AFLWA > News > Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll

April 8, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Derry
504-232-9944

Soul holds on to top spot for another week

PHILADELPHIA TOPS SCHUTT
SPORTS AFL TOP 12 POLL

LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – Although their victory over a winless team was anything but impressive, the Philadelphia Soul strengthened its hold on the top spot in the Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll heading into Week 7.

The Soul topped Utah 64-56 and widened its margin of first-place votes over Dallas from two to six this week, as voted on by members of the Arena Football League Writers Association. The No. 2 Desperados defeated No. 7 Cleveland 58-51 last Saturday.

Dallas will host the league's hottest team in No. 3 New Orleans (Saturday, 8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN360), which inched up another spot after blasting defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose 72-43 on Saturday night. The SaberCats dropped one spot to sixth this week.

The biggest mover upward was No. 4 Orlando, which rose three spots after defeating No. 5 Chicago 57-56 in overtime. After an 0-2 start, the Predators have won four in a row.

Georgia is one of three Southern Division teams to move up this week (the South is the only division to have all of its teams in the poll), after the eighth-ranked Force beat winless Kansas City 70-63.

Other movers were Tampa Bay (from eighth to ninth) and Grand Rapids (from ninth to 11th). Colorado re-entered at No. 10, and Arizona, which had a bye week, held on to the 12th spot.

SCHUTT SPORTS TOP 12 POLL (APRIL 8)
Rk.	Team [1st Place]	W-L	Pts.	Pvs.	This week
1.	Philadelphia Soul [11]	6-0	187	1	at No. 6 San Jose
2.	Dallas Desperados [5]	6-0	181	2	vs. No. 3 New Orleans
3.	New Orleans VooDoo	5-1	160	4	at No. 2 Dallas
4.	Orlando Predators	4-2	140	7	at No. 11 Grand Rapids
5.	Chicago Rush	4-2	130	3	at Kansas City
6.	San Jose SaberCats	3-3	103	5	vs. No. 1 Philadelphia
7.	Cleveland Gladiators	3-2	89	6	vs. No. 10 Colorado
8.	Georgia Force	3-3	86	10	Idle
9.	Tampa Bay Storm	2-3	48	8	vs. No. 12 Arizona
10.	Colorado Crush	2-3	45	-	at No. 7 Cleveland
11.	Grand Rapids Rampage	2-3	26	9	vs. No. 4 Orlando
12.	Arizona Rattlers	2-3	19	12	at No. 9 Tampa Bay
Others receiving votes: Columbus 17, New York 12, Los Angeles 5.
Dropped out: Los Angeles (11).

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)