An exciting third week of the AAF occurred this weekend bringing us more "Spring Football" fun. Solid play on both sides of the ball from each team in the week three matchups lead to an entertaining weekend. Some teams stars are beginning to shine while others continue to struggle. Check it all out in this week three recap!
Orlando Apollos vs Memphis Express (21-17)
Hackenberg still sucks and was benched in the Memphis Orlando matchup. In his 88 yards of passing he threw two interceptions. Zach Mettenberger stepped up though tossing up 120 yards (meh) for two touchdowns and a two point conversion. In the end the Express fell short of the mighty Apollos 21-17. Orlando quarterback Garrett Gilbert played well throwing 201 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Neither runningback was very impressive and this could be due to the constant switching of backs these teams do but no one came close to breaking the 100 yard mark. The best being Rannell Hall of Orlando rushing for 68 yards. Andrew Ankrah was the leading defender with five tackles and a sack. Terence Garvin and Keith Reaser picked off Hackenberg making him look like a fool. The Express offense just cant get it together. It is tough when you are facing a high powered offense the likes of Orlando's with Gilbert at the helm. The Apollos are one of the top teams in the league and Memphis is near the middle toward the bottom but I will admit they showed up putting up 17 points. We shall see how these teams pan out in the remainder of the season. Both exciting to watch.
Salt Lake City Stallions vs Arizona Hotshots (23-15)
Arizona being rated as the number one team in the AAF was thought to be the sure winner in the Hotshots Stallions matchup. Salt Lake City was not intimidated by the flashy yellow and green and walked away from this fight the victor. Stallions quarterback Josh Woodrum tossed up 178 yards, one touchdown and a two point conversion. 90 of his yards went to De'Mornay Pierson-El (WR) who also caught the only touchdown and two point conversion. Those two were in synch the entire game. John Wolford who has been coined a "QB to watch" by the media threw for 127 yards and one touchdown. He looked sharp and athletic so one would wonder if he is going to be in this league the entire season having an "Opt-Out" clause to go to the NFL in the contract that all players have in the AAF. Both defenses played solid with Salt Lake having Greer Martini (LB) pick Wolford off once. Overall it kind of shook the league up a bit. The number one team was defeated and the power rankings will surly change come Monday. I do not see Arizona bowing out and going on any losing streaks or anything. They are to good to let one loss dictate their season. Salt Lake will possibly continue to surprise but only time will tell. Overall this was a fun upset to witness.
Birmingham Iron (Hell yeah) vs Atlanta Legends ( 28-12)
The Iron vs Legends game was just plain old fun to watch. It may have something to do with the fact that we here at 4TH & CINCY have jumped on the Iron train but we like to think it was just kick ass football. Iron quarterback Luis Perez was playing like a real blue chip athlete tossing the rock around and fitting it into tight spots left and right. His ability to run was on display as well escaping the pocket on multiple occasions. While he did not throw any touchdowns he was definitely able to move the offense down the field. Matt Sims on the other-hand was a dreadful mess. He threw three interceptions for starters and just looked out of place on the field for the Legends. The true star of either offense here though was our boy Trent Richardson, #33. The man was an unstoppable force getting into the end zone three times leading his team to victory. We still have to figure out that whole "yards" thing with Trent but hell as long as he scores the teams good right? Atlanta just looked like they didn't know where they were offensively but their defense was incredibly strong up front. The D-Line was a force. The Irons D looked strong as well. Both of these teams had near double digit tacklers and showed up to fight. Overall this was a great game. Excited to see these two squads continue to play.
San Diego Fleet vs San Antonio Commanders (31-11)
This is another one whos score sort of took us by surprise. The commanders have looked solid through two games and just got worked by the Fleet in week three. 31-11 is an ass whopping where I am from and some of the box score shows it. Phillip Nelson threw for 193 yards with former Bearcat Mekale McKay catching 91 yards and taking the ball into the end zone once. Logan Woodside was not bad throwing for 151 but Nelson just looked crisp. Woodside also threw two interceptions which absolutely killed momentum for the San Antonio offense. Ja'Quan Gardner (RB) rushed 122 yards for the Commanders and looked like a beast with the rock. Both defenses played eh, but when quarterbacks and runningbacks are ticking it is tough to keep up. Jordan Martin and AJ Tarpley grabbed an interception each for the Fleet and De'Vonte Bausby had one for the Commanders. In a league where passing yards are a premium those can kill a team. I would have to say that the outcome of this game was a surprise to most that cared. I do not think that the Commanders expected to get dog walked like they did. Watch out for the Fleet as these two teams continue their journey to the championship (we don't know what its called...we didn't look it up).
Overall this was a great week three. Some people have written this league off already but we say those people are not true football purists or fans. We will stay glued and continue to update you just as we do with the Cincinnati Bengals and to some extent the NFL. IT is if anything a great off season filler. Until next time...
WHODEY
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