Week Twelve of the AF1 has come and gone. It wasn’t the most exciting weekend in Arena Football One. We only really had one competitive game but in their dominance, we learned a lot about Billings and Salina too.
Watching Salina, Billings and Corpus Christi, one thing was made abundantly clear in Week 12, the fight for the Number Four spot is going to go down to the wire.
Unfortunately, my Power Rankings this week are perfectly aligned with the AF1 standings, but Corpus Christi’s fantastic performance against Nashville did force me to revise their placement from last week.
- Albany- If you can’t get enough Firebirds content on their bye week, I’d recommend this episode of Off the Wall that features an interview with Albany QB Sam Castronova.
- SW Kansas- For the Storm’s sake, I hope they got a lot of rest on their bye week. They close the season with two in a row against the surging Liberty.
- Nashville- Nashville looked freaking great this week. Their round one playoff matchup against the Storm is going to be incredible.
- Salina- Salina dominated Washington exactly like they were supposed to this week. Their biggest test of the season will be Week 13.
- Billings- The Outlaws continue to ride the line at Five. They’re either a bad good team or a good bad team. How they play the next two weeks should give us our answer.
- Corpus Christi- The Tritons lost this week but they looked good. They were a few careless mistakes away from being the Kats.
- Oregon- This week Oregon took their rightful spot as the not Washington team at the bottom of the AF1 barrel. They earned it.
- Washington- This week Washington debuted another Quarterback in Kobe Martin. They’ve now played six Quarterbacks this season and have two wins to show for their efforts. The Wolfpack organization also started selling 2026 Season Tickets this week. Follow this LINK if you’re interested.
Here’s the official updated AF1 Playoff Picture going into Week 13.
Before we dive into the Recaps, let’s do some quick news for Week 12.
Billings Owner Steve Titus and his love of transparency continues to be the gift that keeps on giving for Indoor Football bloggers. On June 2, a story ran on Medium titled “Why Steve Titus should Leave Billings and Bring Back the Colorado Crush.” The story details Titus’ continued struggles to build a fanbase in Billings and makes the case for moving the franchise to Colorado; a state where Titus apparently has strong ties.
Less than 30 minutes after it posted, Titus not only retweeted the story but responded:
This issue doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. If there’s interest elsewhere and the opportunity presents itself, it feels likely that the Outlaws will NOT be in Billings next season. We’ll continue to update this story as it develops.
Tuesday the AF1 pleased Kulkamaniacs the world over by naming Nashville QB Tyler Kulka Week 12’s Player of the Week. Congrats to Kulka and the Kats.
We’ll dive into his stats in more detail below.
The AF1’s Offensive Player of the Week honors were given to Billings Fullback Hunter Swoboda who put up four touchdowns in Billings’ dominant victory over the Oregon Lightning.
The Defensive Player of the Week award was given to Torrence Williams. Williams tore through the Washington offensive line like a wrecking ball and led the Liberty defense with three sacks. We understand he’s now living rent free in the nightmares of Wolfpack QB Adam Kruse.
Special Teams Honors went to Tritons return man Josiah King who weaved his way through the Kats Kickoff team like a needle through thread for two touchdowns.
Let’s dive into the recaps and let’s start with–
Liberty Lay Waste to Wolfpack
Salina Surges
Standings Ranking- Fourth
Previous Power Ranking- Fourth
NEW Power Ranking- Fourth
Rakeem “The Dream” Cato got off to a slow start this week. In the Liberty’s opening drive he went one for four and the Liberty ended the drive with a rare turnover on downs. He rebounded quickly and with authority. The Liberty would score on every drive for the rest of the half.
Salina took a 37-4 lead into the locker room and Coach Heron O’Neal felt so confident about the way his team was performing that he gave Cato the rest of the night off. Rakeem “The Dream” finished his game 14-22 for 89 yards and three touchdowns. A light night for Cato.
Salina backup QB Javin Kilgo kept the momentum going in the second half. He’d lead the Liberty to the endzone in four of their five second half possessions. He finished the game 6-10 passing for 67 yards and three touchdown passes. He threw one pick and ran in one score.
Coach O’Neal continues to sketch out the manual showing other AF1 coaches how to properly utilize a dynamic running back. Of course it helps to have former MVP Tracy Brooks but that’s not the point we’re making here. With the exception of that opening drive, the Liberty offense operated at maximum efficiency Saturday night. Brooks didn’t get a lot of reps carrying the ball but he made them count. He had two carries for four yards and one score.
Brooks complimented his rushing efforts with eight pass catches for 54 yards and one touchdown.
Salina Kicker Bailey Hale led all the league kickers in scoring this week. He put up a season high 11 points against Washington. He went nine for ten in PAT’s and had one deuce.
Let’s get into the Salina stats that are fit to print:
- A week after being named the AF1’s Player of the Week, Malik Honeycutt continues to put up HUGE numbers for Salina. He finished this game with five catches for 77 yards and three touchdowns.
- Dez Epps had four catches for 14 yards and one score. He’s also Salina’s return man and he took one all the way to the house at the top of the third quarter.
- “Fast” Ed Smith had three catches for 11 yards and one score.
- Lamont Wade grabbed another pick this week. This is only his second game with the Liberty and he has an interception in both games. Wade’s making his presence felt in the Salina secondary. In just two games he’s amassed his two picks and eight tackles.
- Defensive Back DeWayne Autrey had six tackles and forced one fumble. He was one of the few Liberty defenders to not sack a Wolfpack quarterback.
- Defensive Player of the Week Torrence Williams had two tackles and three sacks.
- Travis Taylor made a heck of a case for Defensive Player of the Week, himself. He had five tackles, three sacks and recovered one fumble.
- Justin Foster had one tackle and three sacks of his own.
- Kerry Starks finished with two tackles and one sack.
- RJ Jarrett notched three tackles and one pick.
Salina’s Path to the Playoffs
With their show of dominance over the Wolfpack, Salina has earned the right to control their own destiny the rest of the way. Unfortunately for Salina, the AF1 God of Scheduling isn’t going to make it easy on them. For Week 13, Salina will start a home and home with the second place Storm. The resurgent Liberty have been a delight to watch. They’re now hitting on all cylinders but it might be too little too late. Salina’s rocky opening to the season (they lost four straight) has made their current hold on the Number Four spot very tenuous. If Salina beats the Storm this week, they’ll hold Number Four for the week with a win percentage of .500. If they lose and the rest of the week breaks the way I think it will, they’ll drop to Fifth with a win percentage of .400. They’re going to have to beat the Storm at least once to make the playoffs and even that may not be enough. The Storm will be their toughest opponent since the Liberty lost to the Firebirds in Week Eight. It’s unfortunate that Salina finds themselves in this situation because they are without a doubt one of the four best teams in the league right now. I’m excited to see what Coach O’Neal cooks up.
Woof-Pack Drop Fifth Straight
Standings Ranking- Eighth
Previous Power Ranking- Eighth
NEW Power Ranking- Eighth
As you can probably surmise by the numbers, there weren’t a lot of highlights for the Wolfpack in their 71-4 loss. The Wolfpack not only grabbed their ninth loss of the year, they also made Arena Football One history here in the inaugural season. Washington is the first team in the league to go an entire game without scoring a touchdown. Congrats to Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator JR Wells.
The Wolfpack’s four points were put on the board by kicker Manny Higuera who DRILLED a dropkick field goal with 10:45 left in the first. Manny would “attempt” four more field goals that would not get through the uprights. One of them was blocked by Salina defensive back Shaq Bond.
The Wolfpack would use two QB’s in this game. Their battered and bloodied starter Adam Kruse would sit the second half after going 8-18 passing for 43 yards with one pick.
Kobe Martin would take over in the third. Martin only officially signed with the Wolfpack on May 30, but with that tight turnaround time and practically no time to learn the team’s playbook, I thought Martin did ok. He finished 7-10 for 28 yards with one pick.
If the Wolfpack have just decided not to protect their QB’s, Coach Wells’ strategy of only forcing their Quarterback to play one half is a solid one. It spares Kruse and Martin any unnecessary physical hardship and allows them to rest before their next game.
The Washington defense struggled to slow the Liberty’s powerhouse offense. Defensive Back Ijaaz Raashid finished with five tackles. Dorian Hardin finished with three. I’m not sure if he’s injured or just exhausted, but Chei Hill has almost entirely fallen off of the stat sheet. He finished this game with one tackle.
The lone defensive highlight for Washington came with about 20 seconds left in the game when linebacker Donte Reed got a hand on a Javin Kilgo pass and deflected it to himself for a pick.
Washington’s Path to the Playoffs
They’ll need a time machine and better game plans for most of this 2025 season to even have a shot at the four spot.
This was Washington and Salina’s first and only matchup of the season. Washington has a bye for Week 13 but they’ll return to action in Week 14 when they’ll travel to upstate New York to offer the final hurdle between the Albany Firebirds and an undefeated season.
Salina will make the short trip to Dodge City, Kansas to take on their in-state rivals the SW Kansas Storm on Saturday, June 7.
Kats Sneak Past Tritons
Kats Continue Climb
Standings Ranking- Third
Previous Power Ranking- Third
NEW Power Ranking- Third
Kulkamaniacs! Lend me your ears! Kulka and the Kats are ready for the freaking playoffs. The Tritons came out in this game and looked solid. They opened with a 5 minute and 13 second scoring drive. “Ok. The Tritons have come to play,” I thought to myself.
The Kats officially started their first drive with nine minutes left in the first. 90 seconds later, Kulka hit Nih-Jer Jackson in the end zone. It took two plays. It’s unclear if Kulka broke a sweat. This is the type of efficiency Kulka and Coach Darren Arbet would bring to the rest of the game. The Kats would score in eight of their nine drives. The Kats only turnover would come on a special teams play we’ll cover in a bit.
This is the type of win that sets the Kats apart from the middle of the AF1 pack. They’re not a good bad team. They’re a contender. The Tritons had a great game. The Kats had an almost perfect one. That’s how you win titles.
Kulka led the Kats while going 20-31 passing for 196 yards and five touchdowns. He’s now second amongst the league’s starters in completion percentage having gone 122-190 for .642.
Kats Wide Receiver Milton Williams III put up big numbers both on the ground and through the air. He had two carries for 18 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also caught five passes for 40 yards and two more touchdowns.
Let’s have a look at other relevant Kat stats:
- The Kats wide receiver corps had a great night in Texas. Nih-Jer Jackson had seven catches for 57 yards and one score.
- Jordon Gandy had six catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.
- Dakari Thorpe caught two passes for 24 yards and had one touchdown.
- Shaun Lewis led the Kats defensive efforts. He had three tackles and one pick.
- Rod Perry II had one tackle and one sack.
- Byron Edwards had three tackles.
Nashville’s Path to the Playoffs
I think the Kats are going to win out for the regular season. They put on a pretty flawless performance against the Tritons here in Week 12. I suspect they’ll make light work of the Outlaws in Week 13 and move to 6-3 with a win percentage of .667. The Kats will also be keeping an eye on the Liberty/Storm in Week 13. If the Liberty can pull out a win, the Storm win percentage will drop to .636 and the Kats will move to the Number Two spot. Remember, Number Two will host Number Three in the AF1 Playoffs. For the Kats it’s the difference between sleeping at home in Music City or facing the Storm on the road in… Dodge City, Kansas.
Poor Communication Costs Corpus
Standings Ranking- Sixth
Previous Power Ranking- Seventh
NEW Power Ranking- Sixth
Despite one interception in this one, Fred Payton Jr is on the ascent. Fred’s dealt with a lot this season. He even held out one game during Corpus Christi’s payroll nonsense. He lost six to eight teammates in that drama. As the Tritons attempt to keep things together on the fly, Fred is their true North and he didn’t let them down in Week 12.
Fred went 11-28 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran it five times for 41 yards and a rushing TD.
I’m not sure what the new variable was but the Tritons offense struggled with communication in a way they haven’t almost any other time this season. Coach Johnny Anderson was forced to burn all three of his first half timeouts just to avoid Delay of Game penalties. Three plays after he spent his last timeout they were flagged for a Delay of Game. Corpus would ultimately be flagged for Delay of Game three times. Something just wasn’t computing.
Fred also struggled to connect with new wide receiver Joshua Reese. Reese was playing in just his second game for the Tritons and in at least three instances was clearly running a different route from the one his QB anticipated, which resulted in Fred throwing incomplete passes to seemingly no one. You could argue that those issues together really only killed six plays. That’s a drive and a half against a Nashville team that scored on every drive but one. This is the wrong time for these types of mistakes. It’s not going to make their push for the playoffs any easier.
Let’s have a look at the Corpus numbers that are fit to print:
- Wide Receiver Richy Anderson II had a standout game with five catches for 86 yards.
- Drevon Macon had three catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
- The aforementioned Joshua Reese finished with two catches for 26 yards and one score.
- Daniel Byse, the Tritons 6’1”, 265 lbs defensive lineman, got called on to carry some of the offensive load in this game. He had two carries for only three yards but also had one pass catch for 22 yards.
- Tritons Linebacker Chase Alisauckas racked up six tackles in this game.
- Lakeith Murray and Donnie Lewis Jr both had four tackles. Murray also scored the a safety.
Corpus Christi’s Path to the Playoffs
With their loss to the Kats the Tritons win percentage drops to .333 and as you no doubt noticed above, they fall to Sixth in the playoff race. Despite losing, the Tritons played a strong game against the more talented Nashville squad. If they take that energy into their contest with Oregon in Week 13, they’ll win handily. This will move them to 4-5 and boost their win percentage to .444. The Kats will beat Billings next week which will drop the Outlaws win percentage to .363. This will allow the Tritons to jump Billings in the standings. AND if the currently Number Four Liberty lose to SW Kansas, their win percentage drops to .400. So, if the Tritons beat Oregon (which they should), and the Kats beat Billings (which they will), and the Storm beat the Liberty, the Tritons will jump from Sixth all the way to Fourth at the end of Week 13.
A Special Teams Special!
Kats vs Tritons was the perfect illustration of the importance of a strong Special Teams unit. Special Teams accounted for 17 of the Tritons’ 39 points. Even with that incredible number, you could argue that the Tritons Special Teams unit could’ve won them this game… and failed.
Sure, Kick Returns are fun and exciting to watch on television–
But one thing we’ve learned in the AF1’s inaugural season is that your kicker can and should make a HUGE impact on your final score. Look at Bailey Hale in Salina. If Hale had kicked his 11 points for the Tritons instead of Salina, the Tritons would’ve won this game. Instead, Tritons kicker Evan Byrd struggled with his accuracy. He went 1-4 on PAT’s. Byrd’s inconsistency forced the Tritons to lean on 2pt conversions. They went 0-4. The missed PAT’s and the failed conversions combined give you 11 points left on the table. Even if the Tritons had just kicked it every time and made the PAT’s, that’s an additional seven points. That’s a touchdown. That’s a win.
Of course Nashville had Special Teams issues of their own. First of all, the Kats only turnover of the night came on a kick return in the Fourth Quarter that was fumbled by Milton Williams III on the Kats ten yard line. The ball bounced and rolled all the way back to the Tritons end zone, was covered by a Kat who was then tackled for a Safety.
Nashville Kicker Gunner Raborn had his least productive game of the season. Raborn was out with an injury last week and you have to wonder if something is still ailing him. In his three previous games with the Kats, Raborn has scored five, nine and 13 points respectively. He came into this game with a .706 PAT%. He finished this one 0-4. LIke the Tritons, the Kats tried some 2pt conversions. They were 1-3.
Both the Kats and the Tritons are going to need all the help they can get this weekend. Let’s hope Byrd and Raborn have worked through their slumps.
Corpus Christi will have the opportunity to avenge this loss in Week 14 when they travel to Nashville to close out the season on Saturday, June 14.
For Week 13, the Tritons will head North West to Redmond, Oregon to take on the Oregon Lightning on Sunday, June 8 in ViceTV’s Game of the Week.
Nashville is headed to Big Sky country for Week 13. They’ll take on the Billings Outlaws on Monday, June 9.
Outlaws Obliterate Oregon
Billings Bounces Back
Standings Ranking- Fifth
Previous Power Ranking- Fifth
NEW Power Ranking- Fifth
Billings kept their playoff hopes alive by delivering a brutal beatdown to the Oregon Lightning on Sunday. This will knock Oregon all the way down to that Number Seven spot. Outlaw QB Malik Henry started the game strong. Henry led the Outlaws to touchdowns on five of their first six drives of the game.
Then… Henry got into a skirmish with some Lightning defenders in the Outlaws first drive of the third quarter. Henry was ejected from the game for throwing punches. Henry left after going 9-12 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns. The Outlaws were up 29-7 at the time of Henry’s ejection.
Billings backup Braden Wingle, who you might remember has plenty of experience as a starter, came in and performed fine in relief. He finished 3-4 for 66 yards and one score of his own.
The BIG offensive story for Billings is the performance of Offensive Player of the Week Hunter Swoboda.
The return of Swoboda, who was with Billings last season, has solved the Outlaws run game issue. He’s a beast at 6’4” and 255 lbs. Coach Walker uses him perfectly and keeps defenses on their toes. With his size, Swoboda is a fantastic pass blocker but his speed allows him to BUST through a defensive line like he’s walking through an open door.
Swoboda finished this game with 12 carries for 30 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He also caught three passes for 18 yards.
Kicker Dean Faithful continues to more than pull his weight for the Billings Special Teams unit. In this game, Faithful accounted for eight of the Outlaws’ 58 points. He went 6-7 in PAT’s and had one Deuce.
Here are the rest of the Outlaw stats that are fit to print:
- Darius Prince continues to put up award worthy numbers. He led Billings receivers with five catches for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Fun fact, he also threw one pick in a trick play gone awry. Unless they intended to throw that interception.
- Kenneth Brewer III also had five catches but for only 54 yards.
- Defensive Back Antwan Smith put up numbers that would make any Defensive Coordinator proud. Smith had five tackles, one pick and deflected three passes.
- Jamaar Moore had one tackle and two picks.
- Dwayne Hollis had three tackles and one interception that he took all the way to the freaking house for a pick six.
- Sidney Houston Jr tore through the Oregon offensive line like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents. He finished the game with two sacks and a great deal of satisfaction I hope.
Billings’ Path to the Playoffs
With their win over Oregon, Billings jumps all the way from Seventh to Fifth. Unfortunately for Billings, in Week 13 they’ll play the currently Number Three Nashville Kats. I don’t think the Outlaws have the weapons or discipline to defeat Nashville. I think Nashville will beat Billings exactly how they beat the Tritons. They’ll just wait on the Outlaws to make a mistake and the Outlaws will make a mistake. If the Outlaws lose to Nashville and the rest of Week 13 breaks the way I think it will, Billings will fall to Sixth with a win percentage of .363. This however, doesn’t necessarily put an end to Billings’ playoff hopes. If the Liberty lose both of their games against the Number Two Storm, their win percentage at the end of the season will be .363. The Tritons will beat Oregon in Week 13 and probably lose to Nashville again in Week 14 which will close their season with a win percentage of .400. If Billings loses to Nashville in Week 13, like I suspect they will, but handles their business against Oregon in Week 14, they’ll close the season with a record of 5-7 and a win percentage of .454 which will get them that Number Four spot in the playoffs.
Lightning Lose Second Straight
Standings Ranking- Seventh
Previous Power Ranking- Sixth
NEW Power Ranking- Seventh
The Oregon Lightning had a difficult day. They needed this win and while their playoff hopes are technically still alive, losing by seven touchdowns can’t exactly leave one feeling encouraged. As it’s been for the whole season, as QB Dalton Cole goes, so goes Oregon. Things went very poorly for Cole on Sunday.
Cole finished the game 10-31 for 95 yards and a completion percentage of .323. He also threw three picks which gives him 19 for the year and the lead in that particular category league wide. Cole was significantly more productive on the ground. He rushed seven times for 28 yards and scored Oregon’s only touchdown of the game.
And now the rest of the Lightning stats are fit to print:
- Wide Receivers Kris Lewis and Donovan Ollie both had three catches for 31 and 36 yards respectively.
- Despite being productive in the past, the Lightning struggled to incorporate receiver Phillip Harding. He finished with only two catches and 41 yards.
- On the defensive side of the ball, Nic Brassell finished with three tackles.
- Armand Childs finished with one tackle and a pick.
- Kicker Ethan Skarmas did his level best. He went 1-1 in PAT’s.
Oregon’s Path to the Playoffs
As you’ve no doubt noticed, I don’t have a lot of faith in Oregon’s ability to close this season on a high. I think they’ll lose the rest of their games and close the season 4-9 with a win percentage of .307. BUT, if Oregon somehow beats the Tritons in Week 13 and the rest of Week 13 breaks the way I think it will, Oregon can jump all the way from Seventh to Fourth going into Week 14. If that happens, the Lightning would go into Week 14 with a win percentage of .416 and play a win or go home against Billings to close the season.
Billings and Oregon will close the season against one another in Week 14 on Saturday, June 14 in Redmond, Oregon.
Billings stays home to host the Number Three Nashville Kats for Week 13 on Monday, June 9.
Oregon is also headed home this week to host the Corpus Christi Tritons in ViceTV’s Game of the Week on Sunday, June 8.
That’s it for Week 12. There will only be three games for Week 13 with Albany and Washington on byes but there will be plenty of excitement even without the Number One and the Number Eight. Can Salina shock the world and more importantly the Storm defense? Are the Corpus Christi Tritons ready to make one more push for the playoffs? Can Nashville power through Billings to keep their hopes of a home playoff game alive?
Find out in Week 13 of Arena Football One.
