Second Season for AAA South
- Updated: October 2, 2015
Kevin Oberg’s Militia have earned the top seed in the NEFL AAA Southern Division Playoffs
WEST HAVEN, CT- After a thrilling regular season, the top teams in the Colonial Conference’s (AAA) Southern Division prepare for the long haul of the 2015 playoffs. “This is one of the toughest divisions in the country” said Hartford Colts’ Zerrell Stallings, “now we all are 0-0 and have a shot to win it all”. All five seeds have a special opportunity to make a run at the AAA Championship.
#5 HARTFORD COLTS (2-8): Stalling looks to take his Colts into Holyoke and upset the Pioneer Valley Knights in this weekend’s Wild Card game. “We played some tight games with them this season; a few breaks going our way and we may be playing this game in Hartford.” That being said, the athletic rich Colts have plenty of speed on both sides of the ball but are looking to their linemen to get them over the hump. “If we can establish the line of scrimmage Saturday we give ourselves a shot to win.”
The Colts (above) look to make some noise in the Wild Card game this weekend
#4 PIONEER VALLEY KNIGHTS (5-5): Finishing with a 5-5 record and losing a coin toss to the Connecticut Chiefs, the Knight are looking to take what they consider a disappointing regular season and make a run in the playoffs. “We did take a step back this season” said owner Ben Toro, “from injuries, players commitments, and everything else, we didn’t have the year any of us pictured”. The later part of the season did see the Knights put some things together as they defeated the Chiefs at home to make themselves eligible for the playoffs. “I know we have it in us; we just have to pull it all together.”
#3 CONNECTICUT CHIEFS (5-5): The once 2-0 Chiefs ran into their normal nemesis, the Militia and Panthers. “They are the best teams in the league if you ask me” said owner John Mancinelli, “we run into them 4 times per year and just couldn’t pull it out in the end”. The hard luck Chiefs took the Militia to overtime before losing on a blown coverage in their secondary. In both of their defeats to the defending champion Panthers, they had opportunities in the fourth quarter to win only to see their chances fade because of the feet of Jamie “Rocket” Bryant. “We know we have the Panthers in a few weeks; we just have to play our game and dig deeper in the final period”.
Chiefs Dave Coggins (above) is one of the top receivers in the NEFL
#2 CONNECTICUT PANTHERS (9-1): The two-time defending NEFL and National Champions are riding a 9 game win streak which includes a 28-20 victory over the top seeded Militia. “We usually get better as the season progresses” said Mark Welch, “we hit our stride this time of the year.” With their last playoff loss being in 2012 to the Western Mass Warriors, the Panthers come into the playoffs with both confidence and plenty of big game experience. “This is what we play for” said Rich Snowden, “the regular season is important but we love playing for the ring.” Snowden, Sir Snowden, Gerald Patrick, Kader Drame and David Reese have won four AAA Championships in the past six years.
#1 WESTERN CONNECTICUT MILITIA (9-1): The Militia has secured the top seed in the playoffs three of the last four years only to fall to the Panthers in the semifinals. “We’ve been the best regular season team over the past few years” said Lonnie Young, “this year we need to take that next step.” In the offseason Young brought in young players in receiver Matt Tyrell and defensive back Jovan Wilkins. “Those guys came in a jump started their respective side of the ball; they made us a better team without a doubt.” With a deeper roster than in the past, the Militia are hoping that this is their year.
On October 17th, one of these five teams will emerge as the South’s representative for the 22nd annual New England Football League championship game. The team that does it will have survived a gauntlet of strong defenses and powerful offenses and would have earned a right to compete for the championship. “Hey whomever come out of the division deserves the right to win it all.”
The coin toss for the South’s #1 seed, preceded by interviews with the coaches of the Western Connecticut Militia and the Connecticut Panthers.
Related Posts
