In the first game of the Commonwealth American Football League's (CAFL) playoffs last Saturday the no. 1 seed and CAFL Pennant winning BaOilco Jets dismantled the fourth ranked Kingdom Warriors 54-0. Today things are expected to be much more competitive when the number second ranked V-8 Fusion Stingrays take on the no. 3 seed Orry J. Sands Pros. Kickoff for the opening round matchup is set for 1:30 p.m. at D.W. Davis.
CAFL President Mel Ferguson says that the teams' contrasting styles of play will make for a very intriguing matchup, and that he feels this game will be decided in the final few minutes.
"The Pros come equipped with some very sound players," he said.
"Their running back Jamaal (Coleby) is very good, he leads the league in scoring and he has been doing extremely well. At quarterback they have Renaldo Dorsett, who is a very solid quarterback that can do a number of good things with the football. What I look forward to when the Stingrays play is their defense. They have an awesome linebacking core that has been doing extremely well, and I look forward to seeing how that turns out."
The Stingrays finished the regular season with a win/loss record of 4-2, while the Pros finished 3-3. The team that wins the game will take on the Jets in the Boil Fish Bowl on January 31. In last week's game, the Jets scored early and often. They overpowered the Warriors' defense on almost every down and found success in the air and on the ground.
Jets Head Coach Tito Bethel credited the team's improvement to his decision to place the team in the Bahamas Flag Football League (BFFL) during the offseason.
"The BFFL kept the players together and playing for over six months," he said. "Whether this will help the team to win it's first CAFL title in over 40 years is yet to be determined."
Ferguson says that the Warriors' inexperience showed in the game and throughout the season, but feels that they will get better with time.
"It's the Kingdom Warriors first year back in the league and it has been a little rough for them, but they're a good young team" he said. "Probably in a couple of years or so you will be hearing from them."
Jets Quarterback Philmon Rolle was named as the game's most valuable player. He completed 12 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns; he also had 98 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
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