Indoor Football Weekly #32: It's All Over (For 2017)

Credit: Honolulu Star Bulletin

Well folks this past weekend wrapped up the 2017 Indoor Football Season with the IFL playing the 2017 United Bowl Championship on Saturday and the NAL playing its inaugural Championship Game on Monday night.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Adam Lamprecht once again brings us all the action of the IFL, this time from the 2017 United Bowl in Sioux Falls, SD.

The 2017 United Bowl topped off the IFL Season, as the top teams of each conference faced off. The Arizona Rattlers traveled to Sioux Falls to face off against the defending IFL Champions, the Sioux Falls Storm.

The Rattlers took the opening kickoff and marched down the field in 4 plays, taking the opening drive for a score, as the no. 2 rusher in the league, Darrell Monroe, took it in from two yards out. The Storm would answer right back, as Korey Williams took the kickoff and ran it back for a touchdown to tie things up at 7 a piece. From there, it went downhill for the Storm.

The Rattlers answered back, as Cody Sokol found a wide open Jamal Miles, who found the endzone after a 34 yard pass, and the Rattlers went up 14-7. After holding the Storm on downs, the Rattlers were driving as the 1^st quarter ended. On 4^th and Goal to start the second quarter, Monroe found the end zone for the second time in the game. Petre Sawyer missed the PAT, but the Rattlers were up 20-7.

The Storm took the ball and drove down the field, but could not find the end zone, and Justin Syrovatka missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, giving the Rattlers the ball back at their own 5. The Rattlers had no luck moving the ball either, and had to settle for a field goal attempt. At least that’s what they wanted the Storm to think, as they tried a fake field goal. But Storm linebacker Tyler Knight sniffed it out, stopping them and turning the ball over on downs, giving the Storm much needed momentum and the ball back on the Rattlers 14-yard line.

But on the Storm’s first play of the drive, Storm quarterback Lorenzo Brown would get sacked, fumble the ball, and the Rattlers would pick it up, as Joshua Gordon would return the fumble 29 yards for the score, putting the Rattlers up 27-7. The Storm’s next drive didn’t fare any better, as Brown would get sacked two more times, and Syrovatka would try another field goal. He would come up short, and the Rattlers would return it back to the Storm 5-yard line. One play later, Sokol nails Anthony Amos for the touchdown. The Storm would try another field goal for the last play of the half, but it was no good, and the Rattlers would go into the half, dominating the Storm 34-7.

The Storm took the opening kickoff of the second half, and would finally find the endzone on offense, as Brown hit Judd Harrold for 17 yards and the score, putting the score at 34-14. The Rattlers would take over, and on the second play, Tyler Knight would force the fumble from Sokol, and Storm defensive back Elijah Fields would pick it up. A few plays later, “Mighty Mouse” Robbie Rouse would find pay dirt, and the Storm were right back in it, down 34-21. Three plays later, Sokol’s pass was tipped by Knight, and Brandon Peguese would pick it off in the endzone, and the Storm only trailed 34-28. After a missed field goal by Sawyer, the Storm looked to capitalize, going into the fourth quarter only down by 6.

But the Rattlers would hold on 4^th down, as they would force a turnover on downs at the Storm 9-yard line. A couple plays later, Monroe would get his 3^rd rushing touchdown of the night, and the Rattlers would go up 41-28. Another mistake by the Storm would cost them, as Brown would fumble on a jet sweep, and the Rattlers would recover. Although they wouldn’t find the endzone, Sawyer would put up his first field goal, and the Rattlers lead 44-28.

The Storm came marching back, as Brown would find Harrold again for the score. The two point conversion was no good, and the Storm would trail 44-34. The Storm defense held again, but once again, Sawyer was true through the middle for 3, and the Rattlers lead 47-34. On the first play of the drive, Brown would find Mike Tatum, and hit him 40 yards for the score, and the Storm were back within 6, 47-41.

The Storm would try an onside kick, and even though they recovered, they were penalized for an illegal block, and the Rattlers would get the ball at the Storm 11-yard line. Though denied the end zone again, the Rattlers would get 3 from Sawyer, and lead 50-41 with only 42 seconds left in the game.

The Storm would try to mount a comeback, but a late pick by Arkeith Brown would seal the deal, and the Arizona Rattlers were the 2017 IFL Champions, defeating the Storm 50-41 in United Bowl XIII.

The big factor in this game was mistakes. The Storm had 3 turnovers, one of them coming off one of 4 sacks by the Rattlers defense. 3 of the 4 sacks, in my honest opinion, came off poor decision making, as Brown held the ball far too long, and should have just thrown the ball away. The Rattlers had 2 turnovers, but only 1 sack on Sokol. Both teams were abysmal on third down, as they combined for a total 2-15 on third down, 1/8 for Arizona and 1/7 for Sioux Falls. Another factor was the kicking game, as Sawyer, who came into the game first in the IFL in field goal percentage, would hit 3 of 4 field goals in the game, all 3 were clutch field goals down the stretch. Syrovatka, on the other hand, was 0 for 3 in field goal attempts, all 3 being in the first half.

Credit: Jacksonville Sharks

The Inaugural National Arena League Championship game was played on Monday night and saw the Jacksonville Sharks (12-1) host the Columbus Lions (9-3). This was the teams third meeting of the season and second straight Championship Game appearance for the Lions (2016 AIF Champions). The game started out with Jacksonville capping off a 7 play 44 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown run to make it 7-0. However after that the game got slow, really really slow, and extremely boring. The Lions ended their first drive with an interception, Jacksonville fumbled it back on their first play with the ball back and Columbus then missed a FG. It would take until there was 5:23 remaining on the clock in the SECOND quarter before another score happened. That just happened to be a 7 yard toss to Ruffins for a Jacksonville TD. After 1 very dull half of football the Sharks led the Lions 13-0.
The second half started a little better as Columbus scored to start the game and Jacksonville answered right back on 2 long drives ending the 3rd Quarter at 20-7 Sharks. The 4th quarter started right where the 3rd left off with Columbus and Jacksonville trading scores once again, that was until the final two drives. The Sharks, who with a touchdown could secure the game, but threw a pick into the endzone and the Lions would start with the ball on their own 5. With no timeouts left the Lions drove the ball downfield and ate up a considerable amount of clock. With the ball at the Sharks 5 and just 11 seconds left, the Lions were in position to win the game and the title. The Lions QB Mason Espinosa would fumble the ball and it would be recovered by Jacksonville. The score didn't show everything as the Lions went 22-37 with 1 pick and the Sharks 17-25 with 2 picks. Combine those QB stats with a combined 39 yards rushing and a total of 19 penalties for 121 yards and you realize how bad of a game this really was. But the Sharks came out with the inaugural National Arena League Championship.

That wraps the seasons up in a nice little bow for everyone. The Texas Revolution as CIF Champions, the Arizona Rattlers as IFL Champions, and the Jacksonville Sharks as NAL Champions. This week it's the Best of Arenas Semi-Finals so don't forget to vote either here or on Facebook! Next week will be a special Indoor Football Weekly as we'll bring you Shit Show: Post Season Edition that will cover all the leagues we don't normally cover.

Indoor Football Weekly #31: Now or Never

Credit 1011Now.com

Well there are just two games left in Indoor Football this season. The 2017 IFL United Bowl between the Sioux Falls Storm and Arizona Rattlers. The other being the 2017 and inaugural NAL Championship Game between the Jacksonville Sharks and the Columbus Lions.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Just as with the IFL Playoffs preview Adam Lamprecht wrote up the 2017 IFL United Bowl Preview and here it is.

United Bowl XIII: Arizona Rattlers @ Sioux Falls Storm

It has finally come down to this. United Bowl XIII (Or United Bowl IX if you’re only counting the IFL United Bowls). Anyways, United Bowl 2017 features the top teams in each conference as the Intense Conference Champions the Arizona Rattlers travel north by northeast to the Midwest to face the defending Indoor Football League Champions and United Conference Champions, the Sioux Falls Storm. This is a rematch of the season opener between both teams. The Storm won that first encounter in the Denny Sanford Premier Center, 40-29.

It is a Clash of the Titans, as both teams are storied franchises. The Arizona Rattlers, est. 1992, may only have one year in the IFL under their belts, but they have a storied history in the Arena Football League, making it to 10 ArenaBowls, winning 5 of them, their first one being ArenaBowl VII in 1994 against the Orlando Predators, two years after their birth. Then three years later, they would win ArenaBowl IX against the Iowa Barnstormers. However, it would be a drought for them, as they would not win another championship until 2012, when they won ArenaBowl XXV against the Philadelphia Soul, which began their dynasty in the early 2010s, as they’d go on to win three straight ArenaBowls, 2012-2014. 

The Sioux Falls Storm, est. in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras (ironic given the United Bowl), is also a franchise that knows championships very well. In 2001, the first year they were known as the Storm, the team made the playoffs, losing to the Wyoming Cavalry in the semi-finals. The Storm have made the playoffs nearly every year in their existence, only missing the playoffs in 2000 (the only year as the Sioux Falls Cobras), 2002, and 2009 (the Infamous Insurance Violation Season). Prior to 2017, the Storm made the League Championship twelve times, winning it ten times. 

The Storm made the United Bowl after defeating the Iowa Barnstormers, 66-32, in the United Conference Championship, which historically started out with both teams running their first possession back for a touchdown on the kickoff. Otherwise, it was a game dominated by the Storm, surprising many people who thought this would be a close match-up.

The Rattlers made the United Bowl after defeating the Nebraska Danger, 62-36. Another game that the Rattlers dominated, which was also a surprise, as both contests in the regular season between these two teams were close matchups, with Arizona winning both, 39-36 and 43-33.

The United Bowl will be played from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, SD on Saturday July 8th at 5 PM CT.

Credit: National Arena League

Wrapping it all up is the 2017 National Arena League Championship between the Jacksonville Sharks and Columbus Lions. In terms of what these teams have done against each other Jacksonville has won both matchups between these two teams. In the first game Jax took a 40-20 lead by halftime before it got closer in the 2nd half with a final of 56-41. In game 2 it was more even with the Sharks holding a 21-20 before whipping it up in the 2nd half for a 37-28 win over the Lions.

Jacksonville is in their first year in a league outside the Arena Football League. The team started play in 2010 when the AFL was reborn. Over the Sharks 7 years in the AFL they made the playoffs 6 times, only missing it in 2014. The Sharks also won 4 consecutive division Championships from 2010-2013, 2 Conference Championships in 2011 and 2015, and finally a 2011 ArenaBowl victory.

The Lions have had a much different history, especially in terms of leagues. The Lions started play in 2007 in the WIFL. After the WIFL folded at the end of the season, they moved to the AIFA for 2008-09 and moved to the SIFL from 2010-11 before joining the PIFL for 4 seasons then back to the AIF in 2016 and to the new NAL for 2017. Columbus has also made the playoffs 9 times only missing the 2013 PIFL Playoffs. The Lions also won 3 Conference Championships (2009 in AIFA, 2011 in the SIFL, and 2016 in the AIF) and 3 League Championships with the 2010 SIFL, 2015 PIFL, and 2016 in the AIF.

Just like the clubs backgrounds, the road to the NAL Championship Game has been very different for each team. The Sharks by far have been the class of the NAL, winning 11 straight before losing the final regular season game 44-37 to the Monterrey Steel. The Sharks got revenge in the NAL Semi-Finals beating the Steel, in Jacksonville, 43-32.

On the other hand the Columbus Lions had a very different route. After 6 games the Lions were 3-3 and on the outside looking in. However the Lions came back strong in the second half of the season, winning 6 straight games including 2 complete beatdowns, the first of which was the only shutout in the CIF, IFL, or NAL as they beat the Wolfpack 77-0. The second game was an 81-12 thrashing of the Corpus Christi Rage. In the playoffs the Lions had to travel to Lehigh Valley to take on the hometown Steelhawks. After the Steelhawks took what was a seemingly insurmountable lead after 3 quarters, the Lions managed a HUGE comeback to take a 52-50 win to send them to the NAL Championship.
The Inaugural NAL Championship will be played on Monday July 10th at 6:30PM CT from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL.

Don't forget to Vote for Best of Arenas either on the website here or on Facebook as we are now in Quarter-Finals of the tournament. Keep the votes coming!!!

Indoor Football Weekly #30

Credit: Sioux City Journal

The CIF crowned it's Champion in Champions Bowl III and we've found out who would make the IFL United Bowl and the Inaugural NAL Championship Game.

Credit: Indoor Football League

The Indoor Football League kicked off it's (unfortunately) short playoffs this past weekend with Conference Championships. 

The opening game of the IFL Playoffs was the United Conference Championship between the Sioux Falls Storm and Iowa Barnstormers. The game started off fast and furious as Dee Maggit Jr. returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to start the game of 7-0. The lead wouldn't last long as Korey Williams took the next kickoff back for a touchdown for the Storm to even the game up 7-7. From that point the game started to get out of hand as the Storm scored 28 unanswered points. A large part of that run can be credited to the defense that stopped Iowa on downs once and picked off Travis Partridge 3 times, including one that was brought back for a touchdown. After the 28-0 run both teams scored one more time each to end the half with the Storm leading 38-14. The Storm scored another 14 unanswered to start the second half which included Tyler Knight recovering a fumble by Travis Partridge. The Barnstormers would score one time in the 3rd quarter when Partridge connected with Balentine to end the quarter 52-20 as the 2 point conversion was no good. While the game was by far over at this point the 4th quarter saw the game that everyone wanted to see as both teams scored twice and stopped the opponent once, including a 4th pick on Travis Partridge to end the game. Sioux Falls heads to their 8th consecutive IFL United Bowl appearance with a 66-32 win over the Iowa Barnstormers.

Finishing the night was the Intense Conference Championship between the Arizona Rattlers and Nebraska Danger. The Rattlers started off the game with two unanswered touchdowns in the 1st Quarter. In the 2nd quarter the Danger managed to score two touchdowns but couldn't match the Rattlers, who scored 4 touchdowns, including 3 unanswered to end the half with a 34 - 14 lead. The 3rd quarter was very mundane with the only touchdown coming when Derric Bernard ran an interception back 40 yards for a TD. The Rattlers again took the 4th quarter by storm with 3 touchdowns to the Danger's two touchdowns. The Rattlers were led offensively by QB Cody Sokol who went 13-18 for 110 yards with two picks and 5 touchdowns (4 passing and 1 running) to take a 62-36 win over the Nebraska Danger and send them to the 2017 IFL United Bowl in two weeks.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football finished their 3rd season on Friday night with Champions Bowl II as the Texas Revolution hosted the Omaha Beef in Champions Bowl III at the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX. Champions Bowl III started to set the tone for a weekend of complete beatdowns (even though the final score didn't reflect it) and it started early as Chris Dixon hit Clinton Solomon for a 37 yard TD pass and then ran one in from the 17 yard line on the Revs next drive. Omaha would have Jonathon Ray pound one in from the 1 yard line to end the 1st with Texas leading 13-7. The 2nd quarter was a scoring fiesta with the Revs scoring four times, 3 of which were passing TD's by Dixon and one rushing TD by Dixon as well. The Beef would score twice both of which saw Ribbing run it in from inside the Red Zone. At halftime the Revs held a 39-21 lead over the Beef. The second half started off with Dixon tossing another passing TD  for the only score of the 3rd quarter. The fourth quarter saw another 6 TD's scored this time with 4 by the Beef and 2 by the Revs. The late touchdowns and three consecutive scores to end the game wasn't enough for Omaha as the Texas Revolution took a 59-49 win over Omaha to win their first ever league Championship.

Credit: National Arena League/Jacksonville Sharks/CW 12 Jacksonville

The National Arena League played it's Semi-Final playoff games last weekend in it's inaugural playoffs. The first game was on Friday night as the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks hosted the Columbus Lions. The game started off with Lehigh Valley getting 2 touchdowns in the first quarter and 3 unanswered to open the game. The Lions only points were from a 31 yard passing TD and a deuce (Kickoff through the uprights). At the end of 1 half the Steelhawks held a 21-9 lead. The 3rd quarter saw Lehigh Valley and Columbus trade touchdowns with Lehigh Valley getting a deuce on their last TD of the 3rd quarter. That however is when tables started to turn as the Lions scored 4 straight touchdowns capping it off with a second deuce for a 31-0 scoring run from the end of the 3rd quarter until late in the 4th. With under a minute to go the Lions held a 52-43 lead and in order to tie the Steelhawks needed a touchdown with conversion and a deuce. Lehigh managed to get the touchdown but with no time on the clock they couldn't kick off to try and tie the game and the Lions took a 52-50 win to send them to the NAL Championship Game.

On Saturday night the Jacksonville Sharks hosted the Monterrey Steel in the other NAL Semi-Final. A win for the Sharks puts the NAL Championship in Jacksonville and a win for the Steel would put the Championship in Columbus, GA. In a tight fight just like in Week 14, the Sharks took down the Steel 43-32 to send Jacksonville (as predicted) to the NAL Championship Game.

In the last 2 weeks we've had the Best of the Arenas competition and now were down to 16 arenas left to choose from. Don't forget to make your picks! Next week will be the IFL United Bowl and NAL Championship previews.

Indoor Football Weekly #29: In Full Swing

Credit: HistoricOmaha.com

The playoffs are now in full swing as the IFL and NAL play the Semi-Finals while Champions Bowl III in the CIF also happens this weekend.

Credit; Indoor Football League

This week Adam Lamprecht has recapped Week 18 and has given us a playoff preview this week!

Indoor Football League Week in Review: Week 18

Spokane Empire @ Salt Lake Screaming Eagles

The Spokane Empire limped into the final game of the season looking like a completely different team than what started the year. They began 7-2 to start the year, with a very controversial loss to Wichita Falls in OT early on, and looked to be going back to the playoffs. But the train seemed to come off the rails, as they would lose 5 of 6, putting themselves in a precarious 8-7 record, tied with Nebraska who had the tiebreaker.

Salt Lake was looking to play spoiler in their Friday matchup against the Empire, as obvious by the braggadocious, and completely nauseating, play-by-play for the Screaming Eagles. The game began as a back and forth affair, as both teams went tit for tat, leaving Spokane up 32-25 at the half. Spokane would add 3 more in the third, taking a 10 point lead into the fourth quarter. However, somehow, the Screaming Eagles would make a comeback, and score on the final play of the game to win 45-42, albeit very controversially, as Salt Lake had three players in forward motion, which should have been called for a penalty, but was not, thanks to the awful officiating crew in Salt Lake. And with that, Spokane’s season was ended with a giant middle finger from Project FanChise, and probably a giant middle finger to the IFL.

Arizona Rattlers @ Colorado Crush

The second Friday Night Showdown featured the Intense Conference Regular Season Champions, the Arizona Rattlers, facing off with the Colorado Crush, in what could be the Crush’s final game. The Crush gave everything the Rattlers could take, taking them to overtime, before the Rattlers would pick up the win, 47-44. And unless a potential buyer comes forward, it could be the end of Indoor Football in Loveland, Colorado. Which would be a shame as the Colorado Crush, formerly known as the Colorado Ice, began in 2006, playing eleven seasons, more than both of the Colorado teams in the AFL combined, as the AFL’s Colorado Crush lasted 6 seasons (2003-2008), and the Denver Dynamite, a charter member of the AFL, lasted only 4 seasons (1987, 1989-1991).

Wichita Falls Nighthawks @ Nebraska Danger

Besides the Barnstormers/Storm matchup, which will be highlighted in the Playoffs Preview Section, the last game of the 2017 IFL Regular Season was a battle between the Wichita Falls Nighthawks and the Nebraska Danger. For the Nighthawks, it was simple: Win, and you’re in. Lose, and you’re done. The Nighthawks went toe to toe with the Danger for 3 quarters, only trailing 38-31 after 3. But the Nighthawks began to unravel in the fourth, and the Danger, who were already in and had nothing to lose, would strike, as recently acquired QB Drew Powell would lead the Danger to a major upset over the Wichita Falls Nighthawks, 59-44, and ending the Nighthawks season at 12-4.

Indoor Football League 2017 Playoffs Preview

United Conference Championship: Iowa Barnstormers @ Sioux Falls Storm

For the seventh consecutive season, the Sioux Falls Storm host the United Conference Championship. And for the fifth consecutive season, the Storm will battle a team from Iowa. But this time, it’s in the form of another storied franchise: the Iowa Barnstormers. 

The Barnstormers make history again this season, as not only is this the first time they make the playoffs in the Indoor Football League, it is the first time they win 13 games in the regular season, with their previous record of 12 regular season wins in 2009 (the last time the Barnstormers made the playoffs) and 1996 (their second year in existence). In 1996, the team went 14-3 overall, and were led by Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner to Arena Bowl X, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Storm, 42-38.

This is the third time these two teams meet this season, and the sixth time overall historically. Last week, the Barnstormers hosted the Storm in Des Moines, looking to earn the right to host the United Conference Championship, and possibly knock out the 10-time defending National Champions from playoff contention. After a rough start for the Storm, the Barnstormers looked to control the tempo, as they went into halftime with a 21-17 lead. Coming out of the half, though, the Storm were able to make some key adjustments behind future IFL Hall of Famer Kurtiss Riggs, and dominated the second half, allowing only 3 points from Iowa, and taking the win, 45-24. Fortunately for Iowa, the Wichita Falls Nighthawks fell to the Nebraska Danger, eliminating Wichita Falls from the playoffs, and allowing Iowa for a chance at redemption. Sioux Falls is currently 6-0 against the Barnstormers, but Iowa is looking to make their first win against the Storm an impacting one.

Intense Conference Championship: Nebraska Danger @ Arizona Rattlers

Arizona, at the beginning of the year, was not looking like a team who would come in from the AFL and run roughshod over the IFL. Two major losses started the year for the Rattlers against Sioux Falls and Iowa, and many were questioning if the Rattlers would even make the playoffs. But Kevin Guy would adjust to the different league, and the Rattlers would go 12-2 over the final 14 games, only losing to Wichita Falls on a late TD, and Spokane.

Nebraska was a team of ups and downs over the course of the season. At times, the Danger looked to be that: quite dangerous. Other times, people were scratching their heads at this team. But the Danger would turn things around, finishing the season 9-7, with a big win over Wichita Falls for the exclamation point.

The Intense Conference Championship will be the third time these two face off in the 2017 IFL Season. Both times, the Rattlers would defeat the Danger, albeit in tight matchups both times, 39-36 and 43-33. And with the addition of Drew Powell, the Danger are looking to be upset-minded and make it back to the United Bowl, where they have come close 3 times to winning the United Bowl crown.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Last week Champions Indoor Football played the Northern and Southern Division Championships. Saturday night saw the Northern Division Championship played between the Sioux City Bandits and their arch rival, the Omaha Beef. One of the oldest rivalries in the sport had the teams duke it out in Sioux City for the right to head to Champions Bowl III. The Bandits were the heavy favorites already having beaten the Beef all 3 times in 2017, however Omaha came to stun an upset with a 55-45 win in Sioux City to win the Northern Division Championship and send the Beef to their first Championship in the 2001 Indoor Professional Football League title game. Down South it was an All-Texas affair played on Monday night as the Amarillo Venom hosted the Texas Revolution for the right to host the Omaha Beef the following week in Champions Bowl III. With three very close, very high scoring games between the teams the Southern Division Championship proved to be more of the same as the Revs knocked off the Venom 77-71.

CIF Champions Bowl III will be played on Friday night 6/23/17 at 7 PM CT from the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX as the Texas Revolution host the Omaha Beef.

Credit: National Arena League

The National Arena League also capped of it's inaugural regular season last week in Week 14 with 2 games instead of the original 3 being played. The opener saw a playoff preview between the Monterrey Steel and Jacksonville Sharks in which the Steel knocked off the Sharks 44-37 in Jacksonville. The Columbus Lions traveled to Albany to take on the Georgia Firebirds. The Firebirds tried to keep it close but stood no chance as the Lions took the win 50-34.

Just like the IFL Playoffs the NAL is the same format with four teams making the playoffs. Unlike the IFL the NAL seeds 1-4 overall. In Jacksonville the (#1 seed and 11-1 in there regular season) they host the Monterrey Steel (#4 seed and 7-4). The other Semi-Final features the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (#2 seed and 9-1) host the Columbus Lions (#3 seed and 9-3).

Last week we started the Best of Arenas competition with a Play-In Round. Richmond and Florida, both At-Large participants from the APF, have advanced into the Round of 32. Pick up to 16 teams in this Round to see who advances to next weeks Round of 16.

Indoor Football Weekly #28: The Final Countdown

Credit: Billings Gazette

Here we are, the final week of the 2017 Indoor Football Regular Season as both the IFL and NAL wrap up their seasons and the CIF has the division championships this weekend.

Credit: Indoor Football League

The Indoor Football League had a thriller of a Week 17 with all 10 teams playing and two teams, the Cedar Rapids Titans and Green Bay Blizzard wrapping up their seasons. Opening Week 17 on Friday night was the IFL Game of the Week between the Iowa Barnstormers and Spokane Empire. Iowa took the lead early and wouldn't give it up the entire night taking a 58-28 win over Spokane. Saturday night had three more games get played starting up north in Green Bay the Blizzard hosted the Screaming Eagles with the Blizzard winning 37-34 over Salt Lake. In the middle Sioux Falls hosted Nebraska, a team all to familiar with the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Storm just barely made it out alive winning 41-38 over the Danger. In the south the Wichita Falls Nighthawks played host to the Colorado Crush, a team who in their last encounter got the best of the Nighthawks. The Nighthawks just like the Storm barely escaped with a 54-52 win over the Crush. Wrapping up the week was a game that had absolutely ZERO playoff implications as the Arizona Rattlers hosted the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Rattlers squashed the Titans with a 56-25 win.
Week 18 wraps up the 2017 IFL regular season with four games being played. Friday night has two games being played, both with 8 PM CT start times. Out in the Rocky Mountains the Colorado Crush (3-12) host the Arizona Rattlers (11-4). To the west of the Rockies the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles (4-11) host the Spokane Empire (8-7) in a do or die game for the Empire, win and you have a chance at the playoffs, lose and your done. Saturday has two games at 7 PM CT both with HUGE playoff implications. In Des Moines the Iowa Barnstormers (13-2) host the Sioux Falls Storm (13-2) in what is a de facto United Conference Semi-Final. Win and you're in and host the United Conference Championship lose and you better hope Nebraska beats Wichita Falls. That brings up the final game as the Nebraska Danger (8-7) host the Wichita Falls Nighthawks (12-3) in another win and you're in and for Wichita Falls you lose you're out and for Nebraska lose and you're out if Spokane won the night before.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football kicked off the 2017 playoffs last week with the Division Semi-Finals. In the Northern Division the #1 Sioux City Bandits hosted the #4 Bismarck Bucks and the #2 Omaha Beef hosted the #3 Bloomington Edge. In Sioux City the Bandits massacred the Bucks 82-43. Down in Omaha the Beef bested the Edge with a 43-30 win. In the Southern Division the #1 Amarillo Venom hosted the #4 Duke City Gladiators and the #2 Texas Revolution hosted the #3 Dodge City Law. Duke City took two fan busses from Albuquerque, NM to Amarillo, TX for the game and the Venom came into the game against Duke City having beaten them three times by a combined 6 points. That's not how it end this time as the Venom beat the Gladiators 70-41 sending the players and fans on a long ride back home. Even with all the things going on in the background the Law made their way down to Allen, TX to take on the Revs. The Law fought their hardest but the Revs came out with a 63-59 win.
This weekend is the Division Championships and both divisions saw their #1 and #2 seeds advance. The North Division Championship sees the #1 Sioux City Bandits (10-3) hosting the #2 Omaha Beef (8-5) on Saturday at 7 PM CT. Sioux City dominated the regular season series winning all three games. This is the Beef's first shot at a Championship Game let alone playoff appearance since 2013 in the CPIFL where they lost to Wichita in the Semi-Finals. Sioux City on the other hand has their third shot at a Championship Game in that same period of time. The Southern Division Championship has the #1 Amarillo Venom (10-3) hosting the #2 Texas Revolution (9-4) on Monday night at 7 PM CT. In the regular season the teams had 3 tight games in which Amarillo took the first game, which was the Revs first loss of the season, while Texas took the next two. This game is the Revs 3rd chance to go to a Championship Game in 3 years while Amarillo is coming off a CIF Champions Bowl II loss last year to Wichita. All games can of course be seen on Eversport.

Credit: National Arena League

Lastly we head off east to the National Arena League where Week 13 gave us a 3 course set of games starting on Saturday with Jacksonville hosting High Country and Georgia hosting Lehigh Valley. In North Florida the Grizzlies stood no chance in "The Shark Tank" and were taken down handily by a score of 66-18. In Albany, GA the Firebirds, just like the Grizzlies, were no match for the opponents as the Steelhawks soared to an easy 51-26 win. Wrapping up the Week on Monday night was the NAL Game of the Week between the Monterrey Steel and Columbus Lions in Monterrey, MX. In what was a very close and tough game the Lions just edged the Steel 49-42.
In the news we have a cancelled game this week as the scheduled game between the High Country Grizzlies and Corpus Christi Rage will not be played due to the Rage folding. This is the second time this season a game between the Rage and a visiting opponent has been cancelled.
Week 14 will wrap up with just two games this week both at 6 PM CT on Saturday night. The first has the Jacksonville Sharks (11-0) hosting the Monterrey Steel (6-4) in what is a preview of an NAL Semi-Final playoff game. The second is between the Georgia Firebirds (2-8) and the Columbus Lions (8-3).

It's the Final Week of the year with our Game of the Week segment. The Final NAL Game of the Week for 2017 opens up things as the Jacksonville Sharks host the Monterrey Steel in a playoff preview game. Wrapping things up is a do or die game in the IFL between the Iowa Barnstormers and Sioux Falls Storm for the IFL Game of the Week.

This week we also have something new it's called Best of the Arenas. Starting this week and going for the next 6 weeks/posts you readers will be able to vote on the Best Arena in Indoor Football. The best way to do so is of course to have watched game via streaming or live. The best ways to determine the quality of the Arena is 1) In Arena Experience (Atmosphere+Attendance), 2) In Arena quality (Turf, Dashers, viewing angles etc), and 3) Miscellaneous (Anything not covered that could bring the quality up or down). As only 31 teams that started the season had arenas to call home and there are actually a few legit teams outside the CIF, IFL, and NAL we are starting with a Play-In Round of 4 arenas/teams to get to a total of 32. Those are the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX home of the Corpus Christi Rage of the National Arena League. Second is the Germain Arena in Estero, FL home of the Florida Tarpons of Arena Pro Football and one of 3 At-Large bids. Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, VT home of the Vermont Bucks of the Can-Am Indoor Football League and the 2nd At-Large bid. And finally the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA home of the Richmond Roughrider of Arena Pro Football (and it's league Champion) and the 3rd At-Large bid. You can access the poll i on the top right of the page and blog. It will be open until 6/21/17 at 11:59 PM.

Indoor Football Weekly #22

Credit: The Herald Dispatch (Huntington, WV)

After last week at least this week didn't have as much news, especially the bad kind but we do have some good news as well.

After quite a while we return to our history segment. Six weeks ago, we covered the 2005 season and this week we cover 2006. The APFL, NIFL, UIF, and AIFL (American Indoor Football League previously the Atlantic Indoor Football League) all returned from 2005. The Intense Football League, which was formed in 2004 and went on hiatus in 2005, returned in 2006. And a new league, the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL) was formed.
The Six team APFL went down to just five as the Kansas Storm and Nebraska Bears folded while the league added the Nebraska Wildcats. While the NIFL stayed at 22 teams it still went through a plethora of changes including having 6 teams fold, the Rome Renegades leave for the AIFL, and Corpus Christi, Louisiana, Odessa, and San Angelo all left for the Intense Football League. While the Miami Morays renamed the Florida Frenzy, the Rapid City Flying Aces rejoin the NIFL, and 10 new teams added to get back to that 22 team total. United Indoor Football went from 11 teams down to 10 as the Black Hills Red Dogs (renamed the Rapids City Flying Aces) left to go back to the NIFL and the Tupelo Fire Ants folded. The league added the Bloomington Extreme while the Tennessee Valley Raptors moved to Rockford, IL as the Rock River Raptors to make way for an af2 team in Huntsville, AL. After 2005 the Atlantic Indoor Football League was renamed American Indoor Football League and had all six of it's original franchises return, and only one (the Carolina Ghostriders formerly Greensboro) under a different name. Along with the original six clubs the league added 9 expansion teams and 1 team, the Rome Renegades, moved to the AIFL from the NIFL. The Intense Football League also reformed for 2006 with six teams forming the league consisting of former Intense teams in Corpus Christi, Odessa, San Angelo who played in the NIFL in 2005, a 2005 NIFL expansion team in the Louisiana Swashbucklers, and expansion teams CenTex Barracudas and Laredo Lobos. On top of those four leagues a brand new league, the Great Lakes Indoor Football League, was started with six brand new teams.
The APFL had a rough year seeing the Kansas Koyotes lose their first game in franchise history in week one to the Wichita Aviators. It became even crazier as the season went on with the Aviators winning the regular season championship and therefore the rights to host the APFL Championship. In the playoffs the Kansas Koyotes defeated the Iowa Blackhawks in the Semi-Final and after that the APFL decided to move the championship to the Landon Arena, home of the Koyotes. This move caused Wichita to boycott the Championship, which would then be awarded to the Koyotes via forfeit and caused Wichita to leave the APFL. The AIFL had a less-crazy but still event filled season after just four weeks the Carolina Ghostriders folded and would be replaced by the AIFL Ghostchasers to finish out the Ghostriders road schedule. The Syracuse Soldiers would also fold after 10 games and would have their road schedule finished by a combination of three Semi-Pro teams. After all those issues and two rounds of playoffs the Canton Legends would defeat the Rome Renegades 61-40 to win the AIFL Championship. The GLIFL was extremely stable for a first year league and would see all 6 of it's teams complete the entire regular season. With four teams making the playoffs the 1 and 2 seeds would win the Semi-Finals which put Port Huron against Rochester in Great Lakes Bowl I. The #1 seeded Port Huron Pirates would defeat the Raiders 40-34 to win the inaugural GLIFL Championship. With returning for 2006 the six team Intense Football League was very similar to the GLIFL with all teams finish it's season of 14 games (rather than the 10 of the GLIFL) followed up with a four team playoff. With the 1 and 2 seeds facing off in Intense Bowl II the hosting and 1st seeded Odessa Roughnecks would crush the Corpus Christi Hammerheads 97-56. The NIFL however laid it's deathbed in 2006 as it saw one of it's teams, the West Palm Beach Phantoms who never were able to secure a home venue, only play 7 road games most which used entire Semi-Pro teams near the opponents home city. This along with the issues in Lincoln who went 0-14 as did the Twin City Gators helped tarnish the leagues already hurt reputation. With 12 of 22 teams making the playoffs three rounds we're needed to decide who played in Indoor Bowl VI. Indoor Bowl VI saw the Pacific Conference 1 seed the Billings Outlaws host and defeat the Atlantic Conference 1 seed the Fayetteville Guard 59-44. Rounding out 2006 was United Indoor Football and it's 15 game season. The UIF was by far the strongest of all the existing league playing indoor football. After it's 15 game schedule 6 of the 10 teams made the playoffs for the road to United Bowl II. Sioux Falls would beat the Lexington Horsemen 72-64 at the Sioux Falls Arena to win UIF United Bowl II and it's second championship.

Credit: Indoor Football League

The IFL had well a quite decent Week 11 especially for the amount of bad game that we're scheduled. Kicking off the week was the only Friday night game as the Nebraska Danger hosted the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Titans, who definitely have improved since Week 1, didn't stand a chance as the Danger took a a 50-38 win. Saturday night had three games played and it opened up with the Iowa Barnstormers hosting the Colorado Crush. As covered last week Project FANchise fired Colorado head coach Jose Jefferson for "cost cutting measures" and Marvin Jones took over duties as acting Crush head coach. Iowa controlled the game, which was a very low scoring affair, all night to take a 33-21 win over the Crush. Next up was the IFL Game of the Week between the Wichita Falls Nighthawks and Sioux Falls Storm. The Nighthawks had the Storm's number and took the game 44-36 at home in Wichita Falls. Wrapping up Saturday was the Arizona Rattlers and the Green Bay Blizzard. Arizona made it known that Green Bay was in "The Snake Pit" taking a huge 64-29 win over the visiting Blizzard. Ending the week was the Intense Conference leading Spokane Empire hosting the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles. The game was a lot closer than it should have been and came down to the final seconds for Spokane as they edged out Salt Lake 31-29.
Some good news came out of the Colorado front this week as it's been reported that the IFL is making Project FANchise sell the Crush to new owners and that at least a few parties are interested in buying the team. This is definitely good news as the Crush is having it's most successful season at the gate in quite a few years.
As we enter the last third of the IFL season we actually have playoff races in both the Intense and United Conferences this year! And yes while only 4 teams making the playoffs isn't ideal (6 would be) at least the last 6 weeks will be meaningful. Week 12 kicks off on Friday night with what should be a beatdown as the Arizona Rattlers (5-4) travel to Cedar Rapids to take on the Titans (1-9) at 7:05 PM CT. The other game on Friday night is also a 7:05 PM CT game as Wichita Falls (8-2) hosts Nebraska (6-4). Saturday night has two games at 7:05 PM CT, in the east Green Bay (2-8) takes on the Iowa Barnstormers (7-2) in Green Bay, while out west the Sioux Falls Storm (8-1) have a 2016 United Bowl rematch as they host the Spokane Empire (7-2). Finally on Monday night the two teams from Project FANchise face each other as Colorado (2-7) hosts Salt Lake (1-8) at 7:00 PM CT.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

The CIF had a weekend full of close games and of those close games two we're offensive showdowns and thew other was pure defense.Week 10 opened in Salina, KS with the Salina Liberty hosting the Omaha Beef. The winless Liberty gave the Beef a run for their money and in the end Omaha won 26-23. The other Saturday game saw Sioux City host West Michigan in a rematch from Week 9 where the Ironmen dominated the Bandits. That wouldn't be the case at the Gateway Arena at Tyson Events Center as the Bandits took revenge with a 53-37 win over the Ironmen. Sunday gave us a matinee game from Independence, MO with Kansas City hosting Dodge City. The Law would overcome a tough night in the kicking department (they had three consecutive PAT's blocked and it would have been four if not for a penalty) to win 62-61 in OT. Ending the week was a nightcap and the CIF Game of the Week between the Amarillo Venom and Texas Revolution. In a game that completely lacked defense the Texas Revolution won a last minute victory 96-95 over the Amarillo Venom. This also has the distinction of being the highest scoring game of the season and potentially the most points all time in Arena/Indoor history.
Champions Indoor Football is now in the last 5 weeks of the regular season and with 4 playoff spots on the line the race is really heating up. In the Northern Division Sioux City has guaranteed themselves a spot in the CIF Playoffs while in the Southern Division all 4 spots are still up for grabs. On top of that no teams are mathematically out, but that all will change this week with a full slate of 7 games scheduled all on Saturday night. Opening the evening is the West Michigan (3-5) hosting Bloomington (5-3) at 6 PM CT. At 6:30 PM CT the Salina Liberty (0-8) host the Texas Revolution (5-2), this game is a playoff make or break for the Liberty as a loss puts them mathematically out of contention. 7 PM CT has five games including the Amarillo Venom (6-1) hosting the Duke City Gladiators (4-3), Duke City has lost the two previous meetings this season by just a combined four points. Also on the table is an All-Kansas clash between the Wichita Force (3-4) and the Dodge City Law (7-1). Sioux City (7-1) also will host the Bismarck Bucks (3-4), Omaha (4-3) hosts Kansas City (1-7) in a must win game for the Phantoms as a loss puts them out of playoff contention. And finally the Dallas Marshals (4-3) host the CenTex Cavalry (0-7), a loss for CenTex means they are also out of playoff contention. All games of course are viewable on Eversport.

Credit: National Arena League

The National Arena League's Week 7 had two close games and a huge blowout with all games being played last Saturday at the same time. The biggest game was the NAL Game of the Week and what looks to be a preview of the NAL Championship Game as the Jacksonville Sharks hosted the Columbus Lions. Jacksonville, even without QB Tommy Grady who is out for the season, proved once again they are the best team in the NAL by beating the Lions 37-28 in "The Shark Tank". Up North the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks hosted the Corpus Christi Rage and absolutely massacred the visitors by a score of 95-28. Wrapping up the week was the Georgia Firebirds hosting the Wolfpack, who are now onto their second head coach. The Firebirds won a close game in Albany 35-32 over the Wolfpack.
Week 8 of the NAL has their first full slate of four games since Week 3 and three of the games are being played at 6 PM CT. In what looks to be a massacre even worse than last week the Jacksonville Sharks (6-0) host the Corpus Christi Rage (0-5). Then the Wolfpack (0-4) head to Allentown, PA to face the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (5-1). Wrapping up Saturday is the Columbus Lions (3-3) hosting the Monterrey Steel (3-1). Sunday has just one game scheduled for 2:30 PM CT when the High Country Grizzlies (2-3) host the Georgia Firebirds (2-4). The Grizzlies-Firebirds game should be interesting depending on which Firebirds team shows up as they have been extremely bipolar, fighting to a close loss against a good Columbus team but barely beating a bad Wolfpack team.

Last week had probably the best slate of Game of the Week matchups of the entire season so far. All of the games this week are on Saturday and it'll kick off with the NAL Game of the Week as the Columbus Lions host the Monterrey Steel. Monterrey is coming off a bye week preceded by a loss to Jacksonville while Columbus is coming straight off a loss to the same team. Look for a fight as Monterrey looks to show they are the better team while Columbus tries to salvage the second half of their season. Heading west is the CIF Game of the Week at 7 PM CT with the Amarillo Venom hosting the Duke City Gladiators. Amarillo has gotten the best of Duke City both times they've played so far but just by a hair. The Gladiators will be coming into this game well rested having not played last week while Amarillo will want blood after losing a heartbreaker to the Revolution last week. Then going North for the IFL Game of the Week, also at 7 PM CT with the Sioux Falls Storm hosting the Spokane Empire. This is the 4th ever meeting between these two teams, and the Storm have won all 3. Spokane is coming off a very close win against Salt Lake and looking to prove themselves against the IFL juggernaut, while Sioux Falls is beat up and coming off a loss to Wichita Falls but don't think that will stop the Storm, this will be a good one folks. The CIF game can be seen on Eversport IFL on YouTube, the NAL on Livestream.