AF1 Week 12: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- Jun 2
- 6 min read
Week 12 is donezo! The playoff picture got a litttttttle more clear but still remains foggy with 2 weeks to go. The art of proper arena football apparently has yet to reach the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains is about to be a war zone to end the season.
But what did we learn in Week 12?
Washington Wolfpack @ Salina Liberty
Result:Â 71-4 Salina
What We Learned: Salina's offense is as potent as it gets & Washington manages to find new ways to stoop lower and lower and lower and lower...
Starting with Salina, this offense has been playing unbelievable football over the past month. Ever since they took Albany to the limit and barely lost in OT, they've playing lights out with QB Rakeem Cato leading the way & WR Malik Honeycutt (friend of the program) playing at an All-First Team AF1 level.
Granted, this one was against Washington -- who seems to play the role of the generic FCS Northwest team that you would get scheduled when you started a dynasty on NCAA '14 and just pummel in your opening game -- but even then it was impressive what they were able to do on offense. Rakeem Cato threw 3 TDs, then they brought in backup QB Javin Kilgo and even HE threw 3 TDs. Malik Honeycutt go his weekly stipend of three touchdowns as well and this offense was able to do whatever they wanted. The defense tortured the Washington O-line to the tune of 10 sacks and what felt like infinite QB pressures.
Salina is doing their part to claim a playoff spot, but faces a tall task over the next two weeks in a Southwest Kansas team that still has something to play for as well -- home field in the first round of the playoffs. These games will be electric and probably some of the best ones we'll see all year.
For Washington.... where to start. There are a couple of different directions we could. Dennis Reynolds, as the Wolfpack, finding new ways to play the game arena football on a weekly basis:
Arena football fans having to watching this Washington Wolfpack offense every week:
Me if there were more than one Washington Wolfpack game left this season:
In case you haven't picked up what I am laying down, this Wolfpack team continues to amaze, for all the wrong reasons.
This team scored 10 points in a game this year. Surely that would be their lowest output of the year, right?
Wait, they scored 9 points in a game? Haha, that's gotta be the low. For sure.
...wait what? They scored 7 points? Okay, STATISTICALLY it is incredibly difficult to score less than that. No CHANCE they bottom out even further.
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
4 points?! FOUR POINTS?! A dropkick field goal in the first half and THAT IS IT?!
I know Salina has a talent defense, but we are 12 weeks into the year, and we've got a 4 point performance. We are getting to the point where the Wolfpack need to start thinking about their future as an organization. If you are losing games, you can still build off of that in the community and find ways to spin zone growing pains.
But when you are losing games like THIS, how do you spin zone that? They need a real arena football coach with experience and somebody who can bring a new standard. This team has gotten SIGNIFICANTLY worse through the year and it is sad to see what has happened to them. Their branding is sweet. Their community support is growing. Now, they just need a football team on the field to match what they are doing off of it. But it's okay Washington, you've got one more game to improve and go out with a bang!
Oregon Lightning @ Billings Outlaws
Result:Â 58-7 Billings
What We Learned: The Lightning short circuited on the road in a must win game & the Outlaws flexed their potential on both sides of the ball -- but is it too late?
For the Lightning, this was a big opportunity to go on the road win a massive game and leapfrog the defending champions in the standings. And they laid the largest egg possible.
Folks, we haven't seen an egg this big on our television screens since 2011. The Lightning offense wasn't able to get much of anything going and were consistent with their offensive turnovers, but totally whiffed when it came to scoring points. The defense was put in bad spots all game and this went about as poorly as an arena could have gone for a team from the Pacific Northwest. (well, almost.)
Mathematically, they are still alive but they need everything to go their way perfectly in order to sneak in:
Win out vs Corpus Christi & Billings
Southwest Kansas sweeps the last 2 games vs Salina
Nashville wins out vs Billings & Corpus Christi
Even THEN -- I'm not even sure if they'd make it in due to the uneven games on the re-re-re-revised AF1 schedule. Tough times in the Pacific Northwest.
For Billings, this was a must win and they got as good of an overall game from both sides of the ball as they could have asked for.
WR Darius Prince had himself a ball game with 3 TDs and another over the wall grab. RB/TE Hunter Swoboda (friend of the program) had FOUR touchdowns on the ground in the red zone and was a true battering ram at the goal line.
To cap off the evening, DB Dwayne Hollis (another friend of the program) ended the night on a pick six that gave Outlaws fans hope that they have a path. The special teams was a little worrisome early, but seemed to settle down as the game went on and will be something to monitor moving forward.
There was also a little dust up that result in QB Malik Henry getting ejected for the game, so it'll be worth monitoring what his status is for next week. But Billings needed this one badly and they got it. They just need to keep winning and get some help from their pals in Southwest Kansas and they could be in the playoffs.
Nashville Kats vs Corpus Christi Tritons
Result:Â 44-39
What We Learned: Nashville SURVIVED this game against a surprisingly scrappy Corpus Christi team, who isn't dead YET!
Nashville came into this game as heavy -16.5 favorites, as the Kats have had the hot hand winning 4 of their last 5 and looking like a team ready to make a run in the playoffs.
But they did damn near everything in their ability to screw this up and they were very, very close to doing so.
They did the classic 'celebrate before the goal line and fumble the ball early' routine that has become an epidemic in the football world. They gave up multiple kick return touchdowns, while playing just abysmal special teams all throughout the game.
But despite all that, they found a way to win the game. It was against a Corpus Christi team that has gone through hell and back this season, but the Tritons were knocking on the door in this one and were looking a lot better than most people would have anticipated. (certainly more than I did, I took the -16.5.)
QB Tyler Kulka played another great game and really willed this team to victory with 196 passing yards & 5 TDs, but this Kats special teams has to improve asap as possible. Special teams already cost them a game vs Albany and damn near cost them a game in Corpus Christi. They can't afford any slip ups to in order to make the dance.
For Corpus Christi, this was a really impressive game that put the arena football community on notice, while at the same time providing some hope for what the future of arena ball could look like in coastal Texas.
"Put the arena football community on notice" is a little dramatic wouldn't you say, Trey?
Yes and no.
"Yes" - they are not going to win the AF1 championship and they won't be striking fear into their opponents. So maybe a little dramatic.
"No" - they aren't the same push-over team that got blasted by Albany in April, and they are going to go down swinging. RB Josiah King provided a much needed burst on special teams to keep them in this ball game, and QB Fred Payton Jr had a chance to win it late with a pretty good game of his own (190 yards, 3 TDs). This Tritons team was impressive given the circumstances yet again and showed what they could be with a good ownership group and a consistent roster.
They obviously stretched themselves very, very thin to start the year with some big name free agents, but this game makes you wonder what could have been if they went with some younger guys from the jump.