AF1 Playoffs Round 1: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- Jun 24
- 6 min read
What whirlwind of a season it has been for Arena Football One.
We had highs and lows, we had good games and bad games, we had moments of "you have GOT to be kidding me" to "Are you serious?!" and everything in between.
But it all comes down to one final game: the inaugural Arena Crown. One final game before we close the chapter on Year One and start the offseason towards Year Two in 2026.
But before any of that, let's take a look at the first round of playoffs. What did we learn?
Salina Liberty vs Albany Firebirds
Result: 75-44 Albany
What We Learned: Albany is just built different than anyone else in the league & Salina ran out of gas and mystical comeback voodoo
Albany has been the class of the AF1 since the preseason and, although threatened a couple times, they dominated the regular season. From the top of the roster to the bottom, they are the most complete team in all of arena & indoor football (for multiple reasons but we can get into that later) and it's isn't a surprise to see them in the title game.
In fact, if they were anything LESS than undefeated hosting the Arena Crown, I would have been shocked. They got off to a great start against Salina and simply never looked back. They jumped out and scored 35 in the first half and were able to capitalize on a couple Salina mistakes while playing nearly perfect football the entire way.
Future AF1 MVP Sam Castronova had a casual 8 Passing TD / 2 Rushing TD day, with 4 different receivers catching 2 TDs for the Firebirds. Defensively, Albany was able to get after the QB and cause all sorts of issues and ultimately put the Liberty in a hole they couldn't come back from.
For Salina, the above play right before halftime was an absolute back breaker. They had a chance to go into halftime only down 3. But Albany was able to score a touchdown right before halftime AND right after halftime to blow this thing wide open.
QB Javin Kilgo played decent in this game, but shades of past Kilgo showed themselves as he had a couple of costly interceptions and some throws that could have and should have been a lot better. WR Malik Honeycutt exploded for 15 catches, 199 yards & 3 TDs, but there just wasn't much going on with the offense outside of him.
This Salina team had an incredible end to the season after starting 0-4 and looking dazed and confused early in the season. QB Rakeem Cato gave this entire team a jolt and got this offense on a blazing path into the playoffs, but the magic just ran out.
Salina is going to be a fun team to monitor in the offseason to see what approach they take to the roster building moving forward. They had a ton of veteran guys on the roster this year, with one already announcing his retirement earlier this week, so do they run it back with a similar group or do we see them retool with a new approach? Regardless, really great end to the season for Salina and proving all season that any team has a fighting chance in arena football.
Southwest Kansas Storm vs Nashville Kats
Result: 48-43 Nashvile
What We Learned: Nashville leaned on their strengths and embraced Kulkamania & Southwest Kansas was plagued by a slow start and poor clock management in the second half...again.
The Nashville Kats hosted another home game in Clarksville, TN, about an hour northwest of Nashville, (which should be their permanent home moving forward, in my opinion, but that's a blog for a different day) and was able to punch their ticket to a rematch with Albany in the Arena Crown.
QB Tyler Kulka played really, really well in this one -- throwing for 250 yards & 5 TDs, while connecting with WR Nih-jer Jackson 6 times for 131 yards & 2 TDs to open up this Kats offense to get them going and KEEP them going all game long. RB Calvin Fance was also able to punch it into the end zone a couple times for some offensive balance.
This game was a slower start for both teams, but once Nashville was able to get ahead, they stayed ahead for the entire game just went blow for blow with the Storm. Nashville will get attempt number three at knocking off the Albany Firebirds next week, where they will need to mitigate special teams mistakes and find ways to get at least one stop in each half on defense in order to have a shot at winning.
For the Storm, they got off to a really slow start on offense and eventually was able to heat up in the second half, but the Kats were able to hold on to their lead and milk the clock for the win.
QB Jalen Morton had a really good game in this one, finishing with 296 passing yards & 6 Passing TDs, but start the game 2/9 passing and wasn't able to get into a rhythm until the 2nd quarter. He connected with WRs Charles Hall IV & Demarius Washington a LOT -- with Hall IV hauling in 9 catches for 145 yards & 2 TDs, and Washington bringing in 8 catches for 119 yards & 3 TDs.
Demarius Washington seemed to be getting into with the Nashville crowd & the Kats defenders much more than usual in this game, which is all fun and games until you are doing it while you are losing in the 4th quarter of a game in which you have been trailing since the beginning of the 2nd and getting an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty to make things even more difficult for your team. But I digress.
This season started off great for the Southwest Kansas Storm, but the backhalf of the season got away from them and they finished rough -- kinda like their last two regular season games against Salina. Three separate occasions this year they had a chance to ice the game on offense and walk away with a win on their terms (home vs Oregon, home vs Salina, away at Salina), and in all three situations they gave the ball back to the opponent and lost the game in the dying moments of the game.
Southwest Kansas quitely has one of the best organizations in all of arena & indoor football, so I am excited to see how they grow from this year and how they can take an even further step forward in 2026.
Arena Crown Matchup:
The Nashville Kats vs the Albany Firebirds, folks! The commissioner's team vs the team that you either love or loathe, meeting for the first annual AF1 Championship -- the Arena Crown.
This will be a rematch of Week 3 (in Nashville) & Week 9 (in Albany), where Albany was able to emerge victorious in both, but in very different styled games.
Week 3 was a slugfest, where both teams played physical with some questionable refereeing and before the era of Kulkamania.
Week 9 was a shootout that saw Nashville blink first and make a couple of costly mistakes that ended up costing them dearly in the second half.
I think we will see Albany open up as -8.5 favorites on BettorEdge with a point total around 97.5/98.5, and it feels like this game is Albany's to lose at this point. Home field with the deepest roster in arena football with 'The Professor' dialing up the offense and the best arena football player of the 2020s at QB throwing darts -- you would be hard pressed to pick against them.
...but hear me out.
Earlier this season, I mentioned how this Nashville Kats team reminded me of a certain team from last season in the (redacted) 2024 season.
Nashville's ability to run the ball for most of the season has been really impressive and something that has set them apart from the rest of the league.. much like Billings last year.
Nashville brought in a QB with foreign professional football experience that has adapted to the arena game very nicely as the season progressed.. much like Billings last year.
Nashville has a veteran, defensive-minded coach who prides themselves on playing good defense and creating turnovers.. much like Billings last year.
Lest we forget, Billings defeated Albany in the ArenaBowl last season in the (in)famous Brawl at the Mall. Do we see another blue, black and white team travel into New York and steal a title from Albany again?
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