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 #27

Credit: AL.com

Another week is down in the 2017 season and the CIF regular season has now wrapped up. The IFL for the first time in years is coming down to the wire and the NAL continues to exist.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Week 16 in the IFL was again a fairly good week as every team that needed a win in the United Conference got it while last year's Intense Conference Champion Spokane Empire seem to be running out of steam. With Week 16 opening up on Friday night the only IFL game saw the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles take on the Iowa Barnstormers. Salt Lake definitely went down screaming with a plethora of turnovers in a 58-36 loss to Iowa. Saturday night saw the other four games be played and starting in Loveland, CO the Storm needed a bounce back win after a home loss against Wichita Falls the week before. It wasn't pretty but the Storm took down the Colorado Crush 51-29. Out in Green Bay the Blizzard hosted the Nighthawks in a game that Wichita Falls desperately needed to win as they are on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Green Bay, just a week after being slaughtered by Iowa, took Wichita Falls to the ropes but couldn't finish them off. The Nighthawks walk away with a 44-37 win. Out in Cedar Rapids the Titans played host to the Nebraska Danger. The Danger needed Overtime to finish off the Titans with a 52-46 win. Wrapping up the week was the IFL Game of the Week between the Spokane Empire and Arizona Rattlers. Arizona walked out of Spokane with a 33-16 win and the right to host the Intense Conference Championship.

Week 17, the second to last week of the 2017 IFL season and it all kicks off with one game on Friday night when the Iowa Barnstormers (12-2) host the Spokane Empire (8-6) at 7 PM CT in Des Moines, IA. Saturday night had three games to play all at 7 PM CT. In Sioux Falls, SD the Storm (12-2) host the Nebraska Danger (8-6). The Green Bay Blizzard (2-13) host the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles (4-10). Wrapping up Saturday night is another playoff implicating game with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks (11-3) hosting the Colorado Crush (3-11). The final game of the week will be played on Sunday evening at 4 PM CT when the Arizona Rattlers (10-4) host the Cedar Rapids Titans (1-14) in the one of two game with ZERO playoff implications.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football wrapped up it's 2017 regular season last week in Week 15 with a bombshell notice and 12 teams playing a total of 6 games. The bombshell notice was that the Southern Division leading Dodge City Law had been issued a penalty by Champions Indoor Football for late uploading of game film to Hudl. The penalty issued was forfeiting 2 victories on the season dropping the Law from 9-2 down to 7-2 and fighting for a playoff spot. After the news the week started with two games on Friday night as the Texas Revolution hosted the Wichita Force and Kansas City Phantoms hosted the Sioux City Bandits. In Allen, TX the Revs took down the Force 56-43 and in Independence, MO the Phantoms upset the Northern Division's top seed the Sioux City Bandits 75-70. Saturday night saw four games being played as Duke City hosted Dodge City in a game that was do or die for both teams. The Bismarck Bucks played host to the Bloomington Edge, the Dallas Marshals hosted the Omaha Beef, and the Amarillo Venom hosted the CenTex Cavalry. In those four games the Duke City Gladiators secured a playoff spot with a 43-22 win over the Law. In Bismarck the Edge just took barely took a win over the hometown Bucks 79-78. Down in Mesquite the Dallas Marshals beat the Omaha Beef 62-55 and finally in Amarillo the Venom crushed the CenTex Cavalry 55-27.

This week the 2017 edition of the CIF playoff start. Last year saw 6 teams, 3 from each division, made the playoffs, this year it has been expanded to 8 teams, with 4 from each division. All four games this week will all be played on Saturday night at 7 PM CT. In the Northern Division the #1 Sioux City Bandits host the #4 Bismarck Bucks and the #2 Omaha Beef host the #3 Bloomington Edge. In the Southern Division playoffs the #1 Amarillo Venom host the #4 Duke City Gladiators in what should be a very interesting game as Amarillo has face Duke City three times and barely edged out wins every time. Wrapping up the week is the #2 Texas Revolution hosting the #3 Dodge City Law in a game that if not for the penalty assessed by the league would be being played in Dodge City, KS.

Credit: National Arena League

Week 12 of the National Arena League had four games with all 8 teams playing and of course the usual beatdowns. The three games on Saturday night saw the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks edge the High Country Grizzlies 67-52 in the NAL Game of the Week. The other two games saw the Columbus Lions beat the Georgia Firebirds 81-12 and the Jacksonville Sharks knock off the Wolfpack 77-32. Monday night saw another crushing as the Monterrey Steel struck down the Georgia Firebirds 66-8.

Usually we don't highlight player signings here however this is a little different as Robert Kent, who QB for both the Texas Revolution, until they signed Chris Dixon, and the Dallas Marshals of Champions Indoor Football signed with the Monterrey Steel after Dallas was knocked out from the playoffs. With his contract not officially being over in Dallas let's see what happens in both the NAL and CIF. The other big highlight is the stunt the Columbus Lions are pulled for their trip to Monterrey, MX as they were asking for bottled water donations implying that the water in Monterrey was, let's just say tainted. Monterrey and Columbus have both since taken down their posts relating to this.

Week 13 has three games being played with two on Saturday and one on Monday night. On Saturday night both games will be played on Saturday night at 6 PM CT as the Jacksonville Sharks host the High Country Grizzlies and the Georgia Firebirds host the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks. Monday night at 8 PM CT the Monterrey Steel host the Columbus Lions.

Were down to just two regular season weeks to go and just two leagues left with a Game of the Week. The IFL Game of the Week opens up everything as at 7 PM CT on Friday night the Iowa Barnstormers host the Spokane Empire in a game that BOTH team need a win to help their playoff plights. The NAL Game of the Week is the final game of the week overall as at 8 PM CT the Monterrey Steel host the Columbus Lions.

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.

Indoor Football Weekly #25

It's coming down to the wire for the 2017 regular season. The IFL is in a fierce playoff battle in both conferences, the CIF is narrowing down it's field, and the NAL has 5 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Week 14 gave us a full slate of football in the IFL and it all kicked off with a Thursday night game between the Spokane Empire and Colorado Crush. The game was exactly the opposite of what was expected as the Crush came out with a 45-36 win, handing the Empire their third straight loss. Spokane is in a dogfight for the Intense Conference playoff spots and they'll desperately need to improve to get in. Saturday night brought us four more games with three kicking off at 7:05 PM CT. In the north the Sioux Falls Storm hosted the Cedar Rapids Titans in what could be the final ever matchup between these rivals. The Storm wiped the floor with Cedar Rapids by a score of 54-20. Out the Nebraska it was a battle between the hosting Danger and Green Bay Blizzard. Nebraska put down Green Bay fairly easily, 41-25, which will definitely help in the Dangers quest to go to the Intense Conference Championship. Down in Texas the Wichita Falls Nighthawks hosted the Iowa Barnstormers in the IFL Game of the Week. The game would have huge repercussions on the United Conference side of the playoffs with the winner getting an inside track to the United Conference Championship. In what was a back and forth game for most of the night it came down to the final minute with a battle of kickers. First up was the Barnstormers kicker Kenton Chun, who is statistically the worst kicker in the IFL. Chun would make the FG giving Iowa a 3 point lead setting up Wichita Falls with just seconds left to send out the best kicker in the IFL Rockne Belmonte. The FG missed and Iowa away a tight 50-47 win. Wrapping up the weekend was the Arizona Rattlers and Salt Lake Screaming Eagles. Salt Lake stood no chance against Kevin Guy and Co. as the Rattlers cruised to a 63-33 win over Salt Lake.

Week 15 again will give us a full slate of 5 games on the dock. 2 games on Friday starting out with the Iowa Barnstormers hosting the Green Bay Blizzard at 7:05 PM CT. Then at 9 PM CT the Spokane Empire look for revenge as they take on the Colorado Crush. Saturday has just one game with the Sioux Falls Storm hosting the Wichita Falls Nighthawks at 7:05 PM CT in a game that again has major repercussions with it. Sunday night again has another major game this time in the Intense Conference as Arizona hosts Nebraska at 5 PM CT. It caps off on Monday night when the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles host the Cedar Rapids Titans at 8 PM CT.

Credit: Champions Indoor Football

Champions Indoor Football had a huge Week 13 with every game having some sort of playoff implications. Friday night saw two games being played. Opening up the weekend was the CIF Game of the Week between Duke City and the Texas Revolution. The Gladiators would take the win 35-28 in Allen, TX over the Revs to keep alive their playoff hopes. Down in Belton the CenTex Cavalry hosted the Amarillo Venom. The Venom came out in a no mercy attitude, crushing the Cavalry 60-26. Saturday saw the other four game being played all starting with a matinee between the Salina Liberty and Bloomington Edge. After weeks of trials and tribulations the Liberty finally won their first game 47-34 on the road in Bloomington, IL. In Sioux City, IA the Bandits hosted the Bucks with Bismarck looking to get them a better edge over West Michigan and Sioux City looking to keep themselves in first place. The Bandits took the win by a final score of 67-49. In Ralston, NE the Omaha Beef played host to the West Michigan Ironmen. West Michigan, last years AIF runner-up, has had a very poor first season in the CIF and it continued as the Beef took down the Ironmen 42-39. The last game of the week was a Southern Division impacting game as the Dallas Marshals hosted the Wichita Force. Wichita, last years Champions Bowl winner, got the best of the Marshals winning 34-27.

Week 14, the second to last Week of the CIF regular season has all 14 teams in action over seven games again this week. It opens up on Friday night at 7:05 PM CT when the Bloomington Edge host the West Michigan Ironmen in a must win game for the Ironmen. Saturday night has the other six games being played kicking off with two at 6:35 PM CT. In the North Division the Salina Liberty host the Bismarck Bucks, while Salina is out of the playoffs they definitely want to win a second game to close out the season. In the Southern Division the Dodge City Law host the Texas Revolution in a battle that is huge for first place. The other four games all start at 7:05 PM CT and in the North is the final regular season battle between the Omaha Beef and their archrival Sioux City Bandits. An inter-divisional matchup takes place in Independence, MO when the Kansas City Phantoms host the Dallas Marshals. While the Phantoms cannot make the playoffs a win for them can definitely hurt the Marshals chances. In Wichita, KS the Force are looking to stake their claim in the playoffs as they host the CenTex Cavalry. And last but not least out west, in what is one of the most important games this week, the Duke City Gladiators host the Amarillo Venom as Duke City looks to keep their playoff hopes alive. As always all games can be viewed live on Eversport.

Credit: National Arena League

Week 10 in the National Arena League was well exactly what we expected and we even saw the first shutout of the season and NAL history, a rarity in this sport. The shutout happened when the Columbus Lions massacred the Wolfpack 77-0 in Columbus, GA. In the NAL Game of the Week the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks took down the High Country Grizzlies 56-28. And wrapping up the week was the usual Jacksonville beatdown as the Sharks took down the Monterrey Steel 42-13 in Jacksonville.

The most exciting events of the week happened actually in between games. The first of which was relatively minor news as the Jersey Flight, who will be lucky to play a game next season, named Jake Grande as head coach. It's good to name a head coach this early especially to get a head start into the off-season but it doesn't matter when your ownership says they need to raise funds to play. The biggest news of the week came from Jacksonville as they relieved Mark Stoute of his head coaching duties and named Siaha Burley as head coach. That's right the 8-0 Sharks who have just crushed the rest of the NAL made what is by far the stupidest move of the season by firing their head coach. Welcome to AIF 2.0 people.

Week 11 in the NAL will see three games being played, none of which should be a challenge. The first two games are at 6 PM CT as the High Country Grizzlies host the Columbus Lions and the Georgia Firebirds host the Monterrey Steel. Then on Sunday at 7 PM CT the Corpus Christi Rage host the Jacksonville Sharks.

Our Game of the Week is getting a bit of a revamp this week. As always we'll have the CIF Game of the Week but no NAL Game of the Week as instead there will be 2 IFL Co-Games of the Week. Saturday night will see two games, both at 7:05 PM as the CIF Game of the Week is between the Duke City Gladiators and Amarillo Venom. Both teams want and need to win as it will help keep Duke City's playoff hopes alive while a win for the Venom helps them to try and move to first place in the Southern Division. The first of two in the IFL Game of the Week sees the Sioux Falls Storm hosting the Wichita Falls Nighthawks. A very angry Nighthawks team will be coming into Sioux Falls needing a win to maintain a decent shot at the playoffs while Sioux Falls is facing the only team they've lost too this season and still have a chance at not making the playoffs, look for this to be a dogfight. Last but not least is the second IFL Game of the Week on Sunday at 5 PM as the Intense Conference leading Arizona Rattlers host the second place Nebraska Danger. The Danger need a win to push themselves into the playoffs for yet another year while Arizona wants to hold onto the first place spot in the Intense Conference.