Indoor Football Weekly #19

We are now hitting  the midway point in the 2017 season. The IFL is pretty much spoken for, the CIF is in a dogfight, the NAL well let's not get into that just yet.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Just like Week 7, Week 8 was again filled with close games yet again. The IFL kicked off on Friday night with the IFL Game of the Week as Nebraska hosted Arizona. In the Rattlers first ever trip to Grand Island they would be looking to come back with a W. With both teams scoring back and forth all night the largest lead of the game was just 7 points, held twice by Arizona in the first half. The game only got closer as Nebraska scored twice to take a 6 point lead. It wouldn't hold up as the Rattlers would score to take a 21-20 lead but the Danger scored just before the half to take a 26-21 lead into halftime. The Rattler defense would get two points on a safety early in the 3rd quarter. Late in the 3rd quarter the Danger would score the final touchdown of the game to take a 33-30 lead, but that wasn't the end of scoring as both teams alternated field goals the rest of the night. It capped off with Arizona kicking a game winning field goal with little time remaining on the clock to take a 36-33 road win. Saturday night saw three games being played starting with Cedar Rapids hosting Sioux Falls. After being held to just field goals early in the game and a delay due to issues with the boards, the Storm came out on top with a 46-21 win over the Titans. Down in Texas, Wichita Falls hosted Salt Lake. The Screaming Eagles would hold a close game to the Nighthawks all night but ultimately fall 39-33 to the Nighthawks. Wrapping up the week was a clash between former af2 franchises as Green Bay visited the Iowa Barnstormers. In a back and forth game that both defenses showed themselves tough to beat all night, the Barnstormers came out with a 27-26 win thanks to a late touchdown and interception on the following drive.
Week 9 will see all 10 teams playing 5 games over just two days. That's right no stupid Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night games!! Three games are played on Friday night starting off with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks (6-1) hosting the Cedar Rapids Titans (1-6) at 7:05 PM CT. The middle game Friday is an Intense Conference matchup as Arizona (3-3) travels to Salt Lake (1-5). While this is the first time the Rattlers play the Screaming Eagles this isn't their first trip to the Maverik Center. The Rattlers previously played in the building back in 2010 when they beat the now defunct Utah Blaze 83-58 on May 28th in the first year of the reborn AFL. Wrapping up the Friday trifecta is Spokane Empire (4-2) hosting the Colorado Crush (1-5) at 9 PM CT. Saturday has just two games on deck with an Inter-Conference matchup between Iowa (4-2) and Nebraska (4-3). Out in South Dakota the Sioux Falls Storm (6-0) host Green Bay (2-5). And of course all IFL Games can be seen LIVE and FREE on YouTube.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football had just 5 games last weekend it kicked off with Du
ke City and CenTex. The Cavalry was no match for the Gladiators as Duke City came off the field with a 79-29 road victory. Saturday saw four games get played and the first one was an upset as the West Michigan Ironmen beat the Bloomington Edge 56-34, this comes as a shock as the Edge pounded them earlier this year 64-20 in Bloomington, IL. Next up was the CIF Game of the Week, a battle of the unbeatens as the Texas Revolution hosted the Dodge City Law from the Allen Event Center. All night long there was no clear outcome and it came down to the final seconds when Chris Dixon hooked up with Clinton Solomon from 13 yards out, followed up by a successful 2 point conversion sealed the game for the Revs. Out in Wichita the Force took down the Phantoms 48-31 in a clash of Kansas and Misssouri, while wrapping up the night was Dallas and Salina. The Marshals would make a statement at the Mesquite Arena (that statement being they aren't the worst team in the CIF) with a 36-19 win over the Liberty.
Week 8 kicks off with the second straight battle of the unbeatens on Thursday night as the Texas Revolution (4-0) host the Amarillo Venom (4-0) from the Allen Event Center at 7PM CT. The rest of the league plays on Saturday night with all games at 7PM CT. Those games are CenTex Cavalry vs Dallas Marshals, Dodge City Law vs Wichita Force, Omaha Beef vs West Michigan Ironmen, Duke City Gladiators vs Salina Liberty, and Sioux City Bandits vs Bloomington Edge. And as always games can be seen LIVE on Eversport.

Credit: National Arena League

On to the newest of the bunch, the National Arena League. This league has been going through issues this season and not just normal first year league issues. There have been multiple reports that the Corpus Christi Rage have been taken over by the league. Then on gameday reports came in that Corpus Christi was having transportation issues both getting to and leaving the game in Albany. Unfortunately this isn't a surprise knowing the attendance problems they've had. The Rage, along with the Georgia Firebirds and Dayton Wolfpack have been in our death pool for NAL teams since they were announced. Don't expect to see any of these teams back next season and that would be for the best.
Last week featured 3 games played in the National Arena League starting off on Saturday with the delayed Georgia vs Corpus Christi game. The Firebirds wasted no time putting down the Rage and went on to win 76-26. Sunday saw two more games including the NAL Game of the Week between the Jacksonville Sharks and High Country Grizzlies. The Sharks held down the Grizzlies having a 41-0 shutout going by halftime. In the second half they let off the gas (just a bit) and cruised to a 68-21 win. Wrapping up the week was a showdown between two of the East's longest running franchises, as Lehigh Valley hosted Columbus at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The Steelhawks proved to be to much for the Lions to catch with a 60-54 win.
Week 5 features just one game this week originally there was two scheduled however with the Wolfpack now being a travel only team their home game vs Corpus Christi that was scheduled for Sunday the 16th was cancelled. But the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (3-1) host the Georgia Firebirds (2-2) on Saturday at 6 PM CT.

 

With two great games and one beat down last week, this week looks to be about the same with the Game of the Week. The weekend opens on Thursday night from the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX with the CIF Game of the Week. Two unbeaten teams, the Texas Revolution (4-0) and Amarillo Venom (4-0), face off at 7 PM CT to determine whose on top in the South Division. The action continues on Saturday night with the NAL Game of the Week. At 6 PM CT the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (3-1) host the Georgia Firebirds (2-2) from the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. Finishing off the week is the IFL Game of the Week when the Iowa Barnstormes (4-2) host the Nebraska Danger (4-3) from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA. Both the NAL and IFL games can be seen LIVE and FREE on YouTube, while the CIF can be seen LIVE on Eversport.