IFFL Kicks Off Divisional Round
IFFL – Week 12 marks the beginning of the IFFL’s new playoff format and the firest ever Divisional Championship Round. With the edition of the League’s new Pacific Division, 2017 marks the first season with actual division championship games being played, in the now three division International League. The Championships begin in Week 12 in the Europa, Americas, and Pacific Divisions, with each match-up being a two-week cumulative game. The semifinal round will feature the three divisional winners, plus the Points Wild Card, and seeding will be by Regular Season total scoring #1 vs #4 and #2 vs #3,
Venice Killerwhales vs Scotish Claymores
Records and Rankings aside, some would argue that these are the best two teams going intothe 2017 post season. The Venice Killerwhales (7-4-0) were the 2015 IFFL Champions, but got off to a cold, 1-3 start this season. Over the last 7 weeks, however, Coach Blueshoes’ Whales have gone 6-1-0, including a week 9 win over Scotland, 221-177. They have averaged 203 points per game over that same stretch. The AF#17 Scotish Claymores (7-4-0), a charter member of the league, lost the very first League Championship, and have been fighting to get back. They are second in the league in total scoring, just 40 points behind Los Angeles, and have been ranked on the AF Top 25 all season. Venice leads the all-time series 4 games to 1.
Perth Panthers vs Hawaiian Beach Bums
The IFFL’s new Pacific Division, featuring three expansion teams, was anchored by last season’s old South Division Champion, Coach C’s Perth Panthers (7-4-0). Coming off of a strong sophmor season last year winning their division and falling just 1 point short of the championship in the semifinal round, Perth started the season 1-4, but comes into the Division Championship as the #3 scoring team in the league and is on a 6 game winstreak. Of their 4 losses on the season, 3 of them were against playoff teams, Scotland, Los Angeles, and, their Opponent, Hawaii. The Hawaiian Beach Bums (5-6-0) were the last expansion club to enter the league this year, and have the weakest record in the post season, but they have beaten Perth, as well as Los Angeles, and 3 of their losses were by a combined 22 points.
Los Angeles Dragons vs New Orleans VooDoo
A much anticipated showdown, these teams have been freight trains on a collision course all season. The veteran AF#21 New Orleans VooDoo (7-4-0) are back in the post season for the first time since 2015, while the AF#1 Los Angeles Dragons are the 2015 World League Champions, who jumped to the IFFL this season and has been electric. The two were 7-2-0 teams when their trains collided in Week 9, which turned out to be an anticlimactic win for the Dragons, 167-81. It was an uncharacteristic performance for both teams who go into the post season as the #1 and #5 scoring teams in the league, so many are expecting fireworks for this one.
This is the order of the points Wild Card. The losing team with the highest Regular Season score will advance as the Wild Card:
- Los Angeles (2103 points)
- Scotland (2067 points)
- Perth (1990 points)
- Venice (1987 points)
- It cannot get to New Orleans (1983), Rochester (1826), or Hawaii (1782)