As the heat of the AFL season moves on, we entered week twelve with interesting playoff races all across the board. Races entering the week: Philadelphia in the east by two games, Jacksonville over Tampa Bay by one game in the south, three teams at 2-8 who trailed the 3-7 Power by one game, all three teams in the central separated by two games, and the battle atop the west between Arizona, Spokane, and San Jose. Seven games, all with significant implications!
Iowa Barnstormers 37, Cleveland Gladiators 33
Two teams in search of snapping their three-game losing streaks squared off on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena as the Gladiators played host to the Iowa Barnstormers.
The Barnstormers began the game with ball, but didn't have it for long as J.J. Raterink failed to complete three of his first four passes; resulting in a turnover on downs. Cleveland struck first three plays later when Jamar Howard made a spectacular one-handed catch over the wall for an eight-yard touchown. After each defense made a stop, Iowa tied the game on Darius Reynolds' seven-yard touchdown grab that ended a five-play, 45-yard drive. Chris Dieker and the Gladiators responded with a ten-play, seven-minute drive that reclaimed the lead on Thyron Lewis' six-yard touchdown catch with 8:50 in the second quarter. J.J. Raterink put Iowa on top for the first time of the night with three straight completions, the third of which a 36-yard deep ball to Reynolds. The defenses traded stops once more and the 'Stormers held on to a tight 14-13 lead at the break. Chris Dieker opened the second half on fire, completing seven of eight passes on the opening drive to get the lead back for the Glads with a seven-yard strike to Dominic Goodman; Aaron Pettrey had his second PAT blocked and this one was returned by Ter'Ran Benton for two points. The Gladiator defense held on the next series by putting J.J. Raterink under constant duress, which inlcuded a sack by Kris Cooke on second-and-fifteen that blew up the drive. Chris Dieker extended the Glads lead to 26-16 on his one-yard touchdown run that capped off a six-play, 42-yard drive that went into the early stages of the fourth quarter. The Barnstormers weren't done just yet as Raterink answered back with five straight completions, four of them to Marco Thomas that included a twelve-yard touchdown. It looked like Cleveland was on the march to get the lead back to double digits whem Dieker completed four straight passes, but his fifth was an overthrown deep ball that was intercepted and returned 56 yards by De'Mon Glanton to give Iowa a 30-26 lead with 5:19 to play. Chris Dieker responded by completing three passes on a seven-play, 48-yard drive that was kept alive by a pass interference penalty and ended on his four-yard touchdown scamper. Iowa got the ball back with 46 seconds, but J.J. Raterink and compnay only needed 33 of them to move down the field in five plays and retake the lead for one, final time on a twelve-yard touchdown reception by Darius Reynolds. Dieker's hail mary pass fell to the ground incomplete as time expired to ensure Iowa of their fifth win this season.
Stat Leaders:
Iowa (5-7) Cleveland (2-9)
J.J. Raterink 22-32, 219 yds, 4TD, Int Chris Dieker 30-47, 250 yds, 3TD, 2 Int;
Marco Thomas 12 rec, 112 yds, TD 23 rush yds, 2 TD
Darius Reynolds 5 rec, 62 yds, 3 TD Dominic Goodman 18 rec, 131 yds, TD
John Mohring/Ter'Ran Benton 11 tackles; Thyron Lewis 9 rec, 89 yds, TD
Benton Def-PAT LaRoche Jackson 9 tackles, Int
Jason Simpson 9 tackles Int Kris Cooke/Randy Colling sack
De'Mon Glanton Int-ret TD
Mike Lewis 2 sacks
Lewis/Matangi Tonga blocked PAT each
Fabrizo Scaccia 5-5 PAT, 0-1 FG
Philadelphia Soul 65, New Orleans VooDoo 56
The VooDoo traveled to Philadelphia in a rare position to win consecutive games; while the Soul continued to try and end their struggles at home.
If you didn't know which team was 5-5, then you would've guessed New Orleans who played a perfect first half. The defense stuffed Derrick Ross on back-to-back short-yardage runs to earn a turnover on downs on the Soul's opening drive. On offense Kurt Rocco burned the Soul secondary for 173 yards and five touchdowns by going deep for the entire half, which was highlighted by a pair of 39-yard touchdowns to Donovan Morgan, a 28-yarder to Morgan, and a 23-yard strike to L.J. Castille. Rocco also added a rushing score to give New Orleans a 42-point half that saw six scores on six possessions. Other than the blunder on the opening drive Philadelphia's offense nearly matched New Orleans score for score, Derrick Ross ran for two touchdowns and Dan Raudabaugh threw for three, the third was a three-yarder to Ryan McDaniel on the final play of the half to keep the margin at seven. The VooDoo extended their lead to 49-35 on the first possession of the third quarter when Rocco connected with Donovan Morgan for a 43-yard gain and tossed a three-yarder to Courtney Smith two plays later. Dan Raudabaugh had back-to-back completions and Derrick Ross pin-balled into the end zone for a three-yard score on a quick four-play drive. New Orleans was prime to answer with a touchdown of their own, but on fourth-and-goal Bryan Robinson stripped-sacked Rocco and Brandon Perkins snatched the ball out of mid-air and returned it for a scoop-and-score to make it 49-48; the Soul's two-point attempt failed. Kurt Rocco opened the fourth quarter with two straight completions, finding L.J. Castille for a 28-yard score on the second one. Dan Raudabaugh led the Soul on a nine-play, 48-yard drive that spanned over six minutes and cut the margin back to one on Jason Jones' nine-yard touchdown grab. The game changed when on second-and-ten from the Soul-17, Rocco completed a screen pass to Bryce Tennison who fumbled during his run and Joe Goosby fell on the ball. The Soul finally took their first lead of the game when Derrick Ross scored his fourth touchdown run of the game to cap off an eleven-play, four-and-half minute drive that left five seconds in the game. Philadelphia converted their two-point conversion and then scored a safety on the ensuing kickoff when Ryan McDaniel ended a broken string of laterals by the VooDoo. Donovan Morgan torched the Soul in his return to Philadelphia, but his team came up short in heartbreaking fashion.
Stat Leaders:
New Orleans (2-9) Philadelphia (6-5)
Kurt Rocco 16-30, 301 yds, 7TD, Rush TD Dan Raudabaugh 30-42, 317 yds, 4TD
Donovan Morgan 6 rec, 177 yds, 2 TD Derrick Ross, 10 rush, 37 yds, 4 TD
Courtney Smith 6 rec, 55 yds, 3 TD Tiger Jones 12 rec, 175 yds, TD
L.J. Castille 3 rec, 65 yds, 2 TD Andrae Thurman 8 rec, 67 yds
Dwight McClean 11 tackles Ryan McDaniel 7 rec, 57 yds, 2 TD
Eddie Moten 7 tackles, FR Bryan Robinson sack, FF
Brandon Perkins FR-ret TD
Orlando Predators 55, Tampa Bay Storm 48
The 52nd edition of the War on I-4 was this week's game on CBS Sports Network. Both teams entered this one trailing their respective races by one game; Tampa Bay behind Jacksonville in the south, and Orlando behind Pittsburgh in the wild card.
The Tampa Times Forum got off to a lightening quick start when each offense scored 21 points in the first twenty-and-half minutes of the game. The Predator defense broke the trend by forcing three incompletions from Adrian McPherson and used a second-dwon sack by Jermaine Smith to earn the first stop of the night. Aaron Garcia quickly gave Orlando its first lead of the night with back-to-back completions, finding Prechae Rodriguez for a five-yard score. The Storm got back on track with a six-play, 45-yard drive that concluded on Joe Hills nine-yard touchdown reception that ended the half. The Preds reclaimed the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter when Garcia hit Jason Geathers for a thirteen-yard score. Adrian McPherson directed a six-play, four-minute drive that he completed with 21-yard touchdown strike to Chris Davis. The offensive slugfest continued when Aaron Garcia moved the Preds down the field in eight plays and Wonde Rutledge reclaimed the lead with a one-yard run. Orlando created some space when Dominic Jones forced and recovered a fumble on the second play of the fourth quarter, and three plays later Prechae Rodriguez hauled-in a three-yard score to make it 48-35 with 11:57 left to play. Adrian McPherson fired back with four straight completions, finding Jason Cherry for a nineteen-yard score. The Storm defense made their first stop of the game when Jean Fanor intercepted Garcia, which led a 28-yard touchdown by Chris Davis two plays later to tie the game at 48. The tie didn't last for long as on the very next play Aaron Garcia fired a 46-yard touchdown to Prechae Rodriguez to put the Predators back on top with 4:42 remaining. Tampa Bay needed another score to retie the game, but the Predaotr defense kept McPherson in-check by forcing four straight incompletions to earn the stop with 2:07 to play. Tampa Bay earned another chance to tie the game when three plays later Rashad Barksdale intercepted a pass in the end zone with 54 seconds left. Adrian McPherson scrambled for seven yards before hit Jason Cherry in-stride for 21 yards, but Marcus Everett knocked the ball free and fell on it to end the threat and secure the win. With the victory, Orlando moves to 3-8 on the year, splits the 2013 series while tying the all-time War on I-4 series at 26 apiece. Prechae Rodriguez torched the Storm in his return to Tampa, catching twelve passes for a massive 157 yards and five toucdowns.
Stat Leaders:
Orlando (3-8) Tampa Bay (7-5)
Aaron Garcia 24-37, 289 yds, 6TD, 2 Int Adrian McPherson 24-41, 314 yds, 7TD
Wonde Rutledge 2 Rush TD Joe Hills 11 rec, 103 yds, 3 TD
Prechae Rodriguez 12 rec, 157 yds, 5 TD Michael Lindsey 5 rec, 91 yds, TD
Jason Geathers 6 rec, 62 yds, TD Chris Davis 4 rec, 59 yds, 2 TD
T.T. Toliver 5 rec, 51 yds Rashad Barksdale/Jean Fanor Int
Jermaine Smith/Dexter Jackson sack
Marcus Everett 6 tackles, FF, FR
Arizona Rattlers 70, San Antonio Talons 21
The hottest and best team in Arena Football traveled to the Alamo Saturday night to face the 5-5 Talons who were hungry for an upset.
The air quickly left the building when Nick Davila completed three of his first four passes, throwing a six-yard touchdown to Jared Perry on the opening drive and the Rattler defense forced a quick four-and-out. Things continued to get worse for the Talons when during a seven play span Davila threw two touchdowns to Rod Windsor, that sandwiched an interception by Arkeith Brown. In three first-quarter possessions, Xavier Lee was unable to produce any points so Nick Fanuzzi made his San Antonio debut. A five-yard touchdown run and Nick Davila's fourth touchdown pass coupled a pair of defensive stops to extend the score to 35-0 with 62 seconds left in the first half. To sum up the horrifying performance by the Talon offense, or the dominance of Arizona's defense, San Antonio gained a total of 18 yards and just one first down in their first five possessions. The Talons finally got on the board when Chad Cook scored on a two-yard run, but still faced a lofty 35-7 deficit. Any wild chance of a comeback was put to rest when Jeremy Kellem intercepted Fanuzzi on the opening drive of the third quarter and Kerry Reed hauled-in a 23-yard touchdown to bring the Rattlers lead back to 35, which they would not relinquish any part of for the rest of the night. Arizona carried a 49-14 laed into the fourth and enjoyed a third and fourth helping of icing on the cake when by outscoring San Antonio 21-7 in the final period. All game the Talons alternated between Xavier Lee and Nick Fanuzzi, but neither was able to sustain success. The Rattlers cruised to their eighth-straight win and a league-best 11-1 mark through twelve weeks with the 70-21 victory. In addition, the rich get richer as Maurice Purify returned to see his first action in nearly two month for Arizona; catching three passes for 34 yards. Nick Fanuzzi made his debut for the Talons, in doing so he becomes the sixth different quarterback to take a snap for San Antonio this season; four different guys have started a game this year.
Stat Leaders:
Arizona (11-1) San Antonio (5-6)
Nick Davila 18-27, 290 yds, 5TD, 2 Int Xavier Lee 10-23, 133 yds, 2 Int, Rush TD
Odie Armstrong 20 rush yds, TD; 38 rec yds Nick Fanuzzi 9-25, 108 yds, TD, 4 Int
Jared Perry 7 rec, 155 yds, 3 TD Brent Holmes 9 rec, 138 yds, TD
Kerry Reed 7 rec, 142 yds, 2 TD Sale Key 9 rec, 96 yds
Rod Windsor 4 rec, 43 yds, 3 TD Fred Shaw/Andre Jones Int
Arkeith Brown 3 Int, FF Joe Sykes 2 sacks
Jeremy Kellem 9 tackles, 2 Int
Marquis Floyd Int
Garrett Lindholm 10-10 PAT
Chicago Rush 67, Utah Blaze 43
The Rush hosted the Blaze in Rockford, Illinois at the BMO Harris Bank Center. As a result of the Chicago Rush's ownership issues this season the team has been forced to move their home to Rockford and in week twelve there was minimal media coverage, so this recap will be short and sweet because I simply am unable to attain the full play-by-play of this game.
The Utah defense forced a four-and-out on the game's opening possession and Mario Urrutia halued in a 19-yard touchdown. The two teams traded touchdowns until the middle of the second quarter when the Rush defense made a critical goal-line stand, which led to Jared Jenkins' fifteen-yard catch and run touchdown. Both sides traded score once again with an eighteen-yard touchdown grab by Jenkins being the kickstart to 26 unanswered points by the Rush. Chicago led 34-28 at the break thanks to dominant third quarter which featured three touchdown passes by Carson Coffman, and a stout defense who forced a turnover on downs to start the half and an interception by Kelvin Morris. The Rush led 53-28 with 14:48 left in the fourth and never relinquished the lead to go on to win 67-43 in a comfortable fashion, strengthening their lead in the central to 1.5 games. In two games verse the Rush this season Tommy Grady has thrown six interceptions as the Blaze are now in deep trouble, falling to alst in the National Conference with a 4-7 mark.
Stat Leaders:
Utah (4-7) Chicago (7-5)
Tommy Grady 16-31, 173 yds, 4TD, 2 Int Carson Coffman 21-34, 298 yds, 8TD, Rush TD
Mario Urrutia 8 rec, 55 yds, 3 TD Jared Jenkins 9 rec, 137 yds, 5 TD
AJ Jackson 6 rec, 84 yds, TD Reggie Gray 7 rec, 95 yds, 3 TD
Braylon Bell 6 rec, 74 yds, 2 TD DJ Woods 5 rec, 69 yds, TD
Arness Ikner 6 tackles Vic Hall 7 tackles
Kelvin Morris Int
Spokane Shock 76, Jacksonville Sharks 41
On Saturday night, Deaf Valley played host to a pair of 8-3 teams who are in the mix in their respective playoff races. One team looked like an 8-3 squad, well the other not so much.
The Shock got the ball to start the game and quickly built a fourteen-point lead when Erik Meyer threw a 21-yard touchdown to Kamar Jorden, Rushcard Dodd-Masters ended Jacksonville's opening drive with an interception, and Meyer connected with Jorden three plays later for a twelve-yard score. The Sharks got on the board when a 34-yard reception by Jeron Harvey setup Renderick Taylor's two-yard touchdown run. The last four-and-half minutes of the quarter sent the Goal-line Bandits were sent into even more of a frenzy than the already were when Erik Meyer scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper and Terrance Sanders made the second interception of Bernard Morris and returned it 39 yards for a pick-six, capping off a 28-point first for Spokane. Morris bounced back and kept the Sharks within striking distance by leading a three-play, 45-yard drive that resulted in Josh Philpart's seven-yard touchdown grab. Spokane responded with a four-play scoring drive of their own, concluding on Brandon Thompkins' two-yard scoring run. The Shock blew the doors wide open when the defense forced a two four-and-outs and a fumble, and Erik Meyer threw two touchdowns to expand the lead to 49-14 by halftime. The second half was a calmer paced back-and-forth battle that was started with Jeron Harvey's sixteen-yard touchdown reception to cap off an opening five-play drive by Jacksonville. Once again Meyer answered, completing four straight passess, three consecutive completions to Adron Tennell that included a twelve-yard grab to push the margin back to 35 points. On the next series Bernard Morris was injured on a scramble and did not return, R.J. Archer came into the game and completed a 23-yard touchdown to Harvey on his third pass. Facing such a large deficit midway through the third quarter the Sharks were in desparate need of defensive stops in bunches, but were unable to even get one stop. Erik Meyer's final pass of the night was a 40-yard deep ball to Brandon Thompkins that went for a touchdown to put the game away after three periods. Spokane cruised to a 76-41 victory, where they dominated all three facets of the game. With the injury to Bernard Morris the Sharks have signed Kyle Rowley for a potential replacement, but the team has a lot of questions that need answered in order to make a title run.
Stat Leaders:
Jacksonville (8-4) Spokane (9-3)
Bernard Morris 16-25, 170 yds, 2TD, 2 Int; Erik Meyer 15-21, 218 yds, 6TD, Int;
19 rush yds 17 rush yds, TD Brandon Thompkins 4 rec, 89 yds, 3 Total TD
R.J. Archer 12-15, 113 yds, 2TD, Int Adron Tennell 8 rec, 84 yds, 3 TD
Jeron Harvey 9 rec, 123 yds, 2 TD Kamar Jorden 5 rec, 64 yds, 2 TD
Markee White 8 rec, 72 yds Terrance Sanders 2 Int
Josh Philpart 8 rec, 51 yds, TD Rushard Dodd-Masters 11 tackles, Int
Jamaal Fudge Int, FF, FR
San Jose Sabercats 68, Pittsburgh Power 54
Entering week twelve the Power had the label of the only team that San Jose had never beaten in the AFL, but that changed when the Sabercats welcomed Pittsburgh to H.P. Pavilion for the first time. This matchup also had an unexpected twist of each team going with their backup quarterback to start this one; Russ Michna was out with an injury and Steven Sheffield missed the game due to personal matters.
Fred Williams jump-started the action with a 50-yard return of the opening kickoff, which led to Jabari Fletcher's six-yard touchdown run on the next play. Derek Cassidy got off to an impressive start by completing four of five passes, which featured a 22-yard touchdown to Mike Washington on fourth down. San Jose's season-long backup, Mitch Mustain finally got his chance to shine and grasped it by leading consecutive touchdown drives that saw him complete four of seven passes for 51 yards and throw a touchdown; Fletcher also racked-up his second rushing score. Mustain wasn't the only backup to have success in the first half, as his counterpart completed six of nine passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns as he directed a pair of scoring drives. Both offenses kept rolling, trading touchdowns on their next series to yield Pittsburgh a 28-27 lead with 2:53 before halftime. Mitch Mustain led a five-play, 47-yard drive that he finished off with a 30-yard pass to Amarri Jackson to complete a perfect (5/5) half for the 'Cats. The same could not be said for the Power, as the Sabercat defense earned the first stop of the game with a second-down sack by Francis Maka and a huge illegal foward pass penalty that was called on Derek Cassidy. San Jose began the third quarter with a five-point lead and expanded it to twelve when the Power offense was turned away on downs for the second straight series and a pair of Mitch Mustain completions setup Jabari Fletcher's three-yard touchdown run. Three plays later Mike Washington hauled in a 32-yard touchdown to get Pittsburgh its first points of the half, but Mustain found Fred Williams in-stride for a 35-yard score to get the margin to thirteen at the 4:13 mark in the third. The next stop was made by the Sabercats by forcing all four of Derek Cassidy's passes to fall incomplete on the Power's first possession of the fourth. San Jose took over at Pittsburgh's thirteen-yard line with a thirteen-point lead and 10:31 remaining. The ensuing drive contained three penalties, one of which erased a 'Cat touchdown and was felt when Jabari Fletcher fumbled on first-and-goal to give the Power defense its first stop of the night. Cassidy and the offense responded with a seven-play, three-and-half minute that concluded on Julian Talley's fourteen-yard touchdown grab; pulling the Power within six. Julian Rauch kicked it deep to put the trust in the steel city defense to make another stand. Mitch Mustain completed three straight passes to Fred Williams to gain a first down while taking the clock down to the one-minute warning. The usual play-call in this situation would have been a run to force Pittsburgh to take a timeout, but instead on first-and-ten Mustain finally made a rookie mistake by firing an uncalled deep ball that was intercepted and returned 46 yards by Sergio Gilliam for a touchdown to tie the game at 54 with 46 second left to play; Rauch missed the PAT. Mitch Mustain responded from his mistake like a ten-year veteran by completing three big passes on the ensuing drive, which resulted in Jason Willis' six-yard touchdown grab to put the 'Cats back in the lead with twelve seconds to play. The Power had one final chance to answer, but failed immediately when Derek Cassidy's first pass was intercepted and returned for a score by Huey Whittaker, marking a Sabercat pick-six to seal a back-forth contest. With the win the Sabercats have now beaten every team in the AFL, while improving to 8-3. Pittsburgh suffers another close loss to fall to 3-8.
Stat Leaders:
Pittsburgh (3-8) San Jose (8-3)
Derek Cassidy 19-41, 261 yds, 6TD, Int; Mitch Mustain 21-37, 250 yds, 6TD, Int
22 rush yds, TD Jarbari Fletcher 4 rush, 16 yds, 3 TD; 0.5 sack
Mike Washington 7 rec, 109 yds, 3 TD Jason Willis 8 rec, 96 yds, 2 TD
Oderick Turner 6 rec, 86 yds, TD Fred Williams 8 rec, 86 yds, 3 TD; 183 kick ret yds
Julian Talley 5 rec, 55 yds, TD Amarri Jackson 5 rec, 68 yds, TD
Sergio Gilliam Int-ret TD Huey Whittaker 8 tackles, FF, Int-ret TD, sack
Francis Maka 1.5 sacks
Week 12 Players
of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week: Dominick Goodman, Cleveland
WR
- The Gladiators dropped a tough 37-33 decision to fall to 2-9, but it wasn't Dominick Goodman at fault. Goodman carried the offense by hauling in 18 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Defensive Player of the Week: Arkeith Brown, Arizona
DB
- The Rattlers earned their eighth-straight victory and eleventh overall with an absolute thrashing of the San Antonio Talons. Arkeith Brown would've been a one-man wrecking crew if not for the entire defense's dominance. Brown recorded three interceptions and forced a fumble to help propel Arizona to a 70-21 victory.
Playmaker of the Week: Jared Jenkins, Chicago WR
- The lack of coverage didn't have a single effect on Jared Jenkins, or the Rush defense in week twelve. Jenkins was Carson Coffman's favortie target, catching nine passes for 137 yards and five touchdowns in a 67-43 runaway victory.
For more on any of these
seven games, or the Arena Football League go to: http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/sched/afl-a-footbl-sched.html
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