Avengers Remain Winless, but Jackson to Return
Help is on the way for the Avengers.
On Friday the team agreed to contract terms with Chris Jackson, their leading receiver last season. He is expected to sign a contract on Monday and be available for next Friday’s game at Florida.
Last year Jackson finished eighth among Arena league receivers with 91 receptions. His 1,325 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns ranked fifth in the league in both categories.
In the offseason, Jackson signed with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, joining their practice squad.
But wide receiver is the one position where the Avengers are doing okay.
In Friday’s 49-21 loss to the Arizona Rattlers (1-1) before 7,493 at Staples Center, the Avengers showed they have many other problems to fix.
In a league in which points come easily, the Avengers (0-3) went scoreless for more than 42 minutes between their first and second touchdowns. Their final game total was the lowest in the team’s brief history.
The Avengers were hurt by penalties, committing 12 for 88 yards.
On the bright side, the Avengers held an opponent under 50 points for the first time this season.
“We’ll just go back to work,” Avenger Coach Stan Brock said. “As long as it is not a lack of effort I’m okay with it. We don’t have anybody who quits. And if we do, I’ll find them and get rid of them.”
Rattler receiver/linebacker Hunkie Cooper, who beat the Avengers here last year on a 54-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, scored two touchdowns Friday--one on defense. Quarterback Chad May completed 13 of 20 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns.
The Avengers’ Erik Wilhelm, starting in place of the injured Todd Marinovich, scored one touchdown and passed for two while completing 17 of 39 passes for 178 yards. But he also threw three interceptions.
The first interception came on the third play of the game, when Cooper grabbed a tipped ball out of the air and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.
Los Angeles did score a touchdown on Wilhelm’s eight-yard pass playto J.J. Washington. But that was it for the Avenger highlights.
May threw three first-half touchdown passes, one each to Cooper, Muhammad Oliver and Maurice Bryant.