As the season rolls on it continues to get more interesting. The top four have remained the same but the Chaos that comes along with the bottom five each week only adds another layer. Can Omaha get it right? Dallas to the playoffs? An Instant classic in Iowa? We cover it all in this week’s NAL week in review
Table of Contents
Dallas 54 Louisiana 40
Many of us expected it to be a competitive, down to the last drive type of game… instead, we got a lackluster performance from Louisiana behind a QB that was hours from giving up on his team. Taz Wilson was by all accounts supposed to be one of the pieces that elevated Louisiana to a new level inside the NAL. Instead? He showed what we all feared, when things got tough, he bolted. The 7/23 3TD 2 INT performance wasn’t nearly enough to keep them in the game, especially with the semi-pro level defense that had the displeasure of watching give up big play after big play.
On the flip side, we saw the single best offensive performance by the Bulls, it’s was a run-pass combo that had no limits. If Seward wasn’t dropping passes underneath or bombing over the top for one of his five passing TDs, Dajon Richard was literally running over the Rouxgaroux. Richard was different in the game in any situation that required 4-8 yards. He only crossed the goal line once, but averaging five yards a carry was enough to control the pace of the game the entire second half.
If you only caught the first quarter you would have sworn it was going to be a barn burner, these two swapped quick TDs to a 14-13 result at the end of the first. The second wasn’t much separation, Seward tossing the ball all over, especially to Brooks, who averaged 15 yards a reception, and bobbed and weaved his way through a completely helpless Rouxgaroux secondary. The real separation began late in the second on what was supposed to be a screen pass; instead, it was a half-field interception TD Return for Kearyn Taylor, to put the Bulls up two scores. Coming into the second half you could tell that Wilson was done, and the Bulls never let up. Overall it was a showcase of two teams on different trajectories, one headed for ninth; the other headed for the playoffs?
Dallas Outlook
Dallas, despite the second-worst start to the season behind Omaha, actually has a chance to sneak into the postseason. No one outside of the organization and a handful of fans have this team as a shot preseason, but coach Prime has them primed. It seems that week over week they have done what it takes to improve little by little, especially enough to overtake the bottom two. Seward has taken full command of his offense, the run game is nasty compared to week one, and two more wins over Louisiana and a win over Omaha would land them a spot.
Louisiana Outlook:
We saw so much hope out of this team, only for that hope to be crushed. Week over week we saw the signs of improvement that it takes to elevate, but not so much anymore. The loss to the Bulls will prove to be a tipping point in the season. It will be the kind of point that sends you from 5-5 all the way down to 1-9. They have the toughest run of the schedule coming up and we don’t expect a single win in any of those next five, especially with Moton at QB.
Sioux City 47 Salina 46
You can only call this what it was, a Barn Burner! It was a sample of what has made this season so good in the NAL, a bout of two established former CIF franchises fighting for every yard. The first half was typical of what we have seen all year from both, steady methodical drives meant to wear down each other. Luckily for the fans, neither seemed to wear the other down, as the fight went down to literally the last second. It was also a game of resilience for Salina, their QB Evan Lewandowski, had a rough first half, tossing two of his passes to two different Bandits.
Lewandowski wouldn’t bow out, as you see so many players at this level do after a bad half. Even in a loss, and with another interception, he battled in the second half to keep his team in the game, even pairing his two passing TDs with one on the ground. It wouldn’t help the Salina cause that Tracy Brooks, their bruiser back, would end the day with only 14 yards, really only used in short-yardage situations. If you look at their opponents’ QB play you’ll find Lorenzo Brown had a season-best performance, while he only completed 13 of his 27 passes and his ability to be allusive out of the pocket kept this game in hand for the Bandits.
You can talk about the game Sioux City had without mentioning the ground game, one that saw 116 yards spread between Brown, Bruno, and Mack.The rushing and both defenses clamping down were huge reasons we saw sparse scoring in the third, leading to just a 29-24 score leading into the fourth.
This all sets the stage for a duel of quick scores, and an excellent display of how coaching can keep you in games. At 3:25 in the fourth, we saw a score of 39-38 favoring the Bandits. Just after the one-minute score we got what most saw as the game winner, a head-down fall into the endzone by Lewandowski, followed by a mirror two-point conversion to take a seven-point lead.
What followed was pure NAL greatness, a 43-yard quick game march to the endzone. The march ended with a fourth-down scramble to the corner for Brown, and we headed to overtime on an extra point. Well no, Coach Erb would roll the dice, and a short toss from Brown to Bruno would put them up 47-46 on the two-point try with just two seconds to go. It wouldn’t be the end though! A taunting penalty, would be banked giving Salina one untimed down after the kickoff.. giving them the ball at the Bandits’ 16, and a chance to win it to no avail, wide left to end the instant classic!
Sioux City Outlook:
Last year we saw the Bandits get off to a tough start and never get back on track. This was the back on track for Coach Erb and company in 2026. The win puts them back on a path to a first-round bye, and all the confidence you could ask for leading into a pivotal match-up against Pueblo. A win over the Punishers would see them to a top two spot, heading into a stretch against the two worst teams in the NAL, Amarillo and Omaha. The second half of the season looks bright, and we won’t be surprised if the Bandits win out.
Salina Outlook:
Minor setback, that is all that can be said for this loss. If you set aside the poor performance we saw out of the passing game this week, Salina has been the second-highest functioning team in all of the NAL besides SWK. Coach O’neal won’t let this start a downward trend, especially not heading into the Kansas Classic. You’ll see a lot of good football to come, especially once they regroup on the Offensive side of the ball.
SWK 43 Amarillo 30
Way to close, at least for half. This match-up of the worst (maybe second worst) team in the NAL, and the single best didn’t feel like it. The first half was an absolute battle that saw Amarillo getting the best of the Storm for the first twenty Minutes. While it was a match-up of then 5-0 against 1-3, it was also the 2026 debut for both of the starting Quarterbacks. Trae Self is the starter after Matt Struck went on IR after the previous week’s win, and Xavier Powell is coming in to compete with Demry Croft who has steadily declined since signing with Amarillo.
Taking only the first quarter into account the Self premier seemed as if it was going to end in disaster, ill-timed throws, and overall bad offensive rhythm saw a 16-0 result with just under two minutes left in the first. This was the point that it seemed as if SWK flipped a switch, Self came out of himself and the Storm offense followed. The battle of dueling new starts would explode in the second, coming off of an absolute Self Bomb to Washington, to draw within two scores. Washington would go on to average 15 yards a reception (and account for 2 TDs), a staggering stat for indoor ball. Ultimately we would see the storm lead heading into halftime 23-22. The second half would see more of the same for Self, three total rushing TDs.
While SWK was on the incline, Amarillo and Xavier Powell seemed to fall apart down the stretch, and we even saw Croft make a less-than-stellar contribution. The pair would combine for just 12/23 in the air, with Powell finding a way to contribute 28 yards and a TD on the ground. Overall it had the makings of a duel to the end that saw Gary Thomas’ run first, spread RPO style offsense just simply take control. It’s hard to beat anyone in the NAL, especially a team that averages four rushing TDs a game. A 20-8 half spelled trouble for a team that was already beyond the point of no return. The result and overall performance this season even saw Blakley fired later on in the week.
SWK Outlook:
This season, for both Kansas teams seemed like a year of transition, and what could be a down year for SWK. Though has been anything but down, the only NAL undefeated left doesn’t have an easy road ahead, but when your personnel staff finds players at the level of the Storm, paired with an innovative head coach and massive community support this is what you come to expect. The road to a ring isn’t an easy one when you consider that they draw Salina more than once down the stretch. This squad will have a first-round bye, and even without Struck will probably win it all.
Amarillo Outlook:
As we predicted in the preseason, and has become a part of up to this point, this season wasn’t going to be pretty. Though we expected the worst, not nearly this bad. Amarillo hasn’t come within two scores of winning a game since their win over Louisiana, and another win doesn’t seem like something they can accomplish. The head signal caller is gone, the QB position is in flux, and functions in a more chaotic fashion than Dallas’ home game setup. We fully expect the Warbirds to falter further down the stretch. The only thing left to decide is if they will finish last or second-to-last.
Colorado 45 Omaha 28
The Spartans were looking to win back-to-back games and get right back in the playoff picture. They started strong with a 12-play touchdown drive followed by a deuce. The defense would stand tall as well, holding Omaha to a missed field goal attempt and then a Travion Mosby interception returned for a 41-yard touchdown. While they did make enough mistakes to give up the lead in the third quarter, the Spartans would play their best football in the 4th quarter. Javin Kilgo would lead three consecutive scoring drives while the defense pitched a shutout for the remainder of the contest. While it was not a perfect game by any means, they proved that when running on all cylinders they’re as dangerous as any team towards the top of the standings.
The Beef came into this game with a short leash left on their season. After a bye week that saw a head coaching change and more roster moves, it was an all-in feeling for Omaha. Giovanni Sanders would start at quarterback but it was short-lived as he was replaced by Kobe Gaston after an early interception. While they showed fight, battling back to take the lead after scoring a pick-six thanks to Devanaire Conliffe, it wouldn’t be enough. Much like the season so far though, the good was short-lived and they would give up 19 unanswered points to end the game. Another loss and officially the first non-winning season the beef will have in quite a long time.
After a quick start for the Spartans, they would see themselves up 20-0 early. The Beef however would respond with the best offensive output of the season. Devanaire Conliffe would intercept and return a Kilgo pass 50 yards for a touchdown and help Omaha take a momentary lead. Colorado would have the final run and ultimately win the game 45-28. Javin Kilgo had a day for the Spartans throwing for over 200 yards and 5 touchdowns, 3 to Steven Newbold. The Beef remain winless on the season, Colorado with the win gets back to .500 (3-3) on the season and remains well alive in the playoff race.
Colorado Outlook
This win gets them back to even on the season and next week brings them rest via bye week. With the team starting to get back on track after Lynch’s injury, they have two weeks to prepare for Pueblo. In what is expected to be a tough matchup, a win would put Colorado back in control of its playoff destiny.
Omaha Outlook
The season is close to over and to be honest, this year is one to forget so far. With that being said… The Beef can still make the playoffs with a win streak to end the season. While they haven’t won a game yet they are about to hit the easiest stretch of the season with their next three games being against Dallas, Amarillo, and Louisiana. It is dim, but there is still some light left.
Written By TJ
NAL Week 7 Highlights
Can Omaha get back on track?
As we have covered in detail, Omaha has had an abysmal season up to this point. You can’t just look at the record and think that’s the entire story, Every single loss has come at the hands of a playoff team, and since letting Negron grow are seems to find a stride. They play the bottom three in three straight games. This string of games could see the spark the flames of a legitimate run. The offense while not perfect, saw a massive improvement last week and gives us hope long-term
Is Dallas an NAL Playoff Team?
We have done the math, looked at it from all angles, and come to the same conclusion. That the same franchise that most thought wouldn’t kick off could claim that sixth seed. Looking at it from just numbers, if Dallas were to sweep a steadily declining Louisiana, and pair that with an upset win, they are in. Even if they just beat the Rouxgaroux twice, and Omaha loses its final two its highly probable. This would be a true Cinderella story for arena ball, and add another layer to an already record-breaking NAL season.
NAL Standings:
This season has been an absolute blast to follow, and if you are not already watching, you have to drop the $10 to jump into the fun! The NAL has everything to offer, anything from Fallen Greats to UnderDogs expansion teams. If you really want to get the details on the National Arena League, and all of Indoor and Arena, Hop on at 7 AM to Around the Indoor Football world. The takes are wild (Krish) and some pretty Blunt, but it’s a must-watch for anyone who calls themselves a fan.
If You Need to Catch Up:
National Arena League (NAL): Week 6 Review
National Arena League (NAL): Week 5 Review
Sponsor: Doich Cookie Dough
Just in time for the holidays, Shady Sports Network has a new sponsor! Doich Cookie Dough, a great stocking stuffer for family members, or white elephant gift for a friend or co-worker. With flavors like Chocolate Chip, What the Fudge!?, Basic B#tch, Peppermint Baddie, or the ability to order a variety pack, you can’t go wrong. Did we mention right now they are running a sale? Buy two jars at $7.99 a piece, and get a third for free. Then apply our code ShadySports and save another $5 on every order! Making it just $10.99 for three jars of cookie dough. Doich Foods also offers free shipping on any order over $60.
Use our code ShadySports or click the link below to save $5 on each purchase today!
https://snwbl.io/doich-foods/ShadySports
HoneyStinger:
Honey Stinger is a the snack to keep you moving. Whether you just finished a workout, powering through a long day at work, or you’re just at home on the couch, honey stinger can kill your cravings, and give you the boost you need. Click the link below, and use our code at check out: rfrl.co/9n96p
Give Away
We are currently doing a giveaway to win a piece of Sioux Falls Storm turf that the team once used in games. There is now a second way to enter. Donate any amount of money to Sammy Strong Foundation, take a screenshot of the “Thank You for Donating to Sammy Strong” image after your donation and send it to us at any social media platform to automatically enter to win.
https://givebutter.com/SammyStrong26
YouTube
Please also help us continue growing on our YouTube Channel by subscribing if you haven’t already. Also, like and comment on any videos you enjoy! Thank you for your support, and we hope you continue to tune in!
Also, check out our new Live Events channel dedicated to broadcasting any games we are able to get the broadcast rights to. We have broadcast arena football, A7FL, Big 3 Basketball, Flag Football, Boxing, MMA, and so much more.
Join the Conversation on Discord, Facebook, or Reddit
Are you on Discord or Facebook? Join our server/groups to jump in the conversation, stay up to date on your favorite leagues, and give us your hot takes. You can also promote your content!
Fantasy Reports Facebook Group
Discover more from Shady Sports Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.