IRVING, Texas — The Georgia Force captured the Southern Division title, the AFL’s best record (11-4) and has reached the National Conference Championship game this season. Those accomplishments have paid dividends during this year’s postseason awards series.

Georgia had four players named to the AFL All-Arena Team and two on the All-Rookie Team last week. Unfortunately, its latest accolade came at the expense of Desperados quarterback Clint Stoerner, who made a strong case to be recognized as the league’s top rookie this season.

Georgia offensive specialist Troy Bergeron was named the 2005 AFL Rookie of the Year Wednesday, edging Stoerner in a race that included Georgia WR/LB Derek Lee and New York defensive specialist Billy Parker, who had an interception in both of the Dragons’ wins over the Desperados this season.

Fan voting on arenafootball.com during the last week of the regular season showed Bergeron in the lead, followed by Stoerner, Parker, Lee and Orlando Predators offensive specialist Jimmy Fryzel. Fan voting ended May 23 and counts 25 percent towards the final tally. AFL head coaches and the Arena Football League Writers Association (AFLWA) make up the other 75 percent.

After spending last season with the Columbus Wardogs of af2, Bergeron ranked fifth in the AFL in all-purpose yardage (2,550). He and Lee were dubbed Thunder and Lightning” as key components in Georgia’s seventh-ranked pass offense (264.8 avg.).

Bergeron appeared in all 16 games, finishing with 105 catches for a rookie record 1,372 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was named Offensive Player of the Week in the Divisional Round after his eight-catch, four-touchdown performance lifted the Force to a 62-46 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm (10-6) last Sunday. The Force will play host to Orlando (10-6) in the National Conference Championship Game on Saturday (2 p.m. CDT).

Stoerner became a top candidate for the award after breaking four AFL rookie passing records for yards (3,918), touchdowns (77), completions (322) and attempts (506) set by former Desperados quarterback Jim Kubiak. The Desperados (8-7-1) finished with a two-win improvement over their 6-10 finish in 2004, though the team faltered down the stretch and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.

A former standout at the University of Arkansas, Stoerner spent three years (2000-02) as a backup for the Dallas Cowboys followed by stints in NFL Europe and on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad. He signed with the Desperados last October and made a smooth transition to the AFL’s smaller field dimensions, which dictate a different pace and timing.

“It was successful from the standpoint of learning and growing in the game,” Stoerner said of his rookie season. “I felt like I had a lot of guys that had been around the game a lot to learn from, so it was definitely a good experience that way.”

Bergeron, meanwhile, never played a down of college football before moving to the indoor game. He originally committed to Auburn out of high school but was released from his scholarship, and he left for af2 after being red-shirted his first season at Middle Tennessee State. At 21, he is the youngest player in the AFL.

Both players were named to the All-Rookie Team last week, which gives Stoerner a measure of credit for his successful first season. Other Desperados honored so far include WR/DB Will Pettis (All-Arena first team, All-Ironman Team) and FB/LB Duke Pettijohn (All-Ironman Team). Kicker Carlos Martinez and lineman Colston Weatherington also were nominated for individual awards at their respective positions.

Pettis and Pettijohn have been nominated for the U.S. Army Ironman of the Year award to be announced June 9. Pettis has the best chance to win the award, having been selected to two straight All-Ironman teams and finishing with 2,708 all-purpose yards, the second-most in the league.

IRVING, Texas — The No. 3 emblazoned across Desperados WR/DB Will Pettis’ jersey embodies his dedication to all three phases of arena football – offense, defense and special teams.

Pettis was the only AFL player that gained at least 3,000 all-purpose yards last season. This year he ranked among the top 30 in three offensive categories and three defensive categories.

But for the second straight season Pettis won’t be recognized as the AFL’s top “Ironman,” a term for players who excel in all facets of the indoor game. That honor went to Los Angeles Avengers WR/DB Kevin Ingram, who was named U.S. Army Ironman of the Year Thursday in the final installment of the league’s postseason awards series.

Ingram, a first-team All-Arena and All-Ironman selection, edged Pettis in a close race that also included Tampa Bay WR/LB Lawrence Samuels. Ingram had 88 catches for a team-high 1,052 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also led Los Angeles in all-purpose yards (1,672), interceptions (6) and pass breakups (6).

Los Angeles (10-6), which captured the Western Division title before losing to Chicago in the divisional round of the playoffs, has picked up several awards this postseason. Remy Hamilton was named Kicker of the Year and Silas Demary’s league-record 13.5 sacks earned him both Lineman of the Year and ADT Defensive Player of the Year honors. Ingram, Hamilton and Demary also made the AFL All-Arena team.

Pettis made his third consecutive All-Arena second team and his second straight All-Ironman Team this season. And like last year, his numbers were also worthy of Ironman of the Year consideration.

On offense, Pettis had 89 catches for 986 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding three rushing scores. The Desperados offense sputtered when Pettis was forced into a defensive specialist role for two games, replacing injured starters Jermaine Jones (shoulder) and Hamin Milligan (groin).

Defensively, Pettis ranked 11th in the league with six interceptions and added 47.5 combined tackles, eight pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. He also had a league-leading six kickoff returns for touchdowns, which single-handedly set a Desperados record for most returns for scores in a season. The previous team high (5) was set in 2004.

The Desperados’ 8-7-1 record might have hurt Pettis in the voting. Dallas started the season with a franchise-best 6-2 mark before going 2-5-1 in its final eight games to miss the playoffs for the second straight season. Fan voting counted 25 percent towards the final tally, with the other 75 percent credited to AFL head coaches and the Arena Football League Writers Association (AFLWA).

But Pettis was integral part of a Desperados team that made a two-win improvement from its 6-10 record in 2004. Quarterback Clint Stoerner was named to the 2005 All-Rookie Team and FB/LB Duke Pettijohn made his first All-Ironman squad. Kicker Carlos Martinez and lineman Colston Weatherington also were nominated for awards at their respective positions.

Short Shots

Martinez and Pettijohn are scheduled to compete in the ArenaBattle Celebrity Skills Challenge Friday in Las Vegas, the site of ArenaBowl XIX . . . The Desperados went 0-2 against this year’s ArenaBowl participants during the regular season, losing to Georgia 63-56 and to Colorado 66-58.

Dallas Desperados Dancer Jennifer Vasquez is used to sharing space with large, angry Arena Football League players. So spending three months in posh lodgings with 13 strangers – minus the pads and helmets – shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Vasquez will appear on CBS’s hit reality series Big Brother 6: Summer of Secrets, which places 14 contestants in close quarters for several weeks and pits houseguest against houseguest in a battle for up to $1 million. With cameras and microphone tracking every move, a contestant is voted off each week by his/her housemates until the last one remaining claims the cash prize.

The sixth season premieres Thursday on CBS (7 p.m. CDT).

Vasquez, 27, joins the show as a two-year veteran Desperados Dancer and a Plano, Tex., native. She earned a B.A. in education from Baylor University and currently is working on her Masters degree in Counseling and Psychology.

But in a few weeks, she’s looking to leave the Big Brother house having represented the Desperados proudly – and hopefully with heavier wallet.

“I’m contacted frequently by Reality Show casting directors regarding the Dancers,” Dallas Desperados Dancers director Pamela Jagger Purcel said. “I generally make it a rule to turn down their offers since production and editing can really paint a distorted picture of the person’s actual character to make a show more interesting. However, Jennifer is a smart young woman and I have confidence that she’ll make decisions that are right for her.”

Vasquez will recognize one of her housemates thanks to a new twist that makes this year’s edition so “secretive.” Each contestant will play the game with a secret partner from the real world (friend, co-worker, significant other, etc.), but here’s the catch: They think they’re the only ones with the edge.

If a twosome can keep their secret throughout the game and wind up as the last two remaining, they’ll win a $1 million jackpot – double the show’s previous prize of $500,000 – with the runner-up taking home $250,000. If no secret partners make it to the final two, the winner will take home $500,000.

The pairings will be revealed during the show’s first live broadcast on July 14.

Vasquez is one of six women in the house, and at 27, she is the seventh-oldest person in group. The other contestants include April, a 30-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative; Ashlea, a 22-year-old fashion design student; Beau, a 25-year-old personal shopper; Eric, a 36-year-old firefighter; Howie, a 34-year-old meteorology student; Ivette, a 25-year-old waitress; James, a 29-year-old loss prevention manager; Janelle, a 25-year-old VIP cocktail waitress; Kaysar, a 24-year-old graphic designer; Maggie, a 26-year-old emergency room nurse; Michael, a 28-year-old artist; Rachel, a 33-year-old horse breeder; and Sarah, a 22-year-old retail manager.

Jagger Purcel knows Vasquez is a whiz with new acquaintances. She was the first babysitter for 19-month-old Benjamin, Jagger Purcel’s first son with her husband Scott, the Dallas Cowboys director of broadcasting.

Now she’ll have to stay on her housemates’ good side for three months to grab the ultimate payoff.

The Desperados might be firmly entrenched in the off-season, but one of their top contributors from 2005 is still visible in the Irving area.

Defensive specialist Jermaine Jones will join the Dallas Desperados Dancers and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training (North Texas Chapter) at Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar in Irving Tuesday night. Their mission: Help raise money for cures to leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma.

Boston’s will donate to the Society a percentage of all food and beverage sales from the event. Several items, including Dallas Cowboys memorabilia, also will be auctioned off.

Jones, the Desperados’ leader in tackles (66.5) and interceptions (6), will sign autographs from 6-8 p.m. The entire event lasts from 5-9 p.m.

A former 1999 fifth-round draft pick of the New York Jets by current Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, Jones has found success in the Arena Football League as the anchor of the Desperados’ secondary. The three-year veteran made the 2003 All-Rookie Team and set a Desperados record for tackles (74.5) in 2004.

Jones had another stellar year in 2005, leading the club in three defensive categories – tackles, interceptions and pass breakups (17) – and earning ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors four times. The Desperados (6-10) finished third in total defense (261.8 yards per game) and second in pass defense (238.3 yards per game).

Jones also became the club’s all-time leader in career interceptions (11) and interception returns for touchdowns (4) after returning three picks for scores in 2005, a single-season club record.

Boston’s is located at the northwest corner of I-635 and MacArthur Boulevard in Irving. For more information, contact Desperados media relations coordinator Scott Agulnek at (972) 556-9956 or Team in Training event planner Kate Evans at (972) 393-0026.

IRVING, Texas — Will McClay has taken away several positives from his second season as Desperados head coach.

The team’s record improved to eight wins after a franchise-low six in 2004. He found a capable starting quarterback in All-Rookie selection Clint Stoerner and transformed the defense into one of the AFL’s stingiest.

Yet for the second straight year the Desperados (8-7-1) are home watching the playoffs after a strong start to the season. Dallas made strides from a year ago, but McClay realizes he’s still working with an unfinished product.

“The bright spot (is) we had a winning record,” he said. “Not the winning record that we want. We’re one game out from being in the playoffs. That’s gonna eat at us all off-season.

“It’ll be things that I will continue to try and improve on to prevent those kinds of slides, find every answer that we can and get into the playoffs next year and do some damage. I think we have the basis to do that.”

The Desperados staked an early claim to the Eastern Division lead with a franchise-best 6-2 mark. But the celebration quickly headed south with an 0-2-1 stretch and later a three-game losing streak that pushed Dallas out of playoff contention in the competitive National Conference.

The Desperados went 2-5-1 in their final eight games, losing their grip on a season that started with so much promise.

But McClay believes, with good reason, that his third year at the helm could be the charm. After limping through the 2004 season with the greenest roster in the league, the Desperados added experience on the line and in the secondary while still acquiring young talent. Rookies Terrance Dotsy, Bobby Perry and Deontay Wilson all could have expanded roles next season.

And despite the league’s tangible improvement in talent this season, the Desperados’ core group of veterans might be the best of the bunch. Wide receiver/defensive back Will Pettis, a second-team All-Arena and All-Ironman selection, is perhaps the league’s most versatile threat. Stoerner and offensive specialist Jason Shelley developed wonderful chemistry this year, and the Dallas Cowboys’ interest in WR/LB Bobby Sippio and FB/LB Duke Pettijohn during last weekend’s mini-camp is hard proof of their ability.

“We had eight wins that we looked better than anybody out there, and anybody that was watching us said we were the best team in the league,” Stoerner said. “Our problem was when we weren’t on top of our game, it was bad. We got beat by some teams that we should’ve beat. We tied a team (Nashville, 6-9-1) that we should’ve beat, and those games come back to bite you in the end.”

The Desperados can flood the roster with ArenaBowl-caliber talent this off-season, but they’ll have to play smarter to end a two-year playoff drought. Dallas had the third-highest number of penalties (158) in league history this year, one less than its 159 infractions in 2004 that checked in at No. 2 all-time.

Those 158 infractions were costly, too. The Desperados were 15 yards shy of tying the league record for penalty yards in a season set by New York in 2003.

Stoerner also will have to cut down on his turnovers. He shattered four rookie records this season and showed signs of becoming an elite AFL quarterback, but the Desperados were 2-6-1 when he threw one interception and 0-3-1 when he was picked off at least twice.

“That’s the fine line in arena football,” McClay said. “If you look at all the teams and when they win and when they lose, it’s teams that really take care of the football and take advantage of other people’s mistakes.”

McClay wasn’t satisfied with the final standings, but he’s been pleased with his team’s effort all season. He saw marked improvement on the lines and special teams under assistants Terry Gray and Mitch Matuska.

The pieces for a potential playoff run in 2006 are falling into place. That transition will come easier if the club corrects this season’s mistakes, re-signs stars like Pettijohn and Sippio and uses McClay’s sharp eye for talent to acquire more fitting parts.

“It’s most important for every man to improve,” McClay said. “Coaches, everyone, to improve our game. And that’s what we’re going to look forward to doing.”

The Atlanta Falcons signed Dallas Desperados WR/DB Will Pettis on Wednesday to compete for a spot at wide receiver.

Pettis, 27, earned a spot on the Arena Football League’s All-Arena second team for the third straight season and made the All-Ironman Team for the second straight year. Offensively, he had 89 catches for 1,267 yards and 14 touchdowns along with three rushing scores. On defense, he had 47.5 tackles, five interceptions and eight pass breakups.

Pettis also had a league-high six kickoff returns for touchdowns.

“Will Pettis has consistently demonstrated that he is one of the best players in the league,” Desperados head coach Will McClay said. “I am very excited about the opportunity Will has in Atlanta, and I know he has the ability and the heart to succeed at the next level.”

Pettis was an integral part of a Desperados team (8-7-1) that made a two-win improvement from its 6-10 record in 2004. The Desperados offense sputtered when Pettis was forced into a defensive specialist role for two games late in the season, replacing injured starters Jermaine Jones (shoulder) and Hamin Milligan (groin).

Pettis now has a chance to make the Falcons’ 53-man roster strictly as a receiver. The Cowboys worked out and signed him in 2003, but they had to place him on 10-day waivers as part of a league rule preventing NFL teams from using their own AFL franchise as a farm system.

Pettis was claimed by the New Orleans Saints on the ninth day of the waiver period and eventually released, which brought him back to the Desperados.

The Desperados will retain Pettis’ rights if the Falcons release him.

“Will is one of those guys that has grown and matured with age and for him to get a chance in the NFL is great, not only for him, but the entire Arena Football League,” McClay said. “We wish him the best.”

DallasDesperados.com Staff Writer
September 14, 2005, 10:00 p.m. (CDT)

IRVING, Texas – Even though the Arena Football season is four months away from kicking off, the Dallas Desperados are in full swing. Several players and coaches have been seen around the Metroplex lending a hand.

Desperados kicker Carlos Martinez took time to join the Edge 103.1 at Hooters in Arlington for Edge Stormaid on Wednesday, August 31st. The Edge raised over $15,000 for the American Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Carlos and the Dallas Desperados donated two lower level seats to be Carlos’ VIP guests at a 2006 Dallas Desperados game as part of the Edge Stormaid auction. For more information, log on to www.KDGE.com.

Coach Will McClay, Carlos Martinez, OL/DL Corey Mayfield, DS Hamin Milligan, OL/DL Colston Weatherington and OS Deontay Wilson took time during the Dallas Cowboys game on Thursday, September 1st to visit the The Staubach Company’s suite in Texas Stadium. The Staubach Company had donated their tickets to the Children’s Cancer Fund for kids to come and enjoy a live Cowboys game. The Desperados players and Coach McClay brought posters and stickers for everyone. They signed autographs and posed for pictures.

The Children’s Cancer Fund is dedicated to finding cures for childhood cancer by funding pediatric cancer research, treatment, education and patient programs at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The Dallas Desperados hosted its second annual private party for Season Ticket Holders prior to the Dallas Cowboys game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 1st. Fans had the opportunity to meet and receive autographs from Desperados players and coaches in The Coral outside of Texas Stadium. Members of the Dallas Desperados Dance Team and Kid Coyote also took time to meet fans and pose for pictures throughout the event. Papa John’s provided pizza for the event while Dr. Pepper and Pepsi Cola provided beverages. The event was followed-up with a Cowboys victory.

IRVING, Texas – During arena football games, some fans invariably turn to their companions, point to the field and say “I can do that.” Now those fans can put that claim to the test.

The Dallas Desperados are currently accepting registrations for their open tryout session on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Texas Stadium. The coaching staff will evaluate players at all positions, looking for local talent to fill roster spots for the 2005 season.

The Desperados have a history of using players from the local tryout, the most recent example being defensive back Michael Hawkins. Hawkins played two seasons with the Desperados before being chosen in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers in this year’s NFL draft.

Participants will be judged in the 40-yard dash, the 20-yard shuttle and the standing broad jump. Players who perform well in these tests will be invited to the afternoon session where the coaching staff will evaluate their football skills.

The evaluations of the quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and defensive backs will begin at 7 am, while the linemen and fullbacks’ session will start at 9. The kickers should report at 2 pm. All sessions will be non-padded, and participants are asked to bring cleats suitable for the grass-like surface at Texas Stadium.

Cost for the session is $60, which includes all registration costs, a t-shirt and two lower level seats to the Desperados season opener. People who are interested can download the registration form from the Desperados website or pick up a hard copy in person at the Desperados office.

Desperados coach Terry Gray is available by phone answer any questions participants may have about the session.

IRVING, Texas — The Desperados made their first major trade of the off-season Friday, clearing the way for the acquisition of a new starting quarterback for the 2006 season.

Quarterback Clint Stoerner, who made the AFL All-Rookie Team in 2005, was traded to the Nashville Kats for WR/DB Tony Scott and OL/DL Devin Wyman. A former backup with the Dallas Cowboys, Stoerner set AFL rookie records for completions, yards, touchdowns and pass attempts but was unable to lead the Desperados (8-7-1) to a playoff berth after a quick start to the season.

“Clint was a very good quarterback for us and made great strides as a rookie,” Desperados head coach Will McClay said Friday. “We wish him all the best in Nashville. He did everything we asked of him. With this trade, we have a good opportunity to progress even further at quarterback with the possibility of adding a free agent with Arena experience.”

Veteran quarterbacks on the market include Clint Dolezel (Las Vegas), Mark Grieb (San Jose), Sherdrick Bonner (Arizona) and former Desperado Scott Dreisbach (Austin).

A former All-Arena quarterback, Dolezel is the most likely candidate to land with the Desperados. The Grand Rapids Press reported Tuesday Dolezel had narrowed his choice to the Rampage and Desperados, and was leaning towards Dallas to be close to his Houston-based family.

Stoerner’s numbers from the 2005 campaign were impressive. He completed 322 of 506 attempts (63.6 percent) for 3,918 yards and 77 touchdowns while running for two more. He was picked off 16 times for an overall passer rating of 112.2.

Stoerner’s best game of the year was the 66-65 overtime victory over Chicago in the season opener, in which he was named Offensive Player of the Game after throwing for six touchdowns. His 398 passing yards were a single-game record for the Desperados.

But the Desperados faltered after a 6-2 start, losing five of their last eight games to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. The team kept itself in several late-season games while struggling to keep its playoff hopes alive, but never managed to get over the hump.

McClay alluded at one point in the season that he might replace Stoerner with backup Chris Greisen, but he never pulled the trigger on the quarterback switch.

In exchange for Stoerner, the Desperados acquired a pair of two-year veterans to add depth to the line and backfield.

“The trade strengthened us at two other positions with the addition of WR/DB Tony Scott and OL/DL Devin Wyman,” McClay said. “Both players have NFL and Arena experience and will only make our team stronger from top to bottom.”

Wyman (6-8, 335), who played two seasons with the San Jose Sabercats, has recorded 13.5 tackles, half a sack and one pass breakup in his career. Scott (5-10, 195) is listed as a WR/DB, but played defensive specialist with Nashville. He had five tackles last year with the Kats and 12 with Colorado his rookie season.

The Desperados also lost their first player to free agency Friday when FB/LB Ja’Mar Toombs signed with the Sabercats. A three-year veteran, Toombs set a Desperados record with 22 career rushing touchdowns. In 2004, he gained 179 yards on 51 carries and caught five passes for 70 yards.

Toombs was placed on injured reserve for the last two weeks of the season with a stomach illness. He also sat out the Desperados’ loss to Colorado and several practices earlier in the season with the same stomach problem.

Other notable unsigned Desperados include OL/DL Ernest Allen, FB/LB Duke Pettijohn and WR/LB Bobby Sippio. Pettijohn and Sippio worked out for the Cowboys earlier this summer but were not signed.

IRVING, Texas – The Desperados traded quarterback Clint Stoerner to Nashville last Friday with the hopes of landing another starter named Clint in free agency.

Fortunately for them, Clint Dolezel has decided to return to Texas.

The Desperados on Wednesday signed Dolezel, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in AFL history, as perhaps the missing piece to a franchise hoping to end a two-year playoff drought in 2006.

A 10-year veteran and native of Lorena, Texas, Dolezel ranks among the AFL’s all-time leaders in most passing categories and led Grand Rapids to an ArenaBowl championship in 2001.

“A big factor in coming to Dallas was the receiving corps of Will Pettis, Jason Shelley and possibly (Bobby) Sippio coming back as well,” Dolezel said. “They’re already set, they’ve done things, they’ve proven themselves. I’m excited about that. They make my job a lot easier.”

Desperados fans might remember Dolezel, who played the last two seasons in Las Vegas, throwing seven touchdown passes in the Gladiators’ 58-38 thrashing of Dallas on May 7.

“The thing that he’ll bring us is the experience, the knowledge of the game,” Desperados head coach Will McClay said. “He’s going to help instruct the offense. The best thing about him is he’s a good man and a good person for the organization.”

Other veteran quarterbacks on the market included Mark Grieb (San Jose), Sherdrick Bonner (Arizona) and former Desperados starter Scott Dreisbach (Austin).

“He was the No. 1 target,” said McClay, who plans to call the offensive plays in 2006 after handling those duties at the end of last season. “We weren’t sure, but if we were going to go after somebody, he would be the guy.”

Dolezel, 35, had narrowed his choices to Dallas and Grand Rapids but ultimately chose to stay close to his Houston-based family. He also has ties to McClay and Desperados line coach Terry Gray back in the mid-1990s with the now-defunct Milwaukee Mustangs, where he began his AFL career. Gray and Dolezel also both attended Cisco Junior College.

The Desperados hope Dolezel can bolster an offense which finished 15th out of 16 teams in passing offense, averaging just 238.3 yards a game. For his career, he has thrown for 32,359 yards, 635 touchdowns and 125 interceptions for a passer rating of 114.95.

Stoerner, who was traded to the Kats for WR/DB Tony Scott and OL/DL Kevin Wyman, set AFL rookie records for passing completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns but failed to lead the Desperados (8-7-1) to the playoffs after a 6-2 start.

A first-cousin of Dallas Cowboys tight end Dan Campbell, Dolezel also has played for now-defunct Texas Terror and Houston Thunderbears. Now back in Texas, he’ll try to lead the Desperados to their first division title since 2003.

“I think (signing Dolezel) is part of the missing piece,” McClay said. “I think we also have to continue to grow as a team and an organization with our maturity level, and continue to get better.”

Other Signings

In addition to Dolezel, the Desperados re-signed starting center Jeff Chase and signed free agents FB/LB Evan Cardwell, OL/DL Norris McCleary, FB/LB Mike Pruitt and former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Daleroy Stewart.

A sixth-round pick by Dallas in 2001, Stewart played in 15 games for the Cowboys in 2003 but was released early last season.

McCleary has both NFL and AFL experience, having played 13 games with the Kansas City Chiefs (2000-01) before making his arena debut with the Columbus Destroyers last season. Cardwell and Pruitt played college football at the University of North Texas.

Allen Signs Elsewhere

Veteran lineman Ernest Allen, a fixture on both sides of the ball for the Desperados the past two seasons, has signed with the Philadelphia Soul.

A 10-year veteran, Allen started on offense and defense for Dallas last season, recording 19.5 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and a blocked punt. For his career, he has 169.5 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 29 sacks and 8 blocked punts.

Allen also has earned second-team All-Arena honors in seven out of 10 seasons.