ArenaBowl XXVIII

Arena Bowl XXVIII
1234 Total
JAX 1419014 47
SJ 6212813 68
Date August 29, 2015
Arena Stockton Arena, Stockton, California
MVP

Reggie Gray, San Jose

Attendance 9,115
Winning coach Darren Arbet
Losing coach Les Moss
TV in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Ari Wolfe, Anthony Herron and Sherdrick Bonner

ArenaBowl XXVIII was the championship game of the 2015 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks and the National Conference Champion San Jose SaberCats. The game was played at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.

This was the San Jose SaberCats fourth ArenaBowl championship and fifth overall ArenaBowl appearance. It was the Jacksonville Sharks second ArenaBowl appearance, having won ArenaBowl XXIV in 2011.

The SaberCats finished the 2015 season with a combined 20-1 record, becoming the first team in league history to win twenty combined regular season and postseason games.[1]

Venue

The game was played at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California, as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had booked the Sabercats' usual home arena of SAP Center from August 20 to 30.[2]

Television

This was the second consecutive ArenaBowl televised on ESPN.

Background

Jacksonville Sharks

In 2015, the Sharks began the regular season with a 1–5 record, after having lost the first four games of the season. The Sharks then won their next five games and eventually finished the season with a 10-8 record, earning the third seed in the American Conference. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the Orlando Predators on the road in a 55–33 contest. They then won the conference finals on the road against the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 61–56.

2015 American Conference standings
Team Overall Points Records
W L T PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away
East Division
(1) Philadelphia Soul 15 3 0 .833 1060 823 6–0 11–3 9–0 6–3
(4) Cleveland Gladiators 8 10 0 .444 953 959 3–3 6–8 3–6 5–4
New Orleans VooDoo 3 14 1 .194 692 919 0–6 2–12 3–6 0–8–1
South Division
(2) Orlando Predators 12 6 0 .667 1023 951 5–1 10–4 7–2 5–4
(3) Jacksonville Sharks 10 8 0 .556 971 901 2–4 8–6 7–2 3–6
Tampa Bay Storm 7 11 0 .389 820 942 2–4 5–9 5–4 2–7
Week Date Opponent Result
1 March 28 at New Orleans L 50–51
2 April 3 Orlando L 54–55
3 April 12 at Philadelphia L 52–63
4 April 17 San Jose L 68–48
5 April 24 Las Vegas W 60–28
6 May 2 at Tampa Bay L 28–63
7 May 8 at Cleveland W 46–43
8 May 16 Philadelphia W 55–47
9 May 23 at New Orleans W 70–41
10 May 31 at Los Angeles W 41–35
11 June 6 Orlando W 66–51
12 June 12 at Tampa Bay W 56–63
13 Bye
14 June 27 Cleveland W 74–41
15 Bye
16 July 11 at Portland L 48–72
17 July 18 Philadelphia W 74–67
18 July 25 Tampa Bay W 63–16
19 August 1 at Orlando L 50–64
20 August 8 New Orleans W 36-33
August 15 at Orlando W 55–33
August 23 at Philadelphia W 61-56

San Jose SaberCats

In 2015, the SaberCats began the regular season with eleven straight wins. They clinched their second consecutive (and tenth overall) division championship when the Portland Thunder lost on June 7. The SaberCats' undefeated streak was snapped when they lost at home to the Los Angeles Kiss, who had a 1–9 record entering the game. The SaberCats won their last six games to finish with a franchise best record of 17–1, with home field advantage for the playoffs. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the Portland Thunder at home by a score of 55–28. They then won the conference finals at home against the Arizona Rattlers in a 70–67 contest.

2015 National Conference standings
Team Overall Points Records
W L T PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away
Pacific Division
(1) San Jose SaberCats 17 1 0 .944 1061 662 6–0 13–1 8–1 9–0
(3) Spokane Shock 7 11 0 .389 847 971 2–4 6–8 4–5 3–6
(4) Portland Thunder 5 13 0 .278 819 908 1–5 4–10 5–4 0–9
West Division
(2) Arizona Rattlers 14 4 0 .778 1003 825 5–1 10–4 8–1 6–3
Las Vegas Outlaws 5 12 1 .306 740 909 3–3 5–9 3–5–1 2–7
Los Angeles Kiss 4 14 0 .222 724 915 1–5 4–10 3–6 1–8
Week Date Opponent Result
1 March 30 at Las Vegas W 59–41
2 April 4 Los Angeles W 54–28
3 April 10 at Tampa Bay W 36–27
4 April 17 at Jacksonville W 68–48
5 April 25 Portland W 64–45
6 May 2 at Arizona W 56–34
7 May 9 Las Vegas W 61–28
8 May 16 at Spokane W 83–28
9 May 23 Cleveland W 70–58
10 May 30 at Portland W 61–42
11 June 5 Spokane W 55–26
12 June 13 Los Angeles L 42–48 (OT)
13 June 21 at Las Vegas W 63–21
14 June 26 at Spokane W 62–27
15 Bye
16 July 10 New Orleans W 56–35
17 July 18 Portland W 55–49 (OT)
18 Bye
19 July 31 Arizona W 56–29
20 August 8 at Los Angeles W 60–38
August 14 Portland W 55–28
August 22 Arizona W 70–67

Box score

1 2 34Total
Sharks (AC) 14 19 01447
SaberCats (NC) 6 21 281368

at Stockton Arena, Stockton, California

  • Date: August 29, 2015
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 9,115
  • Referee: ?
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP JAX SJ
1 11:08 JAX Hills 23-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good 7 0
1 8:42 SJ Gray 18-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick no good 7 6
1 4:01 JAX Jones 15-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good 14 6
2 13:45 SJ Gray 4-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good 14 13
2 10:58 JAX Hills 29-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good 20 13
2 3:44 SJ Armstrong 1-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good 20 20
2 1:54 JAX Hills 3-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good 27 20
2 0:41 SJ Meyer 6-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good 27 27
2 0:15 JAX Hills 8-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good 33 27
3 13:20 SJ Stephens 26-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good 33 34
3 6:29 SJ Interception returned 10 yards for touchdown by Hyland, Pertuit kick good 33 41
3 4:42 SJ Reynolds 9-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good 33 48
3 3:54 SJ Hyland 5-yard net recovery touchdown off kickoff, Pertuit kick good 33 55
4 10:54 SJ Meyer 17-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick no good 33 61
4 9:07 JAX Smith 24-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good 40 61
4 7:37 SJ Gray 6-yard touchdown reception from Stanley, Pertuit kick good 40 68
4 1:50 JAX Smith 9-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good 47 68
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 47 68

References

  1. Markowitz, Adam (August 29, 2015). "ArenaBowl XXVIII Records and Factoids". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  2. "Local sports digest: SaberCats' potential ArenaBowl clincher would be in Stockton". San Jose Mercury News. mercurynews.com. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
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