Talons top coaches poll for eighth straight week

Wednesday May 14, 2008

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
14	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.
 
About af2
In Week 8 of its ninth season with a 29-team membership, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to 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 the midst of its 22nd season. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.