Why Washington Valor Will Win ArenaBowl XXXI

FACT: Last season, including the playoffs, only twice did a team score at least 70 points.

FACT: Last season, including the playoffs, teams scored 60+ points only 31 times (including only three games where both teams crossed that threshold).

The 2017 season showed that fewer teams playing each other more often means a more defensive season with lower scoring. With only four teams in 2018, that’s now further intensified.

When defense is the order of the league, there’s only one position that can break through and counter that: quarterback. Thanks to the Washington Valor signing Nick Davila away from a coaching position with the IFL’s Arizona Rattlers, they’ve become the favorites to score more than enough to potentially take the title.

Yes, the Valor initially shored up the position by signing Warren Smith, Jr. from the National Arena League’s Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (being the first ever league MVP will garner interest from other teams), but this was a big break that’s rather unexpected.

Also, not settling at just the pivot, the Valor ensured there’s receivers to throw to. Washington were lucky enough to have “Big Play” Reggie Gray assigned to their squad and recently also signed Davila’s former favorite receiver in Rod Windsor.

With a healthy Toliver, that’s 22 combined years of league experience to a corps that features five receivers with two years experience or less. With either the championship veteran or the dual-threat throwing to them, there’s potential to have an offense as dynamic as Philadelphia or Albany, the two teams they’ll be fighting with for the top seed in the playoffs.

Defensively, the team is just as young, but there are key starters returning from last year. Namely, James Gordon, Jake Payne, and Reggie Wilson (although also on the PUP list). With Gordon moving from linebacker up to the defensive line, the Valor can generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, leading to many more much-needed sacks. Given the fact that there’s only two returning starters in the secondary (Dominic Addison and Michael Knight), the less pressure for making interceptions, the better.

Yes, the Soul have kept more than their core of players from their championship team and Albany have made some big splash signings. However, if Washington can put themselves in position to host the second leg of their semifinal, they could find themselves in ArenaBowl XXXI, and you can’t bet against the Latin Laser when he’s playing for titles.

Chicago Should Bring in Arena Football League Team

The Chicago Bruisers were one of the founding franchises in the original Arena Football League, reaching the playoffs in two out of three years and losing ArenaBowl II in 1988. Aside from the occasional honor, being featured in a movie, and created as a hidden bonus in a video game, the Bruisers were resigned to the role of memories and historical footnotes.

Then, in 2001, the league gave Chicago a second chance with the Rush. Success was just as immediate, and the team was even more fruitful. In 12 seasons, the team only had one losing record (7-9 in 2007, where they won ArenaBowl XX) and only missed the playoffs once (2012, despite finishing 10-8). However, despite the championship and six division titles, the Rush are mainly remembered for the chaos that happened in 2013.

Despite a very solid, profitable team that survived 11 seasons and were one of the main teams to come back in 2010, two ownership changes, a bounced check, and being taken over by the league twice, on top of issues with a home arena, the team was on shaky ground. Despite another 10-8 season and another division title, the team was forced to travel to 14-4 Spokane in the first round of the playoffs. Three ill-timed fourth-quarter turnovers cost them the game, ending their franchise history with a playoff loss.

It’s for the record of perseverance despite chaos, the fan base that showed up time and time again (11,179 average attendance throughout the Rush’s history), and a clear variety of arenas throughout suburban Chicago readily available for a good price (especially during the league season, where baseball, basketball, and hockey fans could get an excellent alternative).

The problem with the Bruisers was that the league outgrew them. The problem with the Rush was ineffective ownership. However, with the league in the position it’s in by reaching out to owners of NBA and NHL teams, why not reach out to a city that has both? It’s working in Washington and Baltimore, and now Philadelphia and soon potentially Albany.

Chicago is a major market, big enough to help the league re-earn the prestige it needs now of all times. Travel wouldn’t be a major issue as Chicago would be the western-most city, and one major market could potentially lure others in the midwest and all throughout the rest of the country if the league desires. TV ratings would be there, fans would be there, it’s time that with a new commissioner and new owners, the Arena Football League is there, too.

After all…the third time’s the charm.

Ranking the ArenaBowls, #2: ArenaBowl XIV

As the Arena Football League entered a new millennium in 2000, the ground was arguably shaky. In fact, for nearly a week (from Feb. 24 to March 1), the season was officially canceled. However, the League Player’s Union reached a collective bargaining agreement with the league and dropped their antitrust lawsuit filed over health benefits, higher salaries, and a lack of free agency.

Once the season got going, it really got going. San Jose and Arizona were not just in a divisional race throughout the season, but a race for the #1 overall seed. The Orlando Predators were the only team who won their division by more than one game, and five of the eight wild card teams were only separated by two games. It was a postseason ripe for upsets.

The Predators had a comfortable run to ArenaBowl XIV, beating I-4 rival Tampa Bay 34-24 in the quarterfinals before netting a mild upset at home against Arizona, 56-44, in the semifinals.

However, Orlando’s division foe, the Nashville Kats, had a little tougher route. After a 57-14 wild-card win over Grand Rapids, the Kats had to face the #3 seed and first-team All-Arena quarterback Aaron Garcia on the road in the quarterfinals. After scoring a 63-56 upset, their reward was a trip to San Jose to face the #1 seed SaberCats, who finished 12-2. A 52-41 semifinal upset win meant one more game and one more trip to Amway Arena.

The Jungle, as the arena was known as, had a raucous crowd of 15,989 on hand to witness the Predators in their third straight title game up against a debutante Nashville team. It didn’t take long for the home team to assert their dominance, as Ernest Allen recorded a safety inside the first minute of the game. With the ball, Connell Maynor found Clif Dell from 16 yards out to extend the lead to 9-0. After a couple of stops, Joe Douglass would score on a 3-yard touchdown run to make the Orlando lead 15-0 after David Cool missed the extra point.

Andy Kelly did find Jeff Russell on a 33-yard touchdown pass to narrow the deficit to 15-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Maynor threw two more touchdown passes to start the second, and the Kats were nearly left for dead down 29-7 just 20 minutes into the game.

However, like Orlando did to start the game, Nashville scored a safety (thanks to William Gaines) and got two touchdown passes from Kelly (one to Cory Fleming, the other to Darryl Hammond) to score 16 unanswered points and cut the deficit to 29-23 at the halftime buzzer.

The third quarter was a tight, defensive battle, with Nashville taking the lead on an Andy Kelly 28-yard pass to James Baron, and Orlando answering with a 38-yard field goal from David Cool to take a 32-30 lead going into the final fifteen minutes.

Orlando started that final frame strong with Connell Maynor finding Bret Cooper on a 15-yard pass, but Cool missed his second extra point of the game, and the lead remained 38-30. To add injury to insult, Andy Kelly went down with a knee injury, forcing backup quarterback James Brown into action to lead a comeback. Things initially didn’t go according to plan thanks to Brown throwing an interception on his first drive. The turnover didn’t hurt, though, as Cool missed a 22-yard field goal, his third miss of the game. Brown did make things right on his next drive, finding Hammond on a 45-yard bomb and then Fleming on the tying two-point conversion with 6:26 left in the game.

Defense stepped up yet again, creating another scoring drought and the possibility of the first-ever ArenaBowl to be decided in overtime. But, Maynor and the Predators had one last drive in them, and set up one last chance at redemption for David Cool.

Cool, who missed a total of five kicks during the game, had a shot at a game-winning 19-yard field goal on the last play. The snap was good, the hold was good, and the kick sailed through the uprights to give Orlando their second title in three years.

Thanks to a 202-yard, four-touchdown game on 17 completions in 28 attempts, Connell Maynor won MVP honors. James Baron, thanks to his touchdown catch and two sacks, was named Ironman of the Game in the loss.

For Orlando, they would have to wait for another chance at a title after this classic, as their next ArenaBowl appearance wouldn’t be for another six years. Nashville, on the other hand, made it right back to the big game the next year, only to run into Clint Dolezel and the Grand Rapids Rampage. The Kats wouldn’t come back to Nashville until 2005, and left the league for good in 2007.

Ranking the ArenaBowls, #5: ArenaBowl VIII

The 1994 season brought expansion to the Arena Football League, with three new teams (the Fort Worth Cavalry, Las Vegas Sting, and Milwaukee Mustangs) entering the league, while the Cincinnati Rockers and Dallas Texans folded, plus, the Detroit Drive, the first powerhouse of the league, moved to Worcester to become the Massachusetts Marauders.

With two uneven conferences, there were some scheduling logistics to work through. Nevertheless, it was a fairly competitive league. Seven of the 11 teams finished within three games of each other, and it was a close race for the top two spots. The Orlando Predators easily won the National Conference with an 11-1 record, and the Albany Firebirds fought off the Arizona Rattlers by two games to win the American Conference at 10-2.

However, like any good postseason, funny things happen. Orlando, as the top seed, only allowed 14 points to debutante Fort Worth in the quarterfinals, before fighting off newly-relocated Massachusetts 51-42 in the semifinals. While Albany was favored to play for the title, it was actually Arizona who was Orlando-bound thanks to a 52-24 win over the Charlotte Rage and a 40-33 upset over the Firebirds in Albany.

The game started with notoriety for two firsts: the first ArenaBowl to use a Roman numeral (VIII vs. ’94) and the Rattlers’ first appearance. But, the Predators, still looking for their first title, struck first. Quarterback Ben Bennett found WR/LB Alex Shell for a five-yard touchdown. Hall-of-Fame quarterback Sherdrick Bonner answered right back when he found WR/DB Cedric Tillman for 33 yards and the tying score. Jorge Cimadevilla kicked a 24-yard field goal late in the quarter, and the first 15 minutes ended 10-7 Orlando.

Arizona controlled most of the second quarter, starting out with a six-yard pass from Bonner to OS Calvin “Shakes” Schexnayder to retake the lead. Ben Bennett found Alex Shell on a 42-yard scoring bomb to answer, but that was the Predators’ only scoring of the quarter. The Rattlers had a chance to open up the game, but only managed two Luis Zendejas field goals (23 and 40 yards) to give Arizona a 20-17 halftime lead.

The third quarter was just as back and forth, just with much less scoring. After over twelve minutes without either team making a dent, the Rattlers finally extended their lead thanks to Bonner finding WR/DB Milton Vaughn for a two-yard pass and a ten-point lead. The Predators answered on their next drive, but Bennett found WR/DB McCurey “Herkie” Walls on a 38-yard deep score to cut the deficit to 27-24 going into the fourth quarter.

Zendejas made his third field goal of the game to start the final frame, but just less than five minutes later, WR/DB Barry Wagner scored on a three-yard run to give Orlando their first lead since early in the second quarter, 31-30.

The Predators held that lead at the one-minute warning, until Sed Bonner engineered another big drive. With 31 seconds left, Bonner found Schexnayder for a 24-yard touchdown and a five-point lead. Zendejas tried a dropkick to make it a seven-point game, but he missed, giving Orlando one last chance.

Ben Bennett had enough time and one last deep pass in him, but it fell incomplete, giving the Rattlers their first ever ArenaBowl title.

Sed Bonner, who completed 25 of 38 passes for 267 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, won MVP honors. Barry Wagner, thanks to six catches for 111 yards, two carries for three yards and his touchdown, and four tackles, was named Ironman of the Game.

Arizona would win their second title just three short years later, while Orlando would rack up two more losses before finally breaking through the year after the Rattlers’ second win.