Talons Top Coaches Poll For Eighth Straight Week
May 14, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
CHICAGO - The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons have maintained the No. 1 ranking in the Week 8 Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. Tulsa collected 437 of a possible 448 points and 20-of-29 first place votes in securing the top spot for the eighth consecutive week. The Talons (7-0) continued their perfect start to the 2008 season after holding off Rio Grande Valley, 45-40, Saturday night at the Tulsa Convention Center. The victory over the Dorados was Tulsa's 15th straight, counting eight in a row from last season. The Talons recent run of 15 consecutive victories is the longest active win steak and the third longest win streak in af2 history. The Talons have also won 11 straight home games dating back to 2007 and need one more victory at home to set a new Tulsa record.
The Spokane Shock (6-0, 407 points, 4 first place votes) maintained their grip on the No. 2 spot for the seventh straight week after earning a 62-42 home win over West Division rival Boise. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton overtook Florida this week at the No. 3 position on the strength of a convincing 84-26 home victory against Quad City, avenging the Pioneers only loss in 2008 (Week 1). Since their season-opening defeat, the Pioneers (6-1, 384 points, 5 first place votes) have won six straight games by an average of 36.8 points. The No. 4-ranked Firecats (6-0, 383 points), the third undefeated af2 team, passed a Week 7 home test against Manchester, 49-43, and face another challenge this Saturday when they travel to Huntsville, Ala. to take on South Division rival Tennessee Valley. The Vipers have climbed to No. 11 overall thanks to four straight wins. Green Bay rounds out the Top-5 this week. The Blizzard (5-2, 317 points) have run off three consecutive wins, including last week's thrilling 37-36 road victory at Peoria. The complete Top 16 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.
WEEK 8 TOP 16
RANK TEAM PTS
1 Tulsa 437 (20)
2 Spokane 407 (4)
3 W-B/Scranton 384 (5)
4 Florida 383
5 Green Bay 317
6 Lubbock 303
7 Boise 270
8 Lexington 198
9 Louisville 185
10 South Georgia 181
11 Tennessee Valley 171
12 Amarillo 151
13 Central Valley 111
13 Arkansas 111
15 Iowa 89
16 Corpus Christi 79
Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 16 teams in the league by ranking them one through 16 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 16 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 16th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 16 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be 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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