USAFL Season Preview Week - East

Though the balance of power has shifted from the East Coast clubs out West, three of these eight teams contested for Grand Finals at last year's National Championships.  Only New York has been left in Division I, and they won the whole shebang.

That said, the Eastern clubs are slowly gaining somewhat of resurgence.  There is a ton of talent in this group, including some of the best American players in the country.  That growth coincides with the rise of a couple of old teams to Nationals glory, and a new team about to take the stage.

Keep an eye out for these teams as they do battle at the Eastern Regional 18s in Fort Lauderdale on April 18th, and at the Regional 10s later on this season. 

Despite being relegated to Division 4 status after being a Division 3 Grand Finalist in 2011, the Kookas are one of those teams that always has a veteran presence and always plays strong football. 

The ageless duo of Wayne Kraska (125 games) and Mick Frost (120) have enough experience between the two of them to constitute a pretty good career in the AFL.  Their enthusiasm keeps the fire going in the Peachtree City despite the dwindling core group.

Their defense wasn’t great last year; they allowed 10 or more goals in five of their six games, but still managed to score home wins against Baton Rouge and North Carolina.  After a 2-4 regular season, Atlanta teamed up with the Golden Gate Reserves for a 2-1 finish at Nationals, their rivals from the Tar Heel state providing their only blemish.

Atlanta will keep to the same regional schedule in 2015 that they did last year, taking on Nashville, Baton Rouge, and North Carolina, where the rivalries have become more friendly.   Chase Trujillo, last year’s leading goal kicker with ten, looks to lead to Kookas against some formidable opposition.  Dan Searle picked up his third Best and Fairest award last and is a favorite to make it four in a row.

The Kookas’ metro season is among the best in the country, and the club hopes that will stoke a revitalization.  Kraska and the rest of the green and gold will need to put together a great season for a Divvy 3 return, but that’s a giant “if”.

Preseason Nationals Projection: Division IV

The year was 2008.  Obama was winning the hearts and minds of America, Wii Fit was helping us get in shape, and the Baltimore/Washington Eagles were clobbering just about every team in sight before losing to the Vancouver Cougars in the Division 1 granny.

Seven years later, Obama is on his way out, my Wii Fit has a thick layer of dust on it, and the Eagles are coming off a one win season and a disappointing crash-out of Nationals in Division 2.

2014 was not kind to the blue-and-gold.  They would begin the campaign with a 79-point rout of North Carolina at home to open the year, but then dropped the remaining six games of the season.  They hung with New York at home, but were overmatched against the ‘Pies on the road.  The most devastating loss came in late September, when they fell 65-43 to Philadelphia at home.

Though they still are “Kings of the Beltway”, the Eagles are in the middle of a rebuilding phase that is seeing a lot of young, athletic talent come through.  Their leader is Revo Jay Levesque, who, in his tenth year of footy, remains one of the most dangerous midfielders in the country and a threat to hurt any team at any time.

All of that said, it’s still going to be a rough season of footy in DC.  A number of key players have left the club, leaving Levesque one of the few from the Grand Final side of ’08.  The capital boys are still Division 2 material, but a year in Division 3 may do them good in the long run.

Preseason Nationals Projection: Middle seed, Division III.  

“Boston Strong” has come to define the Freedom City over the last couple of years because of the character of her people.  It also is an adequate title for their footy club, as they are traditionally one of the toughest physically to play against.

Like Baltimore, however, they have slid from a perennial Division 1 shoe-in to a middle of the pack Division 2 side.  The loss of a number of players, including Adam Shippers down to Philadelphia, has played a bit of an influence in that, but good recruiting should balance out things for the year ahead. 

In 2014, they played most of their full games on the road, a campaign that notched a 35-7 win on a sloppy, rainy day in Philadelphia.  They also took down Chicago in their midseason tournament, but were completely overmatched in two games against the eventual National Champs from New York, and were shown the door quickly at Nationals as they went 3-and-out.

The last several years have seen the Dees evolve into a balanced side; still hard hitters, but with a knack of finding open players and spreading the ball around.  Ari Joniec, the American version of the Flying Doormat, is a tough combatant in the midfield and excels on both sides of the ball.  There is an influx of new blood, including Jordan Rearick, who is dangerous around the goal.   Mike “Cargo” Sheppard, Joe Connor, Matt Garofolo, and defender PJ Devine drive the core of veterans as they try to put Boston back on the big time footy map.

The Demons will most likely going to stay in Division 2 unless they have a terrible season.  With key matchups against Philly and New York at home, they seem to be safe.

Preseason Nationals Projection: Low seed, Division II.  

Boasting a near dead-on mix of Aussies and American players, the Fighting Squids emerged from the shadows of Division 4 to shock a couple of folks in taking the second seed overall in Division 3.  This came after a season where they hung in well against stronger competition, suffering a close loss Dallas and a good effort in a loss to Houston, and had a strong Metro season in the lead up to October in Dublin. 

At Nationals, however, things fell apart pretty quickly; real squids usually fall prey to sharks, but the Fighting Squids were doomed by the injury bug.  By the time they limped into their final game on Sunday against Philly, Ft. Lauderdale could only field the minimum of sixteen players and were soundly beaten.  An unlucky end, in truth, to an otherwise promising season.

There have been great strides made since the club separated from the now-defunct Florida Redbacks back in 2011.  Getting enough players to take a full squad was part of that.  Two players to watch out for are speedy teenager Tristan Dignan, and tall ruckman Jean “Frenchie” Rosado.  Both played well during the year, and were positive notes in an otherwise sour weekend in Ohio.

Where they will end up at Nationals depends on numbers; if they can get players to come to Austin, then there is no reason for them not to get another crack at Divvy 3.

Preseason Nationals Projection: Middle seed, Division III.

Over the last decade, New York has managed to consistently remain one of the top three teams in the country year-in and year-out.  Much like baseball’s Atlanta Braves, however, the great number of divisional titles (2014 was EAFL title #7 in ten years), has not always converted to success at the final hurdle.

Last season was different, however.  After soundly beating just about everyone that stood in front of them (their only loss a tough road defeat at Austin), they arrived in Dublin with a chip on their shoulder, and promptly dismissed all three of their challengers in the group stage.  Facing a determined Orange County squad in the Grand Final, Glenn Ormsby’s charges ground out a tough 16-13 victory to lift the “Papa” John Harrell Cup for the second time in club history.

2015 brings with it a title defense for a team that always seems to find new ways to pick their opponents apart.  Their style of play is vastly influenced by the significant number of skilled Aussies that have worn the famous black and white jumpers over the years.  If you try to pressure them, they find open players to streak free.  If you try to freeze the ball too much, as the Bombers found out, they’ll muscle you off of it.

But the key to their success is their American talent, and the ‘Pies are chocked full of it.  Captain Mike “Magic” Murphy has one of the best engines in the game, running all day long out of the middle.  Veteran Ojas “Juice” Desai and wunderkind Dan Lehane can carve teams up like a strip steak, and with Brent Liddell and Grand Final MVP Marcus Jankie lurking, New York has many, many weapons.  Tall soccer goalkeeper-turned-ruckman Alex Aurrichio caught the eye of the AFL’s Carlton Blues, and he’ll be playing with their VFL affiliate this year.  He may be available to return come Nationals time.

On paper, a repeat National Championship looks very much in the cards for New York.  With head coach Ormsby heading out, however, it will be up to the team to regroup and maintain that premiership form.  It may not be all that difficult for such a team.

Preseason Nationals Projection: High Seed, Division I.

“You gotta have heart.  Miles and miles and miles and miles of heart.  When the odds are saying you’ll never win, that’s when the grin should start.”

(Two baseball references in one footy preview?  It must be spring!)

Like baseball, footy is a game of heart.  Skill comes and goes, toughness will always be a part of each player in varying degrees, but heart wills you through long seasons and 200-point losses.  And when things are going your way, it can help win your championships.

The North Carolina Tigers have always been a team that has fought hard and earned every result they’ve achieved.  Over the last three years, they have encountered great difficulty in getting players to travel to matches.  But those that do show up have played with the courage of the animal printed on the left breast of their jumpers.

In 2014, all of that work and sweat got Wes McAllister’s team their first trophy; the Divvy 4 premiership.   Peter Cappozziello had a fantastic tournament and won the Roos Medal for Best in Fairest, and McAllister was the Grand Final MVP.  Not bad for a team that has seen its share of 100-plus point defeats over the past couple of seasons.

This year, they’ll again meet teams like Nashville, Atlanta, and Columbus, who will provide a strong test to their meddle.   They have a balanced attack and players such as forwards Ben Wetzel and Brian Zimorowicz have a knack for harassing defenses into mistakes for points, and the quicks are led by captain Nick Camilleri.  Team MVP Scott Bradley’s high-flying ways give their midfielders an easy target, and he has shown some versatility by being able to platoon at halfback.

The “YELLOW AND BLACK!” have been very aggressive in recruiting this off season; they will have an influx of Gaelic football converts, and have a rich pool of athletes to draw from the large colleges in the Triangle region.  They’ll move up to D3, and they’ll contend in Nationals.

Preseason Nationals Projection: Low Division III.

Very quietly, and without much fanfare, the Hawks have slowly managed to build a reputation as a team that can pick you off when you least expect it.  Boston, New York, and Baltimore/Washington, which spent most of a decade beating up on the Hawks, found themselves on the losing end of matches to Philly over the last five seasons.  That reputation took them up to Division 2 for three seasons, where they went a combined 1-8 in Nationals play.  After dropping down to Divvy 3, however, the Hawks began to flex their muscles and became contenders.

In 2014, the Hawks entered as the third seed overall in the division and made quick work of their poolmates and found themselves in a Grand Final for the first time in nine seasons.  There, much like the Greek mythological figure Icarus, they were doomed by the sun (or the Sacramento Suns, in this case).  Still, coach Jon Loring and his team held their heads high having earned even more respect as a side that could challenge anyone.

Most of the familiar faces return this year, led by Revo Ryan McGettigan, regarded by many to be one of the best all-around athletes in American footy.  Tall Irish ruckman Alex Lyden has cemented his place as one of top five ruckmen in the country.  Their backline is full of veterans, including former Revo Pat Miller, Nick and Peter Wolk, Chris Casey, and Bradd Gower.  Their biggest weakness, however, is their lack of fitness for a four quarter match.  Loring, a student of the game with neigh two decades of footy in his back pocket, has worked to improve this and it’s showing in drips and drops.

You can pencil them in as Division 3 favorites depending on the draw, but the key for Philly will be how they recruit during the season.  President Dan Greenberg plans to put more resources into bringing in new blood to mold the future, and the Hawkers can be quite dangerous if that pans out.

Preseason Nationals Projection: High Seed, Division III.

Founded in late 2014, Tampa’s new club replaces the Florida Redbacks, who went dormant at the end of 2013.  Some of the remnants of the club will go forward in building this new side, led by longtime Redback and USAFL veteran Dustin Jones.  They played their first game at Fort Lauderdale, teaming up with Houston for a win over the home squad.

Off the field, there has been a great deal of hard work done by the club on social media, as they have built a pretty big web presence.   2015 will be a foundation year for them, however, looking to recruit in advance for a full schedule next season.  They are slated to play the Squids twice and take part in the EAFL Regionals in April, which will be a good barometer of their recruiting progress so far.