Huntington Livens Up Playoff Situation For Week 16
June 5, 2006 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) News Release
The Huntington Heroes made things a little more interesting for the final week of the American Indoor Football League's regular season by defeating the Johnstown Riverhawks Saturday night.
Had Huntington lost, the Heroes' post-season hopes would have been handled. BUT NOOOOOO, Garry McPeak's boys play their best defense of the season, snap a five-game Johnstown winning streak, and all but assure Huntington a playoff spot in the Northern Conference. Barring an absolute travesty of football and Huntington loses to AIFL Ghostchasers - yeah, like that's going to happen -- the Heroes will finish 9-5.
In all honesty, the playoffs begin next Saturday with the Riverhawks (8-5) facing the Erie Freeze (9-4) that will shape the post-season picture. The Canton Legends (9-4) have to take care of business and defeat the Miami Valley Silverbacks for a first-round playoff game in the cradle of football civilization.
Here all are the scenarios, with the foregone conclusion that Huntington's going to defeat the Ghostchasers. The Reading Express (11-2) has already clinched the conference title and home-field advantage.
Canton loses and Johnstown wins, creating a four-way tie at 9-5. Canton gets second seed by virtue of a 4-2 record against Johnstown, Erie and Huntington. Huntington and Johnstown follow with 3-3 marks, but the Heroes get the third seed since they swept the Riverhawks in head-to-head play. Erie (2-4) is out.
Canton wins and Johnstown wins, creating a three-way tie at 9-5 between Johnstown, Erie and Huntington: Huntington went 3-1 in head-to-head between the tied teams and gets the third seed while Johnstown's season sweep of Erie sneaks the Riverhawks into fourth. Once again, Erie is out.
Canton loses and Erie wins. Erie gets the second seed, but Canton gets third seed thanks to the season sweep of the Heroes.
Canton and Erie win: Both teams finish 10-4, but Canton gets second seed thanks to a +19 point differential. Huntington gets the fourth seed. That's the easy one.
The Southern Conference is much easier. The Rome Renegades (11-2) and the Richmond Bandits (11-2) have clinched the top two seeds while the Raleigh Rebels (8-5) and the Chattahoochee Valley Vipers (8-5) the third and fourth seeds. Rome and Raleigh hold the tiebreakers for first and third thanks to season sweeps.
The final week of play simply determines who plays who where with the additional carrot of Rome and Richmond keeping pace with Reading to host the championship game.
Rome hosts Daytona Beach, Richmond hosts Chattahoochee Valley and Raleigh travels to Augusta to conclude the season.
It's Raleigh vs. Rome and Chattahoochee Valley vs. Richmond if:
Daytona Beach, Richmond and Raleigh win
Daytona Beach, Richmond and Augusta win
Rome , Chattahoochee Valley , and Augusta win
Daytona Beach , Chattahoochee Valley and Augusta win
And it's Chattahoochee Valley vs. Rome and Raleigh vs. Richmond if:
Rome, Richmond and Raleigh win
Rome, Richmond and Augusta win
Rome, Chattahoochee Valley , and Raleigh win
Daytona Beach , Chattahoochee Valley and Raleigh win
American Indoor Football Association Stories from June 5, 2006
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