WATCH LIVE SUNDAY MARCH 24 STARTING AT 1 PM ET ON DAZN, CAFFEINE, CREATOR SPORTS NETWORK, AND A7FL.TV.
Part 2
By Matthew Ryan
In Part 1 of my A7FL 2024 preview, I took a look at some of the biggest stories and overarching themes going into our 10th season. Now it’s time for some in-depth analysis (my favorite kind!) of the most exciting opening day slate in league history – coming to you live on Sunday, March 24 starting at 1 PM ET.
1 PM ET – PATERSON U VS BALTIMORE WATCHMEN (Watch Highlights)
Our 1 PM matchup is one of those games you circle in red on the calendar, as perennial powerhouse Paterson U faces off against The Baltimore Watchmen, the squad that knocked them out of the 2023 playoffs.
As noted in my last column, the U has reloaded including the return of reigning league MVP QB Quatrell Huffin, and top defensive lineman Mo Ramadan. In addition, look for former BIC wideout and returner Jason “Mighty Mouse” Cisson to be a huge weapon for Paterson against the Watchmen’s secondary. especially if veterans Kyle Ward and Pat Coburne are lined up alongside him, making any defense question who to cover.
Add that former Baltimore Gators players Carlos Croslin and Angelo “Snages Sosa” Lewis are returning to Paterson, and the Watchmen’s defense featuring Ricardo Freeman will have their work cut out for them.
Meanwhile, on the Watchmen offense, can the 1-2-3 QB combination of Roekim Chaney, a returning Jon Gause, and Corey Price find a way to get in sync – and keep the U’s offense off balance – early?
It all depends on what the Watchmen Defense can do without Nick Mays, who was a cornerstone for the Watchmen defense throughout 2023.
We’ll find out when we throw off at 1 PM ET, following a special 30-minute pre-game show (featuring yours truly) that you won’t want to miss.
4 PM ET – TRENTON BIC VS RAHWAY SHNOWTRIBE (Watch Highlights)
Our second Game of the Week pits the 2022 champion Trenton BIC looking for a redemption season against Buffalo Bills’ star Dion Dawkins’ Rahway ShnowTribe.
With a 3-way competition at quarterback including former Renegades starter Kenneth Stewart, 2023 Shnow Tribe starter Jonathan Keelz, and a rumored rookie addition recruiting 2023 DPOY Trey Baskerville away from the Renegades during the off-season, many wonder if this will be the year the Tribe makes its opponents melt under the lights.
Meanwhile, the BIC carries the expectations of fans and prognosticators that they’ll be back at the top of the A7FL when all is said and done.
With the recruiting the BIC brain trust has been doing, as well as the confidence of the key players on the team, the 2022 champions will look to set quite a tone on opening day. In addition to grabbing multi-position standout Trey Robinson from the Insomniacs, they’ll line wide out and returner extraordinaire Ashante Worthy, quite possibly the best and without question the most exciting player in the league, to catch passes from QB and former MVP Sterry Codrington.
7 PM ET – VEGAS FORCE VS LAS VEGAS INSOMNIACS (Watch Highlights)
Our third featured game showcases the two teams that have defined the Nevada division since its inception, as The Vegas Force, the division’s first champions, battle the defending division AND national champion Las Vegas Insomniacs.
The Force and Insomniacs are two of the original three that entered the league in 2022, with The Force surpassing both the Insomniacs and the other original three squad, the Pitbosses, to win the Nevada Division title.
But following the passing of Insomniacs’ original coach and GM Donnie Bunac and coach James Bourgoin took over and assembled a team of players who dazzled many in the division’s first Fall Brawl championship and would proceed to have one of the most remarkable seasons in recent memory.
Force QB Deon Fox will get the chance to prove that he and this Force offense can keep pace with one of the most disruptive defenses in the league, anchored by DPOY contender AJ McQuaig, who is hankering at a chance to prove he and his team can take on the whole world.
Fox will not be alone in battling McQuaig and looking to outscore an offense featuring Championship MVP Anthony Wilkerson, ROY Scott Hamilton, and former Nebraska lineman Kenny Mack, as running back Devante Moncrief will look to turn heads after an impressive stint in the 2023/24 Fall Brawl tournament.
While the Insomniacs remain the favorite of Sunday’s marquee matchup in the west, the Force look to put pressure on the defending champions as they look to run it back and be only the second team of the modern A7FL era (excluding Town Beef) to win back-to-back championships, joining the Paterson U who won in 2020 and 21.
As I prepare to call my fifth season of A7FL football, I say thanks for letting me yell at you for a few hours during the spring and summer.
In addition to opening day, every week of the A7FL season has me AMPED for what we’re going to see on the field with 34 teams across the country. We’ll have a lot to talk about, and I’ll be joined in the booth once again by multiple-time A7FL Champion Big Rob Fabien, along with Cory Hammond, the only announcer and starting QB in sports. Each week we’ll look to entertain you during our live games and then get into the back story with the players themselves – and get the fans’ point of view – on our weekly “3 on 1 Podcast”.
See you Sunday March 24 for the A7FL’s 2024 opening day!
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