AFFL2022 Week 4 Recap: 201 Karat Gold; Ohio Steamrolls Pittsburgh In Rematch
Highlight Game of the Week
SoCal Gold AT Grand Strand Gunslingers 201 – 144
Grand Strand managed just 144 points before a home crowd in this one, their lowest outing of the season; their 59 on offense and 48 on defense were both also season lows. For SoCal, though, it was a reversal of fortunes as they got both a win and a score over 200 points for the first time since this pair met in week 1. Now 2-2, both of SoCal’s wins this year have come against Grand Strand, but they have a chance to get some traction on their W-L record with Bicton, Minnesota, and Guatemala on deck. Grand Strand has a week to prepare before hosting a season-defining game next week against the 4-0 Sleeperville Outlaws.
Around the League
Tampa Bay Renegades AT New Orleans Raiders 237 – 228
Tampa advances to 3-1 at the top of the Halas Division with this road win over New Orleans. Led by the #2 scoring player in the league, QB Josh Allen, the Renegades offense posted 111 points. Quarterback woes continue in New Orleans where franchise QB Trey Lance was lost to injury and jettisoned by the organization after week 2. Bringing them right to the cap, the Raiders acquired free agent Carson Wentz on the resume of his 35 and 38 point week 1 and 2 performances; since then, he’s combined to produce a total of 5 points in 2 weeks for the Raiders. The rest of their offense scored 102 in this one, led by Miles Sanders’ 42 points. New Orleans scored 96 on defense, but lost stud safety Jeremy Chin to injury early in the day and his 0 points scored turned out to be the difference in this match. The 9 point margin of victory is technically close enough to keep an eye on as the game moves into fantasy overtime, but if the Renegade win stands, it leaves the Raiders with a frustrating loss and an 0-4 start to the season.
San Quintin Showboats AT Tracy Bulls 192 – 184
In another match, separated by just 8 points and headed to the land of fantasy overtime, San Quintin’s Josh Jacobs carried the offense on his legs in this one, producing 49 of 68 offensive points with his 175 yards and pair of touchdowns. Thanks to 105 points from their defense, if the win stands, the Showboats will make it out of the Bull Ring with a 2-2 record, barely surviving a MNF comeback attempt by Bulls WR Cooper Kupp. Tracy stomped out 122 points on offense, including an unexpected 52 of them from quarterback Geno Smith who threw touchdowns instead of punches in this one. Had Tracy CB Jalen Ramsey contributed to the comeback attempt Monday night, things might have ended up differently for Tracy who move to an unexpected 1-3
Ohio Federals AT Pittsburgh Maulers 270 – 132
This was the most impressive our defending champs have looked all season, churning out 106 on offense, 109 on defense, and an explosive 55 points on special teams. 13 of 14 Federals’ starters scored double digit points; 9 of 13 scored more than 15 points, and 6 of 13 scored more than 20. It was the 7th highest scoring team performance in AFFL history. (SoCal’s 278 points in week 1 this year remains the highest this season and the 4th all time). Not many teams could have withstood Ohio’s onslaught of points, and despite getting by them in the season opener, the Maulers were not that team this week. Pittsburgh continued their up and down trend – this was a down week; with 8 of their starters contributing less than 10 points. Because of a 2-1 division record, Pittsburgh actually remains ranked ahead of the Federals (2-2 in division) in a division race that’s looking like it’s going to be a circular firing squad.
Guatemala City Stars AT Italian Wranglers 163 – 214
With tickets becoming hard to find in Milan, the Wranglers played in front of another sold out crowd, and posted another 200+ point day to advance to 4-0. Things looked like they might not go Italy’s way early in the game for the very first time all season, but their biggest player performances came in late in the game, including 36 from Mike Evans and 33 from Nick Bosa Sunday night, securing another easy win. For the visiting Stars, their defense was once again the heart and soul of the team, scoring 80 points as the highlight of the loss. Guatemala seems to have playmakers on the roster, but can’t get any consistency from them. They have a good chance to try to get things turned around next week against San Quintin, but face a string of high scoring adversaries down the line.
B.C. Blitz AT Jefferson Panthers 199 – 181
In a thrilling and important Halas Division match-up, the Blitz had to earn this win, just managing to edge the Fighting Panthers out 85/77 on offense and 93/78 on defense. Blitz offensive captain, Jalen Hurts posted a pedestrian 22 points in this one, but remains the #3 scoring player in the league. Jefferson was missing albatross receiver Michael Thomas in this one, and left Zach Ertz’s 2 touchdowns on the bench, but they’ve played better than their 1-2 record would indicate. B.C. sweeps them on the series and moves to a 3-1 record, right behind Italy. British Colombia will travel to Italy next week to play in front of a hostile crowd in a game that’s already sold out. It will be the biggest game so far this season for both teams.
Miami Stallions AT Minnesota Gamblers 190 – 230
There were questions about whether Gamblers’ tight end T.J. Hockenson would even be able to play in this one and he settled those with an 8/179/2 statline, adding a two point conversion on top to pace the Minnesota offense with 64 of the offense’s 136 points. Defensive Captain Von Bell’s 33 points led their defense as the Gamblers had enough juice to outlast the Stallions and get their first win on the season in explosive fashion. The Stallions strength in this one was on defense where they posted 92 points, but with lackluster performance from the receiving corp, their 57 offensive points just weren’t enough to keep up.
Sleeperville Outlaws AT AFFL Bandits 192 – 165
The Sleeperville Outlaws remain undefeated as they sweep the series with the AFFL-sponsored Bandits. Their league-leading scorer, Lamar Jackson, was relatively quiet in the win, posting just 22 points, while Jamal Williams (36) and Tyreek Hill (37) led the offense to a 104 point total, giving the Outlaws, a spectacular 123 point per game offensive scoring average. Critics argue that Sleeperville’s 4-0 record is inflated considering they’ve yet only played the Gold, Gamblers, and Bandits (twice), but they remain the #2 scoring team in the league behind the Wranglers and are also #2 on both the ESPN and AP Coach’s ranking lists. The Bandits’ scoring leader, Jaylen Waddle (96 points) was quiet in this one (5 points) while QB Matt Ryan’s 22 points was a season high.
Bicton Breakers AT Winston-Salem Express 153 – 165
At the end of a 3 game road trip, the Breakers have been up and down all season, and this was a down week for them. Their run game, led by Derrick Henry, remains strong, but quarterback play from Ryan Tannehill has seen a 23 point ceiling. Winston-Salem’s offense scored 99 points despite a 0 point contribution from a shaky Tagovailoa at quarterback. Express receiver Justin Jefferson scored a rushing touchdown in this one on his way to a 43 point total as the highlight of the offense. Despite a lackluster start of the season with outings of 156, 178, 95, and now 165 points, Winston-Express still find themselves 2nd in the Landry Division with a 2-1 division record.
Prince George Generals AT Wisconsin Dells Invaders 137 – 168
This loss will likely haunt the Generals all season as they fall from the ranks of the undefeated behind a lackluster performance in this easily winnable game, particularly with 73 points on the bench. Their 35 total offensive points was a complete meltdown, particularly Jonathon Taylor’s 3 total points. The Invaders on offense, however, were even more abysmal, totaling just 19 points on that side of the ball. On defense, though, Wisconsin ran a 3-2 defensive set that produced 107 points, paced by safety Mike Edwards’ 35 points.
Week 4 Notes:
- SoCal Gold climb from #4 to #2 in Total Scoring; Federals climb from #11 to 33
- New Orleans Raiders overtake the Bicton Breakers for #2 on the All Time Scoring list; B.C. Blitz overtakes the Bulls AND Showboats to become #6 all time
- Tracy Bulls climbed from #7 to #3 in offensive scoring
- Ohio Federals climb from #5 to #1 in special teams scoring
- Wisconsin Dells Invaders climb from #11 to #5 on the Defensive Scoring list