Erratic Avengers Pull Out Opener

In his first Arena Football League start, Avenger quarterback Brian Mann may have had more incomplete passes than completions, but his strong third quarter helped carry his team to a 40-31 victory over Arizona on Sunday.

Mann completed only 10 of 27 passes, but he threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Avengers to victory in their 2006 opener at Staples Center.

“It was definitely a rough start in the first half for our offense all around,” said Mann, who played the entire second half after splitting time with Ryan Van Dyke in the first. “But we figured that it may be like this because it was our first game and we had to shake off some rust.”

The Avengers, who won the Western Division with a 10-6 record last year, received a clutch performance from kicker Remy Hamilton, who made all four field-goal attempts, including a key 42-yarder late in the fourth quarter.

Hamilton’s counterpart, Gary Kral, did not fare as well, missing three of four.

“This game really came down to field goals,” Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “They missed theirs, and we made ours.”

Although Mann threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Rob Turner and led the Avengers to an early 10-7 lead, he struggled in completing four of 12 passes for 57 yards in the first half.

Van Dyke played most of the second quarter but did not perform much better, completing six of 10 passes for 56 yards with one interception.

The Rattlers were led by Shedrick Bonner, a 13-year arena league veteran and former standout at Cal State Northridge, who completed first-half touchdown passes to Shannon Culver and Randy Gatewood to give Arizona a 21-16 lead at halftime.

“Early in the season, the defense is always ahead of the offense,” Hodgkiss said. “That’s just the way it is.”

But in the second half, the Avenger defense got some help from Mann, who was sharper in leading the offense to touchdowns its first two possessions. Mann completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins, who did not have a catch in the first half, and his deep completion to Kevin Ingram set up a one-yard touchdown run by Josh Jeffries that gave the Avengers a 30-28 lead late in the third.

The Rattlers stayed close behind Clarence Lawson’s 57-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and took a brief 31-30 lead on Kral’s 21-yard field goal.

But Mann responded with one of his best passes, hooking up with Ingram for a 42-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter.

The Avengers, who gave up only 10 second-half points -- the lowest total in a half since 2003 -- dominated play in the fourth quarter. Bonner, knocked out of the game for several plays because of a shoulder injury, did not have enough time against the Avengers’ rush to lead a comeback.

“We have a lot of room for improvement,” said receiver Kareem Kelly, who caught four passes for 48 yards in his first arena league game. “But this was good enough for us to get a win. Now, we just have to step up and get it done the rest of the season.”