Duo keeps producing for Arizona

Randy Gatewood and Sherdrick Bonner, both with more than a decade of wear-and-tear in the Arena Football League with the Arizona Rattlers, simply continue to get the job done. They may not be as fast or athletic as they were when they were leading the Danny White-coached Rattlers to numerous ArenaBowl appearances. But the dynamic duo is still among the best in the league.

They will try to end their former coach's season on Saturday when the Rattlers host the White-coached Utah Blaze at the US Airways Center beginning at 3 p.m.

This week, Gatewood was named to both the AFL's All-Arena Team and All-Ironman Team. The wide receiver/defensive back, who is in his 11th year in the AFL, won four "Ironman" weekly awards this season, including a monthly honor in March. The 2003 "Ironman of the Year" finished the season as the

Rattlers' top receiver with 89 catches for 1,175 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also led the team in tackles (64) and was tied for the lead in interceptions (3).

"The guy is a magician," said Utah WR/DB Orshawante Bryant, who was Gatewood's teammate for four seasons in Arizona. "He's not the fastest guy in the world. He's not the strongest guy, either. But for some reason he is able to find a way to get open."

Gatewood got very open — and Bonner was there to hit him with passes — when the Rattlers beat the Blaze on April 7 in the Delta Center. Gatewood tied an AFL record in that game with seven touchdown catches. He had 13 receptions total for 149 yards.

Bryant says he and Blaze teammate Siaha Burley, another ex-Rattler, were routinely taught about how to run effective routes in the AFL from Gatewood.

"(Gatewood) is a slower guy, but he's able to get open. And when I say he gets open, I don't mean he barely gets open. He gets open by 5 yards," said Bryant. "That's because he's crafty. He doesn't make the same route look the same as the one before."

Bonner, meanwhile, is a sure AFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback. He has had shoulder and knee problems the past couple of seasons and he may have lost a step from when he was a two-time All-Arena first-teamer, but he is still able to throw a football. The 14-year veteran is the winningest QB in league history, having led the Rattlers to 102 regular-season wins and 16 playoff victories for 118 wins total. This season he threw for a career-high 3,991 yards and 83 touchdowns — although he did throw a career-worst 16 interceptions as well.

Still, Bonner was named as the No. 8 best player in AFL history earlier this season when the league came out with a top-20 players list as part of the AFL's 20th anniversary celebration.