The Week Five matchups in the AF1 gave us a lot of opportunities to get a clearer understanding of who is at the top of the heap in Arena Football.
Five weeks in, strengths and weaknesses are no longer just variables in an individual game, they are the qualities and traits that help us identify these teams for who they are. The Greats. The Mediocre. The Not-So-Greats.
This week, we’ll discuss where each team falls in a power ranking both coming into Week Five and moving forward. We’ll establish where teams rank from a Win-Loss angle and why those rankings might be different from one another.
When we’re done here, we’ll have a more definitive grip on the AF1’s 2025 pecking order. Who are the future champions, headed for the throne and who’s destined for the kid’s table?
A Battle for Kansas
On Saturday, April 12, the SW Kansas Storm faced off against their instate rivals the Salina Liberty. In this season’s first round of The Battle for Kansas, our two combatants, who are only a flat three hour drive from one another, gave us a lot of exciting but inefficient football.
By Arena Football standards, it was a clumsy and low scoring affair.
I wish I could say that each team solved some of their issues in this game but when the final whistle blew, and the Storm walked away with a tight 22-20 win over the Liberty, the only certainty seemed to be that they’re both still LOADED with uncertainty.
Storm Snap Losing Streak
Standings Ranking- Fourth
Previous Power Ranking- Sixth
NEW Power Ranking- Sixth
This game stayed close and the Storm did leave Salina with a victory, but I think it’d be more accurate to say the Storm won a war of attrition. It took the SW Kansas offense three possessions and 11 minutes and 40 seconds of play clock to put the ball into the end zone for the first time.
An eternity in Arena Football. For comparison, Salina scored in three plays. It took one minute and 38 seconds.
The Storm came into this game on a two game losing streak after opening the season with two strong wins. They didn’t look perfect, but they had a plan and perhaps more importantly, they had Jalen Morton, who leads the league in passing yards and is tied for third in passing touchdowns.
Coach Gary Thomas had a very different game plan Saturday night. It felt like he wanted this game to be as short as possible and he didn’t try to achieve that with the quick pass plays that other Arena teams bust out. Gary just wanted to let the clock run. And he did.
I’d never say clock management is a strong suit of Coach Thomas’. He successfully clock managed the Oregon Lightning to their first win against his Storm two weeks ago and he continues to call what feels like unnecessary timeouts.
Despite his team having one turnover on downs, one turnover in the air and having failed to get on the scoreboard with the exception of a safety given up by the Liberty, Coach Thomas let 27 seconds run off at the end of the first quarter without running a play. 27 seconds. That’s time for maybe three plays in Arena football.
Later in the game, he’d repeat this clock burning strategy, letting the play clock tick all the way down to one second before calling a timeout. I say “letting” because that’s what the Storm did. They weren’t rushing around trying to get a play together. They stood there and watched the seconds tick away.
I’m aware that burning clock is a strategy as old as time employed to help a team preserve a lead but I don’t think that’s what Coach Thomas is doing here.
Coach Thomas is desperately trying to control the pace of the game at the expense of his offense’s sometimes imperfect weapons. It forces his team to play with almost no sense of urgency at all and prevents them from building momentum.
Arena football isn’t won by minimizing your team’s opportunities to fail, it’s won by maximising their opportunities to win.
I worry that if Coach Thomas continues to run games like this his team’s opportunities to win might become fewer and farther between.
Liberty Still Winless
Standings Ranking- Eighth
Previous Power Ranking- Eighth
NEW Power Ranking- Eighth
Coming into this game the Liberty were just six days removed from getting wrecked by the Albany Firebirds. They did end that blowout on somewhat of a high. Their bright spot came with two minutes and 46 seconds left in the fourth when Coach Heron O’Neal replaced starter Javin Kilgo with multi-hyphenate Jemario Benson. Benson closed the game against the Firebirds 3-4 passing with one touchdown.
Going into their Week Five matchup with the Storm, Coach O’Neal stuck with the hot hand at Quarterback and Benson repaid his confidence by throwing a touchdown pass less than two minutes into the first quarter.
The Liberty then spent the next 58 minutes and 22 seconds of play clock finding new and creative ways to lose this game. We’ll highlight two of their methods.
They started with penalties. The Liberty were called for 12 penalties on Saturday for a total of 85 yards. Just a reminder, the Arena Football field is only 50 yards long. So, the Liberty were penalized over a full length of a field and a half.
Let’s talk about bad snaps and turnovers together since the two things usually go hand in hand. Problems with snaps and Center to QB exchange is a relatively new problem for the Liberty. Kilgo had a couple of snap issues coming into Week Five but in their game against the Storm, the problem had evolved into a full blown epidemic.
Ironically, their first bad snap came when new kicker Austin Neufield came in to kick his first PAT after the Liberty took an early 6-0 lead.
Then, literally in their next offensive series a low snap rolled past Jemario Benson and all the way through the end zone. The safety would be the first score of the game for the Storm. It would also be the first turnover of the night for Salina.
With three minutes left in the first half, there was another bad exchange between Benson and his center. The bobbled snap left Benson with almost no time to survey the field. He was sacked and fumbled on his way to the ground.
The Liberty were fortunate that the Storm were only able to convert those two turnovers into a total of five points. They wouldn’t always be so lucky. Early in the third, after Benson threw a pick to SW Kansas’ Michael Lawson, the Storm were able to convert that into a touchdown.
Three minutes after that score, Benson fielded his next SUPER low snap like a ground ball hit to a skilled second baseman. He charged it, scooped it up and actually ran for about six yards.
Three plays later, the Liberty would turn the ball over on downs. That drive was four minutes long and yielded zero points.
The final bad snap of the night would come on the Liberty’s final offensive play.
Kicker Austin Neufield was in to attempt what would have been a game winning 34 yard field goal. The score was 22-20. There were 49 seconds on the clock.
Even with all of the inefficiencies and mistakes, they still had a chance.
The snap was so high, holder Tracey Brooks had to stand to catch it. Neufield never even had the opportunity to attempt the kick.
Salina and SW Kansas will resume their interstate rivalry in Week 13. The Liberty will travel to Dodge City to face the Storm on Saturday, June 7.
Next week, on Saturday, April 19, the Liberty will stay home and play host to the Oregon Lightning.
Also next Saturday, the Storm will travel south to Corpus Christi to face the undefeated Tritons.
A Battle of Ineptitude
For me, the biggest takeaway from the Corpus Christi Tritons 61-21 pummeling of the Washington Wolfpack, wasn’t the shortcomings of the Wolfpack, it was the various failures of execution by the now undefeated Tritons themselves.
This game, for both the winners and the losers, was about turnovers.
Whoever Wins, We Lose
The Undefeated Tritons
Standings Ranking- Second
Previous Power Ranking- Third
NEW Power Ranking- Third
The Thrice Defeated Wolfpack
Standings Ranking- Sixth
Previous Power Ranking- Seventh
NEW Power Ranking- Seventh
Washington entered their Week Five matchup with the Tritons 1-2 after squeaking out a single touchdown win against the now 1-3 Oregon Lightning.
The Tritons were undefeated. They’d opened their season with two games against the still winless Salina Liberty and they trounced the Liberty with extreme prejudice by a cumulative total of 42 points.
The Tritons came into Sunday’s game as favorites and if you looked at nothing but the final score, you’d say they delivered.
For the Wolfpack, they did what they do. QB Ed Crouch Jr. spent most the game masterfully turning lemons into lemonade.
They played fine in spurts. One of these geysers of productivity happened to open the game.
The Washington defense picked off Tritons QB Fred Payton Jr. in the opening possession. Crouch ran it in for a score on Washington’s second offensive play.
7-0
The Wolfpack defense forced a fumble and a safety on the next Triton’s drive.
9-0
On the very first play from scrimmage after the safety, Crouch rolled out and hit a wide open Aakiel Greer for a touchdown.
15-0, Wolfpack.
This is maybe the best five minute stretch of football Washington’s played this season.
At this point there’s nine minutes and 20 seconds left in the first quarter and things take a turn.
As Washington’s kickoff team ran out on the field for the second time in regulation, viewers, fans and announcer teams alike all asked the same question, “Where is Manny Higuera?”
Higuera was just gone. No comment from coaches. No word from the sideline. The Wolfpack’s incredibly reliable kicker had kicked the opening kickoff, their first PAT, and then was gone for the rest of the game.
Kicking duties would fall to wide receiver LD McAllister. He did about as good as you’d expect a guy who took over that job with no warning could do. And let me be clear, this is not what beat the Wolfpack.
The rest of this game is about turnovers and converting them into points.
The Tritons got the turnover express moving with that opening pick. That was the first of four interceptions Fred Payton would throw in this game.
In the first half alone, Corpus Christi would fumble the ball three times.
This is where luck comes in. Washington only scored off of two of Corpus Christi’s five turnovers and although the Tritons did fumble the ball three times, Washington only recovered one of them.
It wasn’t exceptional Triton football that won this game. The Tritons were called for 11 penalties, including four for Delay of Game, that cost them 70 yards. It was Washington’s own turnover issues and their inability to take advantage of Corpus Christi’s mistakes that cost them a win.
Washington would finish the game with eight turnovers, including six lost fumbles and three interceptions thrown by Ed Crouch.
The Tritons would turn six of these turnovers into touchdowns, including two pick sixes.
It’s a good win for the Tritons. I wouldn’t call it clean but sometimes a win is a win.
Looking ahead, the Tritons have the Storm next week. They’ll probably win that. They have the undefeated Firebirds in Week Seven. I think they’ll lose that one.
I’m really looking forward to the Tritons Week Eight game against the currently 1-2 Nashville Kats. The Kats are a team that gets better every single week. They execute at a high level. Now that their roster might be done fluctuating, I think they could be a sleeper contender this season.
If the Tritons continue to play this type of inefficient football, I’m not sure they’ll be able to keep up with the Kats.
I think come Week Eight, the Kats will defeat the Tritons and take their place amongst the true contenders with the Firebirds and the Outlaws. And Corpus Christi will take their place as the Leader of the Middle of the Pack.
This is Corpus Christi and Washington’s first and only game this season.
Next Thursday, April 17, the Wolfpack will stay home and host the 1-2 Nashville Kats.
Corpus Christi will return home to the Lone Star state to take on the 3-2 SW Kansas Storm on Saturday, April 19.
A Battle of Titans
Arena Football fans have been looking forward to this game since July of last year when Billings narrowly defeated Albany to secure their first ArenaBowl title with a score of 46-41.
Both teams entered this game undefeated and have been tearing through their competition this season.
On Sunday, ecstatic fans in Albany were anxiously anticipating an exemplary game that was equal parts offensive showcase and defensive slugfest.
It only took about ten minutes for the Firebirds to make it clear this was not going to be that game. This was about sending a message.
When the final whistle blew, the Firebirds stood triumphant with a 62-24 landslide victory.
Firebirds Exact Revenge
Standings Ranking- First
Previous Power Ranking- First
NEW Power Ranking- First
In recapping Albany’s dominance, it would be easy to just talk about Sam Castronova and the offense. Sure. He did run in two touchdowns. He did throw four touchdowns. Sure. Albany had a 14-0 lead with four minutes and five seconds left in the first quarter after having only run two offensive plays.
That’s what we do every week.
The special sauce in this week’s Albany conquest was their Special Teams. Of the eight AF1 teams, you’d be hard pressed to find a team that better utilizes their special teams than Albany.
Most of their success revolves around Kicker Henry Nell.
This season, Nell set the AF1 record for longest field goal at 50 yards. He’s 2 for 3 in field goal kicks. He’s 26-31 in PAT’s and has successfully kicked five deuces. Total that up and Nell has scored 45 points for the Firebirds. 45.
Just to put that in context, the second highest scoring kicker is the SW Kansas Storm’s Dillon Burkhard with 20.
Nell isn’t just making an impact through the uprights. He’s also become one of Albany’s most terrifying defensive weapons.
In an effort to make the kickoff more exciting, the AF1 developed a few rules that would force both sides of the ball to stay on their toes.
The uprights of the AF1 goalpost are 15 feet high and 9 feet wide. Significantly more narrow than outdoor football’s 18 feet wide. Like outdoor football, kickers kick field goals and PAT’s between those uprights.
On either side of the goalposts are what’s called “rebound nets” or “goalside nets.” Those nets are 30 feet wide and 32 feet high.
On the kickoff, if a kicker boots it off of the rebound net, the ball is in play and can be recovered by either team.
With these rules and Nell’s powerful and precise foot, Coach Damon Ware and Albany are constantly threatening to get that ball back on kickoff.
In this game alone, Nell bounced at least two kickoffs off of the net. One of them was recovered by Albany and returned for a touchdown.
He also executed one onside kick and scored one deuce.
Not to be outdone, Albany’s return man Marquel Wade returned five kicks for 146 yards and one touchdown.
The Outlaws Humbled
Standings Ranking- Third
Previous Power Ranking- First
NEW Power Ranking- Second
Let’s keep this simple. I don’t think Billings was ready for Albany.
Billings likes to run a slow game. They control the pace with short pass plays and they take their time. They don’t rush for anything. They’re cool. They’re confident.
This week was the first time they were really challenged and forced out of their comfort zone. The Outlaws weren’t ready with a response. There was no Plan B.
I’m sure Coach Cedric Walker assumed that the two offenses would just go back and forth putting up points but that was not Albany’s defensive gameplan.
Billings hadn’t seen a defense as smothering as Albany’s.
QB Braden Wingle was constantly being rushed and hurried. He threw two picks, his second and third of the season, and had a completion percentage of .571%. Easily his lowest of the year.
I still think Billings is a real contender. We’re going to learn a lot from how they respond this Sunday.
Next Sunday, April 20, the Firebirds and Outlaws will finish up their back to back. This time, with the Firebirds traveling 2,040 miles west to big sky country to face Billings at home.
The upcoming Week Six is our first week with ZERO teams on a bye. So, take your vitamins and brace yourself for a weekend chock full of Arena action.
As mentioned above, we’ll be treated to Part Two of Albany/Billings.
We’ll get to see the first real test of whether or not the Corpus Christi Tritons are a legit top tier team when they take on the ultimate middle tier team, the SW Kansas Storm.
Salina and Oregon will square off on Saturday to decide who is the best of the underachievers.
We’ll also get to see how the Nashville Kats have used their bye week and continued to evolve. They might even play the same QB in consecutive games which would mark a first for them this season. Will the Incredible Kulka continue to lead Nashville? Or will Dalton Oliver retake his throne as King of Kats?
Find out next week on Arena Football One.
