0 early in the fourth quarter before Arizona finally scored on a touchdown pass from

Sherdrick Bonner Sherdrick Deon "Sed" Bonner (born October 19, 1968) is a former American football quarterback who played fifteen seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL). High school years Bonner attended Azusa High School in Azusa, California and was a stu ...

Maurice Bryant Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

with 9:24 remaining in the contest. Each team scored one more touchdown, and the SaberCats emerged with a 52–14 blowout victory. Quarterback John Dutton, who replaced Grieb following the injury, continued to roll as he had throughout the playoffs, completing 20 of 26 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns (three to

James Hundon James Henry Hundon Jr (born April 9, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver who played four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He first enrolled at City College of San Francisco before transferring to ...

) and earning

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors. Wide receiver/defensive back

was named the

Ironman of the Game Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician * Mick Murphy ...

, as he had four receptions and also led a San Jose defense that forced three Rattler turnovers. San Jose won the Foster Trophy for the first time in franchise history, while the loss would prove to be the first of three consecutive ArenaBowl failures for Arizona, though they would be significantly more competitive in their future championship game appearances.

Scoring summary

1st Quarter * SJ – Hundon 28 pass from Dutton (Alcorn kick) 2nd Quarter * SJ – Hundon 2 pass from Dutton (Alcorn kick) * SJ – FG Alcorn 31 * SJ – Wagner 2 run (Alcorn kick) 3rd Quarter * SJ – Roe 12 pass from Dutton (Alcorn kick) * SJ – Reese 32 pass from Dutton (Alcorn kick) 4th Quarter * SJ – McMillen 1 run (Alcorn kick) * AZ – Bryant 30 pass from Bonner (Cooper pass from Bonner) * SJ – Hundon 2 pass from Dutton (Alcorn kick) * AZ – Kelly 3 run (pass failed)

External links

ArenaFan Box Score
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenabowl Xvi 016 2002 Arena Football League season Arizona Rattlers San Jose SaberCats 2002 in sports in California Sports competitions in San Jose, California 2002 in American television August 2002 sports events in the United States 21st century in San Jose, California Events in San Jose, California