Zolnier Road to the Championship: Week 12

by Cameron Irvine

Last week, playoff teams started claiming their spots and division titles on the Road to the Championship presented by Zolnier. Here's what's been decided:

Divisions Clinched

Seattle Nemesis 

  • The Nemesis become only the second team to win the Pacific Division, dethroning Vancouver who had won it the previous five seasons. Seattle will be making its first playoff appearance since joining the league in Season 19 as an expansion team next month.

Florida Storm

  • Florida won the East with their win over Motor City coupled with a Louisiana loss to Charleston. Florida is trying to win its first playoff game since Season 17 and ends their one-season playoff drought.

Canton Classics

  • Canton won the North with its win over Atlanta combined with Motor City's loss to Florida, but a playoff spot has not been clinched yet. If Canton ends up securing a spot, it would be the team's first since joining the league as an expansion team in Season 19.

Playoff Spots Clinched:

Fort Worth Toros

  • The Toros have matched their win total from Season 20, when the team enjoyed a 9-3 season. Sitting at 9-0, Fort Worth is hoping it can make the franchise's first Championship Game this season. While the South is still up for grabs, Fort Worth is in the postseason for the third-straight campaign. 

Alamo City Artillery

  • With just one loss on its resume - a one-point loss to the Portland Fleet - Alamo City is right on the Toros' tails. This week, Alamo City could match the franchise record in wins with ten, a record made in Season 13 when the franchise was known as the Seattle Tyrants. It's Alamo City's fourth-straight trip to the postseason.

More clinching is on the way and with three weeks left to play in the regular season of Season 21, here's what's at stake in Week 12:

  • The Baltimore Vultures can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Atlanta on this week's Monday Night Spectacular. It would be the Vultures' 10th consecutive playoffs since the franchise joined the SFL in Season 11.
  • Arizona can clinch the West Division with a win over Denver Sunday night + a Las Vegas loss to Minnesota on Friday and a San Diego loss to Los Angeles on Saturday. It would be the third-straight appearance in the playoffs for one of the original SFL franchises.

Officially Eliminated

  • Mexico City becomes the first team to be mathematically out of the race, after its loss to Los Angeles. The Aztecs will miss the playoffs a second-straight season after participating a SFL record 13-straight seasons prior to their recent drought.

The top 7 from last week's playoff update go unchanged, but behind them there was much more movement. The D.C. Dragons enter the top eight for the first time after their win over Jacksonville Monday, up from 10. Louisiana falls out of the 8 spot and into 11th after the Charleston loss. Indianapolis is your new leader in the Central, a division that will still get an automatic playoff berth as long as Canton's record is better than the league's 12th-best record. Charleston is your big mover of the week, climbing from the depths of the standings into the 14-spot, just a half game back of the wild card.