Making their mark in the Arena League
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
If you're keeping up with the Arena Football League (AFL) you're seeing a lot of familiar players with black college roots.
Forty-two players from black colleges are
on rosters of the 16 teams that make up the popular
AFL including many that had outstanding collegiate
careers.
In fact, a trio of former black college standouts were at the center of a first round upset as the league's 12-team playoffs began this past weekend.
Former Tennessee State all-American quarterback Leon Murray sparked the Georgia Force to a 49-45 win over the Dallas Desperados in Saturday's first game in the AFL's Wild Card weekend. Murray, who led Tennessee State to two Ohio Valley Conference championships and a No. 1 ranking in the final regular season NCAA Div. I-AA poll in 1999, completed 26 of 41 passes for 246 yards and five touchdowns in the win, Georgia's first-ever playoff win in just its second year of existence. Murray, in his rookie AFL season after brief stints with three NFL teams, also rushed for a score leading the Force, the 12th and last ranked team in the playoffs, over Dallas, the fifth seed.
Murray's main target in the game was former TSU teammate Jarrick Hillery who hauled in nine receptions for 109 yards and three TDs. Hillery also plays defensive back as a two-way player for the Force and his two tackles and a forced fumble on defense along with 59 return yards helped him earn the game's MVP award and the AFL's Ironman of the Week honor. It was the second time this season Hillery has won an AFL weekly honor.
Murray's two other touchdown passes went to another former black college player, Tyrone Jones, now an offensive specialist for the Force, who totalled seven receptions for 57 yards. The trio was responsible for 304 of the 396 total yards the Force gained in the game.
Former Alabama A&M standout Barry Wagner of the San Jose SaberCats and former North Carolina A&T defensive back Dwaine Carpenter of the Buffalo Destroyers were the players from black colleges named to the league's All-Arena team.
Wagner, the most senior of the black college players in his 12th season in the league and one of the greatest players in the 17-year history of the league, was named to the first team for the eighth time. Wagner, who plays wide receiver and defensive back in the AFL's two-way scheme, has won the league's Ironman of the Year award six times, was Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 and was twice selected as AFL Most Valuable Player.
Wagner (6-2, 218) entered the season as the AFL's career leader in scoring (2,160), touchdowns (355), rushing touchdowns (89), receiving yards (11,854) and tackles (551.5) and was second in career receptions (842), touchdown receptions (251) and interceptions (40) and is the first player in league history to have 700 catches and 10,000 receiving yards in a career. He has played in five ArenaBowls (AFL Championship Game) capturing game Ironman honors three times (1994, 95, 98) and winning championships with the 1998 Orlando Predators and the 2002 SaberCats.
His numbers this year were 51 receptions for 508 yards and five TDs while leading the league with 18 rushing touchdowns.
Carpenter (6-2, 215) , a second team selection in just his second season, led the league's second ranked defense with 26 passes defended, eight interceptions and 84 tackles. Carpenter broke several Destroyers team records this season. He set the record for career tackles (148), interceptions in a season (8), interceptions in a career (11), pass breakups in a season (18), pass breakups in a career (29), passes defended in a season (26) and passed defended in a career (40).
SaberCats' receiver/linebacker James Roe, formerly of Norfolk State, and former Kentucky State running back Chris Avery, now a running back/linebacker for the Grand Rapids Rampage, were both selected to the League's All-Ironman Team.
Roe (6-2, 200), who led the top-ranked SaberCats with a team record 115 receptions for 1,440 yards and 31 touchdowns, also excelled on the defensive side of the ball while playing all 16 games. Roe totaled 16.5 tackles, returned one of his three interceptions for a touchdown and scored on a fumble recovery.
Avery (6-0, 238) set the Rampage single-season record with 166 yards rushing this season, a total that ranked fifth in the AFL. The powerful runner compiled his record-breaking numbers on just 35 carries, resulting in a team-record 4.74 yard rushing average. Avery's finest performance came against the Dallas Desperados (3/16) when he posted 71 yards rushing, including a record 40-yard scoring run. The third-year player also was a defensive force from his linebacker position, recording 26.5 tackles, ten quarterback hurries, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Former South Carolina State star wide receiver Freddie Solomon, now a Tampa Bay Storm offensive specialist, also had a great season grabbing 106 receptions for 1,553 yards and 28 touchdowns.
A look at rosters of AFL teams shows that North Carolina A&T has five former players in the league, the most amongst black colleges. Florida A&M and Howard are next with four while Grambling State, North Carolina Central, Tennessee State and Southern have three.
Below is a breakdown of black college players on AFL rosters. (ArenaBowl XVII is June 22 on NBC).
| ARIZONA RATTLERS (0) | ||||
| BUFFALO DESTROYERS (4) | ||||
| 10 | Bowden, James | WR/DB | N. Carolina A&T | 6 |
| 21 | Carpenter, Dwaine | DS | N. Carolina A&T | R |
| 90 | Demary, Silas | OL/DL | Virginia St. | 1 |
| 88 | White, Jose | OL/DL | Howard | R |
| CAROLINA COBRAS (4) | ||||
| 4 | Garman, Jamaal | WR/LB | Fort Valley State | 1 |
| 33 | Bratton, Jason | FB/LB | Grambling | 5 |
| 5 | Crutchfield, Buddy | WR/DB | N. Carolina Central | R |
| 11 | Jones, Adrian | DS | N. Carolina Central | R |
| CHICAGO RUSH (1) | ||||
| 15 | Taylor, Marvin | WR/DB | Florida A&M | 1 |
| COLORADO CRUSH (0) | ||||
| DALLAS DESPERADOS (3) | ||||
| 18 | Shelley, Jason | WR/DB | Central St. (OH) | R |
| 10 | Tolbert, Ty | WR/DB | Hampton | R |
| North, Ramondo | OS | N. Carolina A&T | R | |
| DETROIT FURY (1) | ||||
| 33 | Grant, Rupert | FB/LB | Howard | |
| GEORGIA FORCE (5) | ||||
| 1 | Hillery, Jarrick | WR/DB | Tennessee State | 3 |
| 6 | Jones, Tyronne | OS | Grambling | 5 |
| 12 | Murray, Leon | QB | Tennessee State | R |
| 32 | Dorsey, Tommy | FB/LB | N. Carolina Central | 5 |
| 2 | Green, Cliff | DS | Tennessee State | 4 |
| GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE (6) | ||||
| 7 | Hodge, Damon | WR/LB | Alabama State | R |
| 25 | Brown, DeAuntae | DS | Central State | 1 |
| 34 | Avery, Chris | RB/LB | Kentucky State | 2 |
| 36 | Ryan, Chris | FB/LB | Clark Atlanta | 3 |
| 50 | Johnson, Madison | OL/DL | Tuskegee | 4 |
| 99 | Reese, Albert | OL/DL | Grambling | R |
| INDIANA FEVER (4) | ||||
| 2 | Blackwell, Terrance | WR/DB | Southern | R |
| 33 | Thompson, LeRoy | FB/LB | Delaware State | 7 |
| 91 | Hunter, Hugh | OL/DL | Hampton | 5 |
| 10 | Phillips, Damian | QB | N.Carolina A&T | R |
| LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (0) | ||||
| LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (0) | ||||
| NEW YORK DRAGONS (1) | ||||
| 98 | Bell, Nate | OL/DL | Southern | |
| ORLANDO PREDATORS (5) | ||||
| 99 | Lee, Reggie | OL/DL | Florida A&M | |
| 10 | Maynor, Connell | QB | N. Carolina A&T | |
| 98 | Miller, Doug | OL/DL | Howard | |
| 69 | Ray, Fred | OL/DL | Howard | |
| 2 | Stanley, Antonio | OS | Bethune-Cookman | |
| SAN JOSE SABERCATS (2) | ||||
| 2 | Wagner, Barry | WR/DB | Alabama A&M | 11 |
| 9 | James Roe | WR/LB | Norfolk State | 3 |
| TAMPA BAY STORM (6) | ||||
| 65 | Certain, Ernest | OL/DL | Florida A&M | 1 |
| 43 | Conner, Darion | FB/LB | Jackson St. | 4 |
| 1 | Kinney, Kelvin | OL/DL | Virginia St. | 3 |
| 81 | Solomon, Freddie | OS | S.Carolina St. | 1 |
| 21 | Williams, John | DS | Southern | 1 |
| 50 | Williams, Rod | OL/DL | Florida A&M | 4 |
42 black college players
BY SCHOOL
NC A&T 5 - Florida A&M, Howard 4 - Grambling, NC Central, Southern, Tennessee State 3 - Central State, Hampton, Virginia State 2 - Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Clark Atlanta, Delaware State, Fort Valley State, Jackson State, Kentucky State, Norfolk State, S. Carolina State, Tuskegee 1
BY CONFERENCE
MEAC 19, SWAC 9, CIAA 5, SIAC 4, IND. 5
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