Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer
As the final remaining member of the inaugural 2000 Avengers and one of the team's fan favorites, offensive specialist Chris Jackson was given the honor of being the last player introduced before Sunday afternoon's Arena Football League opener against the Las Vegas Gladiators.
Jackson, a fourth-year pro from Washington State, made the most of the moment, dancing first to the left, then to the right with the Staples Center spotlight on him. And once the game started, Jackson needed only 34 seconds before he could display his moves again in the end zone.
On the first play of the Avengers' season, Jackson beat Las Vegas' Dennison Robinson on a corner route and hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Graziani. The play set the tone for the Avengers' 60-48 victory in which Jackson nearly tied a team record with five touchdown catches.
``Obviously, it was a great start for us,'' Avengers coach Ed Hodgkiss said of Jackson's catch. ``Right away, we kind of sent a message.''
Jackson ended the first half with a third-down touchdown catch with four seconds left in the second quarter, and he raced to a 45-yard touchdown on the Avengers' first play after halftime. He finished one score away from tying his single-game team record set last season.
``I just go out there and do what the defense allows,'' Jackson said. ``They were in single coverage, and I got (Robinson) turned around a little bit. That left me wide open in the end zone.''
Graziani is in his second full season throwing to Jackson.
``It's kind of weird,'' Graziani said. ``Right now, it's like I know exactly where he's going to be. ... When he runs great routes like that, it makes my job a lot easier.''
On a historic day for the Arena League, which made its NBC debut with four games in the afternoon, the Avengers scored on nine of their 11 possessions, never trailed and held on to win in front of an announced crowd of 14,827, a team record for the regular season.
Before the game, though, most of the Avengers had their attention on a television in their locker room, eager to see what the league's new Sunday afternoon national-television broadcasts were going to look like. The Avengers' game next Sunday against division rival San Jose will be televised by NBC (Channel 4).
``It felt like you were watching an NFL game,'' said Graziani, who finished 18 of 23 for 288 yards and seven touchdowns. ``This league has something special.''
But the Avengers had to withstand a final surge by the Gladiators - who moved from New Jersey to Nevada only 16 days before training camp started - to win the second home opener in franchise history.
The tense moments started with 1:26 left, when Jay McDonagh found Mike Horacek for a 5-yard touchdown. The Gladiators closed to 54-48 with the score but were called for being offsides on the ensuing onside kick. That gave the Avengers the ball on the Las Vegas 6-yard line, and Graziani scored on a 3-yard touchdown push to put away the game.
Afterward, Hodgkiss was quick to praise Sunday's performance. Because of the new NBC deal, the Arena League canceled its preseason and moved back the start of its regular season two months to the first weekend in February. The Avengers traveled to Dallas to scrimmage last week but had not played in a game situation.
``With no preseason games, I honestly had no idea what to expect,'' said Hodgkiss, whose offense easily exceeded the coach's 58-point target for most games.
On the other side, the Avengers debuted a revamped defense under new coordinator Doug Kay and started three rookies. Two of them, defensive specialists Damen Wheeler and Wasswa Serwanga, made interceptions. Wheeler also earned a measure of respect, as the Gladiators threw at him only once in the fourth quarter.
``I didn't eat anything all day,'' said Wheeler, a former Jacksonville Jaguars nickel back who came to the AFL after a stint two years ago in the XFL. ``I was so nervous. ... I'm just happy to be surrounded by so many good players.''
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Avengers offensive specialist Chris Jackson catches one of his five touchdowns during a 60-48 victory over Las Vegas at Staples Center on Sunday.
Edna T. Simpson/Daily News
