Five’s a Crowd in Playoff Chase

A little past the midway point in the Arena Football League season, the haves and have-nots in the American Conference are obvious. There are only five teams -- including the Avengers -- competing for four playoff spots.

So one team is going to be left standing when the music stops.

After 10 weeks, Colorado (7-2) and San Jose (6-3) are division leaders. The Avengers (5-4), Chicago (5-4) and Las Vegas (5-5) are chasing and vying for the conference’s two wild-card spots.

“What’s good is, ... we can control our own destiny,” Coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “That’s the way you want to keep it.”

Of course, every other contending team controls its destiny as well. The Avengers have games remaining against San Jose, Las Vegas and Chicago.

“Those games are a little more important,” Hodgkiss said. “It’s pretty simple. There are five teams and four get into the playoffs.”

It wasn’t supposed to be that simple, at least according to preseason predictions. The American Conference was expected to be a mess under new rules that allowed only four teams from each conference into the playoffs. Last season, the top eight teams in the league advanced, five of them from the American Conference.

The new rule was expected to be tough on the Avengers, who slipped into the playoffs as the No. 8 team last season but had only the fifth-best record in the conference. But the collapse of Arizona, which made the ArenaBowl last season, plus an 8-8 Indiana joining the list of AFL teams that have ceased operation, thinned the conference.

“History said the American Conference was going to be hard,” Hodgkiss said.

It still may be, but hardest on only one contender -- the one that misses the playoffs.

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Kicker Remy Hamilton, having a career year with 23 field goals and 116 points, missed practice Wednesday. He was in Arizona at an NFL tryout camp.

Hamilton, whose 983 points are third most by an AFL kicker, has had little luck with the NFL. He spent last summer in the Chicago Bears’ camp and the previous summer with the Seattle Seahawks.

“I’m surprised Remy is still in the AFL,” Hodgkiss said. “He has a strong leg and is incredibly accurate.”

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Defensive lineman Silas Demary is stepping up his game at the right time. He had two sacks last weekend, giving him a team-high three. Sunday, when the Avengers play New York, he faces three of his former coaches -- Dragon Coach Weylan Harding and assistants Jerome Brown and Chad Lindsey.

“This is going to be fun,” Demary said, smiling. “I can’t wait.”