Riptide Crack af2 Coaches' Poll

June 23, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release


CHICAGO – After a dismal 1-5 start, no one in San Diego was too concerned about seeing the Riptide listed in the af2 Top 12 poll, but after a franchise-best four game winning streak, the ‘Tide has earned a spot among the league's best teams.

After defeating the Hawaiian Islanders for the second time in three games, 64-59, San Diego earned a spot in the af2 Coaches' Poll for the first time all season, coming in twelfth with 37 points. The ‘Tide moved to the .500 mark for the first time since May 24, 2003. The ‘Tide are just one-and-one-half games out of first place with a showdown against the division-leading Bakersfield Blitz at the Sports Arena this weekend.

For the first time in over eight weeks, the No. 1 ranked team is the same team as it was in the previous week, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers remained in the top spot for Week 13. The Pioneers received 276 points, including all but one of the first-place votes, to convincingly hold onto the No. 1 ranking.

Coming in second this week with 216 points was the Tennessee Valley Vipers, who moved up from the sixth spot a week ago. In third was the Birmingham Steeldogs with 196 points. The other team receiving a first-place vote this week was the Cape Fear Wildcats, who landed in the ninth spot with 136 points.

In addition to Vipers, six other teams moved up in this week's poll. The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz went from seventh to fourth; the Tulsa Talons jumped from ninth to fifth; the Quad City Steamwheelers improved from eighth to sixth; the Wildcats moved from 10th to ninth; the Bakersfield Blitz changed from 12th to 10th and the Riptide round out the list at number 12.

There are two games between ranked teams on the Week 13 schedule. No. 1 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosts No. 9 Cape Fear on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET, and No. 10 Bakersfield travels to San Diego to take on the No. 12 Riptide on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PDT.

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.



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