Indoor Football Weekly #26

Credit: Clarksville Online

A belated Happy Memorial Day from Indoor Football Weekly to our readers. We've already reached the final week of the season in one league, Champions Indoor Football as they enter Week 15. The IFL is in it's final three weeks with HUGE playoff races in both conferences for the first time in years. The NAL is just kind of running out it's season with al four playoff spots pretty much decided.

Credit: Indoor Football League

The Indoor Football League's Week 15 was filled with entertaining games. It all kicked off on Friday with two games, the first of which saw the Iowa Barnstormers manhandle the Green Bay Blizzard 64-12 in front of a nice crowd in Des Moines, which included a small but loyal contingent of Blizzard fans. Finishing up the night was the Spokane Empire hosting the Colorado Crush. After losing to the Crush in Week 14 the Empire, who did release QB Charles Dowdell, would beat the Crush 48-43. Saturday night saw just one game, the first of two IFL Game of the Week showcases between the Sioux Falls Storm and Wichita Falls Nighthawks. The Nighthawks would take down the Storm IN SIOUX FALLS by a score of 36-21. Wichita Falls broke 3 streaks that night the first being a 68 game home winning streak by Sioux Falls and by virtue of that broke Sioux Falls unbeaten record at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Last but not least they are the first team since the Billings Outlaws in 2010 (the last time Sioux Falls didn't win the title) to beat the Storm twice in the same season. Sunday evening saw the second IFL Game of the Week in the Intense Conference between the Arizona Rattlers and Nebraska Danger. The Rattlers would keep themselves in 1st place in the Intense Conference with a 43-33 win over the Danger. The week wrapped up in Salt Lake with the Screaming Eagles hosting the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Titans didn't stand a chance and looked like a team wanting their season to be over as they were crushed 64-27 by Salt Lake.
Week 16 has all 10 teams playing five games over two days. The week starts on Friday night when the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles (4-9) host the Iowa Barnstormers (11-2) at 8 PM CT. The other four games all kick off on Saturday starting at 6 PM CT with the Colorado Crush hosting the Sioux Falls Storm. Two games are being played at 7:05 PM CT as in the east the Green Bay Blizzard host the Wichita Falls Nighthawks and in the west the Cedar Rapids Titans host the Nebraska Danger. And last but not least the Spokane Empire host the Arizona Rattlers at 9 PM CT in a highly anticipated showdown for the Intense Conference playoffs.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Week 14 gave us a clearer playoff picture in the CIF Northern Division but the Southern Division looks mighty crowded. On Friday night the Bloomington Edge took on the West Michigan Ironmen and well again West Michigan came out with a little surprise for the Edge beating them 61-53. With the Edge losing the Omaha Beef secured a home playoff game for the first time since 2011. The six other games were played on Saturday night opening with Bismarck putting down Salina 30-16 and the Dodge City Law beating the Texas Revs 49-46. Sioux City would knock off the Beef 61-55, Kansas City took down Dallas 48-42. In the final two games of the night Wichita would crush CenTex 63-28 and in the CIF Game of the Week the Duke City Gladiators again kept their playoff hopes alive with a 69-46 win over the Amarillo Venom.
Week 15, the final week of the 2017 CIF season has 6 games this week. Friday night has two games with one starting at 7:00 PM CT between the Texas Revolution and Wichita Force. Just 5 minutes later the Kansas City Phantoms kick off hosting the Sioux City Bandits. Saturday night has four games all at 7:05 PM CT. Way up north the Bismarck Bucks host the Bloomington Edge in a game that could potentially have playoff seeding impacts. Two games will be played in Texas with the Amarillo Venom hosting the CenTex Cavalry and Dallas Marshals hosting the Omaha Beef. Finally wrapping up the week is the Duke City Gladiators hosting the Dodge City Law.

Credit: National Arena League

The NAL's 11th Week was well just as expected. In the only semi-close game the Columbus Lions beat the High Country Grizzlies 56-41. The Monterrey Steel didn't strike a surprising but win but rather the large one that was expected, beating the Georgia Firebirds 68-26. And wrapping up the week was the Jacksonville Sharks and Corpus Christi Rage. Well the Sharks did what they wanted too against the Rage beating them 71-6.
Week 12 features four games, with three being played at 6 PM CT on Saturday and one game on Monday night. Saturday night starts up north with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks hosting the High Country Grizzlies in one of very few potentially playoff impacting games. Then in Georgia the Columbus Lions host the Corpus Christi Rage and finally in Florida the Jacksonville Sharks host the Wolfpack. Finally wrapping up the week on Monday night is the Monterrey Steel hosting the Georgia Firebirds.

After a very exciting week last week we have one Game of the Week in each league. The NAL Game of the Week kicks off the week at 6 PM CT with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks hosting the High Country Grizzlies. The final CIF Game of the Week for the 2017 season sees the Duke City Gladiators hosting the Dodge City Law in a truly win or go home game for the Gladiators. The IFL Game of the Week stays in the Intense Conference with the Spokane Empire hosting the Arizona Rattlers at 9 PM CT on Saturday night.