If you love watching insane score totals, watching defenses score, and just blood bath blow out football, this was your kind of weekend in the AAL! We saw Columbus set the league high for scoring at 88 and a Wheeling pitch a 71-point shutout. It was an absolutely insane weekend of arena football! We cover all of this- the race to the end and the upcoming AAL2 playoffs all in this week’s Everything AAL.
Table of Contents
- 1 Week 8 AAL Game Reviews
- 2 Week 9 AAL Game Previews
- 3 AAL Standings
- 4 AAL2
- 4.0.1 AAL2 Final Week Scores
- 4.0.2 AAL2 News:
- 4.0.3 AAL2 Playoffs: Michigan Raptors at Ohio Legends
- 4.0.4 Fan Power Rankings: Final Week
- 4.0.5 Final Power Rankings
- 4.0.6 Final Regular Season Standings
- 4.0.7 Sponsor: Doich Cookie Dough
- 4.0.8 Sponsor: HoneyStinger
- 4.0.9 Give Away
- 4.0.10 YouTube
- 4.0.11 Join the Conversation on Discord, Facebook, or Reddit
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- 4.3 Related Posts
Week 8 AAL Game Reviews
Columbus 88 Carolina 20
This was expected to be a blowout, but no one could have expected the Lions to win in the fashion they did. The scoring started quickly and never stopped. In the final three quarters, they averaged 24 points a quarter. The ability to get downfield was no issue, as three different Lions completed a pass. Espinosa, Hill, and Credle all scored at least a touchdown through the air and had 25+ yards. It’s no wonder they are the class of the AAL when they are putting up stats like that. It wasn’t just the offense showing off; Mekall Yancie even scored. The Predators offense would show signs, as McKinney put up 11/29 and 127 yards, but when your ground game ends the night with -6 Rushing, you’re going to have a long night. Most of those negative rushing yards came at the hands of DeAndre Brown, who finished with 3 TFL and a sack. Overall, it was what we expected, but so much more. The Lions are on pace for perfection, especially behind the bone-crushing defense and deep-ball-heavy offense!
Wheeling 71 Maryland 0
The Wheeling Miners delivered a dominant performance on Coal Miner Appreciation Night, shutting out the Maryland War Eagles (AAL2) 71-0 to improve to 4-1 on the season. Another Ohio Valley professional football team, the Ohio Valley Ironmen of the Continental Football League, was in attendance to support the Miners as they controlled the game from the opening kickoff. WVU legend Major Harris was also on hand for the matchup.
Quarterback Daryll Clark continued his stellar season, accounting for 151 total yards and five touchdowns, including four through the air and one on the ground. Alex Coleman paced the receiving corps with six receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Isiah Robinson and Charles Westbrook each added rushing touchdowns of their own. The defense was equally impressive, producing four touchdowns on the evening. Jayvon Johnson recorded two interception returns for touchdowns, while Malik Hargrove added another pick-six. The Miners’ defense also registered seven sacks, highlighted by four from edge rusher Raymond Cutts, and capped off the night with a fumble-return touchdown in a complete team performance.
Written By Shane Majoris
Bearcats 59 CNY 12
Jersey opted to play an out of league opponent, an AIF travel squad, CNY. It was a solid way to silence any haters of the AAL and show it’s a level above. The AJ Roque-led squad came out of the gate quickly and early. The Bearcats would score with just over twelve to go in the first, and almost immediately score again after the third straight CNY bad snap.
As we entered the second, Jersey had scored on every drive, and CNY hadn’t gained more than 10 yards a drive. This pattern would continue well into the second.
Even with a strong full-field drive, the Blue Devils never quite could put the ball into the end zone. The half would come and see a 25-0 lead for Jersey. The second half wouldn’t be much better for the Blue Devils. Trash time scores would come for CNY, and the Bearcats would end off tack on 34 more. Performances like these make you really wonder when they are going to have the stats align and beat a team like Wheeling or Columbus.
The only real drawback for the Bearcats was the poor execution on special teams, with multiple missed extra points. This game, more or less, will serve as a tune-up heading into the home march against Mississippi.
Week 9 AAL Game Previews
Columbus at Wheeling
Jumping into Week 9, the Wheeling Miners will host the undefeated Columbus Lions in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The two teams clashed in Week 2, delivering a thrilling contest that saw the Lions sneak past Wheeling, 46-44. Columbus enters the game fresh off a dominant 88-20 victory over the Carolina Predators of the AAL2. Both teams have continued to improve since their early-season meeting, have earned recognition as IACP Top 25 indoor/arena football teams, and appear more prepared than ever for this showdown between two powerhouse organizations.
Wheeling will benefit from home-field advantage and an added sense of motivation as it looks to avenge its Week 2 loss. Last season, when both teams competed in the NAL, the Miners and Lions split their season series with one win apiece. Columbus will aim to preserve its undefeated record and complete a regular-season sweep of Wheeling, while the Miners seek to even the score in a rivalry that continues to grow with each meeting. With two elite teams set to collide, this matchup has all the makings of a high-scoring, action-packed battle and will be the AAL’s and could very well be all of arena football’s Game of the Week.
Mississippi at Jersey
This is the first game of a two-game road trip for the Wolfpack. They come into the weekend after a short-notice cancellation last week cost them their last chance at a home game. While that doesn’t sit well, the last chance at realistically winning an AAL game does. The last time these two met, it was an absolute thrashing in Tunica,42-8. We are under the impression that the week nine version of this game could go just a bit differently.
Don’t come for us if we are wrong, but the scrappy side of Mississippi could come out in a big way in Roselle. Mississippi gets starting running back Jason Hall back this week, and it could make a difference in the early scoring. It won’t matter if the same Matteo for Jersey shows up this weekend, as we have seen in previous weeks. When he is hot, so are the Bearcats. Overall? Expect a closer game, with Jersey taking over in the second half. Mississippi has shown improvement, but the single longest road trip in the league, paired with a sizable talent gap, will ultimately lead to a multi-score win for the Bearcats heading into the final game of the regular season.
AAL News:
New Streaming Service for Wheeling
Earlier in the week, it was revealed that Wheeling was going to use a new platform to stream games. MNTR+. This service isn’t all that different from the service we saw used by Mississippi earlier in the season, but it does seem to be better put together. If you read between the lines, this may very well be the future, or this may be an attempt to avoid copyright strikes that plague arena games solely streaming on YouTube. No matter the case, we are all curious as to how well the stream will be and how it will look. The page is linked in the headline of this section, and we encourage you to check it out and give honest feedback.
AAL Standings
AAL2
AAL2 Final Week Scores
NJ Eagles W Tri State Panthers (Forfeit)
Maryland War Eagles 0 Wheeling Miners 71
Carolina Predators 20 Columbus Lions 88
Michigan Raptors 44 Ohio Legends 33
Peach State Cats 38 Carolina Aviators 34
AAL2 News:
Not a ton of news to speak of this week. While the playoff structure has been slightly modified, we won’t bring any news on that. Due to the way the playoffs are structured, we will instead bring a preview of each individual playoff game as they are made official. After this point, we won’t have a game of the week, as there will only be 1-2 games per week,instead giving a deeper look into each matchup.
As we receive updates on matchups, seeding placement in the playoffs, and scores, we will update what we have as we receive it for the fans. Keep a close eye out on socials as the week progresses.
AAL2 Playoffs: Michigan Raptors at Ohio Legends
We have seen this matchup twice already, and while the first two meant something, this time it’s win or go home. The Legends have had a more than impressive year one in the AAL2, but Michigan is more than capable of ruining their dreams of raising a trophy. As we saw in last week’s matchup, the Raptors may have one of the most well-tuned defenses in all of the AAL2 North and possibly the AAL as a whole. They managed to only allow 33 points to an offense that set up 90 the previous week. If Lynn Townsend can stay shifty and keep things going on the ground, it could be a long day, but this matchup screams instant classic. If we had to give a pick, we would slightly lean toward Ohio. The talent profile and being at home will give them the slight edge, though not much of one. Legends favored by 12.
Fan Power Rankings: Final Week
Final Power Rankings
Final Regular Season Standings
It doesn’t seem right, does it? Only three games between both the AAL and AAL2! It feels like we just kicked off, and now? Well, we have less than 14 days of regular season dates for the AAL and are just a handful of games away from crowning the AAL2 Champion. The final stretch brings us closer to the end of a great reboot season that none of us want to see.
Though it is bittersweet, we can all agree that, at this point, it has been a success. Outside of the Issues with the venue in Wheeling, all regular-season AAL games have been played as scheduled. We started the season with four and will end the season with the same four, and the announcement of two to come!
You have to give all the teams, owners, and league leadership an outstanding job of showing adaptability and being the example of stability everyone should follow!
Check back in next week as we get the finals from the first round of the AAL2 playoffs and the results of the second round of Elivated vs Elivated and Defector vs Defector. As always, be sure to check out Around the Indoor Football World for your source on everything arena and indoor football at 7 AM every Saturday.
All AAL2 Graphics & Wheeling Miners coverage are written and made by Shane Majoris
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