# ArenaBowl XXVIII

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.

## 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.

## 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 standingsviewtalkedit :
| Team | Overall | Overall | Overall | Points | Points | Points | Records | Records | Records | Records |
| Team | 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 | L 56–63 |
| 13 | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 14 | June 27 | Cleveland | W 74–41 |
| 15 | Bye | Bye | 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 standingsviewtalkedit :
| Team | Overall | Overall | Overall | Points | Points | Points | Records | Records | Records | Records |
| Team | 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 | Bye | Bye |
| 16 | July 10 | New Orleans | W 56–35 |
| 17 | July 18 | Portland | W 55–49 (OT) |
| 18 | Bye | Bye | 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sharks (AC) | 14 | 19 | 0 | 14 | 47 |
| SaberCats (NC) | 6 | 21 | 28 | 13 | 68 |
at Stockton Arena, Stockton, California
* Date: August 29, 2015
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game attendance: 9,115
* Referee: Dave Cutala
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | JAX | SJ |
| 1 | 11:08 | 6 | 48 | 3:52 | JAX | Hills 23-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 8:42 | 3 | 39 | 1:49 | SJ | Gray 18-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick no good | 7 | 6 |
| 1 | 4:01 | 5 | 45 | 3:58 | JAX | Jones 15-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good | 14 | 6 |
| 2 | 13:45 | 7 | 45 | 4:35 | SJ | Gray 4-yard touchdown reception from Meyer, Pertuit kick good | 14 | 13 |
| 2 | 10:58 | 3 | 36 | 2:04 | JAX | Hills 29-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good | 20 | 13 |
| 2 | 3:44 | 9 | 45 | 6:30 | SJ | Armstrong 1-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good | 20 | 20 |
| 2 | 1:54 | 2 | 8 | 1:09 | JAX | Hills 3-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good | 27 | 20 |
| 2 | 0:41 | 3 | 6 | 0:33 | SJ | Meyer 6-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick good | 27 | 27 |
| 2 | 0:15 | 5 | 47 | 0:26 | JAX | Hills 8-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick no good | 33 | 27 |
| 3 | 13:20 | 3 | 45 | 1:40 | 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 | 2 | 8 | 2:15 | 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 | 5 | 45 | 3:13 | SJ | Meyer 17-yard touchdown run, Pertuit kick no good | 33 | 61 |
| 4 | 9:07 | 2 | 45 | 1:04 | JAX | Smith 24-yard touchdown reception from Grady, Rauch kick good | 40 | 61 |
| 4 | 7:37 | 1 | 11 | 0:59 | SJ | Gray 6-yard touchdown reception from Stanley, Pertuit kick good | 40 | 68 |
| 4 | 1:50 | 8 | 45 | 4:41 | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 47 | 68 |
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