Top-Sixteen Coaches Poll Welcomes Lightning

June 27, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


CHICAGO - The Stockton Lightning of the arenafootball2 league have earned the No. 16 ranking in the June 27 arenafootball2 Coaches Poll and have garnered their first af2 Coaches Poll ranking in the franchise's all-time history.

The Lightning earned 52 points after an 82-24 rout of the Bakersfield Blitz in week 13 of af2 play last Saturday, breaking three franchise scoring records for most points, fewest points allowed and largest margin of victory. The Lightning have won four of their last six games and are now 5-6, tied for the final eighth playoff spot in the af2's American Conference.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton collected 461 of a possible 464 points and 27-of-30 first place votes in securing the top position. The Pioneers remain undefeated in 2007 at 11-0 after a 62-55 Week 13 win at Quad City. They also clinched the East Division title and an automatic berth in the playoffs with their last-second victory against the Steamwheelers. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's current 10-week presence at the top of the Coaches Poll is the longest run at No. 1 since the poll was created in 2004.

Tulsa (10-1, 410 points, 2 first place votes), who had a bye in Week 13, continues to hold down the No. 2 position for the third straight week. Rio Grande Valley (10-1, 386 points) also stayed at No. 3 on the strength of a 63-52 win in Week 13 against Oklahoma City. The Dorados have won a team-record eight straight contests. Rounding out the Top-5 this week are the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (9-2, 364 points, 1 first place vote) and South Georgia Wildcats (8-3, 344 points). Both teams were idle in Week 13.

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.

The complete Top 16 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.

WEEK 14 TOP 16

RANK TEAM PTS

1 W-B/Scranton 461 (27)

2 Tulsa 410 (2)

3 Rio Gra. Valley 386

4 Bossier-Shrev. 364

5 South Georgia 344

6 Florida 325

7 Arkansas 304

8 Spokane 260

9 Central Valley 218

10 Quad City 169

11 Oklahoma City 167

12 Louisville 157

13 Green Bay 155

14 Tri-Cities 130

15 Manchester 69

16 Stockton 52

About af2

In Week 14 of its eighth season with 30 member teams, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football into small to midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is currently in its 21st season. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.

The Lightning return to play for week 14 on Saturday, June 30 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff scheduled against the Everett Hawks at Stockton Arena. The game can be heard live on radio at 1420-AM KSTN and on the internet at www.stocktonlightning.com, with the game's audio broadcast presented by SportsJuice.com and video feed available at a $6 "pay-per-view" rate through B2 Networks.

In 2006, the Lightning ranked third in af2 attendance with an average of 7,445 fans per home game. Season tickets, group tickets and individual tickets for the 2007 Lightning regular season are on sale now. For more information on season tickets, merchandise, or other information, please call the Lightning at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.stocktonlightning.com.



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