Nine (9) former af2 players and four (4) coaches to be showcased on Monday night’s ESPN2 live HD broadcast

 CHICAGO Airlines Center on at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, will provide a national showcase for a number of notable arenafootball2 (af2) alumni on bothsides.

The Crush (1-0, No. 8 in this week’s AFLWA rankings) feature two players on their roster with af2 experience. The athlete to focus on among them is FB/LB Pioneers (2002-04) before breaking into the AFL with the Nashville Kats in 2005. The former East Stroudsburg standout played in four games with Nashville before finishing the season with the Orlando Predators. Nagle was a key contributor for the Predators for the past two years (2006-07) before signing with the Crush in the offseason. The four-year League veteran still owns Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team records for career rushing yards (425) and career rushing TDs (30). The Crush coaching staff has a little af2 flavor as well with Offensive Coordinator  with Colorado and his first as offensive coordinator. In 2007 he served as the team’s quarterbacks coach. He came to the Crush after a season serving as quarterbacks coach for the Nashville Kats in 2006. Boden played two seasons in the af2, first with New Haven in 2002 and then with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2003. His best season came with the Pioneers in 2003 as he started all 16 games while also serving as the team’s offensive coordinator. That year Boden threw for 3,614 yards and 67 touchdowns.
The Desperados (2-0, No. 1 in this week’s AFLWA rankings) will take the field with seven players with af2 experience, most notable among them being WR/DB Pensacola Barracudas, capped off his best professional season in 2007 by being named the AFL’s Ironman of the Year.
His impressive campaign a year ago included 46 total touchdowns (2 rush, 40 rec, 4 ret) during regular season play, combined with 59.5 tackles on defense, to help guide the Desperados (15-1) to the League’s best overall record. This year Pettis continues to be a huge contributor to the Dallas attack. He’s currently tied for the team lead in scoring (30 points) and leads the squad in all-purpose yards (210), kick return yards (80) and missed field goal return yards (37). The four-time All-Ironman selection made his AFL debut with Dallas in 2003 and never looked back. Pettis, a former standout at Midwestern State, put together one of the finest first seasons in League history, earning All-Rookie and Second Team All-Arena honors. He finished the season with a rookie-club record 1,562 all-purpose yards - 798 receiving, 640 on kickoff returns, 93 on missed field goal returns, 22 on interception returns and nine rushing - while finishing fourth on the teamwith 34.5 tackles.

Another player to keep an eye on is QB

Dallas also boasts three assistant coaches with af2 experience on their resumes, Defensive Coordinator/Special Teams Coach

CHRIS SANDERS, who played in the af2 in 2002 (Roanoke Steam) and 2004 (Manchester Wolves). Sanders will get his second start under center for the Desperados on Monday after CLINT DOLEZEL was placed on injured reserve after Week 1. The five-year AFL veteran looked impressive in his Desperados debut last week with 268 yards passing and five touchdowns as he guided Dallas to a 46-36 victory over the Columbus Destroyers. During his one full season of af2 action in 2004 with Manchester, Sanders threw for a team-record 4,184 yards (2nd in af2) with 66 touchdown passes and 18 rushing scores (2nd in af2).JAMES FULLER (Head Coach, Bakersfield 2002-03), OL/DL/FB/LB Coach and Director of Player Programs DEATRICH WISE (Head Coach, Norfolk 2000-2001) and Assistant Offensive Line/Fullbacks Coach STEVE CRISWELL (Assistant Coach, Richmond 2001-03, Cape Fear 2004). Fuller led the Blitz to a Western Division title in 2002 (17-16-1 career record, including playoffs) while Wise was the inaugural head coach (11-11 career record, including playoffs) for the Nighthawks.

A full list of the nine af2 alumni playing in Monday’s contest between Colorado and Dallas is located below:

Colorado DallasBrett Huyser – Green Bay 2006 DaShane Dennis – Richmond 2003
Kevin Nagle – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2002-04 Terrance Dotsy – Quad City 2004
Jermaine Jones – Florida 2001
Bobby Keyes – Birmingham 2006
Will Pettis – Pensacola 2002
Chris Sanders – Roanoke 2002, Manchester 2004
Josh White – Hawaiian 2002-03MIKE DAILEY can become only the fourth coach in AFL history to win 100 regular-season games with a win. Dallas has won 30-of-34 regular-season contests, including 13 consecutive at home. The Desperados can become the third team in AFL history to win 14 consecutive home games with the victory, joining Orlando (1992-95) and San Jose (2001-03, 06-current). 

Colorado Dallas 

Brett Huyser – Green Bay 2006 DaShane Dennis – Richmond 2003
Kevin Nagle – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2002-04 Terrance Dotsy – Quad City 2004
Jermaine Jones – Florida 2001
Bobby Keyes – Birmingham 2006
Will Pettis – Pensacola 2002
Chris Sanders – Roanoke 2002, Manchester 2004
Josh White – Hawaiian 2002-03

About af2

With its ninth season set to kick off on March 28 with a 29-team membership, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which begins its 22nd season on February 29. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.