With one of the league's toughest schedules down the home stretch of the season, the Barracudas will be hosting the Corpus Christi Hammerheads in a crucial IFL matchup Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Bell County Expo Center hoping to make a move on one of the league's elite.
On the strength of Alaska's 33-27 loss to Fairbanks last night, the Barracudas (7-4) have clinched a spot in the Intense Football League postseason tournament, completing the most remarkable turnaround in the 2008 IFL season. Last year, CenTex posted a miserable 2-12 record, only winning two games against the last place Alaska Wild.
Ironically, the Wild once again plays prominently in the Barracuda season storyline. Even if the Barracudas lost their last three games of the season and finished at 7-7, the worst they could end up is tied for sixth with Alaska at 7-7, and CenTex would have the tie-breaker against Alaska based on their 54-7 victory over them two weeks ago.
The Barracudas (7-4) come into the game with a two-game win streak and firmly in third place as the race for playoff positions heats up in the final month of the regular season. Looking to make their third consecutive appearance in the Intense Bowl league championship game, the Hammerheads (9-1) have won six in a row to remain one of the league's two elite teams.
This week's unusual Monday night slated game will be the final regular season home contest for the Barracudas as they must wrap up their schedule with two long road trips to take on the league's top two teams, the defending champion Louisiana Swashbucklers (10-0) June 14, then to Corpus Christi June 21.
While Louisiana, Corpus Christi and CenTex have clinched playoff berths, the Barracudas continue to jockey for seeding positions. While Frisco (6-6), Odessa (5-7), Katy (4-6) and Alaska (4-7) battle for final three spots in the postseason tournament, CenTex still has an outside shot at taking second place and earning a first round playoff bye.
Trailing the Hammerheads by three games in the standings, the Barracudas must win out with two games against Corpus Christi and one at undefeated Louisiana. On the other hand, Corpus Christi must lose at least three of its final four games, two against CenTex, one at Louisiana and one at Katy.
With the end of the IFL season right around the corner, the focus has turned to the postseason.
The honor of being the 2008 IFL champion has taken on more meaning than in the past. With the unprecedented agreement between the IFL and the United Indoor Football (UIF) league, the champions of each league will meet on July 26 in the home city of the UIF champion.
No comments:
Post a Comment