July 7,2016
LAS VEGAS (July 7,2016) – Few teams needed the league-wide bye week to lick their wounds like the Jacksonville Sharks. They were beaten in Week 13 by the Cleveland Gladiators in heartbreaking fashion, their fourth loss on the season by one score and their second by a single point to one of the teams they are chasing for home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That said, the other seven teams in the AFL probably used at least a portion of their bye week trying to figure out how to slow down Joe Hills, a man who is all of a sudden within sight of breaking one of the seemingly unbreakable records in Arena Football League history.
Hills on Pace to Threaten All-Time Touchdown Record
No wide receiver has won Offensive Player of the Year honors since 2008. The last time a receiver won the MVP award was back in 1995. Joe Hills is making quite the argument to end at least one of those streaks this year.
Through just 12 games, Hills has 127 receptions, 1,593 yards and 43 touchdowns for the Sharks, and he is all of a sudden on a pace to break Damian Harrell's record for touchdowns in a season set back in 2006. Harrell's record of 60 touchdowns in that 16-game campaign has withstood challenges from several great receivers who have played in 18-game seasons. Hills though, is in an eerily similar spot through 12 games that Harrell was for the Colorado Crush.
Through 12 games in 2006, Harrell had 115 catches, 1,497 yards and 43 TDs. He finished up his season with 17 touchdowns in his last four, and if Hills can match or better that mark, he will be the new holder for touchdowns scored in a season in AFL history. Considering the fact that Hills has scored four TDs or more in seven of his 12 games this season, he is probably a good bet to at least be in it with a chance going into the last week of the campaign.
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Hills' first test in the last quarter of the season is a tough one against Arizona, a team which ranks No. 2 in the League in pass defense efficiency.
In the first meeting of these heavyweights this year, Hills had 10 receptions, 97 yards and four TDs.
Toliver Takes Third Stab at All-Purpose Yardage Record
With the acquisition of Prechae Rodriguez, the Storm finally have another big receiving option to pair with the great T.T. Toliver. Toliver found himself not having to do nearly as much two weeks ago in Orlando, but after a game in which he had just six receptions for 56 yards, he is that much closer to breaking the all-time career record for all-purpose yardage.
Toliver enters this week with 21,030 all-purpose yards for his career. Barry Wagner (interestingly enough, the last non-quarterback to win the MVP award) retired with 21,042 all-purpose yards, and with just 13 all-purpose yards on Monday night in LA, Toliver will etch his name in history.
Week 15 Milestone Watch
The Arizona Rattlers are one win away from becoming the first team in Arena Football League history to win 275 games (including playoffs). Arizona has 241 regular season wins in its history and a league-record 33 triumphs in the postseason, a shocking 12 of which have come over the course of the last five seasons.
Philadelphia's Dan Raudabaugh has an outside chance of reaching the 600-touchdown club this week. He is sitting on 592 career TDs heading into this week's contest with the Gladiators and needs eight scores to get the job done. Raudabaugh would become the ninth man in League history to reach that feat.
KISS receiver Donovan Morgan needs six more receptions to catch Mike Horacek (877) for ninth place all-time in AFL history.
Arizona's Rod Windsor also has two of the all-time greats in his sights this week. He has 841 career receptions heading into a Week 15 tussle with Jacksonville, and he could pass both Siaha Burley (843) and Cory Fleming (846) on the all-time receptions list. If Windsor gets past both men, he'll jump into the No. 11 spot in League history in catches.
Five TDs would put Windsor in the Top 10 in receiving touchdowns in League history, too. Windsor enters this week with 242 career scores, five shy of Burley's career mark of 247.
Jacksonville's Reggie Gray is now within sight of 9,000 receiving yards for his career. He needs 92 yards to reach that plateau. Two weeks ago, he also went past the great George LaFrance at No. 17 all-time in receiving yards.
Philadelphia's Darius Reynolds is sitting on 96 career receiving touchdowns and is four shy of the illustrious 100 mark.
Portland's Jared Perry needs 122 receiving yards to reach the 5,000-yard plateau for his career. Just 10 active players have made it to 5,000 receiving yards.
Week 13 Quick Hitters
LA's Donovan Morgan had himself a game in Week 13, leading the KISS with seven receptions, 176 yards and three TDs. His three touchdowns moved him past both Tiger Jones and James Roe into fifth place in AFL history, giving him 282 trips to the end zone in his illustrious career. Morgan also notched his eighth game in a row with at least two touchdowns, the longest such streak in the League.
Collin Taylor extended his streak of consecutive games with a receiving touchdown to 28, a Gladiators franchise record.
Jacksonville's Joe Hills ran his streak of consecutive regular season games with a TD up to 64 in a row.
Both Philadelphia's Shaun Kauleinamoku and Cleveland's Collin Taylor reached the 100 touchdown mark in their careers in Week 13.
By Adam Markowitz
About the AFL
The Arena Football League enters its 29th Season in 2016. Since its inception in 1987, the Arena Football League has showcased a fast-paced and exciting game to millions of fans in a myriad of markets across the country. The ESPN family of networks and CBS Sports Network nationally broadcast AFL games each week, culminating with the ArenaBowl on ESPN. For all the latest news and discussion on the Arena Football League, follow the AFL on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@aflarenaball).
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