ArenaBowl XXI

Infobox ArenaBowl
ab_name = XXI


visitor = Destroyers
home = SaberCats
visitor_total = 33
home_total = 55

visitor_qtr1 = 7
visitor_qtr2 = 7
visitor_qtr3 = 13
visitor_qtr4 = 6

home_qtr1 = 14
home_qtr2 = 13
home_qtr3 = 7
home_qtr4 = 21

date = July 29, 2007
arena = New Orleans Arena
city = New Orleans, Louisiana
attendance = 17,056
mvp = Mark Grieb, QB, San Jose | offplayerofgame = Mark Grieb, QB, San Jose
defplayerofgame = Omarr Smith, DB, San Jose
ironman = Phil Glover, FB/LB, San Jose
wincoach = Darren Arbet
losecoach = Doug Kay
network = ABC, ABC HD
announcers = Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
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ArenaBowl XXI was the 2007 championship game of the Arena Football League (AFL) and was played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, July 29 2007. [http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-27/1165132908243860.xml&coll=1] It was the third-ever neutral-site title game in AFL history and the first held in the state of Louisiana. ArenaBowl XXI pitted the Columbus Destroyers of the National Conference against the San Jose SaberCats of the American Conference.

Game summary

San Jose took the ball first after Columbus won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, and scored first on a touchdown run by Brian Johnson. Columbus then tied it at 7 on a touchdown run by Harold Wells. Each team threw for a touchdown to make it 14-14. Trestin George of San Jose then returned the kickoff following Columbus' second TD for a score, but A.J. Haglund missed the PAT making it 20-14. On the ensuing possession, San Jose's Clevan Thomas intercepted a pass, and San Jose capitalized on the turnover, extending the lead to 27-14. This would be the half time score.

The teams traded scores in the third quarter, and into the beginning of the 4th quarter until it was 41-27 San Jose, and an errant Matt Nagy pass fell into the arms of San Jose's Omarr Smith.

A Mark Grieb touchdown pass to James Roe made it 48-27 San Jose, and a garbage time touchdown by each team led to the final score of San Jose 55, Columbus 33. San Jose won their 3rd Arena Football League title, all since 2002.

Mark Grieb was the MVP, having thrown just 5 incomplete passes and no interceptions over the course of the game. He was awarded a Mitsubishi Spyder for his efforts. Coach Darren Arbet became the second coach to win 3 ArenaBowls (Tampa Bay's Tim Marcum has 7). The game was the first of three neutral-site ArenaBowls to sell out of tickets, doing so 6 weeks before the game in early June. An estimated 40% of the crowd was from outside of the New Orleans area, and led to an overall economic impact of around $25 million for the city of New Orleans.

External links

* [http://www.arenafan.com/statistics/?page=boxscore&gameid=3656 ArenaBowl XXI Boxscore on ArenaFan.com]
* [http://www.arenabowl.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=1139209&DB_OEM_ID=3550 ArenaBowl XXI News Article]