Kings of Arena

After a long dispute throughout the off-season, the Arena Football League and AFLPU finally agreed on a four-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) deal. With the deal done, the league could now focus on the 2018 season, starting with free agency.

After just one week of free agency, the AFL proved to everyone why they are the kings of arena football. Some may argue that its due to the money being provided, but nonetheless, the AFL has all the top players in the sport joining them.

Several players that have joined the AFL were in different leagues prior. Washington Valor quarterback Warren Smith Jr. won the National Arena League MVP award in 2017 prior to joining the Valor at season’s end. He has been assigned to remain with the Valor instead of re-joining Lehigh Valley for 2018.

Wide receiver Malachi Jones, 2017 NAL Rookie of the Year, signed with the Atlanta Havoc and played in their inaugural game on March 17. Now, he will suit up with the Albany Empire for the 2018 season.

Three-time AFL MVP and three-time ArenaBowl champion quarterback Nick Davila retired when the Arizona Rattlers moved to the Indoor Football League in 2016. After a year of being the Rattlers quarterbacks coach, Davila is un-retiring and joining the Washington Valor alongside Smith.

Also, players from the now defunct Cleveland Gladiators and Tampa Bay Storm will also remain in the league with new teams. 2017 AFL MVP quarterback Randy Hippeard and star wide receivers Quentin Sims and Kendrick Ings will all suit up for the Baltimore Brigade this season.

There is much hate for the league due to the fact that there are only four teams. However, sometimes, quality is more important than quantity. There may only be four teams in the league this coming season, but no league compares to the talent that they have.

The 2018 season kicks off on Friday, April 13 and the regular season concludes Saturday, July 7. ArenaBowl XXXI will once again be held at the home of the highest-seeded team remaining. That game, followed by two weekends of home-and-home playoff games, will be played Saturday, July 28.

Florida Tarpons Sign Superstar Wide Receiver Joe Hills

The Florida Tarpons have signed superstar wide receiver Joe Hills. Hills spent 2017 with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL) and one game with the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL).

Hills recorded 129 catches 1353 yards and 36 touchdowns with the Storm in 2017. All three of those categories led the AFL.

Before joining Tampa in 2017, Hills had spent the last two seasons with Jacksonville, and spent the two years prior to that with the Storm. Each year, Hills has played with a talented quarterback (Randy Hippeard in Tampa, Tommy Grady in Jacksonville.)

Now, he will be playing alongside 18-year arena football veteran Chris Wallace. Wallace, unlike Hills, has won multiple championships, so with Hills at his side, the Tarpons will look like a dangerous team on offense.

Florida will be looking for redemption after losing to the Richmond Roughriders in the Arena Pro Football (APF) Championship Game in 2017. They will kick off their season on March 17 when they face the expansion Atlanta Havoc. They will face the Roughriders in a rematch on April 14 in Lakeland, FL.

Redemption for Mykel Benson

Arizona Rattlers running back Mykel Benson was rushing into the end zone from one yard out – or so he thought. He fumbled at the goal line and Dwayne Hollis picked it up for the Philadelphia Soul and returned it all the way for a touchdown to give the Soul a 21-0 lead. They would go on to defeat the Rattlers to win ArenaBowl XXIX.

“I can’t even explain it. [I] felt disappointed,” Benson reflects on the loss. “I didn’t have the best game in my eyes so that made it worst. You do a lot work during the season and the last thing you want to do is lose a championship.”

Just three months later, the Rattlers left the Arena Football League to join the Indoor Football League. When asked why he didn’t join them, Benson said “They didn’t ask me to come back.”

Benson wound up signing with the Soul, the same team that broke his heart to end the last season. He told Inside the Arena that he joined the Soul for many reasons, including who their quarterback was.

“If you don’t have a quarterback that doesn’t know the game, you’re going to have a long season,” he said. Dan Raudabaugh had just come off a 2016 season in which he had thrown 4,303 yards and 101 touchdowns.

Benson wound up leading the league with 274 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground. Philadelphia would finish the season with a 15-1 record, defeat the Baltimore Brigade in the semifinals and advance to their second consecutive ArenaBowl game.

This time, they were to face a Tampa Bay Storm team who finished 2-14 in 2016, then cleaned house, hiring a new head coach in Ron James and signed quarterback Randy Hippeard and wide receiver Joe Hills.

After Raudabaugh threw a pick-six, the Soul found themselves down 20-7. Despite the deficit, Benson wasn’t completely worried. “[The] only feeling I had was to finish,” he said. “I can’t even lie I was a tab bit worried, but once we scored before halftime, I knew we had control of the game.”

They did indeed have control. Trailing 20-14 at the half, the Soul outscored the Storm 28-7 in the third quarter. They would hold off the Storm’s late surge and win ArenaBowl XXX by a final score of 44-40. A year after falling just short, Benson was on top of the world again.

“It was a big release,” he said on how he felt after the clock hit 0:00. “I can check this off my goal list.”

Benson also added he is unsure if he will re-join the Soul in 2018, but the offseason is long and all players are free agents after playing under one year contracts in 2017. Anything can happen.

Top Five Games of 2017 Arena Football League Season

The 2017 Arena Football League season has come to an end. With approximately 60 games played, here are the top five from the season that was.

Storm vs Valor, Week 10

Washington was looking to snap their long losing streak against the surging Storm. At one point, the Valor had an 11-point lead. Tampa Bay wouldn’t go down that easily, however.

They overcame the deficit to take the lead. After a touchdown to make it 58-57 Storm, the Valor went for the win. Unfortunately, they missed the two point conversion and lost.

4. Brigade vs Soul, Week 14

The undefeated Soul went into Baltimore looking for an easy win. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t a win.

After a slow first half by both teams that ended in a Hail Mary from quarterback Shane Carden to Paul Browning, Baltimore kept the Soul on their toes in the second half. They even held a 14 point fourth quarter lead.

Philadelphia scored to make it a one score game, then a Dwayne Hollis interception put them in position to tie the game. However, Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh threw several incomplete passes and the Soul turned the ball over on downs with 3.3 seconds left, suffering the lone loss of the season.

3. Valor vs Brigade, Week 16

In what was known as a low-scoring affair, the two expansion franchises went down to the wire. A Sean Brackett pass in the end zone to T.T. Toliver with just three seconds left gave Washington a 33-30 win. The win also snapped their 10-game losing streak.

2. Storm vs Gladiators, Week 3

At an 0-2 record, Cleveland started quarterback Arvell Nelson looking for a change. Things looked as if they could turn around for Cleveland as they held a 27-7 lead over the 2-0 Storm. The Storm wouldn’t go down, that easy. They overcame the 20-point deficit and, with three seconds left, Storm quarterback Randy Hippeard found Joe Hills for the game-winning touchdown in a 62-61 game.

1. Gladiators vs Storm, Week 14

Once more, the Storm found themselves down three scores to the Gladiators, this time a 34-13 deficit. Once more, they overcame the deficit, showing what a resilient team they are. Hippeard found Hills for a touchdown to make it a 41-39 game.

Tampa had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but the two point conversion failed. It would be the only loss for Tampa to a team not named the Philadelphia Soul.