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SaberCats Hold off Soul, Rattlers for No. 1 in AFL Power Rankings

July 14, 2015 - Arena Football League (AFL) News Release


LAS VEGAS - The San Jose SaberCats (14-1) remain in the top spot of the AFL Power Rankings after setting a new franchise record for wins in a single season with their 14th in Week 16. The Pacific Division champions used a 56-35 victory over the New Orleans VooDoo (2-12) to hold off the Philadelphia Soul (13-2) and Arizona Rattlers (12-2) for the No. 1 ranking. San Jose hosts the Portland Thunder (4-10), fresh off a victory over the No. 5-ranked Jacksonville Sharks (7-7), this Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

The No. 2-ranked Philadelphia Soul secured the No. 1 seed in the American Conference with an impressive 72-56 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators (7-8) last weekend. The champions of the AFL's East Division now have home field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Philadelphia hits the road on Saturday for a matchup with the Jacksonville Sharks, a team looking to rebound from an upset defeat in Portland last weekend. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

Winners of their last eight games, the West Division champion and No. 3-ranked Arizona Rattlers defeated the Las Vegas Outlaws (5-9), 57-43, in Week 16. The three-time defending ArenaBowl champs continue to chase their most storied rival, San Jose, for the top seed and home field advantage in the National Conference - a race that appears destined to be a fight all the way to the end. The Rattlers travel to the Pacific Northwest this Friday for a matchup with the Spokane Shock (4-10). Kickoff is set for 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

Moving up one spot to No. 4 in this week's Power Rankings are the Orlando Predators (9-6), who defeated the Tampa Bay Storm (6-8), 69-62, in the "War on I-4" over the weekend. The Preds can clinch their third straight trip to the playoffs this Saturday with a victory over the team that kept them out of last year's ArenaBowl championship game, the Cleveland Gladiators (7-8) - a squad which now finds itself in a must-win situation after losing their last three games. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET Saturday night on CBS Sports Network.

Despite defensive end Joe Sykes tying his own single-season AFL record for sacks (16) and setting a new League-high for forced fumbles in a season (10), the Jacksonville Sharks were unable to stop the Portland Thunder in Week 16, falling to 0-2 all-time against the team in a 48-72 road loss. The fifth-ranked Sharks' schedule does not get any easier this week, as Jacksonville hosts the East Division champion Philadelphia Soul. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN3.

The AFL Power Rankings are calculated on ArenaFootball.com using a scoring system based on winning percentage, strength of schedule, scoring percentage, and win-streak. This week's complete AFL Power Rankings are listed below.

July 14 AFL Power Rankings

Rank Team W-L Power Last Week

1. San Jose SaberCats 14-1 0.716 1

2. Philadelphia Soul 13-2 0.710 2

3. Arizona Rattlers 12-2 0.709 3

4. Orlando Predators 9-6 0.703 5

5. Jacksonville Sharks 7-7 0.703 4

6. Cleveland Gladiators 7-8 0.701 6

7. Tampa Bay Storm 6-8 0.699 7

8. Las Vegas Outlaws 5-9 0.697 8

9. Portland Thunder 4-10 0.696 10

10. Spokane Shock 4-10 0.695 9

11. LA KISS 3-11 0.694 11

12. New Orleans VooDoo 2-12 0.692 12

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