26th SFL Championship Game Preview

It's all come down to this: Defending champion Vancouver faces a Detroit Maulers team mixed with many first-timers and a few experienced legends. The franchise who finally made it over the hump last season and a franchise that has finally reached its true potential. Vancouver vs. Detroit - let's dive in!

Kickoff: 6:30 pm ET

Pregame Coverage: Mike Daggs (studio host), Gerald Smith (studio host), Ashley Jackson (interviews), Mike O'Neal (film breakdown)

In-Game Broadcast crew: Cameron Irvine (analysis), Charles Dougherty (analysis), Rachelle Colston (stats), Ron Haines (stats)

Teams: Vancouver Legion (10-4, Season 25 Champion, 13x Playoff Participant, 3rd SFL Championship Appearance); Detroit Maulers (12-2, 2x Playoff Participant, 1st SFL Championship Appearance)

For the third-consecutive season, the Vancouver Legion are in the Championship but this time - a new opponent - a Detroit team they've faced once in the playoffs back in Season 20. Back then, Detroit was known as the Indianapolis Ramblers, owned by Chad Roland and Adam Wiseman, and it was the Ramblers first glimpse of the postseason. That glimpse faded fast, falling 37-27 to the Legion in the Wild Card.

The two teams have only met twice since, once in Season 22 (Vancouver beat Indianapolis 27-24) and then again in Season 24 when Vancouver earned a 23-14 triumph over the Ramblers. But for the first time since the team relocated to Detroit and under the direction of Robert Cherry, Jack Brown and JW Hartshorn the Legion will take on the new-look Maulers, who have won five more games this season than any other in franchise history.

Detroit is a mix of youthful energy and veteran leadership. Jack Brown (16 seasons), King Jamaal (12 seasons), King Rashid (9 seasons) and Thomas Matthews (9 seasons) anchor the defense while the offense has rookies Rashaun Williams in the backfield, Jamar Shelton at receiver and Willow Henson/Torc McLean on the offensive front. Ethan Flowers, the Offensive Rookie of the Season in season 24 mans the offense. Prior to this season, the entire offense had one combined All-Star honor - HB Andrew Gipson in Season 25.

Detroit's two losses this season have come by a combined 10 points. The team wins close games too - their last four wins have come by one score, including their semifinal win over Mexico City, Vancouver's opponent in the previous two championship games. They allowed the fewest points per game this season with the number one total defense, pass defense, 3rd down offense and red zone defense. The team rushed for a league-high 21 touchdowns this season.

Williams and DT Shaun Parent were named All-Stars this season. Williams rushed for 963 yards (4th) and 15 touchdowns (1st) with 29 broken tackles (7th). Parent was second in the league in sacks with 10.

Vancouver has been here and done that and if they lost, would be the first defending champion NOT to win back-to-back since Denver won in Season 16 and failed to make the Championship in Season 17. The Legion can become the seventh franchise in league history to win multiple championships. The squad is led by the ownership trio of Andy Hamilton, Marc Lopez and Brett Solberg. The roster has 14 players with 10+ seasons experience including their quarterback, veteran signal caller Christian Brown.

When the Legion have been great, they've been truly great: four of their wins this season have come by 30 points or more, including their dominating win over Birmingham in the semifinals. But they've also had plenty of fumbles - a loss to 5-7 Los Angeles after Brown went down with an injury, a 27-point loss to Houston while their coaching staff was on suspension and a home loss to 6-6 Albuquerque. Vancouver gets into the red zone more than any team (4.3 trips per game) and limits passing offenses to a league-best 6.4 yards per attempt.

The Legion garnered five All-Star nods this season: FB Jaylin Wells averaged 2.8 yards after contact this season (2nd) and led the balanced backfield in rushing yards with 559. It's Wells' first All-Star selection in his 13 seasons of play. DE Achilles Papatonis led the league in sacks with 12.5, OLB Drew Hamilton had 26 tackles for loss (1st) and seven interceptions (3rd). SS Jack Russell ranked in the SFL Top 10 for tackles for loss (18), pass deflections (11) and interceptions (2).

We can't wait to bring you this exciting matchup on the Virtual Football Network on Saturday. Who you got getting the win?