AFL Week 8 Recap

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

• New York is becoming a legitimate contender in the National Conference after getting their third consecutive win, this week over Tampa Bay, 66-47. The Dragons offense is finally at full strength with Aaron Garcia leading the way at quarterback. He threw 7 touchdowns and had 22 completions for 254 yards. Jason Willis caught 8 receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Chris Anthony and Kevin Swayne also had 2 scores. New York forced 1 fumble and 2 interceptions and never trailed after the first quarter. Brett Dietz led the Storm with 26 completions for 334 yards and 6 touchdowns, his parimary receiver was Hank Edwards who recorded 149 yards and 2 scores. The Storm have lost 5 games in a row.

• San Jose took a small step in getting back on track for the regular season by defeating Utah, 61-40. The Sabercats defense came up with a strong performance, holding Utah to 212 yards, forcing 4 turnovers and allowing just 13 second half points. Mark Grieb passed for 311 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Cleannord Saintil caught 8 receptions for 128 yards and 1 touchdown. James Roe led the Sabercats with 3 touchdown catches. Blaze quarterback Joe Germaine was off-target the entire game, throwing for only 189 yards and 3 touchdowns. Utah put up its lowest point total of the season and San Jose evened its record to 4-4 with the win and lead the Western Division.

• New Orleans rebounded from a loss to Dallas by beating Arizona, 60-36. The VooDoo took a quick 17-0 lead and shut out Arizona in the first quarter. They forced 6 Rattlers turnovers, including 5 interceptions off first year starter Lang Campbell. Arizona was held under 40 points for the third time this year. Danny Wimprine put up another great performance to build on his fantastic season, tossing 6 touchdowns and completing 21 passes for 281 yards. James Jordan had 8 catches for 124 yards and 4 scores. Lang Campbell threw for a lot of yards, 342, but didn't have good results as he only had 4 touchdowns. Trandon Harvey carried the load for the Rattlers as he had a spectacular game with 13 catches for 196 yards and 4 total touchdowns, one coming on a kickoff return. Arizona was intercepted twice inside the VooDoo ten yard line.

• Kansas City picked up their first win in a surprising fashion, defeating the Colorado Crush, 55-53. The Bridage outgained the Crush by 76 yards, and stopped a two-point conversion attempt with 17 seconds remaining to preserve the victory. Kansas City had 235 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns, 3 rushing touchdowns and a kickoff return for a score. Mike Horacek had 6 receptions for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns and Jerel Myers caught 6 passes for 83 yards and a score. John Dutton had a below average game with just 191 yards and 5 touchdowns. Willie Quinnie and Ben Nelson both had 2 receicing touchdowns and Chad owens set up the Crush in good field position by having a 27 yard kick return average on 5 attempts. Afetr a high scoring start with Kansas City up 28-19 early in the second quarter, Colorado tied it at 41 entering the fourth quarter before Kansas City took the lead for good.

• In a matchup that's turning into an intense rivalry, Orlando defeated Georgia in a fast paced game, 65-62. Both teams had 2 turnovers and Orlando trailed 62-52 midway through the fourth quarter before scoring the last two touchdowns to rally for a victory. Shane Stafford and Jake Eaton combined for 285 yards and 7 passing touchdowns, while Ron Johnson caught 11 passes for 122 yards and 1 score. Chas Gessner had 4 receiving touchdowns. For Georgia, this was the second loss to the Predators this season, both decided in the final seconds. Chris Greisen had 274 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Troy Bergeron and Tiger Jones both had 6 receptions and 2 touchdowns. The Predators have won 6 consecutive games.

• Cleveland broke out of its slump by defeating the struggling Los Angeles Avengers, 83-69. The Gladiators recorded 409 total yards and forced 4 Avengers turnovers to take the momentum and lead in this unpredictable game. Cleveland led by 14 points after the first quarter and early in the second half but the Avengers tied the game both times. The Gladiators put the game away by returning a Los Angeles fumble for a score with 2 minutes left to go up 76-62 before eventually running out the clock. Raymond Philyaw threw 9 touchdowns and had 30 completions for 411 yards, Otis Amey had 15 receptions for 208 yards and 6 touchdowns and Marlion Jackson had both of his catches go for touchdowns. Tim Hicks completed 31 passes for 378 yards and 8 touchdowns. JR Tolver, Timon Marshall, and LaShaun Ward all had over 110 receiving yards and combined for 7 touchdowns for Los Angeles. The 83 points was a franchise record for Cleveland.

• Chicago won a closer than expected game, 55-52, over Grand Rapids. The Rush lead after each quarter and were able to withstand a comeback attempt when Grand Rapids turned the ball over on downs, failing to convert on their final possession. Russ Michna started at quarterback for Chicago to give Sherdrick Bonner additional rest, he completed 28 passes for 300 yards and 5 touchdowns. Donovan Morgan caught 10 passes for 149 yards and 4 scores. James McPherson threw for 272 yards and 6 touchdowns, and Kenny Higgins had 9 catches for 137 yards and 3 scores for Grand Rapids. Jermaine Lewis had 2 touchdown receptions for Grand Rapids. Michna made another appearance as the Rush quarterback, he usually plays when Chicago is matched up against a weak opponent and the game is a likely win, to allow Bonner time to rest and be fresh for the entire year.

• Philadelphia improved its record to 8-0 by defeating Columbus 76-55. Tony Graziani started the game but was injured in the second quarter and Matt D'Orazio filled in for the remainder of this contest. Philadelphia led by 7 at halftime and strecthed the margin throughout the second half, outscoring Columbus 34-20. The game got off to a very fast start, four out of the first five scoring drives were one play touchdown passes and five touchdowns were scored in the first seven minutes. Philadelphia quarterbacks combined for 9 touchdowns and 287 yards, and Larry Brackins had 9 receptions for 134 yards and 3 scores. Chris Jackson had 7 receptions, 3 for touchdowns. Matt Nagy threw three touchdowns in his first three pass attempts, but his seven touchdowns and 389 yards for the game were not enough. CJ Johnson, Derek Lee and Calvin Russell all had 2 touchdown receptions, 6 or more catches, 120 or more receiving yards and a 17 yard reception average or more for Columbus.

• Philadelphia and Dallas are the only remaining undefeated teams and meet next week in a highly anticipated matchup. Philadelphia leads the league in scoring with 66 points per game and Dallas leads the league in defense with 42 points allowed per game, so this upcoming game may feature a contrast in styles.

• Utah is the only winless team at 0-8 for the season. Their explosive offense is faltering, they are scoring 55 points per game, ramking in the middle of the AFL. They are allowing 65 points per game, worst in the league and those stats result in a -10 scoring margin for the Blaze. Their next matchup is a road game at New Orleans. No team has gone winless under the current 16 game schedule.

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!