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AFL Week 11 Recap

Pro Football Fans Staff Writer Chad Fukoka brings us his latest recap of the past week in the Arena Football League.

 

  • After defeating the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Soul, Cleveland won another home game, 62-43, over the Orlando Predators. The Gladiators took a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the outcome was never in doubt. Raymond Philyaw threw 7 touchdown passes and no interceptions while Robert Redd was the top receiver, with 126 yards and 3 touchdown receptions. Otis Amey also caught 3 touchdown passes. For Orlando, Shane Stafford passed for 312 yards and 6 touchdowns, but his team struggled to come up with scores throughout the second and third quarter. Ron Johnson caught 10 passes for 118 yards and 3 scores and T.T Toliver played on both offense and special teams but his determined effort fell short. Orlando has lost 2 out of their last 3 games, while Cleveland has won consecutive games for the first time since their 3-0 start to the season.

  • This game was supposed to feature two of the better quarterbacks in the league, but instead the defenses dominated this matchup as Tampa Bay squeaked out a narrow victory over New Orleans, 41-37. The Storm lead 21-16 at halftime but was forced to make a small comeback with 1 minute to go as they scored the game winning touchdown to erase a 3-point defecit. Brett Dietz was under heavy pressure but managed to throw 4 touchdowns and Lawrence Samuels caught 11 passes for 111 yards and 2 scores. Danny Wimrpine had 3 touchdowns and 240 yards but a couple of turnovers and missed opportunities inside Storm territory cost New Orleans the victory.



  • San Jose now has a winning record after defeating Arizona, 63-42. The Sabercats lead 28-27 at halftime and broke open the game in the fourth quarter to roll to a comfortable win. Mark Grieb had an outtanding night, with 8 touchdowns and 289 yards. Rodney Wright and James Roe combined for 25 receptions, 255 yards and 7 scores. Although the Arizona offense had been explosive in recent games, Jeff Smoker could not find a rhythm, throwing for just 4 touchdowns and 250 yards. Six Rattlers receivers caught a pass, with Siaha Burley leading the way with 14 receptions, 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. Arizona was stopped three consecitive times in the fourth quarter as San Jose was able to extend their lead.

  • In a matchup of two teams in last place in their divisions, Kansas City emerged victorious over Columbus, 59-43. The Brigade took advantage of two interceptions and one fumble and lead by 28 points early in the fourth quarter. D Bryant threw 4 touchdowns for Kansas City and 4 different receivers each caught a touchdown pass. Kansas City used a 21-0 run in the second half to put the game out of reach. Matt Nagy threw 5 touchdowns in a losing effort. C.J Johnson and Derek Lee both had 2 touchdown catches and combined for 200 yards. Columbus had lost 4 straight games and is realistically out of the playoff chase with six weeks remaining in the season. Kansas City is only one game out of sixth place and the final playoff spot in the weak American Conference, despite having the same 2-8 record as Columbus.

  • Dallas was able to win a high scoring game over Grand Rapids, 65-54. The Desperados are undefeated at home, but this matchup was not quite the blowout that was expected. Although the offense performed very well, the usually stingy defense allowed 54 points, 30 in the first half to a Rampage team that has been inconsistent throughout the season. Clint Dolezel passed for 321 yards and 8 touchdowns and Marcus Nash caught 9 passes for 145 yards and 6 scores. James McPherson threw 7 touchdown passes and Kenny Higgins had 13 receptions for 195 yards and 3 scores but it was not enough to defeat a veteran Dallas team. The Rampage cut the lead to 4 with 6 minutes remaining, but failed to score any more points.

  • Utah won its second straight game, a 71-36 thrashing of the Colorado Crush. Both offenses were among the best in the league coming into what was supposed to be a very high scoring game, but only the Blaze were able to score consistently. Joe Germaine threw for 6 touchdowns and J.J McKelvey had 4 touchdown receptions. Utah had 4 receivers with a touchdown catch and they also scored twice on fumble returns. John Dutton threw for only 4 touchdowns and the Colorado receivers were out of sync during the entire game. The Crush were stopped 5 times and the Blaze forced Dutton to scramble and throw off balance on many passing attempts. Utah outscored Colorado 35-7 in the fourth quarter.

  • New York came through with a surprising road win over Los Angeles, 52-48. The Dragons dominated the first fifteen minutes, taking an early 13-0 lead. They took a sizeable halftime lead which quickly disappeared after the Avengers scored four touchdowns in the third quarter. New York scored the last two touchdowns and intercepted Los Angeles in the end zone with a few seconds remaining. Aaron Garcia tossed 6 touchdown passes and had 208 yards. Jason Willis had 4 touchdown receptions and 127 yards.In a losing effort, Sonny Cumbie and Tim Hicks took turns as quarterback but they could not produce the game winning drive. Kevin Ingram and LaShaun Ward each caught 2 touchdown passes for the Avengers. Los Angeles had lost 7 out of their last 9 games and are struggling just to stay in playoff contention. New York has won 5 straight games and the offense has found their identity with Aaron Garcia at quarterback.

  • In one of the most amazing games of the year, Georgia put together a huge comeback to defeat Philadelphia, 63-62. The game was close at halftime with Philadelphia leading by one point, but it seemed to be out of reach with the Soul up by 21 with 3 minutes remaining. Chris Greisen ran for a touchdown to cut the margin to 14, Philadelphia missed a field goal, and Georgia scored again to make it a 7-point lead with 42 seconds remaining. The Force recovered an onside kick and scored on a touchdown pass to cut the lead to 1 point and then converted a two-point conversion to go ahead. A Philadelphia field goal was missed as time expired. Both quarterbacks threw 5 touchdown passes, but it was the team effort of Georgia that allowed them to get the victory. With this incredible win, Georgia improves to 5-5, and Philadelphia drops to 9-2, losing consecutive games after their undefeated start.

  • Joe Germaine leads the league with 70 touchdown passes and 3437 passing yards. Chris Jackson has the most touchdown receptions, with 33 on the season. T.T Toliver's 1283 receiving yards is the most, and Marlion Jackson is the league leader in rushing touchdowns with 16 and rushing yards with 254.

  • In the American Conference, only two teams have a winning record, Chicago and San Jose. Four teams would currently make the playoffs with a losing record. In the National Conference, each of the top six teams have a winning record.

 

By Chad Fukoka
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer

 

> Check out Chad's Arena Football Rules & AFL Basics article and see how your team is doing in the 2008 AFL standings as AFL teams continue to battle for a chance to play in Arena Bowl XXII!