KATS WIN 9 IN A ROW, SWEEP FIREBIRDS, TO CLAIM NO. 1 SEED HEADING INTO AF1 PLAYOFFS

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Kats closed the regular season by winning nine games in a row to claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Arena Football One (AF1) playoffs.

That included Saturday’s 57-54 win at Albany to sweep the season series versus the Firebirds. The Kats closed the regular season 11-1 to sit atop the league standings, while the Firebirds finished 9-3 in second place and secured the No. 2 playoffs seed.

Both teams earned byes into the AF1 playoffs semifinal round and will host games Aug. 1-2 at dates and times expected to be announced this week. The Arena Crown championship game is set for Aug. 8 at the site of the remaining top seed.

The AF1 playoffs begin July 25-26 with the No. 3 seed versus the No. 6 seed, while the No 4 seed will take on the No. 5 seed. Heading into the final week of the season, those slots are currently held by the No. 3 Minnesota Monsters (7-3), No. 4 Kentucky Barrels (7-5), No. 5 Michigan Arsenal (5-6) and No. 6 Washington Wolfpack (5-7).

The Kats defeated the Firebirds 78-69 at home on June 20. Last season, the Kats and Firebirds squared off in the Arena Crown title game with Albany winning 60-57. Heading into this season, the Kats and Firebirds were prohibitive favorites to challenge for the league title again.

In Saturday’s game, the Kats raced to an 18-0 lead and led 27-8 at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 20-14 in the second quarter before leading 41-28 at halftime. The Firebirds outscored the Kats 13-0 in the third quarter to knot the game at 41-41, but the Kats held on by outscoring Albany 16-13 in the fourth quarter.

Saturday’s contest featured the game within the game as the Kulka brothers – Nashville’s Tyler and Albany’s Joshua – were the starting quarterbacks. The Kulka brothers were named Co-Offensive Players of the Week for Week 2 earlier this season.

The Kats’ Kulka completed 22 of 32 passes for 232 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. The Firebirds’ Kulka connected on 18 of 41 passes for 311 yards also with six TD passes and one pick.

Four different Kats receivers had a least one touchdown reception– Jordan Gandy (7 catches, 44 yards, 3 TDs), Charles Hall IV (5-64-2), BK Smith (4- 62-1) and Kendyl Williams (6-62-1). Desmond Maxwell had one rushing TD.

Defensively, the Kats were led by defensive lineman Omari Alexander with eight tackles and an interception. He was the previous week’s AF1 Defensive Player of the Week. Linebacker Justin Alexandre and defensive linemen Roderick Perry III and Dejon Wesley each had a sack.

Kicker Kyle Kaplan had four deuces and was a perfect 7-of-7 on extra point kicks. Amos Coleman III had 43 yards on three kickoff returns.

Tyler Kulka, a Lawrence Tech product, leads the league in three categories -- total passing yards (2,835), touchdown passes (56) and total offensive yards (2,817), while second in two categories -- passing yards per game (236.3) and offensive yards per game (287.7).

Kats wide receiver Malik Honeycutt, a Murray State alum, was unavailable Saturday, but still leads the league in total receiving yards (1,047), while second in receiving yards per game (87.3), third in touchdowns (19) and fourth in points scored (114).

Fellow receiver Kendyl Williams, also a Lawrence Tech alum, is tied for the lead league in points scored per game (12) and TDs per game (2).

Kats running back Desmond Maxwell, a Western Kentucky product, is first in rushing touchdowns (12) and fourth in total rushing yards (121). Fullback Austin Collier is fourth in rushing TDs (4).

Kats kicker Kyle Kaplan, a Notre Dame College alum, is second in points scored (131) and fourth in points per game (10.9). He is only kicker in the league to be ranked in the top five in either category.

Defensive back Derrick Jones, a product of Ole Miss, is second in solo tackles (65), while defensive lineman Jaquan Artis, a Lenoir-Rhyne product, is second in sacks (10).

Defensive back Omari Alexander, also a WKU alum, is tied for second in interceptions (7). He was named Wednesday the AF1 Defensive Player of the Week for Week 13 following four interceptions in the win at Washington.

For the regular season, the Kats finished 7-0 at home during the regular season with wins April 14 versus the Michigan Arsenal (78-40), April 27 over the Washington Wolfpack (45-3), May 9 against the Oregon Lightning (64-21), May 16 versus the Oceanside Bombers (63-49), June 13 versus the Minnesota Monsters (48-32), June 20 against the Albany Firebirds (78-69) and June 27 versus the Beaumont Renegades (72-20).

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