2023 NAFL Championship Game

The **2023 NAFL Championship Game** was the final game of the 2022 NAFL season and 2022–23 NAFL Postseason played on January 14, 2023 at Pasadena, California. The Western Conference Champions, the No. 1 seeded St. Louis Warriors (11-4, 2-0), played the Eastern Conference Champions, the No. 3 seeded Brooklyn Blackwolves (11-5, 3-0). Both teams were under .350 in the previous season. With several trades and draft picks, both teams were able to rebuild and make the playoffs. The Brooklyn Blackwolves defeated the St. Louis Warriors 48-44.

## Background

### Teams

#### St. Louis Warriors

The previous season, the Warriors had gone 5-9-1, missing the playoffs. They had been bested by the 3-12 Blackwovles (known then as the New York Mongrels) 27-7 in Week 14. In the offseason prior to the 2022 season they had acquired seasoned Washington quarterback Jordan Byrne and receiver Aziah Parsons. They had also received solid defensive players in Dominick Kennard, Kendrick Austin, and Danto Branson-Roy. After drafting several offensive linemen in the 2022 NAFL draft, the Warriors were looking to improve and make it to the playoffs. In Week 1, they defeated the future Eastern runner-up Edmonton Rams 38-31 after being down 24-7 at halftime. The following week, they defeated the Calgary Jays 23-12. They would face some setbacks, losing 23-3 against the Miami Panthers in Week 4, being narrowly defeated 34-30 against the Lexington Huskies, and being soundly defeated by the Brooklyn Blackwolves 28-10 and 24-14 in Week 12 and Week 13 respectively. The Warriors finished as the number one team in the West with a 11-4 record, and did not have to play any tie-breaker games. They received a first-round playoff bye alongside the San Diego Wolves, who had made it to the previous championship game. The Warriors were the only team with a bye to win their game in the second round after shutting out the Sacramento Bulls 38-0. In a close game, Byrne threw a 40-yard touchdown pass with 2 seconds left to California receiver Keenan Brooks for a touchdown to win the game 48-47.

#### Brooklyn Blackwolves

The previous season, the Blackwolves had gone 3-12, starting the season with a 8-game losing streak until breaking it with an upset victory over the eventual championship runners-up, the Wolves. They had been embarrassed 80-3 in Week 4 against the Wolves, and 45-3 against their rivals, the Pittsburgh Marauders, in their season opener. They made several trades during the season, and had several starters injured in the first five weeks. They had hired a new coach after the season ended (Darius Kamau) and were able to gain running-back Keziah Cook. The Wolves started the season 3-4 and won the rest of their games, going 11-4. The Indianapolis Cardinals also finished with a 11-4 record, and so the Wolves were forced to play a tie-breaker game against them. They lost 30-24, and were seeded third going into the playoffs while the Cardinals were seeded second. The Wolves bested the Buffalo Beavers 27-21 after Keziah Cook scored a last-minute 55-yard touchdown run. They then moved on to play the Cardinals in the second round. They won the rematch 48-41. They then defeated the Miami Panthers in the Eastern Championship Game 39-31 after nearly choking a 33-14 lead.

### Playoff bracket

* + indicates overtime. Multiple (\*)s denote multiple overtimes. In the NAFL, after a 2nd OT, a BF/BAF (Back-and-Forth) system is used during which both teams have to convert 2-pt conversations from the 6-yard line.

## References

1. ↑ Schedule conflicts with certain teams and other internal factors required a new schedule for the entire 2022-23 season. This new schedule forced teams to face each other several times.
2. ↑ Game was delayed due to alleged COVID-19 issues with the Indianapolis Cardinals organization.