Jeff Levack:

Welcome to Season Pass, the AF1 podcast. I'm your host, Jeff Levesque. I hope you got to see all this great action, but no worries if you missed any of it, because I'm here to recap it for you. Of course, all the games for AF1 end up on Evergreen Now, either in the live broadcast or the recap. No matter what you need, you're going to find it evergreennow.tv. Download the Evergreen Now app wherever you stream, like Roku, Fire Stick, and more. The week got started. Thursday night in Washington, right here on Evergreen. So Everett Washington, the place, the Wolfpack hosting the Billings Outlaws. Washington's QB, Ed Crouch Jr. He looked great early, got the Wolfpack off to a strong start, 25 yard rushing touchdown. You love that dual threat quarterback. but the outlaws would answer early and often with their quarterback, Brayden Wingle. He got out there connected with Adrian Adams for not one, but two TDs Keon Clary. He got to pick six for a touchdown. The defense for the outlaws ended up with a safety all before Deshaun Williams would find the end zone for the Wolfpack second score of the game. Winkle led the outlaws to a dominating 61 to 23 win over the Wolfpack 249 passing yards, six touchdowns. The outlaws start the year two and Oh, I got a big game coming up this week. We'll tell you more about that coming up, but man, the outlaws look like they're just going to be one of those top teams like they've been. Hey, if you want to put a little fun money on your favorite AF one team, don't forget to download better edge. The app today, wager fan versus fan on all the AF one action with a better edge, the app. Plus it's kind of fun to go and see the spreads, what they think is going to happen in the games. Let's keep this week's moving much like many Friday nights during my country radio career. The place to be is Nashville, baby. If you haven't been to Nash Vegas, it's always a good time. That is unless you're playing against the Nashville cats. Their defense is looking like something special. They would have to be because they were welcoming the Oregon lightning and their quarterback Dalton Cole. start calling them Dalton cold bloated because he is a baller. They were there at the Nashville municipal auditorium and the cats would take an early lead behind quarterback, Taylor Kolka with a, a nice handoff to wide receiver Antoine grant. And you may remember him from his days with the Albany empire, Columbus lions, and many more. He scores six for them on the ground. The cats would go on to lead for the entire game behind that solid defense. four rushing touchdowns, a little bit of a ground and pound experience from the cats for the Oregon lightning. But the lightning just kept fighting this entire game. Dawn Cole steadily becoming one of the fan favorites of the league. 21 yard touchdown pass to Chris Lewis with this nice two yard run to get the whole thing close 40, 32, the final score. Again, the cat's physical dominant great on defense, running the ball, but Oregon never gave up. And that's what you need to turn the page. I think Oregon light, you're going to be one of those teams that continues to improve this year and they could very well sneak their way into the post season and do some damage. Told you the cats would be that team that improves week after week. They seem to be doing just that. I love it when the teams make me look like I know what I'm talking about. It's a, it's a, it's nice to be smart at other people's sweat equity. There's a no Saturday action last week for the AF one, because you needed a day to catch your breath and get ready for what ended up to be a high scoring crazy night on Sunday night. That's the vice game of the week.

The Albany Firebirds cross the country had to Kansas to face the Salina Liberty and the Liberty. have been a great first half team so far this season. Now, some people are hearing me say that and they're like, low back. Is that kind of a slight? It's really not because this is a team that once they put it together and they play four quarters, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. They have started each game, looking great. And they started this one looking great with an 11 yard touchdown pass from their quarterback, Kilgo to Edward Smith at junior. The birds would answer with Sam Casher Nova connecting with his new favorite target, Dwayne Brown for a touchdown. And the rest of the first half would go back and forth end of the half, 21, 20 Albany leads a missed extra point. The only difference between these two guys that is until the second half. DJ Walden and the front for that Albany Firebirds defense, including Zekros would get after Kilgo. It would be a very different experience. The first drive of the second half Kilgo takes the Salina Liberty all the way down the field only to fumble on fourth down while trying to get in the end zone. Firebirds will recover the ball and they would not look back that defense. Marcus Smith, Derek Jones, both will pick sixes. They also had an interception for Trayvon shorts and a couple of quick notes on this one. The Firebirds look ready to compete for another championship because Sam Castronova, he is completing passes early and often. He looks great when he gets together with Dwayne Brown, who now leads the league in touchdown receptions. Sam Castronova leads the league in touchdown passes. Sam Castronova. Also, I believe leads the league and being named the real American beer player of the game, which happened again in this Sunday night matchup. That's right. Castro Nova, as I like to call him super Nova. He doesn't care for the nickname. He'd like to be called the Italian stallion. That name's taken You're Sam supernova Castronova, and that's just all there is to it. Player of the game. Big deal. This guy just showing that he has got all the skills you need. He would go on to talk about travel issues and things after the game, but it just only seemed to be an issue for the first half as the Firebirds put it together. Stay undefeated. They're now three and oh. and they got a big matchup coming up this week.

Don't forget to enjoy an ice cold, real American beer. Our partner here in the AF1, thanks to a Hulk Hogan brother. It's an ice cold beer that's very crushable. Make sure you enjoy responsibly. Speaking of the Firebirds defensive front, number five, Zeke Rose. The fans are starting to love the big fella. He is a very interesting cat. Starts every day with a Bible Psalm. Seems to start every afternoon or evening by eating a quarterback. He's going to talk to our producer here on Season Pass, Bill Huffman. Zeke Rose, Bill Huffman, right now, Season Pass, the AF1 podcast.

Bill Huffman: Hello and welcome to the AF1 Season Pass podcast. I am lucky enough to sit down with Ezekiel Rose of the Albany Firebirds this week. I am lucky to have him in front of me. Welcome to the show, Zeke. Man, thanks for having me. I'm interested to see how this goes. I like it. I like the way it's been going. Excellent. Excellent, man. I've been interested in getting you on the show. I talked to Jeff about it, and he hooked this up, so this is great. And my first question to you is, you know, arena is special, and you've been playing football, I'm guessing, your whole entire life. What path led you to arena?

Ezekiel Rose: Actually, injury led me to arena. I was in Canada playing ball. Played like three snaps in a professional game. I tore my ACL. Yeah, so that happened. So I had to rehab. Tried to do XFL, USFL. Wasn't healed in time to do any other draft and anything like that. And I went to, I actually went to the IFL first. Played for the Mads Pirates. Did really good. I played four games. I had like 25, 30 tackles. Wow. Yeah, I did real well. And then, left there, came back to mass the very next year, uh, for some more arena ball. And it was just exciting, honestly. And it's not like a stopping point, but it's definitely, it's still football.

Bill Huffman: Yeah. So that's a, that's a great point. You mentioned about it being so, so different. Uh, what makes, you know, you said you played semi semi-professional and you know, the smaller field, man, that's gotta make a big difference.

Ezekiel Rose: It does. Everything happens so much faster. The game is fast. Like, everything just, it gets on you real quick, especially as a D-lineman. Like, I'm a nose guard, so I'm in the middle of everything. And the plays happen fast. The running backs move a little bit faster somehow. I think they put them in fast forward or something. I don't know. quarterbacks throw the ball a little faster, so I'm just, I had to learn how to work my moves faster, how to, you know what I'm saying, adjust to the game.

Bill Huffman: Yeah, for sure. That makes total sense. I mean, how has the season been going so far? I mean, as far as the, you know, the AF1 format and like, how do you like it?

Ezekiel Rose: I love the games, man. I love the practice. I love the camaraderie with the guys. Honestly, the season's been going pretty good. We're 3-0 right now. We're learning. So we learned a lot about each other in camp, but we're learning more when the mullets start flying. It's a great learning curve, because we're playing at a high level against each other, which is the best of the best, honestly. And then when we get against other people, we see, you know what I'm saying, all the differences and how we can adjust to other people rather than just adjusting to our teammates.

Bill Huffman: That's great. Yeah, I noticed that you started out 3-0. You guys are really rolling right now. How do you feel about going forward throughout the rest of the season?

Ezekiel Rose: I honestly feel like we have a great projection ahead of us. We haven't put together a full game yet. We start off slow and it's like we gotta… It's like we gotta get hit first and then it's like, oh, we're playing football. And then we lock in and then it's like… The second half is just an amazing game. The defense starts shutting people out. The offense starts scoring more frequently.

Bill Huffman: It wears you out being on that short field, I bet. I'm telling you. It's quick turnover.

Ezekiel Rose: Yeah, but I really enjoy it, though. To see, like I'm saying, I feel like our projection is going to be real good. I'm looking to win this ring.

Bill Huffman: Excellent. Excellent. I want to circle back to the injury that you suffered. Did you play college ball? Yes, I played at West Virginia University. Oh, oh, Morgantown. Excellent. Uh, excellent program. Um, yeah. ACL. Yeah. When did you, uh, when did you suffer the injury?

Ezekiel Rose: This was, uh, September of 2021.

Bill Huffman: So running kickoff. So you're basically a hundred percent now, but it probably took you.

Ezekiel Rose: It took me like a year and a half to actually get back to like playing conditions. And then that's when I went to Massachusetts. And then I realized, you know what I'm saying, I really need to get on top of it. So I rehabbed a little bit more and I ended up taking my knee brace off, playing without a knee brace, and now I don't. Every now and then if it's cold or some I feel it other than that like I'm good.

Bill Huffman: Okay, that makes sense Yeah, and I was wondering, you know with those trials and tribulations of going through different leagues You know, how do you keep your how do you keep your mind focused on the end goal of? Considering can continuing to improve yourself even though you keep running into speed bumps I'm gonna be completely honest with you.

Ezekiel Rose: I I don't I Sometimes I feel like I get tired of it. I really do get tired of all the ups and downs and backs and forth back and forth But I talk to God a lot. He keep me on the right path and Like every morning since I've been here, I send a prayer into our team group chat. But that's like, yes, sometimes I do need it, but I send it for me. You know what I'm saying? Because I wake up and now if I don't send it, somebody will say something. Like if it's around like 7 o'clock, 7.15, somebody will be like, Zeke, you all right? Wellness check. No, for real. And then at this point, like, I gotta pray so I can pray. And then, like, God is like, hey, I'm putting you down the right path. I'm showing you different people. You might not get to the goal you wanted, but you're gonna get where I want you to be. And has faith always been a huge part of your life? So I grew up in the church. And then with that being said, like I grew up in the church and I got tired of it. I ain't gonna lie. As we all do. And it drove me away in college. I'm not gonna lie. When I got that, like the actual freedom of being able to choose if I wanted to go, I didn't. And I saw the difference and I, I got back, I got back real quick.

Bill Huffman: Well, you know, it's one of those things, you know, religion and faith, they all play a different role for everybody. I mean, everybody can have a different relationship with their God of choice. And it is, it is an amazing thing how it helps power mind over body. And sometimes when you're at your lowest of lows, I've suffered from anxiety and depression in my life. And sometimes when you're just really feeling lost, it's just sometimes you need a little bit of grounding and whatever it takes. And I'm glad to hear that faith has been able to keep you grounded and help you along this journey because in all reality, isn't that what this is? A journey?

Ezekiel Rose: That's exactly what it is. And sometimes we may veer off the path. Sometimes we may have to, you know what I'm saying, follow a path that ain't been taken yet. But it's still a journey. We got to take the steps, you know what I'm saying?

Bill Huffman: You're not wrong. Excellent. I mean, I think that that's very important for everybody to know and, you know, know that it's out there and that, you know, big strong guys like Zeke, you know, use God and faith and it's important to hear. I think it's a very unique, you hear it a lot, but it's also, It's amazing how many people rely and use God as a way to help them through some of the worst parts and times of our lives, to be honest. And, you know, it's… It's one of those things with faith in yourself. It creates the faith in yourself to go out there every day. You may not feel like when you wake up in the morning, you're kind of feeling like, ah, you know, and then you do your thing and bam, you feeling like great. And so you send out your message to everybody for yourself. But yeah, sure. Hey, it might help one or two guys that's on that thread. You may not even ever hear about it, but you did what you did because that's what you are and who you are now is there Now turning back to the game of football Has there been any highlights this season that you can think of that were?

Ezekiel Rose: You know that stand out to you As a team as a team or as a player a little bit of both as a team Honestly, like, just watching how we come together when times are hard. Because my defense coordinator coach, CSA, great guy, man. I love this dude. Run through a wall for this guy. He tells us about how you act. you know what I'm saying, how you react, and how you interact. So how you act, you know what I'm saying, when nobody's watching, how you interact with each other, you know what I'm saying, the team, how y'all build and come together, put the gold bricks together, as you say, and then how you react to adversity. You know what I'm saying? And that's, we've shown that week after week, like, yeah, we start off kind of slow, which is not, you know what I'm saying, ideal. But the way that we come together and we fight at the end is something that, you know what I'm saying, we can bring into the first half of the game or something that we can bring into life, honestly.

Bill Huffman: Coaches have a weird way of being sort of like a slash between a coach, a mentor, you know, a pastor, a dad. I mean, they wear so many different hats. It's crazy. Cause I mean, they really have to tailor their coaching to individual players. I mean, I've ran cross country and track, so it's different than a team sport, but you know, you still have to, as a coach, you still have to fine tune that program to make the most out of your players. I mean, if your players are all doing the same exact thing, that's not necessarily going to work for everybody. Yeah. So like, I just think that's very interesting to, to have a good solid coach that can keep you motivated, focused and ready for everything that's going to come at you is really, really important, especially in football, especially in arena football, where you have very little time between snaps and the action. I mean, it's compared to the NFL, we're talking like half as fast, I mean, double, double speed. And you know, everybody knows the famous story of Kurt Warner coming out, you know, and having that quick release because he had to. Yeah. He had to. And you know, you have to go into every week knowing that you might be going up against some guy that, hey, maybe the next Kurt Warner. And it's like, I mean, you just never know. And, you know, so far this season, I mean, you're three and O. You said your goals are to win the championship, obviously. What do you got coming up this week as far as who you playing and what you look forward to?

Ezekiel Rose: Oh, we're actually, billing is coming in to us. So, you know what I'm saying?

Bill Huffman: No travel this week.

Ezekiel Rose: Oh, thank God.

Bill Huffman: Cause you earned Selena last week, right?

Ezekiel Rose: I heard a little bit about it from Jeff, but… That was god awful. That was one of them reacts, how you react to adversity. We got there and we did what we had to do.

Bill Huffman: You just got to go with the flow sometimes. No, for real. You go to some of those small towns, man, I tell you. Again, I used to run. You don't always end up in the most luxurious of conditions.

Ezekiel Rose: man, what the days in and didn't, it was actually at night saying, if you won't think about it, too bright of a name for that place.

Bill Huffman: Oh, that's too funny. Yeah. I remember staying at a few places in my lifetime where going in and like, uh, there's still beer bottles in the garbage can. Uh, that's weird. supposed to flush this exit sign supposed to be on the wall instead of hanging down, man. I'm telling you, I'm not kidding either. This is not even a joke. It was a lot. It was a lot, but guess what? You don't have to worry about this week. Oh no. So Billings is coming in. So how are you feeling about the game?

Ezekiel Rose: Uh, like I always feel, you know, my, uh, Coach C say again, always tell us, you know what I'm saying? Respect everybody, fear no one. So, uh, I'm respecting the game, man. Watching film, I feel like they're going to come in and give us their best. That's the same way we're going to give them ours. And, um, me personally, I'm very biased. I feel like we're going to win. You know what I'm saying? We're going to do what we got to do. But whatever God got planned for this situation, I'm going to take it with my chin up, my chest out. But, uh,

Bill Huffman: You know how I'm feeling, brother. I like it. I like your attitude. As we wrap up this little interview, let me ask you, is there anything that the audience and the fans of AF1 should know about either you or the Albany Firebirds?

Ezekiel Rose: All right, me personally, I do more than just football. So outside of football, I'm in the financial services industry. I teach financial literacy. I show people, you know what I'm saying, different ways of putting together Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, things to help with retirement, how to get your 401k set up, college funds for kids. I also do life insurance. I teach people how to get out of debt. So if any of those things sound interesting to you, holla at your boy.

Bill Huffman: Well, that's an interesting thing. Yeah. So you're a man of many, many tools. And you have to be when you play arena, right? Oh, yeah. There's so many.

Ezekiel Rose: Because, like, yes, you can, like, do something with it. But, like, outside of football, those other six, seven, eight months, like you have to do something. And I found something that I like surprisingly love to do.

Bill Huffman: That's amazing. That's amazing. Well, that's definitely not something I would have thought of, but the fact that Jeff brought it up at the beginning, I'm pretty sure I'd ask that question. So Zeke, thank you so much for joining me this week to talk about your life, your career, what you want to happen this year as far as the Albany Firebirds. And thank you again so much.

Ezekiel Rose: Thank you for having me, man. Thank you for letting me bless the mic and you blessing me with the question, man. Get an opportunity to actually think and converse with you, man. I enjoyed it. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Definitely that, man. Take care. You too.

Jeff Levack: You gotta love Zeke. You gotta love what's going on there. Ezekiel Rose. Quick side story. I was at an event. They gave a name tag to Zeke and they misspelled Ezekiel, to which he came up to me and went, you don't read the Bible enough. I just thought it was a regular criticism. I agreed with him. Found out later it's because somebody spelled Ezekiel wrong. I would've just said Zeke and I would've got away with it. That's how we do it, my friends. All right, let's get you ready for yet another great week of AF one action between evergreen now and vice. We've got three games coming up this weekend. We've got one on Saturday night, two on Sunday. Let's start chronologically. Shall we right here on evergreen now, every now TV evergreen. Now, wherever you get the app, wherever you stream, it's going to be there for you. Saturday night, eight o'clock Eastern standard time. When the Southwest Kansas storm will head to Salina to face the Liberty. Now the storm are going to be rested probably for the first time this season, since the kickoff, they're gonna be looking to get back into the wind column. Remember they started the season two and Oh, and then drop their next two games. One of the Albany Firebirds in Albany, and then a little last second heroics from the Oregon lightning and their quarterback Dalton Cole. When he threw that game winning hail Mary is time expired. The Liberty, however, are Owen three just told you a little while ago, this is a team that starts while they play the first half dominantly. Coach O'Neill has made that point in interviews. He's ready to put four quarters together. His players are ready to put four quarters together. So this is the kind of game where we're going to find out where the rubber meets the road. Can the Liberty play four strong quarters is Southwest Kansas finally rested after that amazing four straight weeks to start the season, played more games, start the season than any other team in the league. We will find out this Saturday eight o'clock right here on evergreen. And if either one of these teams gets it rolling a hundred percent, This could be a lot of trouble for the rest of the AF1. Sunday night, two games, one right here on Evergreen. That'll be seven o'clock kickoff as the Washington Wolfpack host the Corpus Christi Tritons, the Tritons two and O to start the year. They played the Salina Liberty twice there. Some would say they're one of the reasons those second halves haven't been very good for the Salina Liberty, the Wolfpack. We know that they are the kind of team that would dual threat quarterback, ed Crouch jr. They could turn it around at any time. They're one in two right now, two and two in their sites as they host the tritons. This is the kind of game again. Let's see who's ready to join that upper echelon, that higher tier of talent here in the a F one. And finally the week's action stops with a pure heavyweight bout. You give all the cliches you want the unstoppable versus the immovable. The, they don't like each other. This is this We're talking about the vice game Sunday night, seven o'clock Easter time, the Albany Firebirds who are undefeated three and Oh, the Billings outlaws undefeated two and Oh, they will get it on for the first time in the AF one last year, there were excuses coming from Albany. Okay. They didn't like the way the game was raft in Billings, Montana. They didn't like that. It was in a mall for the brawl, the mall, the championship game at the American dream mall. American nightmares more like it. Sorry, Cody Rhodes fans. I'm stealing the name for this moment, but it was a lot of reasons why you would kind of give the leeway either way. But when you're two and Oh, you don't need excuses. And that's where billing stands right now. Coach Damon, where is ready to host One of the best teams with his top offense. He's one of the top offensive minds in the game. The outlaws head coach Cedric Walker is one of the top defensive minds in the game. Neither team has a glaring weakness. Both of them are the top of everyone's power rankings. And I'm not just talking about the AF one. These are the top of the power rankings for every league in arena football. You don't want to face the Albany Firebirds or the Billings outlaws with anything meaningful on the line. They are going to punch you in the mouth, take your lunch money and be on their way. Who is going to be the bigger, better bully come Sunday night on vice TV. Make sure you check your local listings, vice TV, the place to watch the feature game of the week. That's where we're going to find out who the real American beer MVP of the game is going to be and everything. So make sure you got that. And then don't forget because evergreen now is your home for all AF one action. A little bit of time. We'll pop it right up there and you can watch it again. This is going to be a classic. I can see you watching this game many, many times over, and I cannot wait to see just how great of a game this is. Now, of course, my home life, a little easier if Albany gets it done. However, I got a lot of respect for coach Walker and those Billings outlaws. That's the game. If you wanted one game to go, Hey, you got to see what the AF one's all about. Sunday night, seven o'clock firebirds outlaws. Thank you for joining me here on another, a week of the season past the AF one podcast, make sure you like subscribe, sign up for notifications. All those great things. We're just getting started with the season pass. If you've ever got a question, please suggestion, whatever it is, just hit me up on X at the Jeff Levesque. That's at T H E J E F F L E V A C K. I'll be happy to answer your questions right here on season pass. And of course, thanks to Zeke Rose earlier today for joining us producer, bill Hoffman for getting it done with that. Always nice to have an actual adult in the room to ask good questions when our guys are around, appreciate all that big thanks to better edge. great way for you to enjoy the game responsibly wagering against fans just like yourself. Grab the better edge app. Speaking of apps evergreen. Now, how can you go wrong? It's free. All you need is an email and you're enjoying tons and tons of content, especially a F one. real American beer brother, Hulk Hogan's brew. That's the one that we're crushing on the lawnmowers. That's the one that we, we got the tall boy cans here in the arena, getting ready for the firebirds and the outlaws right here in Albany, where I'm a, where I'm posting up this week, got those for you and a whole lot more. Thank you to everybody for taking your time to enjoy season pass the podcast of the air for.

Bill Huffman: 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.