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AFL Week 17 Recap

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

 

  • Grand Rapids secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2003 with an 86-70 win over New Orleans. The Rampage will be the sixth seed in the American Conference and will play a road game at Arizona. The loss eliminated New Orleans from playoff contention. Grand Rapids scored touchdowns on their first six possessions and put up 48 points by halftime. In the second half, both teams matched scores and the outcome was never in doubt. Although the Rampage defense allowed 70 points, they did produce three turnovers which helped to swing the momentum in their favor. James McPherson threw for 7 touchdowns and 3 receivers each recorded multiple touchdown receptions. In a surprising home loss, Danny Wimrpine delivered a solid performance with 8 touchdowns and 358 yards. New Orleans missed the postseason with an 8-8 record and finished in last place in their division, losing 6 of their final 7 games.

  • Cleveland earned a first round home game with a victory over a weak Columbus team, 47-35. The Gladiators offense struggled at times, but did enough to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Cleveland never trailed after the first quarter and held off several comeback attempts by the Destroyers, who were looking to end a terrible season on a good note. Columbus moved the ball on their possessions but could not convert first downs into scores, as the Destroyers were held to just five touchdowns. In a similar fashion to many of their losses, Columbus gained first downs and had good offensive statistics, but were unsuccessful in the red zone, forced into turnovers or field goal attempts. Raymond Philyaw passed for 6 touchdowns, Otis Amey caught 2 touchdown passes and Randy Hymes had 3 touchdown receptions for the Gladiators. Matt Nagy wrapped up a horrible and frustrating season with only 3 touchdown passes, and once again the Destroyers offense was inconsistent and sloppy. Cleveland will host a playoff game against a very experienced Orlando squad and have to be pleased with their 2008 performance after relocating from Las Vegas with the worst record last year. ''



  • In one of the few meaningless matchups on the final week, Tampa Bay defeated Los Angeles, 72-47. Both teams were already out of the playoffs regardless of the outcome of the game and the Storm put on a strong display for their home crowd. Tampa Bay shut out Los Angeles in the first quarter, taking a 20-0 lead. They would extend it to 41-20 at halftime and 62-27 late in the third quarter. The Storm forced 4 turnovers and limited Los Angeles to just 2 out of 7 conversions on third and fourth downs. In the loss, Sonny Cumbie was the starting quarterback and played all but one snap, throwing for 6 touchdowns and 272 yards. Sam Keller, an excellent college quarterback, was recently signed by Los Angeles and completed one pass for 28 yards. Timon Marshall caught 4 touchdown passes and had 171 yards for the Avengers. Brett Dietz threw for 6 touchdown in the victory for Tampa Bay. Both teams concluded disappointing seasons after being in the playoffs the previous year.

  • Colorado made significant improvements on defense, even if it was against a weak and desperate Kansas City squad. The Crush forced 3 turnovers and held Kansas City to just a 25% conversion rate on third and fourth downs. Colorado jumped out to a 30-14 halftime lead and were later up by 30 points early in the fourth on their way to a 51-27 win. John Dutton was conisistent and let the offense take advantage of the rushing game near the goal line. Colorado had 4 rushing touchdowns and Dutton added 3 more passing touchdowns in an easy win. Brigade quarterback D Bryant threw for 4 touchdowns while newly signed backup Quincy Carter completed 7 passes for 73 yards. The Brigade hopes Carter can bring stability to the offense next year. Colorado will travel to Utah for their first round game, having lost the tiebreaker and home field advantage with a regular season loss to the Blaze. Kansas City ends the year with the worst record in the American Conference.

  • Utah concluded their season on a positive note as they dominated the first half in a convincing victory over the Arizona Rattlers. The Blaze lead 38-13 at halftime, going up 24-0 in the second quarter. In the third, Arizona answered with three consecutive touchdowns, shutting out Utah and narrowing the lead to 38-32. Utah regained their offensive rhythm in the final quarter and ended the game with an interception return for a score as they won 62-45. Joe Germaine threw 6 touchdowns and J.J McKelvey and Aaron Boone both had multiple touchdown recptions and over 100 receiving yards. In the defeat, Jeff Smoker passed for 5 touchdowns. Utah clinched the sixth seed and will have a rematch at Arizona as the Rattlers have the better record and hope for a better performance next week.

  • In an exciting high scoring shootout, the San Jose Sabercats squeaked out a 68-62 home win over a dangerous Georgia team. Each team's offense was unstoppable in the first half as they played to a 35-35 tie. This continued in the third quarter as Georgia took a 56-55 lead after a missed Sabercats extra point. San Jose intercepted Georgia in the end zone with a minute left in the game and ran out the clock for the narrow win. Although both teams found plenty of offensive success, they also combined for 6 turnovers. For Georgia, Chris Greisen threw for 8 touchdowns and 390 yards, with 3 touchdown passes caught by Tiger Jones and 4 by Carl Morris. Mark Grieb had 9 touchdown passes and 354 yards and Clennord Saintil had an amazing gamne with 7 touchdown receptions and 155 receiving yards. Both teams will receive first round byes as the second seeds in their conferences.

  • Philadelphia made a statement in their last regular season game with a 59-30 thrashing of the New York Dragons. The Soul took a 42-10 lead and allowed only one first half touchdown. Philadelphia made 5 stops in the first half and scored touchdowns on each of their six possessions. Matt D'Orazio had 3 touchdown passes and Larry Brackins was the top receiver with 3 touchdown receptions and 45 yards. The Soul also scored twice on interception returns. New York only produced 3 offensive touchdowns, one on a pass by Aaron Garcia and two on rushing scores. New York did average over 20 yards per kick return, but it did not result in a good offensive performance. Neither team had a receiver with 100 yards or more. Philadelphia has a first round bye as the top seed in the National Conference while New York is the sixth seed and will play a first round road game against Dallas.

  • Chicago earned the top seed in the American Conference with a 75-63 victory over Dallas. Both teams scored touchdowns on all five of their first half possessions and there were no stops as they played to a 35-35 tie. In the third quarter, Chicago took a 13 point lead, scoring on their two posssessions while creating two stops of their own. Dallas chose to play backup quarterback Chris Sanders in the second half to give him more game experience and to give Clint Dolezel time to rest. The fourth quarter featured lots of scoring but the lead was never in doubt for Chicago. Chicago earned a first round bye and home field advantage for the entire playoffs, a loss would have given San Jose home field advantage in the conference championship game if either team reached that point. Dallas was already the third seed and would host a first round game regardless of the outcome.

2008 AFL Regular Season Statistical Leaders:

Passing Touchdowns - Mark Grieb (San Jose) - 100

Passing Yards - Chris Greisen (Georgia) - 4946

Receiving Touchdowns - Chris Jackson (Philadelphia) - 49

Receiving Yards - Derek Lee (Columbus) - 1753

Rushing Touchdowns - Marlion Jackson (Cleveland) - 23

Rushing Yards - Marlion Jackson (Cleveland) - 356

 

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!