After Lengthy Wait, Jackson Sees Hard Work Pay Off

Chris Jackson saw it coming, it just took a little longer than he expected.

Jackson, an All-Arena league offensive specialist, is the only Avenger player remaining from the franchise’s expansion season of 2000.

The fourth-seeded Avengers earned a first-round playoff bye and play sixth-seeded Arizona in a quarterfinal game today at Staples Center.

It was another franchise milestone in a season full of them.

“I thought we would have got there quicker, but we’re in a perfect situation right now,” Jackson said. “We put in the work.”

Jackson has enjoyed extraordinary success against Arizona, which advanced to the quarterfinals with a 69-26 victory over Las Vegas last week.

Jackson has 58 receptions for 908 yards and 25 touchdowns in six games against the Rattlers. In an 82-76 overtime loss to Arizona at Staples Center on April 13, he caught six passes for 111 yards and three touchdowns. He had 10 receptions for 172 yards and six touchdowns in a 63-49 Avenger victory at Phoenix on May 4.

The Avengers need another big game from Jackson as they try to defeat Arizona at Staples Center for the first time. The Rattlers are 4-0 at Staples Center and lead the series, 6-2.

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Receiver-defensive back Kevin Ingram, who suffered a broken bone in his left leg in a game against Dallas on April 27, practiced last week and has been cleared by doctors to play.

“I’m ready to step back in and do what I was doing,” Ingram said.

“If they want to use me a little different, that’s fine too.”

Coach Ed Hodgkiss said he would wait until today to determine Ingram’s fitness.

“It’s tough on a skill guy to come back from that kind of injury because he has to be able to run 30 or 40 yards on every play,” Hodgkiss said.

Hodgkiss also said there was a possibility that center-nose guard Sean McNamara could play again if the Avengers advanced to the ArenaBowl on June 22. McNamara was the starter before breaking his right ankle April 13 against Arizona.

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Avenger owner Casey Wasserman and his wife Laura were busy during the Avengers’ bye week.

On May 21, Laura gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Emmet Lewis Wasserman.