NAL Injury Report: NAL Championship

Cobras Take on Sharks in Jacksonville for NAL Title Match

JACKSONVILLE, FL– After a long season it all comes down to Saturday night in Jacksonville, FL. The NAL’s top two teams meet for the ultimate arena battle at the Vystar Memorial Arena to determine who will be named the 2023 National Arena League Champions. These two teams have championship history as both faced off against each other in 2019 for the NAL Championship it was the last time the Sharks played in a championship game winning the 52-48 thriller. Carolina has had a championship contender reputation since joining the league in 2018 where they won the NAL Championship in their inaugural season. Since then the Cobras have competed in the 2019, 2022, and now the 2023 NAL Championship game. Former Sharks head coach James Fuller leads the Cobras into this game as Sharks current head coach Jason Gibson looks to bring his first NAL championship title to Jacksonville in his very first season with the team. Gibson is the only head coach to serve as a coach in every active season since the NAL launched. Coach Gibson even served as the head coach of the Columbus Lions who battled the Sharks in Jacksonville for the first-ever NAL Championship game. Jacksonville won that nail biting title fight 27-21. Fans from across the league are now in for another great matchup.


#1 JACKSONVILLE SHARKS (11-3)
The Cobras may have won the last match between the two but the Sharks did rest some key names including their star quarterback. Saturday the Sharks will unleash everything they have along with a strong advantage at home in the Shark Tank. See full injury report.


QB - Connor Blount (Out, Injury Reserve)

WR/LB - Khalil McClain (Out, Injury Reserve)

K - Marc Orozco (Out, Injury Reserve)


#2 CAROLINA COBRAS (11-4)

The Cobras have had an incredible season under Coach Fuller, a revamped organization with a growing fan base in the Snake Pit, no one can deny that the Carolina Cobras are a team on the rise similar to the 2018 Cobras that took the league by Storm, no pun intended to their majority owner (Rob Storm). This weekend the biggest question for the Cobras and their star quarterback Malik Henry is, can they beat Jacksonville in the Shark Tank within Championship atmosphere? If they do so they will be the first in team history to be a host team in a championship game. We’ll know the answer late Saturday night, see injury report below.


OL/DL - Jared Aiken (Out, Ankle)

WR/LB - Jalen Rima (Out, Quad)



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