IFFL – The Perth Panthers have gone from last to first in the IFFL! As a 2015 expansion squad, the Panthers finished last season with a dismal 4-9-0 record, ranked tenth of ten teams in the league, but with their Week 12, 233-174 win over the Scottish Claymores, they have just brought home the South Division Championship and become mathematically assured of a first place standings finish. At 9-3-0 going into the final week of regulation play, no other team in the league can match their record, and the Panthers are playoff bound – with IFFL playoff seeding determined by total season points, they’ll wait one more week to learn who their post season dance partner will be.
Helping Perth to secure the South Division title was a pair of losses by North Division squads Cardiff and Venice. The Cardiff Crusaders suffered an unexpected upset loss to the expansion Chicago Red Stars 200-178. The Crusaders had a shot at locking up their own division title in Week 12, but the Red Stars had their number, using the win to pull abreast of the Crusaders with a matching 7-5-0 record. The loss will surely affect Cardiff’s #3 overall ranking on the Association Top 25, and it will give the upstart Chicago team a chance at the north Division crown if they can get past Charleston, the league’s number 2 scoring team, in the season finale.
Current outlook in the race for the Points Wild Card slot
The Charleston Franchise Playerz outlasted the Venice Killerwhales in one of the highest scoring match-ups in league history, with a final score of 263-256, this barn-burner puts both teams’ performances into the record books inside of the top 10 of all time. It also sets up a 3-way, 6-6-0 tie for 3rd place in division, with the 2015 Champion Killerwhales mathematically ranked 4th. Of the 3 of them, Charleston will have the inside edge at a post season run, being the league’s #2 point scorer, they have the advantage for the Points Wild Card slot.
The Week 13 season finale, will decide who joins Perth in the post season, as well as what the seeding will be. Cardiff finishes the year vs the Cape Town Broncos who have now lost 4 in a row; a win would secure the North Division Championship and a seat at the playoff table. If Cardiff loses, and the Red Stars can beat Charleston, they would win the crown in their inaugural season. If both Cardiff and Chicago lose, Charleston can take the North with a win and a total points tiebreaker, likewise, so can Venice if they win as well, and also outscore Charleston by 42 or more points. In any scenario, one of these teams will wind up with the Points Wild Card slot if they miss out on the division title.
In the South Division, the 2015 runner-up New Orleans VooDoo has a slim shot at gaining the Standings Wild Card, but must win and have the right combination of wins and losses and point spreads occur in the circular firing squad that has become the North Division – otherwise, 3 out of the 5 North teams will be playoff bound. New Orleans finishes against Perth, who are sitting above the frey with their post season secured. Final playoff seeding will come down to total points, so no matter the Week 13 outcomes, it’s going to be an exciting regular season finale for the league.
IFFL – The Perth Panthers have gone from last to first in the IFFL! As a 2015 expansion squad, the Panthers finished last season with a dismal 4-9-0 record, ranked tenth of ten teams in the league, but with their Week 12, 233-174 win over the Scottish Claymores, they have just brought home the South Division Championship and become mathematically assured of a first place standings finish. At 9-3-0 going into the final week of regulation play, no other team in the league can match their record, and the Panthers are playoff bound – with IFFL playoff seeding determined by total season points, they’ll wait one more week to learn who their post season dance partner will be.