Injury Report: Week 14
Florida Rivals Meet While Cobras and Warbirds See Rematch
ATLANTA, GA – The National Arena League enters week 14 as the rising Orlando Predators (4-5) host their in-state rivals #2 ranked Jacksonville Sharks (7-2) this Saturday, July 8 at the Amway Center with kickoff set for 7pm. Meanwhile the West Texas Warbirds (2-9) host a rematch game against the Carolina Cobras (6-4) as the Warbirds fell in a close game last week in Greensboro 50-41. This game will kickoff at 7:30pm (central time, 6:30pm eastern) at the Ector County Coliseum. The #1 ranked San Antonio Gunslingers 8-2 will enter a bye week after a tough loss against the Orlando Predators. The Gunslingers second loss came on the road in Orlando as Coach Herkie Walls and his Predators took down the near-undefeated San Antonio team 52-33, which became Gunslingers lowest scoring game this season. See injury report from teams playing in this weekend’s games.
ORLANDO PREDATORS (4-5)
Coach Walls pulled off his biggest victory of his career so far as the head coach of the Orlando Predators as the Preds pulled off the major upset inside the Jungle 52-33. Orlando’s defense held the Gunslingers to only seven points in the first half as quarterback Danny Southwick continued to lead the team with five passing touchdowns, three of which were thrown to 2022 NAL MVP Darius Prince. Orlando had an A + performance on all sides of the ball even scoring a kick return for touchdown by DB/KR Josh Jenkins while kicker Dylan Barnas knocked down both a field goal and a deuce in this game to keep points flowing for the Orlando fans. This week, Orlando has the chance to take down the #2 Jacksonville Sharks (7-2) as Orlando already leads the rivalry this year beating the Sharks in Jacksonville 61-60 earlier this season. A win this week will make the Predators 2-0 against the Sharks and boost Orlando’s record to 5-5. See injury report below.
WR - Delvon Randall (Probable, Knee)
WR - Lonnie Outlaw (Out, Shoulder)
QB - Joseph Hess (Out, Knee)
QB - Jonathan Bane (Out, Season-Ending Injury)
JACKSONVILLE SHARKS (7-2)
Returning from a Fourth of July bye week, the Sharks will load up the buses and head down to face a formidable rival in one of the most competitive rivalries in the NAL. When Orlando joined the NAL, the Sharks enjoyed several years of dominance against their in-state rival but Orlando in recent years has been looking to make a long-term flip on the confident Sharks team & fan base. Now with the Preds already up 1-0 in this rival series mixed with the recent take down of the #1 Gunslingers they look ready to prey on the #2 seed Sharks. Coach Gibson and his Sharks don’t seem disturbed at all, well-rested and riding into Orlando on a five-game win streak Jacksonville is ready and healthy for this challenge. See injury report.
QB - Connor Blount (Out, Season-Ending Injury)
WR/LB - Khalil McClain (Out, Season-Ending Injury)
WR/DB - Darien Townsend (Out, Season-Ending Injury)
OL/DL - Justin Carter (Out, Long-Term Injury Reserve)
WEST TEXAS WARBIRDS (2-9)
After a great game but tough loss, Coach Smith and the Warbirds look to learn from the road loss and turn it into a home victory this week as they return to Odessa, TX to take on their familiar opponent, the Carolina Cobras. The Warbirds featured great performances from West Texas star LB/FB Trevon Shorts combined for nine tackles and a rushing touchdown while defensive back Svante Davenport racked up four tackles, three pass breakups, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. The defense definitely slowed down the Cobras offense who only scored seven points in the fourth. The key now will be to prevent turnovers and give both Warbirds quarterback Chris Ware and league leading kicker Kevin Didio-Weber as many attempts to score as possible as both can be lethal to the Cobras this week, especially playing on West Texas home turf.
West Texas Warbirds have no injuries to report.
CAROLINA COBRAS (5-4)
Coach James Fuller and his Cobras avenged their two-game road loss with a refreshing win at home for a Fourth of July weekend celebration in the Snake Pit witnessed by an impressively growing Carolina fan base at the Greensboro Coliseum. Cobras quarterback Malik Henry seems to really perform well in the Greensboro spotlight throwing six touchdown passes and no interceptions in week 13. Speaking of spotlight, the hometown talent Adam Smith (WR/DB/KR) stunned the Warbirds as the Greensboro native scored two-touchdown receptions combined 88 kick return yards and 124 total yards between rushing, receiving and kick return. Now Coach Fuller’s goal is to bring this consistency to another long road trip as Carolina definitely has faced one of the tougher road schedules this season returning to Texas for the second month in a row. Defense will play a key role as they disrupted the rising Warbirds star quarterback Chris Ware forcing him to multiple turnovers on downs and strangling his confidence with a interception caught by Cobras veteran captain Mike Green. Fans on both sides of the battle will continue to get to enjoy the great kicking battle between Carolina’s TC Stevens and West Texas Kevin Didio-Weber as the top two kicker both knocked down deuces in the Snake Pit last weekend. See injury report below.
OL - Josh Fields (Out, Knee, Short-Term Injury Reserve)
WR/LB - Jalen Rima (Active, Hamstring)
WR/DB - Miles Kelly (Questionable, Leg)
DB - Mike Green (Active, Hamstring)
FB/LB - Kevin Voyles (Active, Hip)
OL/DL - Jared Aiken (Questionable, Leg)
All games this weekend can be watched online through nationalarenaleague.com or by visiting the National Arena League's YouTube channel.
ABOUT NATIONAL ARENA LEAGUE
The National Arena League was founded in 2016 and hosted its inaugural season in 2017 as the premier league in arena football. For more information regarding expansion opportunities or partnerships, contact Commissioner Chris Siegfried at chris@nationalarenaleague.com . For more information about the NAL visit www.nationalarenaleague.com, facebook.com/nationalarenaleauge, twitter.com/NALfootball, Instagram.com/nationalarenaleague