Sports stats



af2 arenafootball2

Pioneers still No. 1 in Week 18 poll

July 28, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CHICAGO - In the final Coaches' Poll of the season, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers remained in the No. 1 spot by a 26-point advantage, the league office announced today. In the No. 1 position for the third straight week, the Pioneers have now been ranked No. 1 seven times during the season. They kept the top spot with a 53-46 victory over Cape Fear last week to clinch the Northeast Division and a bye in the First Round of the ArenaCup Playoffs.

Wilkes-Barre recorded 283 points including 22 first-place votes. Tulsa comes in at No. 2, with 257 points and two first-place votes. Cape Fear falls from No. 2 last week to the third spot with 229 points and one first-place vote. The Tennessee Valley Vipers came in at No. 4 with 213 points and Florida rounds out the top five with 181 points.

Four teams improved positions from last week as Tulsa moved from third to second, Peoria went from 10th to seventh, Memphis jumped from 11th to 10th and Louisville climbed from 12th to 11th.

There are two games among Top 12 teams on the Week 18 schedule. The No. 4 Tennessee Valley Vipers go south to face the No. 5 Florida Firecats with the winner taking the No. 2 seed in the American Conference ArenaCup Playoffs, thus securing a bye in the First Round. The game between No. 11 Louisville and No. 9 Quad City has major playoff implications. The Steamwheelers can win the Midwest Division with a victory over the Fire. If the Fire defeat the Steamwheelers they need a loss by Peoria to win the division. The playoff lives of San Diego, Hawaii and Wichita all hang on this game as well.

Each week during the season af2 coaches vote for the Top 12 teams in the league by ranking them one through 12 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 12 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 12th receives one point. Total points determine the Top 12 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes is ranked higher. The af2 Coaches' Poll is announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.

WEEK 18 TOP 12
1. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (12-3): 283 pts (22); Last week: 1st
2. Tulsa (12-3): 257 pts (2); Last week: 3rd
3. Cape Fear (11-4): 229 pts (1); Last week: 2nd
4. Tennessee Valley (11-4): 213 pts; Last week: 4th
5. Florida (10-5): 181 pts; Last week: 5th
6. Oklahoma City (10-6): 142 pts; Last week: 6th
7. Peoria (9-6): 137 pts; Last week: 10th
8. Bakersfield (10-5): 112 pts; Last week: 7th
9. Quad City (9-6): 120 pts; Last week: 8th
10. Memphis (9-6): 81 pts; Last week: 11th
11. Louisville (9-6): 73 pts; Last week: 12th
12. Birmingham (9-6): 72 pts; Last week: 9th

Other teams receiving a significant amount of votes this week include Hawaii (28 points).

• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...

arenafootball2 Stories from July 28, 2004


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central