By Marcelo Metzelar, Contributing Writer

An early Saturday afternoon game in Macon, GA, saw the Georgia Doom lose their season opener 48-32 to the Carolina Havoc. The Havoc improve to 3-0.
The Havoc utilized a two quarterback assault. Daryll Clark and Tymere Zimmerman shared duties behind center to help lead the Havoc undefeated start.

The Doom got the early lead as kicker, Jed Soloman split the uprights on the opening kick for his first uno of the season.

Each team got shut down on their first series when the Havoc moved downfield to the Doom eight-yard line. A Doom interception and return to their own 12 ended the Havoc series to remain scoreless.

The Havoc defense would start the ball rolling, when Martel Moore would make an interception to remember. On the return, when Moore would seemingly be ready to fall at the Doom 10-yard line, he would flick the ball back to an unsuspecting Christian Russell who would scamper the rest of the way for the touchdown and an eventual 7-1 lead.

In the second quarter, a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Doom an important first down. Antwuan Cutts would catch a Nate Sammas strike for 8 yards and the Doom’s first touchdown. Soloman would convert the kick. He would then expand the Doom lead with his second uno of the night to make it 9-7 Doom.
A second Clark interception would not amount to much as the Doom missed their 56 yard field goal attempt. Clark would find Rashad Carter on the next drive for 30-yard catch and run and a 14-9 lead. Sammas would find Cutts for their own 30-yard touchdown to regain the lead. A two point conversion would give the Doom a 17-14 lead with 4:00 to go in the first half.

Zimmerman would call his own number and run the ball for 8 yards and a Havoc 21-17 lead in the back and forth battle.

On the Doom’s next series, Victor Hampton picked the Sammas pass and returned it 26 yards for the Havoc’s second defensive touchdown. The ensuing series for the Doom would not be much better as the three and out gave the Havoc excellent field position. That would result in Zimmerman finding Trevonte Long to expand their lead going into halftime.

The Doom started the second half on fire. A circus catch by the Doom’s Bryan Robinson for 15 yards brought the score to 24-34 and Soloman hit his third uno bringing the deficit to 8 points. The Doom’s defense would come up big and make another interception to set up the Chris Slaughter touchdown to bring the score to 34-31. Soloman’s fourth and final uno of the game would make it 34-32 and that would be the last time the Doom score.

Hampton would catch the Zimmerman screen pass and scoot for a 15 yard score to start the fourth quarter onslaught. Zimmerman would make run for a touchdown, this time for 4 touch yards and the final score of the game.
The Doom will take on the Carolina Predators at home on April 7. The Havoc will take a week off and then play the Jensen Beach Tigers in a non-league matchup on April 14.

Written by Chris Mabry
​
​In Illinois, the Quad City Steamwheelers were hosting the Green Bay Blizzard. This is first of two meetings for these two teams. These same teams will meet next week in week seven this time in Green Bay. 

From the Start, the Quad City Steamwheelers took the lead even with missing a field goal after scoring their first touchdown. As for Green Bay, the Blizzard throughout the game, they quickly caught up to only being six points behind with only a few seconds left in the game. 

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, the Green Bay Blizzard scored a touchdown and completed the 2-point conversion making the score 29-26 with 26 seconds left. 

When the Steamwheelers recovered the onside kick from Green Bay, they were attempting to stage a comeback and hopefully win the game. Unfortunately, they couldn't have a game-winning touchdown and lost 29-26. 

These two teams will face off next week in Green Bay Wisconsin. Make sure you keep up to date with all your indoor/arena football content here on Arena Football Talk.

By Marcelo Metzelar, Contributing Writer

​Nebraska Danger had a late lead with twenty-nine seconds left. Iowa Barnstormers quarterback Daquan Neal avoided a safety and had two Danger linemen collide with themselves to buy enough time to heave the ball over to Connor Hollenbeck for a 47 yard touchdown. How did this breakdown happen? This is a prime example of the coaching saying, “Coaches don’t win games, players do.”
 
Defenses are taught, for the most part, that pass coverage needs to cover as deep as the deepest threat, and as wide as the widest threat. This can be done is several ways, including man and zone coverages, but at the end of the day, when a defense is trying to protect a one-score lead with little time remaining, they are almost willing the offense to attack the middle. The game clock will stop on plays that go out of bounds, and incomplete passes. Allowing shorter passes or runs in the middle allows the clock to continue running and become a factor in the game. It is significantly easier to execute, be it play calling or running a route, or blocking a defensive player when not dealing with the pressure of time. It is in these situations that time is an ally for the defense.
 
The Danger defense rushed two linemen and the other was kept as a spy. The spy’s assignment is to now allow the quarterback to escape the pocket and run downfield. Using a defensive lineman to spy also frees up a safety or linebacker to go into coverage. The sole linebacker in the game, Davonte Sapp-Lynch was locked in to Barnstormer running back, Jamal Tyler. This leaves one safety and three defensive backs in coverage. Though, there is a numerical advantage for the defense, the offense is allowed two men in forward motion – and that is the real advantage.
 
Man or zone coverage is designed to last four to five seconds. Run anything long enough, and it begins to break down exponentially as time passes. The Danger seemingly had the play in hand, when both ends, Chris Martin and Adolphus Barnes did an excellent job of beating their man and headed toward Neal. However, Neal’s athleticism allowed him to avoid the sack, buy time, and force the defense into conflict. Neal already rushed for 71 yards and 3 touchdowns. A defensive back’s difficult decision to remain in coverage or to pursue Neal had to made.
 
When the pursuit came to contain Neal, it broke down the coverage. The widest man, Hollenbeck, was left wide open, but the play does not end there. At the tail end of the play, the Barnstormer’s Ryan Balentine made a key block that allowed Hollenbeck to go into the end zone. This was selfless play. Arm chair quarterbacks can say that’s an expectation – and it is, but to get it done is a different thing.  Because of ego, all too often, it becomes, “I didn’t get the ball, why should I do anything?” Or they watch in admiration, how their teammate caught the ball and gets tackled.
 
Balentine did what every winner does, and sacrificed for the betterment of the team. He is third in the league in receptions, but eleventh is yards per catch. This means he is the inside receiver who makes the crucial catches at the risk of quick hard tackles from the defense. It would have served his best interest to save himself from another hit, and he did not. That block at the end of the play was the game-winning block and that touchdown is as much his at it is his team’s.
 
The individual efforts of Neal buying time, Hollenbeck carrying a defender into the end zone, and Balentine’s block cannot be found in any playbook, call sheet, or game script. This is why coaches say, “Coaches don’t win games, players do!” 

By Marcelo Metzelar, Contributing Writer
           The Carolina Havoc defeated the Peach State Cats 54-13 Saturday night at Days Inn Field at the Florence Center. The Havoc defense gave a dominating performance as they imposed their will to eight sacks, six turnovers, and forced eight bad snaps. The defense limited the Cats to six points. The Cats’ other points came off an interception return for a touchdown and an uno, which is when the kick off team kicks the ball through the uprights.
            Quarterback Jesse Scroggins got the starting nod and contributed a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Last week’s starting quarterback, Daryll Clark, and some others were given a rest this week, in an effort to evaluate the level of depth they have. Kicker Kevin Weber also had a chance to shine as he had three field goals and two unos for the night. Those were his second and third unos for the year.
            Including last year’s playoffs, this is the fourth consecutive victory for the Havoc. They will take on the Georgia Doom next week in Macon. The Doom are the last team to defeat the Havoc when they were known as the Atlanta Havoc. They opted to not participate in the playoffs for undisclosed reasons. The Peach State Cats will play the Carolina Cowboyz.

A sack and a pair of deflected passes in the final minute helped the Green Bay Blizzard freeze the host San Diego Strike Force to hold onto a 53-45 win on the road. Green Bay forced four sacks on the night and picked three passes overall to take the victory.
​It was in stark contrast to the opening quarter as the two teams dropped 41 points between them. Each team had one-play scoring drives and converted on fourth down at least once in the frame.
However, things started to slow down after San Diego’s defense forced Blizzard quarterback Leonorris Footman into a bad pass and got the turnover on downs. It was the first turnover on downs in franchise history and only the team’s second stop ever.
The Strike Force had an advantage after a missed extra point by Green Bay on their opening drive, but that was erased as Green Bay’s Joe Powell and Bakari Triggs had back-to-back interception returns for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. Marques Rodgers was able to get back in the end zone as time expired before halftime, but the Blizzard never gave up the lead again.
Green Bay’s passing woes continued, but not nearly as bad as previous weeks. Footman went 9-18 for just 83 yards, but included two touchdowns in the win. Levi Copelin had one of those touchdowns on his only reception of the game, but dropped three in the second half. Keshaun Taylor led Green Bay in yards with 27 while BJ Hill led the team in receptions with four.
The rushing game remained the focus of the Blizzard offense, however it was the big guy Rameses Owens that got the majority of the work. The Robert Morris product carried the ball for 60 yards on 12 carries, including a 24-yard touchdown. Footman also had nine rushes for 43 yards and a score.
San Diego did have some bright spots, including wide receiver Julian Stafford. He had 95 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns. The IFL’s passing yard leader Derrick Bernard went 18-31 for 201 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Ernesto Lacayo split his field goal attempts, but one was a field position move. He hit the 24-yard attempt as well as all of his PAT’s. Lacayo remains perfect on the point after.
Both teams will have tough road games next week. San Diego will try to get revenge on the Tucson Sugar Skulls for ruining their home opener while Green Bay heads to Quad Cities in a renewal of an old AF2 rivalry.

​By RJ Ciancio
Head of NAL Coverage

The Quad City Steamwheelers came into Sioux Falls with a two and one record to take on the three wins and no losses.

The Steamwheelers opening drive bounced off an upman going out of bounds at the storm 18. EJ Hilliard was subbed out for Dillon Turner as he ran for quarterback sneak and threw a touchdown pass to Quinton Pedroza. With the extra point Quad City took the seven to zero lead.

The Storm came out behind field general Lorenzo Brown. The Storm were able to find success running with the ball. Damian Ford caught a dime from Lorenzo Brown on first down, sacrificing his body on the play as he crashed into the dasher boards. Miles Bergner missed the extra point letting the Steamwheelers keep a one point lead with a seven, six score.

The Quad City special teams once again worked their magic as they returned a kick down to the Storm nine. EJ Hilliard returned to normal spot under center. Once again it was Pedroza finding the endzone for the Steamwheelers from two yards out. The extra point was missed leaving the score at 13 to six.

Now the pressure returned to Lorenzo Brown as he and the Storm offense took over at their own 18. A fake handoff was blown up in the backfield and Brown was dropped for a loss. This didn’t phase him as a few plays later lightning struck again with a long bomb touchdown pass.
Once again the extra point was missed making the score 13-12.

Quad City was given their worst field position of the game as they started at their own thirteen. EJ Hilliard scampered for nine yards on second down setting up a third and two. Hilliard was mixing the run and pass game like a Gordon Ramsey dish as he could almost do no wrong, even forcing the Storm to commit an illegal contact penalty. A bad snapped help kill the drive as on third and goal was forced to throw the ball away ending the quarter with the score 13-12 Quad City.

Things didn’t start out the Steamwheelers way as a high snap on a field goal as the holder was tackled for a loss. With the turnover on downs the Storm had new life. Lorenzo Brown found Darrian Miller on a swing pass to reset the downs. The same play worked on the opposite side of the field. Showed his running abilities multiple times on the drive en route to a rushing touchdown on fourth and one. With the extra point added to the touchdown the score read 19-13 Storm.

Now the pressure shifted to EJ Hilliard who was willing to take up the challenge of driving down the field and coming back from six points down. This was no challenge as he found Keyvan Rudd for the long touchdown reception. With the extra point the Steamwheelers lead 20-19.

The Storm were able to return the ball out to their own sixteen. Darrian Miller got himself back into the mix as he bolted for an easy first down. Once again Brown rushed for a touchdown. With the extra point added, the Storm lead 26-20.
Quad City’s next drive started at their own two, giving EJ Hilliard little room to extend a play. The drive continued after Rudd broke a deep route and wasn’t count until he hit the Storm eight. Rudd capped off the drive with a pass from Hilliard over the middle. With the point after, the Storm trailed 27-26.

Sioux Falls got the ball at their own six with 1:25 to go in the half. Brown decided to not rush things as he decided to use all the time he needed, opting to include the middle of the field passes on the drive. The Storm worked their way down the field and an over the wall catch by Ford had the crowd going crazy. However much of the enger given to the fans by the catch was taken away by a missed extra point making it 32-27.

Quad City missed a field goal attempt as time expired in the second quarter.

The second half began with Sioux Falls setting up shop at their own 12. Lorenzo Brown helped get the team moving with ease as they quickly invaded Quad City territory. Brown flashed his ability to improvise as he rolled out the pocket of a busted play and ran for an easy gain. That helped set up another rushing touchdown for Brown.With the extra point the Storm heald a 39-29 lead.

The Steamwheelers returned the Storm kick to the Sioux Falls 24. EJ Hilliard began relying on his legs as nobody was getting open early on in the drive. The dive culminated in a Quinton Pedroza touchdown reception from Hilliard. With the extra point bouncing off the left upright, the score read 39-33.

Sioux Falls was given little room to work with as a combination of a bad return and a holding  call setup the drive at their own five. The Storm were bailed out by an illegal defense penalty giving them some more breathing room. Brown decided to give his legs even more of a workout as he dove for another first down. Another illegal defense penalty hurt the Steamwheelers as it nullified a massive sack. Lorenzo was thankful for the gift Quad City gave him and he paid it forward by donating to ball to the hands of a waiting receiver for an easy touchdown.  With the extra point good the Storm lead 46-33.

Quad City needed something to happen fast. EJ Hilliard got a bit to egar and overshot a wide open receiver, missing a golden opportunity. This didn’t phase the Quad City quarterback as he slung the ball over the middle for a first down. The Steamwheelers seemed to have found a soft spot in the Storm defense. That area would be the middle of the field, as the third quarter ended. EJ Hilliard returned to his favorite target Quinton Pedroza for a short touchdown pass. With the extra point the score read 46-40.

It was time to see what the Quad City defense was made off. Lorenzo Brown was looking to make the Steamwheelers defense look invisible. As they Storm marched inside the Steamwheeler 15 it was crunch time for the defense. However, it was the ambition of the defense that hurt them as a pass interference call gave the Storm first and goal at the two. The Storm capitalized on this mistake with another Brown touchdown run. Ith the point after tacked on the Storm lead 53-40.

With just over 10 minutes left EJ Hilliard was able to draw a pass interference call on a cross-body pass. However, it would take more than that for the Steamwheelers to get back in the game. The Steamwheelers finally found the endzone as Pedroza caught a crucial touchdown pass. With the extra point missed the score read  53-46.

The Steamwheelers went for a surprise onside kick. This backfired and the Storm we set up with first and goal. It only took one play for the Storm to take advantage of the situation as Lorenzo Brown ran for yet another touchdown. With the extra point tacked on the storm lead 60-46.

With just over three minutes left the Steamwheelers needed to score, and fast. However, te Steamwheelers didn’t share the sentiment as they took their time calling plays. Multiple passes for Pedroza fell to the turf bringing up fourth and one. With the game hanging in the balance Hallard was able to find his man in the endzone. For some reason that is baffling to me, Quad City decided to go for two. The play failed and with 38 seconds left they trailed 52-60.

The inevitable onside kick was bounced out of bounds, putting the chances of a comeback in jeopardy. With the ball at the Quad City 16 Brown ran the ball three times bringing up a crucial fourth down and three with 19 seconds to go. That dramatic situation was wiped from the game due to to an illegal defense penalty, giving the Storm a first down. Then a facemask penalty give the Storm even more yardage. Lorenzo Brown ran into the endzone one more time for good measure. With the extra point missed the score read. 66-52 Storm.

With the kickoff sailing out of the endzone the Steamwheelers were given the ball at their own 20. After one uneventful play, the clock hit triple zeros with the Storm winning 66-52.

​

Man, have I heard a lot of moronic stuff coming from indoor football fans lately.  Some are just not knowing how things work, like the video complaint about the end of the Carolina Havoc/Cape Fear Heroes game where the complainer didn't know how electric time clocks work. Or really time in general, given his comments about partial seconds.
There were the elitist complaints against the Burgh Defenders for moving into a local multipurpose arena with more options from a campus arena. The only non-university arena that hosts more than 3,500 fans and currently available for sporting events is the Pittsburgh Penguins' PPG Paints Arena, but dammit if you don't put this expansion AAL team dealing with heartbreak and growing pains there, because those "true indoor fans" will just write you off. 
Then there's the fans that are completely adamant that the delay of the National Gridiron League makes total sense and that anyone calling the league a sham is a "hater". Cancelling that many games and dealing with contract minimums with all those venues is not feasible for the NGL. This fan argument is truly sad.
But the one that has exceptionally miffed me have been the complaints about Champions Indoor Football games on Pluto TV. The level of community incompetence about how these games are produced, directed, shared and the impact they have on individual franchises is truly insulting.
Most complaints I've seen about Pluto equate to people not knowing what the platform is and their arguments sound like a person upset about the move from VCR's to DVD's. So to avoid the old-man-yells-at-cloud problems, Pluto is one of the most successful startup entertainment apps of all time.
It is a free service allowing people to get quality movies, television and news in a way similar to channel flipping through a satellite or cable provider. As they've grown consistently from their debut in 2014, they now partner with groups like Fox Sports, NASA, Buzzr, CNET and more. The quality of television and movies have also increased as their budget has grown, an impressive feat since revenue only comes from advertising sales. Pluto continues to be a popular option for cord cutters, especially in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains areas. The product is so good that it was worth $340 million to Viacom as they announced that they bought Pluto in January.
Yet the CIF is still available on Pluto and their regular season will be broadcasted this weekend. This platform that continues to grow and pick up bigger partners left and right stands with the CIF. Live sports will continue to be a difficulty for Pluto's business model, especially with things like Bleacher Report and Monumental Sports, but this pairing gives the CIF a lot of clout outside of the indoor football circles. That clout can turn into consistent advertising revenue for the league and teams.
What additional production value will be added is yet to be seen as well as any additional programming potential like highlights, halftime and pre/post game shows or whether rebroadcasts will be available after the game is over. Theoretically if a deal could be reached with other indoor leagues for more content, a whole channel devoted to indoor football could be well received on Pluto. 
But that relies heavily on what leagues, especially the CIF, are currently doing with their broadcasts. This is where some other complaints come in about how different teams put out their product.
The production value is such a big deal, especially for the CIF with their loss of Bismarck last season. The Bucks have made zero changes in their broadcast production from the CIF to IFL, despite the games now being on YouTube compared to Pluto. While Quad Cities had the best attendance at home, Bismarck had the most professional broadcasts for opposing fans. They did more with replays, graphic packages and in-game promotions all with more reliable audio and visual feeds.
Now this isn't to discredit all arguments about the broadcast quality, but to fully understand the credible issues, the fans must understand where the CIF's broadcasts end and where Pluto's steaming services begin. Some of the quality from the physical cameras and lenses is not high enough for the red turfs by some teams. The fluctuation of upload speed makes it pretty obvious which arenas are not using a dedicated router compared to sharing it with other media and gameday staff or even just using the public WiFi. If the graphics look blurry, then that's usually an image ratio issue that can be fixed.
All of these issues happen before it gets to Pluto, so blaming Pluto isn't going to do anything constructive. What it does accomplish is destroy a positive relationship that helps out CIF franchises a lot, challenges the CIF as a leader in the indoor football world and deters a way to get the sport to new audiences. If your complaining persists, get a smarter argument before you kill off something good in indoor football. 

By Marcelo Metzelar, Contributing Writer

​This week’s AFT Network’s Play of the Week comes to us courtesy of the Carolina Havoc. Down 54-59 with a second left on the clock and the ball inside the Cape Fear 5-yard line on the left hash mark; Havoc quarterback, Daryll Clark finds receiver, Alex Coleman, in the front left corner of the end zone for the walk off score. Exciting play, but what did Coach Anson Yarborough call and why?
            It starts off with the formation. Although terminology may differ from team to team, they started off with a “bunch right formation" that looks like the figure below:

            But that’s not all. American Arena League rules allow one offensive player to be in forward motion. This is not allowed in the 11-man outdoor game and is unique to this version of the sport. Getting the inside most receiver (the y-receiver) in position to motion forward means he needs to align further back or use what’s called “Y-back” motion. 

Since the defensive back is in a stand still position, this gives the Y-receiver the advantage. Should the defensive back begin motioning back to match the offensive player’s speed, the quarterback could just throw a quick inside route – they only needed 2-yards. Should the defensive back hold his ground, the Y-receiver has a speed advantage and get passed him for a pass over the top. Even the curve of the motion is used for deception. Running toward his teammates, the Y-receiver could use them to create a natural pick.
            The fullback’s alignment to the left of the center gives the formation balance. Yes, there are more players on the right, but they are spread out. Positioning the fullback to the left allows for a power running game to the left, forcing the defense to protect that part of the field shallower than ideally desired. It can also be used for extra protection on a quarterback rollout to the left.
           ​Coach Yarborough called a flood play. In a flood play, the receivers layer themselves toward one sideline so that quarterback has two reads: whether the defense is in zone or man coverage! In zone, a defense is forced to make a choice between two open receivers.  In man, they have to cover the receiver for an extended period of time. The longer a defensive back is in coverage, the greater the breakdown in coverage. Cape Fear was in man coverage.

    The Y-receiver’s responsibility is to clear out his defender. Versus man coverage, the Y’s defender will follow him deep and open the middle of the field. A defense doesn’t want to assign that responsibility to the middle defender, because he will be beat by Y every time since Y in full speed motion. 
    The X-receiver does a shallow cross to the left. His defender does a good job of defending but in the process, forces the Jack linebacker (the linebacker that’s aligned further back) to remain shallow as well. Remaining this shallow clears the way for the Z-receiver to reach the corner with no defensive traffic. 
    ​This allows the Z-receiver to make a move and beat the Z-defender to the inside and race to the corner of the end zone. Which he does and makes a great catch to win the game. It was perfectly executed and it gave the Havoc and 60-59 victory!

​It was a great play call, with even better execution – and that’s the key! X’s and O’s don’t win games, players do, and the ability of the offensive line to give the quarterback time to throw, the ability of the receivers to get open, and the ability for the quarterback to make the proper reads were all crucial components to making the play work. So, congratulations to Anson Yarborough and the rest of the Carolina Havoc on their week 1 victory, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more highlights of them this season! 

By: Marcelo Metzelar - Contributing Writer

​Saturday night’s match was the first ever game between the Arizona Rattlers and the Tucson Sugar Skulls. Arizona pounded Tuscon 63-28 in front of 16,110 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix to remain undefeated. Tucson falls to 2-1.
            The Sugar Skulls started off strong as they opened the scoring on a Mike Jones 2-yd run. Jones finished with a game leading 63 yards off 9 carries.  This would be the last time the Rattlers trailed, as they answered a minute and a half later with a 26-yard strike when Rattlers’ WR Dezmon Epps broke a tackle and scampered into then end zone to tie the game up 7-7. That was Epps’ only catch of the day, however, he added 4 kickoff returns and an even hundred yards.
            The Sugar Skulls next series would end in disaster when Rattlers’ DB Dillion Windfrey recovered the blocked field goal attempt in the Sugar Skulls’ end zone to take the lead for good. Another defensive stop and a Verlon Reed touchdown run would give the Rattlers three unanswered scores before a Matt Behrendt 16-yard run would bring the Sugar Skulls to within seven. The Rattlers’ Reed would throw two more touchdown passes to Markis Sumpter and Jabre Lolley to end the half 35-14.
            Two more Rattler touchdown runs would start the third quarter for four unanswered scores and a 49-14 lead. The Sugar Skulls would get their second touchdown of the night from Jones, whose 11-yard trot made it 49-21. Lolley rushed for two touchdowns to start the fourth quarter to cap his 11 carry 61 yard, rushing performance.
            Jake Medlock found Rico brown for a 22-yard score with 4:42 left in game to make the game 63-21. That would complete the 10 play 7:47 drive.
            Both teams will have a week off before they take on their respective opponents on Sunday, March 31. The Rattlers will play the Sioux Falls Storm in Talking Stick Arena. The Sugar Skulls will be home as they take on fellow expansion team, San Diego Strike Force, in a Week 2 rematch, where the Sugar Skulls won 65-44 in San Diego’s Pechanga Arena.