Week 4 Prognostications

Oh boy, my reputation is on the line. Week 2 I was 6-2 and then week 3 brought me down to earth with a 4-4 finish. This week I'll just have to earn my keep and get back to week 2 form.

Game of the Week: Presque Isle (2-0) @ Midway (2-0)

Presque Isle is playing a playoff contender for their second straight game (Week 2 @ Brunswick). Midway is still flying high with a two game winning streak after having to sit out Week 1. In this game I have to pick who I think is the hot hand.

Midway 35- Presque Isle 32

Charleston (1-2) @ Kenosha (2-1)

If Charleston wins this game than they can change the whole conference set up. But that is a big if as Charleston's lone win is against a Sentries team that is struggling and Kenosha's one loss is to an undefeated Oxnard team. Kenosha 30- Charleston 25

Danville (0-3) @ Ohio (1-2)

The Sentries have left me out in the cold for the last two weeks. Danville has a big help and they have lost both times I've called them to. Which streak between these two desperate teams will end. Ohio 20- Danville 17

Oxnard (2-0) @ Racine County (1-1)

Racine has had a bye week to prepare for one of the better teams in the league, and from my understanding Memorial Hall is quickly becoming one of the hardest places to play in the league. This all adds up to this weeks upset special. Racine County 25- Oxnard 22

Bay City (1-1) @ St. Paul (2-1)

Bay City has scored 40 points in two games. It's taken St. Paul three games to reach the same amount. Bay City 25- St. Paul 14

D. C. (0-3) @ Brunswick (2-1)

Brunswick exploded last week and D.C. fell flat again. I see this week being very similar to last week. Brunswick 34- D.C. 10

Erie (1-2) @ Columbia (0-3)

The Growlers are hungry for an opportunity to pull themselves out of the basement. They have a shot this week as Erie's offense hasn't been very productive latley. Columbia 21- Erie 14

Vermont (2-1) @ Opelika (2-0)

This is the easily the #2 game of the week, these teams are fighting for early season positioning for a playoff run. These are two teams that are eyeing #1 seed in the playoffs. I'm trying not to get to ahead of myself this early in the season but we could be seeing the Eastern Conference championship game preview this week.

Vermont 27- Opelika 24

JG & Mac's IIFL Power Polls for Week 4

The IIFL's official "Game of the Week" play-by-play team has released their second official power poll.

Joel "JG" Garcia ranks his polls on points per game, Rob "Mac" McGee ranks his polls on point differental, and the combined poll is ranked on average tally.

IIFL POWER POLLS:

JG’s Polls

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (38 ppg)

2. Bay City Phantoms (20 ppg)

3. Kenosha Barons (18.33 ppg)

4. San Diego Sailors (14.67 ppg)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (14.5 ppg)

6. Danville Demolition (14.33 ppg)

7. St. Paul Lumberjacks (13.33 ppg)

8. Charleston Chainsaws (13 ppg)

9. Ohio Sentries (12.67 ppg)

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Midway Mafia (36 ppg)

2. Opelika Eagles (29 ppg)

3. Brunswick Beavers (25.67 ppg)

4. Vermont Running Walleye (23 ppg)

5. Columbia Growlers (21 ppg)

6. Providence Plasticmen (20.67 ppg)

7. Presque Isle Bombers (18 ppg)

8. Erie Argonauts (17.67 ppg)

9. D.C. Conspiracy (16.67 ppg)

LEAGUEWIDE:

1. Oxnard Chupacabras
2. Midway Mafia
3. Opelika Eagles
4. Brunswick Beavers
5. Vermont Running Walleye
6. Columbia Growlers
7. Providence Plasticmen
8. Bay City Phantoms
9. Kenosha Barons
10. Presque Isle Bombers
11. Erie Argonauts
12. D.C. Conspiracy
13. San Diego Sailors
14. Racine County Rhino Raiders
15. Danville Demolition
16. St. Paul Lumberjacks
17. Charleston Chainsaws
18. Ohio Sentries

Mac’s Polls

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (-36)

2. Bay City Phantoms (-16)

3. St. Paul Lumberjacks (-5)

4. San Diego Sailors (-4)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (-2)

6. Charleston Chainsaws (-1)

7. Ohio Sentries (+5)

8. Kenosha Barons (+9)

9. Danville Demolition (+48)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Midway Mafia (-39)

2. Opelika Eagles (-35)

3. Brunswick Beavers (-33)

4. Presque Isle Bombers (-15)

5. Vermont Running Walleye (-13)

6. Providence Plasticmen (+7)

7. Columbia Growlers (+29)

8. Erie Argonauts (+35)

9. D.C. Conspiracy (+57)

LEAGUEWIDE:

1. Midway Mafia
2. Oxnard Chupacabras
3. Opelika Eagles
4. Brunswick Beavers
5. Bay City Phantoms
6. Presque Isle Bombers
7. Vermont Running Walleye
8. St. Paul Lumberjacks
9. San Diego Sailors
10. Racine County Rhino Raiders
11. Charleston Chainsaws
12. Ohio Sentries
13. Providence Plasticmen
14. Kenosha Barons
15. Columbia Growlers
16. Erie Argonauts
17. Danville Demolition
18. D.C. Conspiracy

Combined Polls:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (1)(2)

2. Bay City Phantoms (2)

3. San Diego Sailors (4)

4. St. Paul Lumberjacks (5)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (5)

6. Kenosha Barons (5.5)

7. Charleston Chainsaws (7)

8. Danville Demolition (7.5)

9. Ohio Sentries (8)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Midway Mafia (1)(2)

2. Opelika Eagles (2)

3. Brunswick Beavers (3)

4. Vermont Running Walleye (4.5)

5. Presque Isle Bombers (5.5)

6. Providence Plasticmen (6)

7. Columbia Growlers (6)

8. Erie Argonauts (8)

9. D.C. Conspiracy (9)

LEAGUEWIDE

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (1.5)(1)

2. Midway Mafia (1.5)(1)

3. Opelika Eagles (3)

4. Brunswick Beavers (4)

5. Vermont Running Walleye (6)

6. Bay City Phantoms (6.5)

7. Presque Isle Bombers (8)

8. Providence Plasticmen (10)

9. Columbia Growlers (10.5)

10. San Diego Sailors (11)

11. Kenosha Barons (11.5)

12. St. Paul Lumberjacks (11.5)

13. Racine County Rhino Raiders (11.5)

14. Erie Argonauts (13.5)

15. Charleston Chainsaws (13.5)

16. Ohio Sentries (14.5)

17. D.C. Conspiracy (15)

18. Danville Demolition (15.5)

-Joel Garcia & Rob McGee

Week 3 Picks

After going 6-2 in week 2 I would like to think that my pics can be taken to the bank. The game of last week was Oxnard's amazing debut in which they put up 38 on Danville. This should be another great week of football so let's get onto the picks starting with the game of the week.

Providence (1-1) @ Vermont (1-1)

You are saying to yourself, "Self, how can he pick two 1-1 teams as the game of the week?" And I would say to you because Vermont and Providence are the 1st and 3rd highest scoring teams in the league and this one could become a shootout very quickly. Providence wants to prove that last weeks loss was a fluke and Vermont wants to hang onto their momentum after a blowout 41-16 win over D.C. Whichever team wins I expect the other one to bounce back and for these teams to meet in the playoffs.

Providence 30- Vermont 34

Ohio (1-1) @ Charleston (0-2)

This is the first game of the Ohio River Cup. Charleston has a lot of talent that has yet to realize their potential. The Ohio offense is due for a breakout game. Ohio 35-Charleston 20

Bay City (0-1) @ Danville (0-2)

One of these teams will get their first win this weekend, to be fair though the Phantoms have only had one chance. This game will be intense as neither team wants to fall too far behind this early in the season. Bay City 28-Danville 14

Kenosha (2-0) @ Oxnard (1-0)

One of these two teams will make a statement with this game. Oxnard comes in with the second highest single game point total in a game this year and Kenosha has established itself with two wins over 20,000 lake rivals. Kenosha 10-Oxnard 14

St. Paul (1-1) @ San Diego (2-0)

St. Paul hasn't been impressive yet and San Diego has been solid in their two wins. San Diego stays at the top of the conference with Oxnard. St. Paul 14-San Diego 21

Midway (1-0) @ D.C. (0-2)

Two teams in very different positions at this part of the season. Midway came off of a first week bye and set themselves up at 1-0. The Conspiracy need a win this week to start turning things around, or the playoffs will be out of reach very quickly. Midway 24-D.C. 17

Brunswick (1-1) @ Erie (1-1)

Another interesting Eastern conference matchup where teams are trying to set themselves apart from the pack. Erie sets themselves apart in this one Brunswick 10-Erie 20

Columbia (0-2) @ Opelika (1-0)

Opelika looked very strong in their one win. The thing is, Columbia hasn't been all bad. I think that this is the week they leave D.C. as the only winless team in the conference.

Columbia 27-Opelika 24

JG & Mac's IIFL Power Polls

The IIFL's official "Game of the Week" play-by-play team has released their first official power poll.

Joel "JG" Garcia ranks his polls on points per game, Rob "Mac" McGee ranks his polls on point differental, and the combined poll is ranked on average tally.

IIFL POWER POLLS:

JG’s Polls

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (38 ppg)

2. Kenosha Barons (17.5 ppg)

3. Danville Demolition (16.5 ppg)

4. San Diego Sailors (15 ppg)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (14.5 ppg)

6. Ohio Sentries (12 ppg)

7. St. Paul Lumberjacks (11.5 ppg)

8. Charleston Chainsaws (6.5 ppg)

9. Bay City Phantoms (3 ppg)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Midway Mafia (27 ppg)

2. Opelika Eagles (24 ppg)

3. Vermont Running Walleye (23.5 ppg)

4. Providence Plasticmen (22 ppg)

5. Columbia Growlers (21.5 ppg)

6. Presque Isle Bombers (18 ppg)

7. D.C. Conspiracy (15 ppg)

8. Brunswick Beavers (13 ppg)

9. Erie Argonauts (10 ppg)

LEAGUEWIDE:

1. Oxnard Chupacabras
2. Midway Mafia
3. Opelika Eagles
4. Vermont Running Walleye
5. Providence Plasticmen
6. Columbia Growlers
7. Presque Isle Bombers
8. Kenosha Barons
9. Danville Demolition
10. San Diego Sailors
11. D.C. Conspiracy
12. Racine County Rhino Raiders
13. Brunswick Beavers
14. Ohio Sentries
15. St. Paul Lumberjacks
16. Erie Argonauts
17. Charleston Chainsaws
18. Bay City Phantoms

Mac’s Polls

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (-18)

2. Kenosha Barons (-9)

3. Ohio Sentries (-7)

4. San Diego Sailors (-4)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (-2)

6. St. Paul Lumberjacks (-2)

7. Bay City Phantoms (+8)

8. Charleston Chainsaws (+11)

9. Danville Demolition (+21)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Opelika Eagles (-21)

2. Presque Isle Bombers (-15)

3. Midway Mafia (-14)

4. Vermont Running Walleye (-12)

5. Brunswick Beavers (-5)

6. Providence Plasticmen (+3)

7. Columbia Growlers (+15)

8. Erie Argonauts (+17)

9. D.C. Conspiracy (+32)

LEAGUEWIDE:

1. Opelika Eagles
2. Oxnard Chupacabras
3. Presque Isle Bombers
4. Midway Mafia
5. Vermont Running Walleye
6. Kenosha Barons
7. Ohio Sentries
8. Brunswick Beavers
9. San Diego Sailors
10. Racine County Rhino Raiders
11. St. Paul Lumberjacks
12. Providence Plasticmen
13. Bay City Phantoms
14. Charleston Chainsaws
15. Columbia Growlers
16. Erie Argonauts
17. Danville Demolition
18. D.C. Conspiracy

Combined Polls:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (1)(2)

2. Kenosha Barons (2)

3. San Diego Sailors (4)

4. Ohio Sentries (4.5)

5. Racine County Rhino Raiders (5)

6. Danville Demolition (6)

7. St. Paul Lumberjacks (6.5)

8. Charleston Chainsaws (8)

9. Bay City Phantoms (8)

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Opelika Eagles (1.5)(1)

2. Midway Mafia (2)(1)

3. Vermont Running Walleye (3.5)

4. Presque Isle Bombers (4)

5. Providence Plasticmen (5)

6. Columbia Growlers (6)

7. Brunswick Beavers (6.5)

8. D.C. Conspiracy (8)

9. Erie Argonauts (8.5)

LEAGUEWIDE:

1. Oxnard Chupacabras (1.5)(1)

2. Midway Mafia (3)

3. Opelika Eagles (4)(1)

4. Vermont Running Walleye (4.5)

5. Presque Isle Bombers (5)

6. Kenosha Barons (7)

7. Providence Plasticmen (8.5)

8. San Diego Sailors (9.5)

9. Ohio Sentries (10.5)

10. Brunswick Beavers (10.5)

11. Columbia Growlers (10.5)

12. Racine County Rhino Raiders (11)

13. St. Paul Lumberjacks (13)

14. Danville Demolition (13)

15. D.C. Conspiracy (14.5)

16. Charleston Chainsaws (15.5)

17. Bay City Phantoms (15.5)

18. Erie Argonauts (16)

-Joel Garcia & Rob McGee

Big weekend

This was a huge weekend in the IIFL. After 8 games the dust settled my prognostications ended at 6-2, but that isn't important.
First of all, an update on the Cup of 20,000 Lakes, the award that Kenosha, St. Paul and Racine County are all competing for. Of the three trophies in the Western Conference this is the only one which has had any games so far and the Barons have the award within reach. The standings as of week 2 are:

Kenosha (2-0)
Racine County (0-1)
St. Paul (0-1)

This week the Ohio River Cup starts as the Ohio Sentries visit the Charleston Chainsaws. This game is going to be intense for multiple reasons; both teams are coming off of losses and understand that they don't want to drop another this early in the season. This is especially crucial to the Chainsaws who doesn't want to drop to 0-3 going into Kenosha next week. The Sentries are looking for their strong defense to return (17 points given up in two games) and for an offense lead by hometown hero Joe Germaine to step up and score (11 points in first game, 13 in the second).

In the East this game is crucially important for the Conspiracy and the Growlers to win their respective games. Both teams are trying to avoid being 0-3 and need wins to establish some momentum going into the gauntlet of this season. The odd things about both of these teams is that they have shown flashes of brilliance (Columbia scored 30 in a week one loss and D.C. is averaging 15 points per game). As Midway comes to D.C. fresh off winning their opener they will be stoked to roll on their way to 2-0. The key is for D.C. to take their offense up a notch and try to break past 20 points.
As for Columbia, they need their offense to channel the great game they played in week one. If the Growlers first game is more indicitive of who they are then then should be fine, if not, then they would go winless for a while.
These teams need breakout games to avoid making their match-ups from the Independence Trophy from being a Toilet Bowl.

Week 2 Prognostications

Week 1 had some games to remember, notably the Plasticmen and Growlers in a 31-30 barnburner and the Barons holding off a Rhino Raiders comeback to keep a 1 point home win. But that was then and this is now, after last week how will teams respond, what teams will progress in this race and what teams will fall on their faces. Here are this weeks picks.

Visiting Oxnard crushes Danville 30-14
Ohio wins at home against San Diego 31-24
Raiders knock the Chainsaws to 0-2 in a 14-10 game
St. Paul annihilates Kenosha 28-7 in a battle for the Trophy of 21,000 Lakes
Bombers ruin the Beavers home opener 28-21
Vermont beats DC in a close one 30-28
The Mafia quiet the Growlers 24-20
Erie improves to 1-1 with 27-23 win over the Plasticmen

Thanks for checking out my picks and come back soon for more IIFL news.

-Willy Jenkins