Daily League News & Notes

Arena Football League

Barnstormers Drop Home Opener vs. Spokane

The Iowa Barnstormers attempt to start the season 3-0 for the first time in franchise history came to an abrupt halt Friday night as they fell to the Spokane Shock by a 66-43 score. With the loss, Iowa falls to 2-1 on the season, while Spokane finishes their 3 week road trip with a perfect 3-0 record.

The Barnstormers fell behind early as they struggled offensively throughout the first half. Spokane jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, marking the first time Iowa had trailed all season. The Barnstormers found themselves behind 14-6 at the end of the first quarter and 28-9 at the end of the half. Spokane QB Erik Meyer was a star for the third consecutive week, completing 24 of 34 passes for 330 yards and 9 touchdowns. Iowa attempted a second half rally, cutting the lead to just 12 points at one point, but three turnovers proved to be too much to overcome on this night.

The lone bright spot for the Barnstormers was the play of WR Marcus Harris. Making his professional debut, Harris shined with 4 catches for 121 yards including a 41 yard touchdown. Meyer distributed his 9 touchdowns to 4 different receivers, including Kamar Jordan who had a game-high 137 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Shock now head back home for their home opener, Friday April 12. The Barnstormers remain home for a second straight week, when the Philadelphia Soul come to town next Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05pm and the game will be aired nationally on the CBS Sports Network.

San Antonio Talons Fall to Chicago Rush 48-41

The San Antonio Talons are three games into their second season in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was moved to San Antonio from Tulsa, Okla. in 2012 and won the AFL's Central Division title, as well as hosted their first AFL playoff game in the 2012 season. For more information or to inquire about season tickets please call 210.227.TEAM.

The Talons fought tirelessly, but to no avail in their 47-42 regular season home opener against the San Jose SaberCats on March 24th. The Chicago Rush traveled to the Alamo city to take on the Talons for a Friday night showdown in the Alamodome. Kick off was at 7:30, and coming off of a bye week in great spirits, the Talons took the lead with a quick 1 yard rush touchdown by Chad "Tank" Cook. Chicago answered back quickly with a 2 yard run in by Coffman. The first quarter ended with Chicago narrowly leading the Talons 21-14. Chicago was able t o take advantage of completing 100 percent of their third down conversions.

The second quarter proved to be a great defensive battle by both teams with each side scoring only one touchdown. Chicago scored first in the second quarter with a 4 yard pass caught by Rodney Wright to bring the score to 28-14 in favor of the Rush. The Talons answered back when Dwayne Eley caught a 13 yard pass from Rohan Davey. Going into half-time, Chicago led the Talons 28-21. Shaken up on a play, quarterback John Dutton left the field of play with Rohan Davey taking over for the remainder of the game. Chicago came out strong following the half with two touchdowns carried by Coffman and McNally. The Talons answered back with a 1 yard run by Cook bringing the score to 42-28 going into the 4th quarter.

The Talons scored twice in the 4th quarter bringing victory within reach only trailing by one point after Demos kick was blocked. Touchdowns by Davey and Toler brought the score to 42-41 with less than five minutes left to play. Chicago Rush scored once more with a 13 yd pass from Coffman to Payne to bring the final score to 48-41 in Chicago's favor.

The San Antonio Talons will hit the road for a long three-week travel schedule before they return back to the Alamodome on Friday May 3rd, 2013 at 7:30 to take on the Iowa Barnstormers for Los Talons night.

SaberCats Renew Rivalry on Saturday, April 6 against the Arizona Rattlers

The San Jose SaberCats (2-0) head back out on the road against rival Arizona Rattlers (2-0) on Saturday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. PT. The 39th edition of the rivalry will be featured as the Net 10 Arena Football League's National Game of the Week on CBS Sports Network. The SaberCats came from behind in thrilling fashion to defeat the Orlando Predators 65-62 in their home opener in Week 2. The 'Cats are 1-0 on the road during the 2013 season and will look to continue their success against the Rattlers. Arizona, who defeated San Jose in the playoffs on the way to the 2012 ArenaBowl Championship, look to continue their hot start to 2013.

Follow Tonight's Sharks Game Live

The 2012 South Division Champion Jacksonville Sharks (2-0) will play their third road game in as many weeks on Saturday, heading north to meet the Cleveland Gladiators (0-2) in Week 3 of the 2013 Arena Football League season on Saturday, April 6. Kickoff from Quicken Loans Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.

The Sharks take a perfect lifetime record against the Gladiators into this week's contest, holding a 4-0 all-time mark against Cleveland. Jacksonville swept the teams' two matchups last season, as the Sharks won 54-49 in Cleveland before notching a 56-42 win on Sea Best Field later in the season. These two teams will meet again in 2013, as the Gladiators head to Jacksonville for a rematch on June 22.

Please see below for details regarding the many methods that you may use to keep up with the game. Note that tonight's game will not be broadcast on television.

Radio Broadcast

Tonight's contest will air live on AM 600 WBOB, with Steve Berrey on play-by-play. The Sea Best Countdown to Kickoff will begin at approximately 6:45. You may listen to the broadcast by either tuning your radio to AM 600, or visiting www.wbobradio.com and clicking the "Listen Live" button at the top of the screen. Fans may also participate in a 30-minute postgame call-in show on WBOB. Those who wish to comment on the game are asked to call in to 904-854-1320 shortly after the conclusion of the game.

"AFL Live" Webcast

Tonight's game will be broadcast on the "AFL Live" video player on the League website. To view the webcast, visit THIS LINK. If the game does not start playing immediately, look for "Jacksonville Sharks at Cleveland Gladiators" under Live Events. The standard definition webcast (labeled LoDef) is available free of charge, while the high definition broadcast carries a small fee. For more information about how to sign up for HD webcasts, please click HERE.

Live Stats

If you cannot watch or listen to the game by any of the above methods, you may keep track of all the action via live stats on the AFL website. To access stats for tonight's game, visit the front page of arenafootball.com. At the top of the screen, just to the right of the league logo, you should see a menu that lists tonight's games. Once you've found the listing for "Jacksonville Sharks", click the "Gametracker" button to launch the live stats window.

Social Media Updates

Finally, keep up with the Sharks all throughout the game on our social media platforms. Be sure to visit our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @jaxsharks to stay up on what's happening in Cleveland!

Champions Professional Indoor Football League

Haymakers Fall Short Against The Bloomington Edge

The Lincoln Haymakers came up short against the Edge Friday night in Bloomington, Illinois with a final score of 62 - 46. The Haymakers were playing to maintain their position in the top half of the league before the loss. Lincoln started the night out sharp with Ziola knocking a field goal in to go up 3-0 but penalties and mental errors kept Lincoln from hanging with the Edge in the end.

Toscano was the night's starting Quarterback and finished the first half with 2 touchdown tosses; one to Rolle and one to Rhodes. The Offense short circuited several series all night leaving empty handed while the Edge capitalized on possessions. Lincoln was knocking on the door at the Edge four yard line in the last possession of the 1st half but came up empty on a fumbled snap. The Haymakers went into the locker room down 28-19 at the half.

Needing a strong start to the half, the Edge struck first as Lincoln gave up a touchdown return on the half's opening kickoff. Blake Bolles started and played the entire second half at QB, driving the team down the field to hit Rhodes for his second score of the night. Costly mistakes hurt Lincoln's second half rally with a pick six, penalties, and several empty drives as the Edge outscored the Haymakers in the second half 34-27.

Lincoln's offense was ignited in the fourth quarter as Bolles rushed for 2 TD's and hit Rhodes in the end zone again but Bloomington's offense had done too much damage at that point. Lincoln's Cortney Grixby and Marques Parker had solid performances returning kicks and setting up the Offense with good field position. Kevin Cyrille had another solid performance on the Defensive side of the ball as he recorded the franchise's first sack and 3 other tackles. Former Husker Andre Jones led the team in tackles with 6.

Next Saturday Lincoln will come back home to take on the rival Omaha Beef as they begin a four week home stand. The expansion Haymakers will look to build off of tonight's offensive production while improving the defense in what is sure to be an action packed indoor football rivalry game.

Professional Indoor Football League

Knoxville Nighthawks Win First Game of the Season

The Knoxville Nighthawks won their first game of the season over the 2012 PIFL Champion Albany Panthers. The final score was 31-28.

The Nighthawks defense came out and set the tone early by playing a very physical game. Returning receiver Ryan Schuck gave the Nighthawks offense a new life.

It feels good to get the first win of the season in front of the home town fans. Our guys played hard and I am proud of their effort, said Head Coach Cosmo DeMatteo said.

The Nighthawks struck first on a 1 yard touchdown by Daccus Turman. But Albany struck back to take the lead at 7-6. Both teams went back and forth, but the Nighthawks lead at halftime 24-21.

The second half was a defensive battle. Both teams managed 7 points each offensively. In the end, a fumble recovery by Nighthawks and an interception by Gini Ibe on the next drive, helped seal the win for Knoxville.

The Nighthawks enter an off week and will travel to Louisiana on Saturday, April 20th for their next game. The Nighthawks return to the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Saturday, May 4th against Lehigh Valley.