Jeff Levack:

Welcome to the arena football one podcast. I am your host, Jeff Levesque. Appreciate all the time you've taken to reach out to me on X at the Jeff Levesque and man, oh man, two games. Who knew two games in week two could be so exciting. Let's start with the one right here in my hometown, beautiful Albany, New York. I say beautiful But some of you won't agree, especially not those of you from Southwest Kansas right now. The Albany Firebirds get their 2025 campaign underway by welcoming the 2-0 Southwest Kansas Storm. I use the word welcoming very, very loosely in this situation. It came from the opening kick. The South African kicker of the Albany Firebirds, Henry Nell, boots, a deuce, the fiber dropped to nothing before this thing even starts taking seconds off. And you think it's going to be a runaway win, but then Jalen Morton gets out in the field. The quarterback for the storm does what he's been doing in those other two games at two and Oh, start. He runs and he throws, but he really runs a 25 yard touchdown rush, making this game seven to before you even you sneeze. Nobody, nobody even had a chance to pop open a frosty cold, real American beer from Hulk Hogan at this thing. And all of a sudden it's seven two, but that was about it for the Southwest Kansas storm.

The Firebirds have been waiting to play. As some of you may or may not know game one of their season was supposed to be the week before. And that was me a game that they were going to face their rivals, the predators. They were ready to play. They were chomping at the bit and they got after it. Sam Castro Nova, who had previously led other Albany teams to championships, looks like he's already in MVP championship form. Seven passing touchdowns, 220 passing yards and a rushing touchdown. That's right. One man accounting for eight touchdowns in this game. He hates the nickname, but what else can you call this guy except for super Nova? He completed three touchdown passes at Dwayne Brown, who last year was on the Billings Outlaws. He completed two to Darian Townsend. He completed one to Isaiah Scott and another one to Markel Wade. If you were a wide receiver for the Firebirds, you were going to eat thanks to Sammy Castronova. that one rushing touchdown, a far cry from what you used to see from Sam Casanova. He was kind of a run first guy back in the day. Now passing accurately, getting the ball over to the field, distributing it. That Darian Townsend touchdown, the first one for Darian Townsend, who I will tell you right now, I still feel is the most underrated wide receiver in the entire game of arena indoor whatever football you're talking about. He catches one going over the corner of the end zone, mid-flight. The guy's celebration is the Dirty Bird. He sprouted wings like Superman. He's over the wall. He completes the catch on the way to the ground for the first score from him this season. And it was just one of those ones where you separate the men from the boys. They say the walls are undefeated. Well, good thing he never touched it. He went right over it. That touchdown is more proof of what I was telling you guys last week. The weird rules here in the arena league, as far as you guys are from the outdoor game are concerned, you complete that catch on the way to the ground. It's still your catch. It's your touchdown. How about those rebound nets? Oh, you see him when the kickoff happens. You see him when guys like Henry now aren't putting them between the two for the deuce, but you got to see him in use as the actual rebound net as Isaiah Scott wide receiver for the firebirds. gets to position, the ball hits the net, comes down, goes right through the defender's hands, into Scott's hands. That's a touchdown. That's a live ball. So two of the Albany touchdowns, ones that you guys who are new to the game maybe never saw before, but all in all, it was just pure dominance from that Albany team as they go out there and just kind of shut it down. Two defensive touchdowns, Trey Wortham, Marcus Smith, both with touchdowns for the defense.

Zeke rose new to the Capitol region, three sacks. It is very difficult to sack the quarterback in the world of arena football, but Zeke and the crew got in there and got it done. The highlights too many to notice too many to talk about. We will get to all of them at some point for you. But right now, just telling you this Albany team going to be something to reckon with 78, 20, the final score Is it weird? Is it coincidence? Is it just fate that the two championship teams from last year, the Billings Outlaws and the Albany Firebirds have both scored 78 points in a game so far this season? Hmm. Coincidence? We shall see my friends. The other game, this one right here on evergreen. Now, right now is your chance to see one of the better comebacks in all of arena football. I tell you all the time, if the clock's still not at zeros, anything can happen. The Washington wolf pack and the Oregon lightning met at Everett's angel of the winds arena in Washington. If that's not the longest name for an arena in the United States of America or anywhere else, I need to know what the other one is. Everett's angel of the winds arena in Washington, both teams all in one coming into this one, looking for their first win in arena football. One Dawn Cole and the lightning got it started in a big, big way. As they went out there, handled some business, taking a 22 to nothing lead in the first half. It seemed as though just about nothing was working for the Wolfpack in that first half. They did start to get a momentum back going into the half. And then Everything changed. How about Ed Crouch becoming the third Wolfpack QB of this young season? So you've had Joey Hess, you've had Adam Cruz. Now you get Ed Crouch. He comes in, he inherits a 22, nothing deficit. What in the world is this poor guy gonna do? Well, he's a vet. He's been here before. And with the help of that Wolfpack defense, which was all about the turnovers and not giving up any ground, he went out there and led the Wolfpack back. 28 unanswered points in the second half, 62 passing yards, four touchdowns by air. And how about 45 rushing yards for crouches? He goes out there and handles business. You put that together, that hungry wolf pack defense, those short yards, like you see it 62 yards and four touchdowns. That means you're getting field position, the defense for the Wolfpack coming in big crouch coming up big. Is this the guy, is he the one who will lead the Wolfpack the rest of this season? Because that comeback got completed 35, 28 final score for the Washington Wolfpack. So now the Wolfpack have got their W the Oregon lightning still looking for theirs, but the Oregon lightning showing a lot of promise. This game had a lot of back and forth energy to it. It will, well, back and forth, the first half back, the second half fourth. It was all about that comeback. You got a little big comeback and AF one has big comebacks for you. That's proven to you in this game, which one of these two teams will continue their winning ways, which one of these two teams will continue losing ways. We're only going to find out as the season goes on, but you know, what's really fun. I don't know if you've ever had a chance to meet J.R. Wells, the head coach of the Washington Wolfpack. We were very lucky. Our Evergreen Now producers were boots on the ground at the combine, the AF1 combine before the season, and they were able to sit down with this head coach, and I will tell you that if you don't like pure energy and you don't like wolf howls, you may not love J.R. Wells. Everybody else, like myself, awoo! Get ready to meet the man who's gonna tell you a little bit about why he is so in love with arena football.

Interviewer: So we are joined here with Coach J.R. Wells of the Washington Wolfpack. Coach.

JR Wells: Let's go, baby!

Interviewer: Coach, how are you? I'm doing well, yourself? Good, good, good. Thanks for joining us. Absolutely. Coach Wells, give us a little bit of your background, kind of how you got into arena football. Yeah. A little bit of that, and then we'll kind of go from there.

JR Wells: Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you asking that. You know, it's been a long journey. I always say that God puts people in the right place at the right time. And so my journey was pretty tough, graduating, kind of aging myself in 01. I went to Eastern Washington, found myself laying on the ground dying with my hand almost cut off, doctors saying I'd never play football again. Ended up getting myself back together. Went to college at Assescus. I ran a 428 on grass and went back to Paul Wolf. to let them know that I was going to be playing football and prove people wrong. And of course, God had a different plan. I found my way to a semi-pro team. That team turned into an arena team. And I know, Gary, we were talking about this earlier in regards to like, how bad do you want it? I remember the very last day of cuts, the coach said, if you run headfirst into the wall, we'll give you a contract. And that's literally what I did. I ran straight to the wall. And I found myself playing seven years of arena football and loved every minute of it.

Interviewer: It's a great story. And you know, it's kind of what it's all about. Obviously, you're the head coach, the Wolfpack last year, you know, the inaugural season in 2024, the AFL, we know the. trials and tribulations that we all had to go through in that league last year and everything, and be able to make it all the way through, you know, and your organization did. Speak a little bit about your organization, the people behind it and all of that, and, you know, what everybody can know about the Washington Wolfpack.

JR Wells: Yeah, man, that's a really, really, really good question. I'm glad you asked that. In Washington, what we do here, man, is it's really built on culture and community. We have hashtag one community. Again, like you said, the AF1, it was a really tough situation. There were high hopes. The league owners at the time, previous, they said a lot of things and didn't show within action. The stability in the league wasn't there. It was really shaky. But our ownership stood on business. And they said, we're going to help keep this thing together. And that's exactly what they did. They worked hard, tirelessly, through every single day, every week, to make sure that our guys were fed, they were paid, housed. They made every game. And it really just showcased the power of what we have and what we're building here. You know, some people look at the season and our record and be like, oh, you guys didn't do too well. But those teams that were doing well didn't make it through. And that's just, you know, a really good standpoint on what we're building here. And that's why we're here for round two.

Interviewer: Absolutely. You know, like you said, it was a crazy year. You know, we came in halfway through the season, Jerry Kirsch, Christy McEwen, and myself, you know, trying to salvage what we could just to get the league through where it needed to be. And, you know, By the grace of everyone helping and all of that, and the teams that really bowed their backs and said, we're here for the long term and everything, and we were able to do that. Now, obviously, we jump leagues. We move into the AF1 for everybody knows why, all the legal sides of it and all of that. And it's brand new, which is very, very important. However, there's still speculation of old arena football and everything else. What can you say to, let's just say the naysayers out there, how we're different this year and how we're going to be able to showcase that?

JR Wells: Yeah, again, that's a really good question. And just to kick it off in regards to the naysayers, it really just comes back to If you have those naysayers, that just means you're doing something right. You're always going to have people that don't want to see you shine. But what you said in the beginning was it's brand new. And the first word to that is brand, brand recognition, which is the F1, you know, with Jeff, Jerry, Gary, you know, you guys and the rest of the people inside of the league. I mean, look where we're at right now, you know, in Florida, we're at the scouting combine, you know, we're looking for top tier talent, you know, every day, you know, the actions that you guys show, not the things that you were saying, which is what the league owners did last year and why they fell. It was, they were, they were talking too much and didn't deliver. And so what we're doing is, you know, over delivering and under promising a great league and you can see every single day as we're getting ready to kick off, you guys are doing everything right, you know, and the teams that are behind us, they're strong, great owners, great leaders, great coaches, you know, and they're just building a solid brand and we're just following your guys' lead and we're grateful for it.

Interviewer: Well, we appreciate it, you know, and brand is important, obviously, and that kind of gets to, you know, how we're able to get our brand out there. You know, we have a great streaming partner with Evergreen, you know, that are doing these interviews and be able to host a lot of things for us this year. You know, Vice TV, be able to get it. get that out there and show everybody what it's all about. And I think that's important, like you said, for anybody that says, well, it's the way it used to be. And so we always accept that challenge, obviously, moving forward. Well, good. Well, Coach, we appreciate it. Coach J.R. Wells. Yes, sir. Of the Washington Wolfpack, best of luck to you this year. Thank you, sir.

JR Wells: I appreciate it.

Jeff Levack: I told you he was going to howl. I told you it was, I mean, that's, that's who he is at, at AFU, which was arena football university. I got my first chance to meet coach Wells in person. And when he introduced himself, he howled and he did it. And it was in this quiet, like everybody was kind of being too professional kind of thing. We weren't getting as much done as I think we could have the howl broke up the room and You know, of course, you know, I had to, you know, fall back with, hey, I work with the Firebirds. But it was, you know, it was nothing compared to that howl, so. Way to go, Coach Wells. Looking forward to a lot more out of you here at AF1, Arena Football 1. Make sure that you catch all the action, evergreennow.tv, Evergreen Now app. Don't forget about that, because that's where you're getting a chance to watch just, well, everything eventually. Of course, we do have our Vice games, which are featured on Vice, and then a week later are available for you on Evergreen Now. But we have a great slate of games this week. three games week three. I don't know if the founders, if the people in the front office said, hey, week two, two games, week three, three games. I know we don't get up to 10 games. I know we don't play 10 games in week 10, but right now you do have three games for week three, and it all gets underway as the Salina Liberty travel to Corpus Christi to face the Central Division rivals, the Tritons. This is Friday night, 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Evergreen Now. The Triton's looking to prove that they are up there with the Billings and the Albany's of the league. Salina here to say, Hey, you ain't going to do that at our expense. This game has got the makings of a straight up bad-ass rivalry. I can't wait to see it right here on evergreen. Now this is, this is what it's all about my friends. Cause you know, obviously we all kind of know Albany and Billings. They got that championship mentality, that vibe, they put points on the board. who's going to get in here and slap them around at the time when they're not paying attention. It could very well be one of these two teams. Speaking of evergreen. Now let's talk about the Albany Firebirds. Can they do it two weeks in a row as they will be anything but welcomed when they get to Nashville to take on the cats. The Nashville cats are a team that played extremely tough against Albany last year. Both whatever their quarterback was, whoever their coach was, whatever was going on, they were after the Albany Firebirds. Can the Firebirds keep up their winning ways? Damon Ware, head coach of the Firebirds, they call him the professor. Is he gonna be teaching or learning when they get down to Nashville and take on those cats again? Saturday night, 8 p.m. right here on Evergreen Now. The third and final game of week three is the Vice Sports Game of the Week, 6 p.m. on Sunday. This is gonna be one of those games where the rubber meets the road, my friend. Are you what your record says you are, or are you a true contender when it comes to the Oregon Lightning? They're gonna look to strike in Southwest Kansas, avoid an 0-3 start. Meanwhile, the Storm, you start 2-0, you look great, and then you have that horrible game that you just played in Albany. what is the real identity of the Storm? Who is Oregon? Who are you guys? This is your chance to prove you're better than what the last game says you are. Oregon, you just had the biggest comeback, the best comeback of the 2025 AF1 season pulled against you. Can you put together four quarters of great football and take down the Storm? Storm, 2-0, unbeaten. And then Albany comes in and goes, we kind of got you figured out. Is that real? Was it a fluke? We find out on vice Sunday night, 6 PM. I mean, this is going to be a fun, fun week. Again, you get that, that big old matchup where you're going to see who's, who's got it between Corpus Christi and the Salina Liberty, the Firebirds and the cats battle out. That's the East. They're the two teams that are left in the East. Who's going to be the dominant team of the East? Will it be the birds or the cats? I mean, obviously, you know, nature will tell you it's catch, but it's a fire bird. And then it's a regular cat with a K it's very nature has nothing to do with this. Finally, that vice sports game. One more time, the Oregon lightning, the storm, we've got ourselves a heck of a slate ahead of us. We cannot wait. I look forward to being able to talk to you all about these games next week, right here on the season pass, the AF one podcast. My name is Jeff Levac. Make sure you hit me up on X. That's the easiest way to get ahold of me. I check it way too frequently for a grown man at the Jeff Levesque on X. That's it at the Jeff Levesque. That's how you can get ahold of me. Let me know what you're thinking. Is there a player or coach, somebody we should talk to on the show coming up in weeks to come? Is there somebody that we're not paying enough attention to? Is there somebody we're paying too much attention to? I want to know all about it at the Jeff Levesque on X. And of course, do not forget that all this great AF1 content is available for you. in one place. And that is evergreen. Now evergreen now.tv, the evergreen now app, get it wherever you watch, wherever you stream Roku fire stick. I, you know, you looking through the window in your own house, whatever, don't look through somebody else's window. That's weird, but it's all there for you. Evergreen's got it. Even those vice games, After a couple of days, they're right here on Evergreen. So get those for yourself. Don't miss out. My name's Jeff Levesque. That's the season pass AF1 podcast for week two. Can't wait to talk to you guys in week three. Have a great day. Make sure you watch all the great action this weekend right here on Evergreen now.

SPEAKER_00: Season Pass, the AF1 podcast, is an Evergreen Podcast production. I'm the producer, Bill Huffman, and special thanks to executive producer, Dave Douglas, and our audio engineer, Nate Corson. Find all of our content on evergreenpodcast.com and stream every game of the Arena Football League One season on evergreennow.tv. We appreciate you listening.