This weekend the AF1 gave us two days of exciting indoor football. Six of the league’s eight teams were in action and they did not disappoint.
Let’s run through this week’s Power Rankings and one question for each team before we dive into the Game by Game Recap.
- Albany- How long can the firebirds stay perfect?
- Nashville- How quickly will adding Isaiah McFarland impact the Kats secondary?
- SW Kansas- The Storm are on a three game winning streak, how can they stay consistent?
- Salina- What has spurred this Liberty resurgence?
- Billings- What is happening in Billings?
- Washington- Was it wise for the Wolfpack to cut Ed Crouch?
- Oregon- Is Oregon about to figure out a way around their problematic offensive line?
- Corpus Christi- The new look Tritons will stay at Eight on our Power Ranking list until we see them play again and assess the abilities of their mostly new roster.
Storm Reign Over Outlaws
How did the Storm Win?
Standings Ranking- Second
Previous Power Ranking- Fourth
NEW Power Ranking- Third
This was a solid all around effort by the Storm. The defense came through with multiple pick sixes, multiple sacks and kept enough pressure on the Outlaws offense that SW Kansas started most of their drives with incredible field position.
The Storm put up big numbers with 49 points and only had to scratch out 143 yards of total offense to do it.
QB Jalen Morton seemed determined from early on to put this team on his back and get into the end zone. He only completed eight passes for 97 yards and one touchdown but he also contributed nine carries for 32 yards and three more scores.
Shiloh Flanagan had a strong night with four catches for 74 yards and one score. Demarius Washington added two catches of his own.
As mentioned above, the defense tacked on two scores and Kicker Dillon Burkhard went five for seven in PAT’s and had one Deuce, bringing his solo contribution to seven more points. That’s a total of 19 points not scored directly by Morton and the offense.
The Storm won by 18. Great team win.
How did the Outlaws Lose?
Standings Ranking- Fifth
Previous Power Ranking- Third
NEW Power Ranking- Fifth
In the first quarter of this one Billings looked like the Outlaws of old, and by “old” I mean three weeks ago when they were still one of the only undefeated teams in the league.
Two weeks ago while the Outlaws were on their way to their second consecutive loss to the Albany Firebirds, Coach Cedric Walker benched QB Braden Wingle in favor of Spring football journeyman Danny Southwick. Southwick didn’t fare much better than Wingle in that game or in the Outlaws Week Seven loss to the Salina Liberty. This week we were back to Wingle.
Even after handing the keys back to Wingle, the biggest difference in the Billings backfield this week is the conspicuous absence of a running back.
You might remember that Billings’ primary ball carrier and all around beast of the gridiron Shawn McFarland was injured in the Outlaws Week Five loss to Albany. Since then, most of the team’s rushing yards have come from fullback Keith Nemasango. Nemasango’s no McFarland but he can be counted on to consistently get you two-three yards when you need it.
That consistency is what made it surprising when it was announced that Billings released Nemasango on April 30 and then did not sign another running back between the 30th and their game with the Storm on May 3.
Early in the first, it didn’t seem like that would be much of a problem. The Billings defense forced a four and out on the opening drive which conveniently gave Wingle and the offense possession on the Storm one yardline. Wingle handed off to wide receiver Kenneth Brewer III who ran it in practically untouched.
In their second drive, while struggling to get the passing game moving, Wingle kept it himself and ran it for a first down. That was one of the last times he or anyone else in a Billings jersey would have much luck running the ball. Wingle would finish the game with two more rushes and 15 yards total. Four other Outlaws had carries and the four of them together ran for a total of three yards.
With no running game, and no threat of a running game, the Storm defense was able to confidently put pressure on Wingle and blanket his receivers.
The lack of time and lack of options kept Wingle from finding a real rhythm and that’s what ultimately beat Billings. That and Jalen Morton putting up monster rushing numbers but you can read about that up top.
Wingle threw the ball 44 times. He completed 27 of those to Outlaws receivers for 241 yards and two touchdown passes. He also threw two touchdowns to the Storm. One in the second quarter when after intercepting a Wingle pass over the middle, Storm defensive back Keon Clary lateraled to Michael Lawson who took it the rest of the way.
The other came early in the third quarter when defensive back Reggie Bracy caught a Wingle pass after it bounced off of the rebound net in the Outlaws end zone. Bracy then ran it the length of the field. Touchdown.
Wingle was also sacked twice and coughed up one fumble. It was just an all around tough night for Wingle and since he’s the only method the Outlaws have for ball movement, it was a tough night for them too.
Billings and SW Kansas will meet again come Week Ten when the Storm will make the trip to Montana for the rematch.
SW Kansas is going into a bye week for Week Nine.
The Outlaws will head home for Week Nine and host the Washington Wolfpack on Saturday May 10.
Albany Edges Past Salina in Game of the Year
Albany is Greatness
Standings Ranking- First
Previous Power Ranking- First
NEW Power Ranking- First
Watching Albany in this game was the perfect illustration of why we watch sports. It’s incredibly fun and entertaining to watch humans who are great at something do the thing that they are great at. The Albany Firebirds are great at Arena Football.
Here’s some jaw dropping stats and facts that really showcase Albany’s excellence:
- The Firebirds scored a touchdown on literally every single drive except for one.
- Sam Castronova threw 20-31 for 330 yards and NINE touchdowns. Nine. Zero turnovers.
- Duane Brown caught nine balls for 132 yards and five touchdowns.
- Isaiah Scott caught seven passes for 156 yards and four touchdowns.
- Fullback Desmond Maxwell caught one pass for 22 yards.
- 6’2” 300 lbs Offensive Lineman Joshua Zacher caught one pass for ten yards.
- Kicker Henry Nell continued his own dominance while going 8-8 on PAT’s and kicked one Deuce to contribute ten points. You could argue that Albany’s victory hinged on Nell’s foot. The game went into overtime with Salina blowing a chance to put it away at the end of regulation. If Nell hadn’t hit a deuce in the second quarter, Salina may have pulled off this upset.
- Trevon Shorts had eight tackles including one sack.
- Tre Wortham had seven tackles.
- Mike Lee had five tackles.
- Harold Love had four tackles and one sack.
- Drew Singleton and Ezekiel Rose also notched sacks.
Despite their brilliance, Albany wasn’t perfect. Their one lost fumble put them in a position to lose the game. One of things that makes Albany great is how they recover from their few mistakes.
Salina gave their best performance of the year and still couldn’t get it done, but they tested Albany and great teams need these tests to stay great.
After seeing Albany survive this one I think we can go ahead and place the bet that Albany will go undefeated.
They only have three games left. Their last challenge of the season before the playoffs is this Saturday against Nashville.
They have two straight bye weeks coming on Week 12 and Week 13. Then in Week 14, their last game of the regular season may as well be a re-warm up for the playoffs against the Washington Wolfpack which is currently last in the standings.
Liberty Look Strong in Loss
Standings Ranking- Sixth
Previous Power Ranking- Fifth
NEW Power Ranking- Fourth
In their loss to Albany, Salina gave the rest of the AF1 a roadmap to beating the undefeated Firebirds. First, you could get lucky. Second, no matter what they do, no matter how many miscalculations they might or might not make. YOU. MAKE. ZERO. MISTAKES.
Despite playing some of their best football of the season, unfortunately the Liberty made two to three mistakes and that’s all it took for the Firebirds to exert their will.
Let’s look at some of the highlights:
- Rakeem “The Dream” Cato returned to his role as starting QB this week and he did not disappoint. He was 28 for 40 passing and was especially efficient in the first half. When we got to half time he had only thrown one incomplete pass.
Cato not only threw seven touchdown passes he also ran one in. Zero turnovers. Zero. - Malik Honeycutt had a phenomenal freaking day. He had 11 catches for 157 yards and five touchdowns.
- “Fast” Ed Smith Jr. had seven catches for 87 yards and one touchdown.
- Dez Epps contributed both as a receiver and as a kick returner. Epps caught seven passes for 51 yards and he returned seven kicks for a total of 143 yards. Just for more context, Albany’s return man Marquel Wade, who’s no slouch, also returned seven for only 82 yards.
- 6’2” 325 lbs Offensive Lineman Somadina Okezie-Okeke caught one THICK SIX in this game.
- Defensive Back Freddie McGee III had three tackles. He also forced and recovered the fumble that almost gave Salina this game.
- Bailey Hale drilled a 25 yard field goal in the third quarter on the first of only two drives on which the Liberty failed to score. He was also seven for eight in PAT’s. He missed one. We’re about to talk about that One.
Three things ultimately cost them the game. You could argue that they are small matters that in any other game wouldn’t have made a difference. Here though, they stopped Salina from pulling off the biggest upset of the season.
- With one minute and ten seconds left in the first quarter, neither team had failed to score. Cato had just hit Malik Honeycutt for his third touchdown. 21-20, Albany. Kicker Bailey Hale misses the PAT. Shouldn’t have been a big deal. It’s one point. It’s still 21-20 and there’s still three quarters left to play. But… this game went to overtime. That one point could’ve saved Salina from losing in OT.
- In Salina’s first drive of the third quarter it felt like Albany’s defense came out refocused and ready to disrupt Salina’s whole game plan. After only throwing one incomplete pass the entire first half, they forced Cato into two more incomplete passes and even sacked him twice. They forced Coach Heron O’Neal to go to Hale for his one Field Goal of the game. Hale hit the field goal and tied the game but if Salina had gotten into the endzone they would’ve taken a three point lead.
- To me the biggest failure of the evening for Salina was the offensive play calling in Salina’s final drive. Let’s break it down. Salina had spent the entire game allowing Cato to run a pretty typical Arena offense, a lot of quick plays and with mostly short passes that allow the receivers to use their athleticism to make bigger gains.
Salina’s final drive started with three minutes and 21 seconds left on the clock. The first play is a short incomplete pass. The second play is a short pass to Dez Epps who muscled his way to a nine yard gain. Cato hit Honeycutt on the next play for a first down.
Salina is moving. The things that have worked the whole game, were working. Then, the next play, Cato looks deep to Epps. Incomplete.
Here, Coach O’Neal allows the clock to run down to the One Minute warning. Clock stops. We’re now playing by outdoor gridiron rules. They have time to go less than 30 yards.
The game is tied. They really just have to get into Field Goal position.
First play after stoppage, Cato again looks deep for Epps in the end zone. Incomplete.
This is when I and I assume all Salina fans started pulling their hair out. What are they doing? They’re trying to eat the elephant in one bite. You can take your time.
Next play, Cato is sacked. It’s fourth and 11 because instead of chipping away at yardage, Salina tried to win the game two plays in a row.
Next play, false start on Salina. Fourth and 16.
Next play, Cato and company remind us that when they take their time, they can’t be stopped in this game. He hits Honeycutt and gets the first down. Honeycutt gets out of bounds.
Clock stops with 39 seconds left. At this point Salina is just trying to get the ball positioned for Hale to come in and be the freaking hero. In this moment, they’ve accepted that they don’t need to shoot a three pointer when a two will do.
They get two more yards from a short pass to Epps. They call timeout. They decide they want to get a couple more and why not?
Boom! Another sack from Ezekiel Rose knocks them out of field goal position.
Ten seconds later we’re going to overtime and Salina has lost their momentum.
This is the only time Albany will have to battle Salina this season. Maybe we’ll get to see the rematch in the Playoffs.
Salina has a bye for Week Nine.
Albany will get no break until Week Ten. For Week Nine, they’ll step into the arena to take on the surging Nashville Kats in what’s sure to be an intense match-up in ViceTV’s Game of the Week.
Lightning Avenge Loss Over Wolves
How did the Lightning Win?
Standings Ranking- Seventh
Previous Power Ranking- Seventh
NEW Power Ranking- Sixth
Let’s be plain here. Oregon needed to win this game. Their last victory was on March 30 and I’m not sure how many more shots to the ribs QB Dalton Cole could’ve taken.
Offensively, the big thing I’m excited about for Oregon is how they’ve dabbled with using backup QB Jordan Ambrose in select situations the last two weeks. Ambrose has looked solid when we’ve seen him under center and both he and Cole are big enough threats on keepers that teams have to watch for it.
If Part-Owner, General Manager and Head Coach Chuck Jones and Offensive Coordinator Joe Salvador put their heads together, they can make this a bigger part of their offense to keep opposing teams on their toes.
Before we get to stats, I want to say that I think it’s great that Oregon picked up this win, but it’s important to recognize that they might still have Offensive Line issues.
After the game, QB Dalton Cole commended his line for their protection and yes, it was better than it has been. But the line still gave up four sacks and Oregon only picked up 14 yards on the ground. Those stats plus the fact that we’re dealing with the worst team in the league might suggest that this isn’t a great test case to see if a problem is fixed.
- Cole went 14-24 passing for 171 yards and three touchdown passes. He also ran in one touchdown and threw three picks.
- Ambrose was used situationally a couple of times. He went two for two for 13 yards passing and ran for five yards.
- Marquis Sampson caught five passes for 51 yards.
- Maurice Ashley had a big night and caught four passes for 80 yards. He had two touchdowns and one kick return for 22 yards.
- Kris Lewis had an unusually quiet night. He only caught three balls for 15 yards and one touchdown.
- New receiver Phillip Harding had three catches for 34 yards.
- Oregon’s defense had a strong showing Sunday. KeAaris Ardley had six tackles.
- Mike Fields had five tackles including four for loss. Three of those were sacks. He also forced a fumble.
- Miqueal Pillow-smiley had three tackles and three sacks.
- Fabian McNichols had three tackles and one pick.
- Lovell Spruce had three tackles and on esack.
- Nicholas Brassell, Neville Smith Jr and Amani Peoples all recorded three tackles.
How did the Wolfpack Lose?
Standings Ranking- Eighth
Previous Power Ranking- Sixth
NEW Power Ranking- Seventh
Unless Corpus Christi returns in Week Nine with a complete train wreck of a roster, Washington is the worst team in the league. This game put any discussion otherwise to bed.
The thing that makes Washington less impressive than Oregon is raw talent. Oregon has the pieces. They just don’t have the leadership to consistently put the puzzle together. They have multiple competent or above competent QB’s and receivers and defenders.
I don’t think you can say that about Washington. They have standouts. Caleb Brown, Aakiel Greer and LD McAllister come to mind. Chei HIll is a freaking beast on defense. I don’t mean this to be rude but it’s almost a bummer that Hill’s stuck in Washington. If he were in Salina or Nashville he could swing a playoff game. He won’t get that opportunity in Washington.
Their biggest issue is at QB. They just haven’t found a steady hand under center. Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator JR Wells was so convinced that Adam Kruse was his guy, the Wolfpack released Ed Crouch Jr. after Kruse came off of IR. Kruse performed well last week in Washington’s win but this week he failed to find a rhythm.
Coach Wells benched Kruse with around four minutes left in the game for Rodney Raines, who is also not answer.
Let’s look at the bullet points.
- Adam Kruse went 11-26 passing for 77 yards and one touchdown. He also had one fumble but I will say, to his credit he threw zero picks.
- Rodney Raines went 1-4 for 14 yards and threw one pick.
- Dominic Gonella made his debut at Fullback. He had six carries but only five yards. He’s a lean guy with speed and I could see Coach Wells using him more as a short yardage pass catcher. He had two catches for 25 yards.
- LD McAllister led the receivers with five catches for 54 yards.
- Deshon Williams only had one catch for the game but he made it count. He caught the only touchdown Washington scored in this game.
- The aforementioned Chei Hill had six tackles and three sacks.
- Defensive back Machiah Lee had an outstanding game. He had five tackles and one pick.
- Caleb Brown continues to be a dominant force in the secondary. He had five tackles and one pick.
Oregon and Washington will face one another again for Week Ten in Redmond, Oregon.
For Week Nine Washington will travel around 830 miles East to Billings, Montana to take on the slumping Outlaws on Saturday, May 10.
Oregon goes home for Week Nine to host the revamped Corpus Christi Tritons on Monday, May 12.
Week Nine will feature six of our eight AF1 teams. We have two games on Saturday and one on Monday May 12. Salina and SW Kansas are on a bye.
Will the rested Nashville Kats have what it takes to end Albany’s winning streak? Can Billings end their four game slide against the last place Wolfpack? This will be our first look at the re-assembled Corpus Christi Tritons. Can Oregon ride the momentum of their win over Washington and spoil the New Tritons debut?
Find out this weekend on Arena Football One.
