AFFL2022: Campioni!
The Italian Wranglers are now AFFL Champions once more as they beat the SoCal Gold 216 – 152 in Association Bowl 4 from sunny Orlando Florida. The league Championship was the 50th win in franchise history(!). The Wranglers have looked dominant all season, and they looked the same in the Championship, with the win never really in question from the start.
Posting a 12-2 record through the regular season, the Wranglers failed to score 200 points just 3 times all year, posting a string of games of – 230, 203, 236, 217, 182, 221, 210, 259, 185, 209, 235, 246, 271, 179, 226, 223, and 216 – points through 17 weeks. They also won the 2022 18 week scoring challenge with a total of 3,747 total points, eclipsing the previous total season record (Tampa Bay Renegades, 2020) of 3,329 full season points, and their regular season total of 3,308 points shattered the league record (their own) for regular season points (2,759, last year).
Italy was well represented by fans at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium, despite the transatlantic crossing and their home field has posted sold out crowds all season as they’ve built for themselves one of the biggest fanbases in the league. Wranglers’ Coach Paolo referenced their fans on the field immediately after the game, saying “Thanks to all for the congrats. It has been an amazing season, incredibly long and tiring, but all the hours spent on roster management finally paid off… and it is a great satisfaction. Looking at our players in the Pro Bowl, it seems really true that offenses sell tickets, but defenses win championships.”
In other comments, addressing their Association Bowl success – namely star wideout Mike Evans’ 66 points (10/207/3) in the Championship, Coach Paolo said, “In the end, to win a championship you need to have a good team, but also to be lucky enough to have the right Evans at the right moment …and I decided to start Mike
just 30 minutes before the match.” It was a good decision indeed, Coach.
Despite finishing as League RunnerUp, the SoCal Gold have got to be happy with their season. 2022 was the Gold’s first stab at the playoffs, and their 9-8 record is the best the team’s done since signing on as a charter member in 2019. They have a solid group to build on in 2023, but having made it to the post season as a wild card, will have no control over their 2023 division rivals.
The Bicton Breakers, Ohio Federals, and Grand Strand Gunslingers will be in control of their divisions in next season’s realignment draft as they round out our list of 2022 Division Champions. For the breakers, it’s their THIRD Landry Division Championship – the only franchise in the league to have won two DC’s. The Federals took a disappointing bow out early in the playoffs, losing in the first round to what was likely the second best team in the league this year, the unsung BC Blitz, but the 2021 champs are a perenial power and will be right back in the mix next season. For the Gunslingers, their growing fanbase is thrilled with the 2022 campaign, particularly with the gutsy late season push to take the division.
In one final mention, the Tampa Bay Renegades defeated the Minesota Gamblers in the consolation final and will receive a supplemental pick at round 1.21 in next year’s draft; that could make the2020 champs particularly dangerous next year on their quest to make a return.
A charter member to the AFFL, this is now the Wranglers second League Championship in just 4 years after winning the inaugural Association Bowl 1. Their 2022 Lombardi Division Championship is their second DC, with a title from the Halas Division in 2020. With their 50th club win in AF Bowl 4, they now have an amazing 50-15-0 career record (0.758). They also now hold the league win streak record with a 15 week regular season win streak stretching from Week 4, 2021 to week 4 this season. To put the icing on the cake of such a special season, Coach Paolo was also voted Coach of the Year by his peers and will receive a total of $610,000 in prize money from the league for leading his Wranglers all the way to the top.
When asked if he thinks the Wranglers can match his 2022 performance in 2023, Coach Paolo responded, “My team is quite old so It’s up to someone else winning next year… Maybe. For now I’ll relax a bit in order to be ready to compete next season…drink quite a few glasses of wine with my girlfriend – who obviously would have been very mad with me if we didn’t win….But in the end, the important thing is that we all come back to enjoy ourselves playing…I’m looking forward to seeing all of you next season, more competitive than ever. Take care.”
