Of all the quarterback competitions in arena football in 2018, two stick out above the rest – the Cape Fear Heroes and Columbus Lions.
Cape Fear won the Supreme Indoor Football (SIF) championship game, but also played two quarterbacks during the season. Both Ryan Bach and Daryll Clark saw action.
Clark started May 6 against the Cap City Bulls and led the Heroes to a win. The following week, Clark was injured against the Triangle Torch and was placed on injured reserve. Bach took over and led the Heroes all the way to the title.
“My mindset is being the starting quarterback for the Heroes and [I] am willing to put in the work to make sure that happens,” Bach told Inside the Arena.
In Columbus, Mason Espinosa started the season for the Lions in 2017 before eventually being benched for Darren Daniel. Daniel would have an impressive outing, but it would be Espinosa who would be under center through the Lions playoff run into the inaugural National Arena League title game. Unfortunately, they fell just yards short of a title as they fell to the Jacksonville Sharks.
Competing with him for the starting job this season will be former Corpus Christi Rage quarterback Kyle Cool. Cool didn’t do so well with the Rage, but the Rage didn’t do well as a team. This is a 180 for Cool as he looks to win the starting job in the competition against Espinosa.
“I plan to come to camp prepared and ready to work for that spot,” Cool told Inside the Arena in a recent interview. “It should be a fun competition and fun training camp all around. I am looking forward to my new opportunity in Columbus in 2018 with a top-tier organization in this league.”
Cape Fear and Columbus, of course, play in two different leagues. But like every team in every sport, there is only one goal, no matter who the quarterback is – win the championship.
Inside the Arena 