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Coaches Corner 2017 AzFL
This is the special edition for the 2017 Championship game #2
Tempe Predators vs #4 Tucson Demons Hello Folks, I was asked to give my thoughts on the coming up
AzFL Championship game 2017. Weren’t these two teams battling out last
year for the Championship? Hmmm. Well this is round two for two truly
battle tested teams. Bear with me as I break down some insightful
thoughts, well in my mind they’re insightful. The defending Champions the Tucson Demons owned by
Amber Martinez and Javier Armenta and Coached by Coach Gambrell
were strong all year, they pretty
much showed the league they’re the Champions for a reason. Going into
the last week of the season to establish the #1 against the Cave Creek
Dragons. Well the Dragons were uncharted territory and had a chip on
their shoulders, they’ve seen the #1 seed in the beginning the of
season, but didn’t hold onto it enough. So the game was for the #1 spot
and the loser would get bounced down to the #4 spot, I will explain
later how that worked. The game was hard fought and the Dragons came out
the #1 seed for the playoffs. Well this sure put a fire under the Demons
(sorry for the pun). This surely was not going to be good for anyone
they faced. A Champion is defined by confidence and the Demons had this.
They believed they were better and was out to prove it. They had a
hard-fought game vs the Head Hunters which this game could have gone
either way. But as they say Champions find ways to win, and win they
did. Doing so they got what they wanted; a redemption game vs the
Dragons which bumped them down the line. So they came out a little more
focused and executed what they needed to do. They fixed what happened in
the first meeting and came out to reestablish why they are the defending
Champions. Beating the Dragons 28-6 and punching their ticket to the big
dance to go for a REPEAT…… The runner up to last year’s Championship game the
Tempe Predators was the quiet team of the final four. This is not a
disrespect to them by no means as I’ve got the utmost respect for the
Owner Ruben Arviizu and Coach Braybrooks. When you heard about the
leaders of the league the Predators were hiding in the shadows which I
think the liked more than the attention of the other teams. This removed
stress from the team as far as expectations. The Demons were the
Defending Champions, The Scottsdale Crusaders always there and the new
shiny team in the mix was the Cave Creek Dragons. So this all allowed
the Predators work on what they needed and do their work to get back to
the dance. This all started to get a little more limelight with their
last game of the season vs the Crusaders. This was the making for a
great game and it didn’t disappoint by any means. This game was for the
seeding and I spend the whole day going over every scenario except the
one that happened. The battle was back and forth no one was willing to
relinquish to the other. The game showed this by ending in a tie. Yes a
tie, the one scenario I didn’t think would have happened. So with the
tie and only time they played each other and both ending with the same
record, the tie breaker was the points allowed. See the Predators in
their quiet way of moving through the season was defensively locking
people down. They weren’t worried about rolling up the score, they were
about keeping teams from scoring and this mindset paid off by allowing
them to get the #2 seeding and giving the Crusaders the #3 spot. The
Crusaders played the Prescott Patriots (inaugural season) who were a
handful for the Crusaders. As a seasoned team the Crusaders found their
way to the win column and on to the next dance for a rematch with the
Predators. This was again another hard-fought battle neither team giving
an inch. It took 2 OTs, that’s right not 1 OT, but 2 OTs to determine
the winner gets to the big Dance. Well the Predators did it with a 12-6
win over the Crusaders and back for their own redemption of a game vs
the Demons for the second year in a row. So, we have a rematch of last year, Demons vs
Predators. These two teams already met each other 2 times this year and
split their games. They met in the season opener and the Demons came out
hard and fast putting up a 26-6 win in Phoenix. The second match up in
Tucson was a little different ended in a 6-0 win for the Predators, if
you’re keeping count, the Predators have had their share of OT games, so
they’re tested. Now we’re back to the Big Dance the Championship game.
Both teams are hungry for this game. The Demons want to prove they’re
the best and by proving that would be to repeat. The Predators got the
taste last year and feel its their time and don’t care who is ahead of
them, they’re fighting for what they feel is now is theirs. Coach
Braybrooks has been no stranger to the Championship game. This is his 4th
trip and feels the guys he has this year is the right combination that
will get him the elusive ring. The 2017 for the AzFL had excitement as it was
truly the first time where the top 4 teams were entering with a record
of 7-2 and it was anyone’s pick to go. As they say, the teams with the
most focus and determination will be there and both the Demons and the
Predators showed theirs. Prediction:
The Demons are built to repeat again, they say Defense wins
Championships and the Demons have been on the Defense Lockdown all
season. The Predators have been taking care of business themselves. So
this is going to be a low scoring game. Predators 15
Demons 12 I want to congratulate all the teams in the AzFL
for a fantastic season. I look forward to seeing the East Valley
Vengeance, Prescott Patriots, Peoria Raiders and the Tucson Punishers
flourish in the offseason to come back stronger and start building that
programs you want to stand with. This is your favorite Dragonmaster Sean
Enna……Strength and Peace.
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