Philadelphia Looks To Stay Perfect In Week 10
April 30, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
NEW YORK - The second half of the 2008 AFL regular season begins as conference seeding and divisional positioning begin to form. Philadelphia, the lone unbeaten team, looks to keep its streak alive on a shortened week.
The undefeated and Mitsubishi Motors Eastern Division leading Philadelphia Soul (9-0), No. 1 in this week's Schutt Sports Poll, travel to Quicken Loans Arena to face the Cleveland Gladiators (4-4), No. 8, in a Mitsubishi Motors Eastern Division matchup on Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia is currently on a franchise-best 11-game regular-season winning streak, and can become the fourth team in AFL history to begin its season 10-0 with a victory.
The Soul can extend its National Conference winning streak to eight games with the win.
Cleveland leads the all-time series 3-0, is 2-1 at home this season, and looks to bounce back from its current three-game losing streak against conference opponents with a win.
The Tampa Bay Storm (3-5), No. 10, welcomes the No. 3 Chicago Rush (7-2) to St. Pete Times Forum on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2 HD, ESPN360.com).
This matchup features two of the AFL's greatest head coaches in Tim Marcum (Tampa Bay) and Mike Hohensee (Chicago). The two combine for 282 regular-season wins, eight ArenaBowl championships (7 - Marcum, 1 Hohensee) and 35 years of AFL head coaching experience between them.
Two of the all-time great receivers in Tampa Bay Storm WR/LB LAWRENCE SAMUELS and Chicago Rush WR DAMIAN HARRELL also line up offensively, each within reach of milestones.
Samuels needs one reception to tie CORY FLEMING for most consecutive games with at least one reception with 128.
Harrell needs 40 receiving yards to pass EDDIE BROWN and move into second place all-time with 12,731 career.
This will be the teams' first meeting since 2004, the all-time series is tied 1-1 and Chicago can notch its first win of the season against a National Conference opponent with the victory.
The Rush is 3-1 on the road this season and can push its lead in the Central Division to three games with the win.
The Columbus Destroyers (2-6) return from their bye week to host the Dallas Desperados (7-1), No. 2, on Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m. ET (AFL NET, ESPN360.com, Columbus Sports Net Local - Live, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130) at Nationwide Arena in a Mitsubishi Motors Eastern Division matchup.
Dallas leads the all-time series 8-1, won the first matchup this season, 46-36, and can sweep Columbus for the fourth straight year with a win.
The Desperados have not encountered a two-game losing streak since 2005 and can record their eighth regular-season victory for the fourth consecutive season with a win.
Columbus hopes to end its current losing streak and capture its first division victory of the season.
The Orlando Predators (6-3), No. 6, welcome the San Jose SaberCats (5-4), No. 5, to Amway Arena on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC Local - Live).
The Predators have won six of their last seven and are 3-0 against American Conference opponents this season.
With a win, Orlando can register its first win against San Jose since 2001 and keep pace with New Orleans for the best record in the Mitsubishi Motors Southern Division.
The Predators are 3-1 at home this season and can notch their 17th consecutive season with at least seven regular-season wins with a victory.
San Jose leads the all-time series 5-1, holds the second-best road record in the AFL (3-2), and can begin its first three-game winning streak of the season with a victory.
The Grand Rapids Rampage (3-5) travels to Pepsi Center to face the Colorado Crush (3-5), No. 11, as both teams fight for sole possession of second place in the Mitsubishi Motors Central Division on Friday, May 2 at 9 p.m. ET.
With a win, Grand Rapids can notch its second two-game winning streak of the season for the first time since 2006.
Colorado leads the all-time series 5-4, but Grand Rapids swept the Crush in 2007 after being swept by Colorado in 2006.
This week's other games include: New Orleans at Georgia (AFL NET, Cox Sports TV Local - Live, CSS - Live) on Saturday; Kansas City at Utah (AFL NET, KSMO-TV Local - Live) on Saturday; and Arizona at Los Angeles (FSN Arizona - Live, FSN West - Delay at 10:30 p.m. PT, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130) on Saturday. BYE: New York
SCHUTT SPORTS POLL
RANKING TEAM POINTS 1 Philadelphia Soul (20) 240
2 Dallas Desperados 214
3 Chicago Rush 192
4 New Orleans VooDoo 190
5 San Jose SaberCats 147
6 Orlando Predators 137
7 New York Dragons 130
8 Cleveland Gladiators 87
9 Arizona Rattlers 85
10 Tampa Bay Storm 47
T-11 Colorado Crush 32
T-11 Georgia Force 32
Also receiving votes: Grand Rapids (17), Los Angeles (8), Columbus Destroyers (2)
Dropped out: Los Angeles (12)
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 30, 2008
- Crush sign two to roster - Colorado Crush
- SaberCats Kicker Earns Honor for Second Straight Month - San Jose SaberCats
- New York's Garcia, New Orleans' Lejeune, Tampa Bay's Marshall And San Jose's Haglund Earn Honors - AFL I
- Dallas' Dolezel Can Become All-Time Leading Passer On Saturday - AFL I
- Philadelphia Looks To Stay Perfect In Week 10 - AFL I
- Gladiators Sign Former Browns DL Mark Word - Cleveland Gladiators
- Dragons Ride Four Game Win Streak Into Bye Week - New York Dragons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
