San Jose Wins the ArenaBowl

John Dutton passed for 236 yards and five touchdowns and the San Jose SaberCats won their first ArenaBowl, shutting out the Arizona Rattlers in the first three quarters of a 52-14 victory before 16,942 at the Compaq Center.

James Hundon caught three touchdown passes for the SaberCats, who capped a 16-1 season with one of the most remarkable achievements in Arena League history: 50 shutout minutes in a league where teams often score 50 points a game.

The SaberCats avenged their only defeat--a 59-52 loss at Arizona last month.

The Rattlers trailed, 24-0, at halftime and 38-0 after three quarters.

“I was enjoying seeing that zero up there,” San Jose Coach Darren Arbet said. “All year, we hadn’t put together a complete game. Today, I think we did it.”

Arizona avoided the second shutout loss in Arena football’s 16-year history when Maurice Bryant caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Sherdrick Bonner with 9:24 to play.

Arbet became the first black coach to win a pro football title. He guided the team to the best record in Arena history.