CAFFL Playoffs Round 1 Preview

With the regular season officially wrapping up, now it is officially time to get down to business. With just four teams remaining in the Central Arkansas Flag Football League that number is going to shrink until one team remains. The Mustangs led by DJ Hayes enter the postseason as the defending champions but in the eyes of many not the team to beat that honor goes to the Elite who have a major target on their back as they are the only undefeated team remaining. The Vipers have quietly snuck up on the field and have firmly placed themselves as a true contender for the CAFFL Championship, while the Bandits want to get back to the championship game and win it this time.

The first matchup features the Vipers and the Bandits for a spot in the title game, these two squads faced off against each other just a couple of weeks ago and the Vipers dominated the Bandits 52-14. The Vipers finished the regular season with the highest scoring offense in the league and they hope to impose their will on the Bandits with their passing attack. Adrian Morris is an under the radar MVP candidate and so is his right hand man Ramar Easter, and it's not just these two that make the offense go, guys like West, Floyd, Smith, and the Norwood brothers have all contributed to the success of this franchise. The Bandits limp into the playoffs with just two wins and have not beaten any of the opposing playoff teams. The Bandits have also encountered a major problem over the last several weeks with just not having their complete roster, which really hurt them in their 38 point loss against the Vipers. The Bandits are no strangers to playoff success making it all the way to last years title game defeating the Elite to get to that game. This year they get a much more difficult opponent as the Elite were not the team they have been this season, the Bandits will have to keep up with the Vipers score for score if they want to win this one but that will certainly depend on if they field their full roster on Sunday.

The final playoff game on Sunday will be the most anticipated post season matchup in league history as the Mustangs face off against the Elite. Their matchup in the regular season gave us one of the best games in recent memory and this game looks to be no different. Question marks still surround the quarterback situation for the Mustangs and Team Captain DJ Hayes is certainly not going to divulge his plans for this Sunday. Reigning MVP Jackson Davis has not played the last two weeks for the Mustangs and star wide receiver Hayden Gray has moved over to the position. Gray had an overall good game against the Elite the first time around but he is still clearly learning the position. A player who does not need to learn how to play quarterback is Nash Teague the signal caller for the Elite is seen by many as the front runner for the League's Most Valuable Player award. Teague has an outstanding supporting cast that has been built by Team Captain Easton Thomas over the past two seasons. It is almost if Thomas has built this roster to not just compete with the Mustangs but to beat the defending champions. DJ Hayes and his squad certainly don't lack confidence and if you ask them they believe they are still as good as they were last season, we will have to see what is true and what is not when these two teams collide on Sunday.