Indoor Football Championship Game Previews

This weekend, the Indoor Football League (IFL) and National Arena League (NAL) will play their title games.  Here's a preview of the two championship matchups:

  • Quad City Steamwheelers (11-7) vs. Northern Arizona Wranglers (14-4)
  • When:  Saturday, August 13
  • Where: Las Vegas, Nevada 
  • Coaches: Cory Ross (Quad City) played college football at Nebraska.  He has been a head coach since 2014 and with the Steamwheelers since 2018 with a 26-20 record.  Les Moss (Northern Arizona) has been in arena football since 1988 with a career coaching record of 77-54. Moss is the IFL's Coach of the Year.
  • Players to Watch: 
    • Quad City - QB E.J. Hillard, IFL Offensive Player of the Year, Hillard threw for 1,687 yards and 31 TD passes, he also rushed for 611 yards and 23 TDs
    • Northern Arizona - DL JaQuan Artis, IFL Defensive MVP, JaQuan had 23 tackles for losses along with 12 sacks.  
  • Championships:  First IFL championship appearance for both teams.  The Steamwheelers won two ArenaCup titles in AF2 (2000, 2001)
  • Last meeting: This is the teams' first meeting
  • Analysis:  The Wranglers were 1-13 in 2021.  After starting the season 3-2, they have won 11 of their last 13 games.  The Steamwheelers played their first full season in the IFL since 2019. They were the #3 seed in the Eastern Division and upset #2 Massachusetts Pirates (39-38 in overtime) Then upset the #1 seed Frisco Fighters as Hillard connected with WR Keyvan Rudd with four seconds left to knock off the Fighters 48-41.
  • Pick:  Northern Arizona 50, Quad City 43
  • Carolina Cobras (9-5) vs. Albany Empire (8-4)
  • When:  Saturday, August 13
  • Where: Albany, New York 
  • Coaches: Tom Menas (Albany) was named head coach this season after being an assistant with the Jersey Flight.  He is a former defensive line coach for the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts from 2004-2006 and winning a Grey Cup in 2005.  Josh Resginalo (Carolina) was named Cobras head coach in 2018 after serving as an assistant coach.  He was previously head coach for the Carolina Havoc.
  • Players to Watch: 
    • Carolina - QB Jonathan Bane leads the league with 237 yards passing per game.  He has passed for 2,375 yards and 48 TDs.  Fullback Zack Brown has rushed 72 times for 222 yards and 10 TDs.  
    • Albany - QB Sam Castronova has thrown for 2,433 yards and 58 TDs.  He has also rushed for 226 yards and 15 TDs.  WR Darius Prince has 1,308 yards and 39 TDs to lead the NAL.
  • Championships:  Albany won 2021 title and final ArenaBowl championship in the Arena Football League in 2019.  Carolina is appearing in their third championship game.  They lost in 2019 to Jacksonville and won the 2018 title over the Columbus Lions.
  • Last meeting: Carolina won 59-56 on June 18.
  • Analysis:  Carolina swept Albany in three games in the regular season (59-51, 58-50 and 59-56).  Albany has won their last five games.  Albany defeated Carolina 55-41 in last year's semifinals.  Albany QB Sam Castronova and WR Darius Prince have been hot in the playoffs.  Castronova has passed for 206 yards and 6 TDs.  Prince has four TD receptions in the postseason.  
  • Pick:  Albany 49, Carolina 47

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Indoor Football League Schedule Set

Image
The new Winter Indoor Football League has posted their 2024 schedule on their Facebook page as five teams will participate in the league's first season.  The schedule runs from October 26th to the championship game on December 21st.   The teams include the Ohio Blitz, Pittsburgh Outlaws, New York Nightmare, UP1 Athletic Showcase (Suwanee, GA) and Eastern Shore.     
Read more

New Version of Arena Football To Return in 2025

Image
After a rough restart of the Arena Football League (AFL) last season which began with 16 teams and eventually dropped to eight teams by season’s end, the teams which survived formed a new league called Arena Football 1 (AF1)  and have released their 2025 schedule for the 12 teams which will once again try to establish its’ place on the indoor football map. The new AF1 plans to kick off their 2025 season on March 14 with the following teams set to play a 14-game schedule in the new league: West Division Arizona Bandits Billings Outlaws Oregon Lightning Washington Wolfpack Central Division Corpus Christi Tritons Salina Liberty Southwest Kansas Storm Wichita Regulators East Division Albany Firebirds Nashville Kats Orlando Predators Wilkes-Barre (team name TBA) Two other teams are planned for the 2026 season.  Let’s hope they survive this season first. For more information about the league:   https://www.theaf1.com/
Read more

Union Hockey League Begins 2023-2024 Season

Image
The Union Hockey League (UHL) which is a senior "A" semi-pro hockey league representing the Midwest and Northeast, will begin their 2023-2024 season this month with eight teams.   The UHL is hybrid league, a mix between semi-professional hockey and senior hockey, with players being compensated for travel and other expenses via a ticket sales split but allowing them to retain their amateur status. Players can also make a substantial commission by selling season tickets and partnerships. Each team will be playing a 32-game season, with two tournaments against other senior leagues in the works to bring the season total up to 40. Teams competing in the UHL are: Boston Gold Kings Holyoke Royals North Shore Nighthawks Midwest Mammoths Motor City Apollos Niagara Falls Buffalos Pittsburgh River Monsters Poughkeepsie Polar Bears For more information on the league:   www.unionhockeyleague.com/
Read more