AFLWA > News > Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll

March 25, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Derry
504-232-9944

Rush drops six spots to No. 6; Soul hops to 2nd in rankings

DALLAS TOPS SCHUTT SPORTS AFL TOP 12 POLL

LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – There's a familiar sight atop the Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll.

Once again, Dallas is No. 1 and Philadelphia is No. 2 from a vote of members of the Arena Football League Writers Association. The Desperados won on the road at defending-champ San Jose 59-56 on Saturday night, while the Soul had no trouble with host Los Angeles last Thursday, winning 71-34.

The gap between the two teams closed slightly, as Philadelphia gained six first-place votes, up one from last week. Dallas had the other 11 first-place votes.

Chicago, which faces No. 10 Arizona on Friday, moved up one spot to third.

For the third consecutive week, New Orleans moved up at least two spots – this week from sixth to fourth – by routing previously undefeated Cleveland 63-24 last Friday. It was the least amount of points the VooDoo had ever given up, as the defense shined, intercepting four Gladiators passes – three by Calvin Spears. As a result of the loss, Cleveland dropped from third to sixth.

Tampa Bay, which enjoyed a bye week, moved up from seventh to fifth.

Orlando had the biggest rise in the poll, rising from 11th to eighth. Arizona also re-entered the poll at 10th.

The SaberCats, Los Angeles, Colorado and Georgia all fell at least one place. New York dropped out of the poll.

This week's biggest game comes Saturday, as the No. 2 Soul take on the No. 5 Storm in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 (2 p.m. ET).

SCHUTT SPORTS TOP 12 POLL (MARCH 25)
Rk.	Team [1st Place]	W-L	Pts.	Pvs.	This week
1.	Dallas Desperados [11]	4-0	198	1	at New York
2.	Philadelphia Soul [6]	4-0	192	2	vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay
3.	Chicago Rush	3-1	165	4	vs. No. 10 Arizona
4.	New Orleans VooDoo	3-1	150	4	at No. 11 Colorado
5.	Tampa Bay Storm	2-1	123	7	at No. 2 Philadelphia
6.	Cleveland Gladiators	3-1	116	3	Idle
7.	San Jose SaberCats	2-2	115	5	at Kansas City
8.	Orlando Predators	2-2	92	11	at Columbus
9.	Los Angeles Avengers	2-2	66	8	at Grand Rapids
10.	Arizona Rattlers	2-2	52	-	at No. 3 Chicago
11.	Colorado Crush	1-2	22	9	vs. No. 4 New Orleans
12.	Georgia Force	1-3	16	10	at Utah
Others receiving votes: Grand Rapids 10, Columbus 8, Utah 1.
Dropped out: New York (12).

Schutt Sports, the sports gear company with a reputation for innovation, is sponsoring this season's Top 12 Poll. Its website is schuttsports.com.

The AFLWA, founded at the start of the 2004 season, is a national organization made up of media members who cover the Arena Football League. Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the AFLWA's founder and executive director.

2008 AFLWA Rankings (No 1. team):
• Preseason (Dallas) • March 5 (Dallas) • March 12 (Dallas) • March 19 (Dallas) • March 25 (Dallas) • April 1 (Philadelphia)	• April 8 (Philadelphia) • April 15 (Philadelphia) • April 22 (Philadelphia) • April 29 (Philadelphia) • May 6 (Philadelphia) • May 13 (Dallas)	• May 20 (Chicago) • May 27 (Dallas) • June 3 (Dallas) • June 10 (Philadelphia) • June 17 (Philadelphia) • June 24 (Philadelphia)