Avengers Swing Into Action

The Los Angeles Avengers make their Arena Football League debut tonight in an exhibition game against the Arizona Rattlers at Phoenix.

The Avengers have only had six days of practice, so Coach Stan Brock said he and his staff will keep things simple.

“We haven’t put a lot of plays in yet,” said Brock, who put the team through a light Sunday practice at Staples Center before hitting the road for Arizona. “Our goal line offense and short yardage offense aren’t in. So it’s really going to be a glorified scrimmage.

“I’m anxious to see where we are. We know how we are against ourselves but we want to see how guys mesh on the field, do we have people in their right positions? We’re just gonna experiment.”

Brock said starting quarterback Scott Semptimphelter will “play a half or longer,” but he also expects to get quarterbacks Todd Marinovich and Justin Vedder some snaps.

Harry Leons, the other quarterback in camp, won’t play until the Avengers’ home exhibition game April 9.

“We had Harry in Portland with us last season and we know him real well,” said Brock, who coached the Portland Forest Dragons, now the Oklahoma Wranglers.

Semptimphelter, who played sparingly for Nashville last season, also said the Avengers need to measure themselves in game conditions.

“Game situations are about two steps faster than any practice tempo you can imagine,” he said. “We’re looking to get our timing down, get in sync on offense, and see who wants to make some plays. Some guys have played the Arena game before, some haven’t. Most of the guys in the first group hopefully will be veterans who have experience.”

The Rattlers were 10-4 last season and won the title in the Western Division, which now includes the Avengers--one of two league expansion teams this season.

Arizona was boosted by the return of quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, who signed a one-year contract last week.

Bonner, who holds most of the Arizona career passing records, left the team in 1998 to join the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta waived him last summer, and Bonner signed with the Arizona Cardinals last fall.

He was waived again, and picked up by San Diego. But when the Chargers wanted him to play in Europe this spring and summer, he chose to return to the Rattlers.