ArenaBowl VIII


ArenaBowl VIII was the Arena Football League's eighth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #3 Arizona Rattlers of the American Conference against the #1 Orlando Predators of the National Conference. The Rattlers were making their first ArenaBowl appearance in their three-year history, while the Predators were in their second ArenaBowl in their four years in the league.
Arena Bowl VIII was the first to use a roman numeral in its name ; all previous games used a shortened version of the year in which it was played.

Game summary

In the first quarter, Orlando struck first with Ben Bennett completing a 5-yard TD pass to Alex Shell, while Arizona responded with Sherdrick Bonner completing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman. The Predators wrapped up the first quarter with Jorge Cimadevilla making a 24-yard Field Goal.
In the second quarter, the Rattlers took the lead with Bonner completing a 6-yard TD pass to Calvin "Shakes" Schexnayder, but the Predators retook the lead with Bennett and Shell hooking up again on a 42-yard touchdown pass. Arizona regained the lead before halftime with Luis Zendejas kicking two field goals, a 23-yarder and a 40-yarder.
In the third quarter, the Rattlers increased its lead with Bonner's 2-yard touchdown pass to Milton Vaughn; Orlando responded with Bennett's 38-yard touchdown pass to Herkie Walls.
In the fourth quarter, Arizona added on to its lead with Zendejas kicking a 21-yard field goal, yet the Predators retook the lead with WR-DB Barry Wagner's 4-yard touchdown run. The Rattlers regained the lead with Bonner and Schexnayder hooking up again on a 24-yard touchdown pass, but the following two-point conversion failed. In the final seconds, Bennett threw a deep ball to try to get a touchdown in order to take the lead for good, but it ended up incomplete.
With the win, the Arizona Rattlers won their very first ArenaBowl in franchise history.

Scoring summary

1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter