IWFL week 8.

            Playoff spot were up in the air.  some of the air was cleared up after this weekends games.  Starting in Orlando.  Orlando Mayhem was very close to beating the defending champions Atlanta Xplosion in their first meeting.  The second one meant everything in regards to the playoffs.  Orlando needed to win by 8 to win the division and make the playoffs.  Atlanta planned to make it tough on Orlando on their opening drive.  Atlanta jumped on the board quickly with 7 points forcing Orlando to come from behind to win the game.  After that opening score, both defenses took over keeping the other out of the endzone one series after another.  3 ½ quarters of football were dominated by the both defenses.  By games end, not much had changed to include the score 7-0 Atlanta.  This win sends Atlanta to the playoffs and leaves Orlando as the highest ranking team not in due to there is no wildcard this year in the playoffs.  If the IWFL defending champs can avoid any upsets or additional scores, they will have a home playoff game against the NWFA defending DC Divas.

            As for DC, they had a huge game themselves against the NY Sharks (was on www.ussportsradio.com).  The Sharks had a 14 point lead last time they met before giving up 20 in the 3^rd quarter.  This time DC came out strong scoring on their opening drive making it 8-0.  Much like the Orl-Atl game, the defenses took over.  They both dominated in different ways.  NY never made it deep into DC territory except for one drive that ended on DC's 31 yard line.  DC's defense force 2 fumbles (I think) and 4 INTs.  3 of the INTs came from "Money" Hemlock (as the announcer called her), with one returned for a TD.  NY only had 112 yard of total offense.  NY's was a goal line wall.  5 times DC was in (or close) the redzone and NY stopped them.  NY forced a fumble on the 5 and the 16 yard line, 3 drives were stopped on down on the 1, 20, and 25 yard line.  Shauntey Stewart was a defensive star once again for NY.  These stops kept this game close with a halftime score of 8-0.  DC's offense was able to put up another score in the air to make it 14-0 and then the Hemlock INT made it 22-0.  DC thought they had another score late in the 4^th but it was called back on holding penalty.  The final was 22-0.  I think this may have been the first game this year that DC passed for more yards than they rushed 140 to 103.  These 2 teams have a 50-50 chance of seeing each other again in the Conference championship game.   

            The Manchester Freedom played a very important game against the spoilers of the New England Intensity.  The Intensity has the opportunity to make things very difficult for Manchester to keep pace with the Montreal Blitz for the divisional crown.  And that they did.  New England racked up 24 points to win 24-15 and put Manchester one game behind Montreal.  Manchester plays New England again after they Play Montreal this weekend.

            More than likely the Eastern playoffs will be DC traveling to Atlanta and NY possibly facing Montreal (5-1) or Manchester (4-2).  A Manchester win next weekend against Montreal will give NY a home playoff game.

             Other close Eastern Conference games was the Boston Rampage getting their first win as the 'Rampage' in a 17-7 win over Cape Fear Thunder.  This game helped the Rampage get back on track and they could finish the season with 2 more wins.  The Miami Fury beat the Palm Beach Punishers 22-7.  The big deal about this game is that Miami beat them 63-0 the first time.  This one was much closer and both were played in Miami.  Palm Beach gets another chance, this time in Palm Beach this weekend.

            Out West, the Sacramento Sirens put up a constant flow of points in every quarter along with 362 yards of rushing to fend of the California Quake 39-17.  This win keeps the Sirens ahead of the Santa Rosa Scorchers until they face off in a winner take all between the two on June 30^th.  The other close Western Conference battle was the Iowa Crush holding off the Detroit Predators 14-6 to keep them out of the division cellar.  I do need to mention one huge win by the Detroit Demolition over the Kansas City Storm 63-0.  The reason I am mentioning this game is because these two teams will face off in the first round of the playoffs…

            The rest of the games were really large point margin wins I consistantly do not talk about them.  Those scores can be found on the IWFL website:  http://www.iwflsports.com/scores.php

For this weeks Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=iwfl

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Week 9 was filled more with possible changes off the field than on.  According to the new playoff scenario, the NWFA has changed from a 6 team playoff per conference to a 7 team.  The reason for doing so was to include the Western conference winner and the Erie Illusion.  IMO, both deserve the opportunity.  Neither was originally included in the playoff race.  The Western Conference was a preseason decision to not include to remain consistent with previous year (and cost I was told).  Erie was due to playing a lighter schedule.  After discussion by the league owners, the playoffs were expanded to include these teams and the usual 6 that would have made it.  This is great.  The Phoenix Prowlers (the Western Conference winners) get to prove themselves against the rest of the league and an opportunity to fight for the crown.  As for Erie, I have always had a soft spot for them considering that their schedule over the past 5 years has been the toughest.  They are in a small market area playing the best teams in the league almost every year which are all around them.  This year they were given a more equal schedule.  They were able to handle that schedule and should finish 7-1 (that is playoff eligible).  Because of that, the league cut them a break and allowed them into the #7 spot.  This will be a great feather in their cap and something to build from, IMO.  To see what the current playoff scenario looks like as of today go to http://www.womensfootballassociation.com/A_NEW_PLAYOFF_SCENARIO.doc

           Now for the games.  Gotta start with the upset of the week.  The Austin Outlaws – Pensacola Power rivalry started last year when Austin gave the Power their first 2 regular season losses ever.  Pensacola got revenge earlier in the season at Pensacola, but this time they met in Austin.  With a win Pensacola would have been sitting pretty in the #2 playoff spot with one game left to play, but Austin has their own limited playoff hopes.  Austin took it to the Power racking up 32 points to win 32-12.  Austin's playoff hopes rely on the same team they just beat to score 59 points on New Orleans Blaze.  I am sure N.O. will have something to say about that.  Pensacola did drop to #3 in the playoffs and must beat N.O. to remain there.  Win or lose, the Blaze are in as the #6 seed as long as they do not lose with Pensacola scoring 59 points (tiebreaker rules).  N.O. may have been looking forward to the Pensacola this past weekend when they played the Gulf Coast Barracudas and Gulf Coast almost took advantage of them.  The Barracudas almost tied the game only down by 1 at the end of the 3^rd quarter 13-12.  N.O. was able to add another TD to help add to their lead for the win 19-12.  The defense was the key for N.O. scoring 2 TDs on fumble recoveries, both by EJ Davenport.  N.O. is now back where they were before Hurricane Katrina, the playoffs. 

            Spoke about Erie earlier.  They had their toughest home game this weekend against the Tree Town Spitfire.  This is the only team they lost to this year (0-6 in week one) and they wanted revenge.  Erie was able to fend off Treetown and win 12-8.  This will be a year to remember for the Erie Illusion.  Congrats to you.

            Ft. Wayne finishes off the list of close games this week.  Ft Wayne Flash went into Milwaukee with a solid rushing attack and defense to just wear down the Milwaukee Momentum.  The attack was led by Heather Anderson with 168 yards rushing.  Ft. Wayne left out of there with a 22-0 win.  They play Treetown next week for second place in the division.  The rest of the scores are below:

For overall team/league stats go to http://www.webgamestats.com/nwfa.aspx

For Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=nwfa

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Week 7.  We will start this week with the biggest upset of the year in the IWFL.  Out west the Sacramento Sirens were aiming for a homefield playoff game, but they would have to go undefeated to do so.  With the rest of their division playing them tough, it was not going to be easy.  In comes Santa Rosa Scorchers.  The first meeting was 13-6 win by Sacramento and Santa Rosa was looking to return the favor.  In an all-out defensive battle, Santa Rosa struck the first and only blow in the 3^rd quarter making it 6-0 and the defense was able to keep the Sirens scoreless to the end for the first time since 2001 (thanks for the info).  On offense, it was the Santa Rosa's running game outrushing the Sirens 196-102.  This was not just a win but it gives new playoff hope to Santa Rosa who is only one game behind Sacramento and both teams will face off again for the divisional crown the last week of the season.  A winner take all contest.  I left Santa Rosa's playoff chances off the mid season review.  Thank you to the person who helped on finding this.  

Another close game with playoff implications was the New England Intensity and the Montreal Blitz.  New England has a chance to play spoiler in the Northeast division with Montreal and Manchester remaining on their schedule.  Montreal was first on the list.  In a close scoring game Montreal was able to stop the spoiler in a 28-21 win and keep their playoff hopes alive for their 3^rd meeting with the Manchester Freedom.

Other close games this weekend were the Palm Beach Punishers ground attack (165 yards) helping them get their first career win, beating the Cape Fear Thunder 13-0.  Congrats to Palm Beach.  After a week one loss, the Carolina Phoenix is sweeping through the rest of their schedule.  This time it was against the Delaware Griffins winning 12-0 to improve their record to 4-1.

       The rest of the games were expected, really large point margin wins I consistantly do not talk about them.  Those scores can be found on the IWFL website:  http://www.iwflsports.com/scores.php

For this weeks Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=iwfl

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com, gift buying made easy.

as much as i wanted to write about this past weekends games, i will not be able to due to other things going on.   sorry.  this past weekends games were so big too.

            Week 7 decided the winner of 3 divisions across the league with the top 2 teams in the division facing off in their final contest against each other.

            Let's start with my preseason favorites, the Cleveland Fusion.  They have had the Pittsburgh Passion's number since they came into the league and Pitt was out to avenge every loss in just one season.  Pitt only won by 8 in the first meeting at Pitt, but this time they had to go into the Fusion home.  Pitt was just too determined to let their undefeated season go.  They out-dueled and out-scored Cleveland each quarter – 14-6; 12-6; 14-6 in the first 3 quarters- and kept adding to their lead until there was too much for Cleveland to overcome.  The game was scoreless in the 4^th for one the Passion's biggest regular season victories ever.  They should remained undefeated for the season and compete for the top spot in the Northern Conference.  Cleveland is in the playoffs (wildcard) if they continue their winning ways over the rest of their opponents.  The last thing I have heard is that Erie Illusion is NOT playoff eligible.

            St. Louis Slam and Columbus Comets squared off for round 2 of the top spot in their division.  Round 1 was a 27-14 win in St. Louis.  Much like Pitt, they had to go on the road for the divisional crown.  The start off 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, but then the points started piling on to a 13-6 halftime lead for St. Louis.  The second half it was 19-6, 19-13, then St. Louis puts the game away with a 4^th quarter TD to win 26-13.  This win gives St. Louis (4-1) a 1 game lead, the advantage on any tiebreakers, with only 1 tough game remaining.  Columbus has a wildcard playoff spot locked up if they can win the rest of their games.

            The last divisional title settled in a head-to-head battle was between OKC Lightning and Austin Outlaws.  Unlike the first 2 games above OKC beat Austin on the road in the first half of the season and was at home for the second meeting.  The game started off close with Austin having the lead 7-6 at the end of the 1^st quarter.  But OKC kept pouring on the points with 3 TDs on the ground and 2 in the air.  Austin never saw the endzone again and OKC won 36-7.  This win keeps OKC undefeated with a 3 game lead in the division over Austin and the divisional crown.  Austin is fighting for their life to get one of the wildcard spots.  They are currently 2-3 and still must play Pensacola who beat them earlier in the season.

            Two other divisional leaders faced off in the only contest left that could end the Mass Mutiny's perfect season.  Mass traveled to Baltimore to do what they do best, win, except this time Baltimore was able to put some points up and threaten early.  Mass was too much winning 36-14.  Mass still has the #1 spot in the Northern Conference.

            Since the teams out west get no love, I wanted to mention the huge win the Phoenix Prowlers once again over the OC Breakers 50-0.  Phoenix is unscored on for the season and hopefully someway they can work this team into the playoffs.  The Western Conference was believed to be not eligible for the playoffs.  The rest of the games are below:

For overall team/league stats go to http://www.webgamestats.com/nwfa.aspx

For Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=nwfa

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com, gift buying made easy.

            Sorry Corvallis to not talk about your great effort this past weekend in almost upsetting the Portland Shockwave, but it is mid-season review time and the playoff picture.

            Let's start out with the Western Conference –

             Only the divisional winners make the playoffs this year.  There are no wildcards.  The Seattle Majestics, Sacramento Sirens, and Detroit Demolition are all undefeated and stand alone on top of their division.  KC Storm has a one game lead at 3-1 in their division.  None of these teams are assured a playoff spot at this time, except maybe Detroit.  They have a 2 game lead on Chicago Force beating them two out of three games.  Detroit would have to lose 3 of their final 4 games in order for Chicago to have a chance at the playoffs.  Detroit does not have the easiest final 4 lineup of games but they have only lost 2 games in their entire history.  Chicago could be considered the best team left out of the playoffs in the Western Conference.  Seattle has a one game lead on Portland and they play each other this weekend.  A Seattle win should be all they need to win the division even if Corvallis plays spoiler in their 2 games left with Seattle.  In order for Portland to control their own destiny, they will need to beat Seattle by more than 17 points.  A win by less and they must rely on Corvallis.  Corvallis' are extremely slim.  If by some means all three teams finish at 5-3 (beating Seattle twice and Portland once in remaining games), they will still lose the tiebreaker to Portland.  They can play spoiler though.

            Sacramento is also in a tough battle but have a 2 game lead over the Santa Rosa Scorchers.   The Sirens only beat Santa Rosa 13-6 in their first meeting and still have to play them 2 more times.  California Quake will have to run the table with their last 4 games.  2 of them are against Sacramento. This division is very close in talent level and no game between any of them is easy.  Still too hard to call.  KC and the Shreveport Shockers may only have 1 difference, but both of Shreveport's losses have come against KC which gives KC the tiebreaker advantage.  Both have an extremely difficult out-of-division game remaining (KC-Detroit Demo; Shreveport-Atlanta).  It is the "other" games that may be the difference.  Shreveport has 2 more against Baton Rouge who they only beat by 4 the first time.  KC has a first time meeting with Baton Rouge this weekend and another against Iowa at Iowa.  KC only beat them by 13 the first time.

            Eastern Conference –

            DC Divas and the Atlanta Xplosion are the only undefeated teams remaining in the Eastern Conference.  Even though DC has a rough remaining schedule with Detroit Demo and the NY Sharks, DC has pretty much locked up their division beating the second place Cape Fear 77-0 in the first of 2 meetings.  Each game does have meaning as to where they play their first round playoff game and it is not an easy road with Detroit Demo, an improving NE Intensity and NY Sharks still left.  Atlanta does not have it that easy in their divisional race.  Not only did they have to come from behind against Orlando Mayhem to remain undefeated, but they still have to travel to Miami and Orlando in the second have of the season.  Orlando is only one game back and Miami Fury is 2.  These 2 (Orlando and Miami) will play each other this weekend.  The winner will be in the best position to challenge Atlanta for the divisional crown.  Orlando has the best chance.  Miami did lose to Atlanta 36-0.  That is a lot to overcome, probably too much.  Orlando had Atlanta beat for 3 quarters of football but could not hold on.  They are only 7 points down in the tiebreaker with Atlanta and they are at home in the next game.  This weekend should make this a clear 2 team race between Atlanta and Orlando. 

Up North, things are so even between Montreal Blitz and Manchester Freedom that the tiebreaker rules are already in play just to see who is in first.  Both are 3-1 losing only to each other.  Manchester currently has a 6 point advantage based on the tiebreaker rules.  They play each other again later in the season.  There is a non-divisional opponent for both teams that could really shake things up, the New England Intensity.  Manchester must play them twice and Montreal plays them once.  I do not think things will be decided here until the final whistle on the final game.  The other Northern division could be decided this weekend, or at least who will have a major advantage.  New York Sharks and New England are both 2-1 both losing only to DC.  They will face each other in the only match up between the 2 teams.  The winner will have the advantage for any tiebreaker.  Based on their play against common opponents (DC and Boston Rampage), the advantage must go to NY.  Also NY has the home field in this match up and only lost 1 regular season game in 4 years, advantage NY.   Neither has an easy schedule remaining, so there still are not guarantees.

Scores can be found at http://www.iwflsports.com/scores.php

For this weeks Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=iwfl

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            Week 6 did not have a bunch of playoff potential games where both opponents had a shot at the playoffs, except for 2 games. 

            The 2 team division of the Baltimore Burn and the Philadelphia Phoenix is an extremely close one.  The first head-to-head meeting ended 6-0 in favor of Baltimore.  This one was even closer, with the division title on the line.  Phili had an 8-0 halftime lead and was looking to add to it to seal the win, but Baltimore came back tying the game at 8-8.  The 2 battle for 60 minutes to end regulation tied.  In overtime Baltimore was able to squeeze out the winning TD to win 14-8 and possibly winning the division since they have a 2 game lead with 3 games to play.

            The other playoff deciding game was between West Michigan Mayhem and Ft. Wayne Flash.  Much like Balt-Phili, the first meeting between these 2 ended with a score of 6-0 in the snow.  W. Michigan only had a 1 game lead in the division so a Ft. Wayne win could have tied it up.  They fought hard to keep pace with W. Mich only down by 4 at the half, 7-3.  W. Mich was able to score another TD in the 3^rd and maintained the rest of the way.  Ft. Wayne was able to add a safety losing another close one 14-5.  Based on the rest of their schedules, W. Mich has pretty much locked up the division (minus any major surprises), and Ft. Wayne must run the table on the rest of their schedule to keep their wildcard hopes alive.

            Out West, Phoenix Prowlers continued to show their dominance with a 52-0 win, and remain undefeated.  Tree Town Spitfire got revenge on Milwaukee Momentum winning 30-10 and keeping themselves out of the cellar of the West Division.  Kentucky got back to their winning ways after losing 2 divisional games in a row (St. Louis and Columbus).  They came from behind to beat Cincinnati 8-7.  Kentucky is looking for revenge in their next 2 games facing the 2 teams they just lost to.  The Dallas Rage air attack continued in their win over the Alabama Renegades 36-8.  Once again Jennifer Hull was the #1 QB of the week throwing for 439 yards and they also had the top 2 WR for the week.  The rest of the games for the week are below:

For overall team/league stats go to http://www.webgamestats.com/nwfa.aspx

For Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=nwfa

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com, gift buying made easy.

Well it seems that I am getting phone calls now "pointing out" their better predictions of their team.  Easy to do AFTER your week 4 game when mine were made BEFORE the season started.  Funny how accurate "post game predictions" are, especially when they are only looking at 1 team.  Information is great, but waiting until midseason to "point out" how much better your team is now (which I did originally say if they read it) and how I wronged them,……  ok enough of this lets get to the games….  By the way, congrats to all the teams that ARE proving me wrong.  Seasons are more exciting when I am not right.

First off let's start with Chicago-Detroit II.  The first battle was very close and could have gone either way.  This one was closely watched by everyone to see if Chicago Force could knock down the Giant at Chicago.   My phone was blowing up to find out what the score was in this one.  This time they could not put the points on the board to keep up with Detroit with the Demolition winning 20-6, sealing it late in the 4^th with a 77 yard INT TD.  These 2 face off again later in the season, but with Detroit winning the head-to-head tiebreaker, it will be difficult for them to win the next game AND the division for a playoff spot.  Chicago did make me eat my words from the preseason.

The other major battle of the weekend involved the undefeated team in the South-Atlantic, the defending champs Atlanta Xplosion and the Orlando Mayhem.  It was difficult to measure the ability of these 2 teams coming in since the combined record of their opponents at that time was 0-7.  Only Miami had playoff experience.  None of that mattered, especially to Orlando who shut down Atlanta's offense for 3 full quarters of football.  In addition to that, Orlando put 7 points on the board in the 3^rd.  How often has a defending champion lost to a team they beat 40-0 the previous year in woman's football (or any sport)?  Never, but Orlando was on their way to change that.  Atlanta was able to tie it.  With little time remaining, Atlanta got the ball back to push in another score to edge out Orlando 14-7.  These two play again later in the season in the heat of Orlando and that game should be for the division, but first Orlando has a revenge game against Miami.

Out West, Sacramento seems to have a grip on their division, but not a tight one.  All four teams are playing each other extremely close.  With a 1 game lead going into the weekend, the Sirens traveled to Tucson to face the Monsoon.  Tucson played them tough with a halftime score of 14-14, but could not keep up in the second half as Sacro went on to win 32-20.  Santa Rosa did not help themselves in the fight for 1^st place by losing an overtime thriller against the California Quake 32-26.  The KC Storm showed their dominance over Shreveport (and the division) winning 27-0.  NY did the same to the Boston Rampage winning 26-6.  The small roster Xteam, Carolina Phoenix, has something to say to the Tier2 teams, lookout! They were able to hold on to a 19-18 win over the Detroit Predators after having a 13 point halftime lead.  They are possibly on pace for a 5-1 season if they can win on the road.

Scores can be found at http://www.iwflsports.com/scores.php . 

For Massey team ratings http://www.masseyratings.com 

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com, gift buying made easy.

 First off I want to say that I regret not being able to make it to the Pensacola-Austin game.  It looked like it was one hell of a game.  DAMN!
 We are at the midway point in the NWFA.  So instead of talking about the great games this weekend (sorry), let's look at the possible playoff picture.  Now the tiebreaker rules are under review by many people in trying to figure them out so I interpret them as best I can when it applies.
 Southern Conference -
 OKC Lightning, Chattanooga Locomotion and Pensacola Power have all dominated their division so far and are all undefeated.  All 3 have beaten their closest competitor within their division on the road.  All 3 still have their home game left against them (Austin Outlaws at OKC; New Orleans Blaze at Pensacola; East Tenn Rhythm at Chatt).  More than likely they will each be divisional winners in their respected division and your top 3 seeds.  The one team that could really screw that up is St. Louis Slam.  The Slam are in a different division than the other 3 (North Division in the Southern Conference), but they play OKC at St. Louis on the last week of the season.  OKC won the first battle.  St. Louis has a tough battle just to win their division with the Columbus Comets.  Both have the same record at 3-1 but Columbus' loss was to St. Louis on the road.  They play again at Columbus to decide the divisional champ.  The loser should be the lead candidate for a wildcard spot.  As you can see, St. Louis has the toughest road to get to the playoffs. 
The final wildcard playoff spot could go the Western Conference champs, Phoenix Prowlers.  I think this is still out for debate.  If the western conference is not allowed in the playoffs, the final spot will go to a 5-3 or 4-4 team.  The battle is on between Austin, N.O. and East Tenn..  Nashville Dream and Alabama Renegades' out-of-divisional games may be too rough to handle and Kentucky's interdivisional games may be their killer.  East Tenn must sweep Nashville and Alabama to have a chance at finishing 5-3.  Austin and N.O. best chances come against teams they lost to earlier in the season on the road, Pensacola and Dallas respectfully.  That one win for each should put them at 5-3 and give them a good shot at the last spot.

 Northern Conference –
 Now that Mass Mutiny has swept Conn Crush, it is smooth sailing to win the North Division.  The South Division comes down to this weekend where the Baltimore Burn travel to the Phili Phoenix to decide the division.  Baltimore won the earlier meeting 6-0.  A Baltimore win locks it up.  A Phili win by 7 or more gives them the lead and need to beat Conn the next week to make sure.  Ft. Wayne Flash have a tough road ahead of them and are already a game back of West Michigan Mayhem.  It will hard for them to remain in the playoff picture in the weeks to follow considering they are 2-2 and there is a possibility that 6-2 may not make it into the playoffs.  Advantage West Mich in the West Division. 
That brings us to the tightest race in the league, the Central Division. Pittsburgh Passion, Cleveland Fusion, and Erie Illusion all have favorable playoff odds and a chance to win the division.  My preseason favorite Cleveland (3-1) only has one close loss and it was to Pitt (4-0) who crushed the rest of their opponents.  These two teams square off again on 5/26.  If Cleveland loses, then the playoff tiebreaker rules could decide their fate.  If they win, they are in along with Pitt, both at 7-1 (should be).   That leaves Erie.  Erie played 4 games on the road and finished 3-1.  now all of these teams must travel to them.  They could very well go 4-0 in the second half of the season and lock a playoff spot, maybe even the divisional crown.  A 3-1 second half could still get them in.  The last contender for a playoff spot is Conn Crush (2-2).  Their entire season comes down to their game at Phili.  If they lose, they will probably finish at 5-3 and their chances are very low.  A win give them hope and a 6-2 record.  Either way, the tiebreaker rules will need to be Conn friend to have a chance at the playoffs.
Below are last week's scores

This Past Week
Cleveland Fusion 78, Cent Pennsylania 0
West Michigan Mayhem 51, Milwaukee Momentum 0
St. Louis Slam 61, Cincinnati Sizzle 0
Pensacola Power 20, Austin Outlaws 14
Pittsburgh Passion 53, Philadelphia Phoenix 7
Fort Wayne Flash 16, Tree Town Spitfire 14
Chattanooga Locomotion 70, Emerald Coast Barracudas 0
Columbus Comets 44, Kentucky Karma 0
New Orleans Blaze 27, Gulf Coast Herricanes 6
Erie Illusion 14, Maine Freeze 13
Mass Mutiny 14, Connecticut Crush 7
Oklahoma City Lightning 43, Dallas Rage 20
Orange County Breakers 32, All Valley Attack 0
Phoenix Prowlers 2, Arizona Venom 0

For overall team/league stats go to http://www.webgamestats.com/nwfa.aspx

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com

Most of the games ended as expected and there were several close games, but one stands out the most, Chicago Force vs. Detroit Demolition.  I never gave Chicago any credit before this game nor in my predictions (read 2007 Western Conf Predictions).  I never expected the kind of game that occurred this past weekend.  I said for Chicago to prove me wrong, they might not have won but I think they did enough to prove me wrong.  With a bunch of new players, they went into Detroit for their first real test of the season.  Not only did they finally score on the conference champion, but they had the lead at halftime 6-3.  Detroit took the lead back in the second half, but Chicago stayed with them just barely losing 23-20 at Detroit.  There is a detail story of the game on Detroit's site with stats http://www.detdemolition.com/ .  These 2 teams meet up again this weekend in Chicago.  Who knows what will happen.  Again I will now give Chicago credit.

            Other close and playoff related games:  the MidSouth division is up for grabs since all 3 teams in it are about even.  Shreveport Aftershock are trying to stay close to the KC Storm, who beat the Iowa Crush 26-13.  Shreveport faced their other divisional rival Baton Rouge Wildcats.  Shreveport had to come from behind scoring 2 TDs in the 4^th quarter to win 28-24 and remain only 1 game back of KC.  In the Northeast division, it looks the home team has the advantage in this 2 horse race between Montreal Blitz and Manchester Freedom.  They split win last year and have done the same this year.  Montreal won at home earlier in the season and so Manchester returned the favor this weekend winning in convincing fashion 27-7.  These 2 teams will see each other again later in the season at Manchester.  This game should decide the division.  Can you say advantage Manchester?  Both teams should win the rest of their games.  In the South Atlantic race, the Orlando Mayhem keep pace with Atlanta beating the Palm Beach Punishers 37-0 leading to a showdown this weekend of the undefeated, Orlando in Atlanta.

            All of the games out west were almost identical to each other, each being about a 20 point win.  Sacro Sirens keep their streak alive over the Cali Quake 27-6.  Santa Rosa Scorchers take care of the Tucson Monsoon 27-6.  Portland Shockwave beat Corvallis Pride 28-7 to keep pace with Seattle for their playoff hopes.  The Seattle Majestics made an example of the Redding Rage crushing them 61-0.

            On the down side of things, there have been some changes in Boston.  The Bay State Warriors look like they may be gone. The name that is, they are now "Boston WFC".  The team, who knows, but they did lose to NE Intensity 13-7.  Boston WFC is supposed to play out the Bay State schedule, but it does not look like it will be at their usual quality level.  The other downer, Cape Fear Thunder and Carolina Pheonix.  About 14 players against 14 players.  Hopefully both will be able to finish out their season.

Scores can be found at http://www.iwflsports.com/scores.php . 

Courtesy of http://www.w2ce.com