Norfolk Nighthawks - arenafootball2 [af2] - MLN Sports Zone

Fighting The Good Fight
Playoff bound or not, the Nighthawks show no signs of stopping.

The American Conference-Atlantic Division may be the toughest division in arenafootball2. With the Richmond Speed, 12-2 and the Cape Fear Wildcats, 11-3, these records respectively speak for themselves.

These two teams will meet in the first round of the 2002 version of the arenafootball2 playoffs, at the site of whichever team has the better record at the conclusion of the regular season. Likely, the home field will be decided this weekend when the Speed travel to Cape Fear.

While waiting to make travel plans for the month of August, the hottest team in the division may not even be eligible for post-season play. Having won five games in a row, the Norfolk Nighthawks, 8-6, have the third longest active streak in the league, and have won seven out of their last eight.

Getting off to a slow start, 1-5, the Nighthawks are now playing for pride in hopes that their efforts will not go unnoticed.

In two of the other American Conference playoff races, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, 6-9, and the Rochester Brigade 6-8 will be in combat for the second spot in the Northeast, while the Charleston Swamp Foxes, 7-7 and the Florida Firecats, 8-6 seek the automatic bid out of the South.

If the Nighthawks finish 10-6, 9-7, or even 8-8, they can only wish that arenafootball2 used the same playoff formats as the NFL or AFL, where a good record in a tough division still got you a continuation on your season.

The chief reason for the resurgence of Head Coach Tony Missick's team has been the attainment of quarterback Chris Wallace, who played for the Orlando Predators, AFL, in 2001.

Wallace has played the position since arriving in Norfolk, as well as any other signal-caller in af2. He has thrown 45 touchdowns and over 2180 yards in just nine games, while being intercepted only seven times. His quarterback rating of 105.88 puts him just outside the af2 top ten.

" I just wanted to come here and see if we could turn things around," Wallace commented. "We have the best receiver in af2, Travis Burns, and a really nasty defense. It's too bad that these guys won't get a chance to play in the playoffs. They deserve it."

The rookie out of Liberty University, Burns, has been one of the breakthrough players of the year in af2 and should be a lock for the All-af2 team. He has 20 touchdowns and has caught 55 passes for 965 yards. Averaging a touchdown every 2.8 receptions, he has a number better than any other af2 top ten receiver this season.

The tightest competition for Burns is Mohegan’s, Brandon Burnside and Quad City's, Ira Gooch, who both average a score every 3.1 catches. Add to that Burns' interception and you can see why Wallace has become so comfortable with his favorite target, so fast.

Norfolk could feature one of the more complete WR/LB combinations around. Burns may have more yards and touchdowns than any other WR/LB in af2, but Jay Clarke's five interceptions unofficially rank him as the most for a player at his position.

Compiling a 7-2 record as a starter for the Nighthawks, Wallace has already taken over many of the team's passing records. Only two quarterbacks, Ricky Hebert, Arkansas, and Glen Gauntt, Augusta, have thrown for more touchdown's over the past nine weeks of play in af2 than Wallace's 45.

So as front pages show playoff races and division titles, as they should, the Norfolk Nighthawks will look to tie their best regular season record in team history and finish a truly special roller-coaster season.

Many of the players will look to move up during this off-season to the Arena Football League or NFL and perhaps never to return to their home city, the fans in Norfolk will be left with a memory of one of the best teams in af2 in 2002.

It could be said that the Nighthawks came up a little short of the af2 playoffs this year, but perhaps the playoffs came up short of representing the best teams in the league for one season.