The Racine Raiders clinched at least the second seed in the Xtreme Conference of the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL). The Raiders beat the St. Paul Pioneers, 30-22, at Sea Foam Stadium on the Concordia University-St. Paul campus Saturday night to secure their spot in the postseason. Meanwhile, the previously unbeaten Columbus Fire dropped a game to Baltimore United, 19-13, leaving the Raiders and the Syracuse Strong as the only unbeaten teams in the Xtreme Conference with a chance for the top overall seed.
Syracuse has two games remaining and currently sit in the number two spot in the conference, trailing Racine by 32 points in point differential. Syracuse is coming off of a 59-0 road win over the New York Falcons. Syracuse will face the Falcons at home on August 5. This week Syracuse hosts the Troy Fighting Irish (3-3 GDFL) who are coming off of a 41-7 road loss to the Watertown Red & Black. Syracuse has a very good chance to claim the top seed as long as they don’t lose one of their last two games.
With capturing at least the number two seed, the Raiders will host a GDFL playoff game at Historic Horlick Athletic Field on Saturday, August 12. With a win in that game, they would host a GDFL quarterfinal game on Saturday, August 19 as well. The August 26 Xtreme Conference championship game would be played at the home of the highest remaining seed. The GDFL National Championship game will be held on Saturday, September 2, in the Washington, D.C. area, having been moved from Atlanta due to scheduling complications.
Each of the five division winners make the playoffs with the top seed getting a bye week. The next two best teams qualify as wild card teams. Here’s the current unofficial playoff outlook in the GDFL Xtreme Conference (* indicates current division leader; # indicates division champion):
SEED | TEAM | GDFL RECORD, POINT DIFFERENTIAL
- Racine (WI) Raiders (8-0, +197) #
- Syracuse (NY) Strong (6-0, +165) #
- Columbus (OH) Fire (6-1, +84) #
- Upstate (NY) Predators (4-2, +137) #
- Tri-City (TN) Outlaws (4-2, +4) *
- Watertown (NY) Red & Black (5-2, +116)
- Capital City (DC) Seahawks (5-2, +15)
OTHER CONTENDERS FOR PLAYOFF SPOTS - Baltimore (MD) United (4-2, -9)
- Memphis (TN) Blast (3-2, -2)
- Huntsville (AL) Rockets (3-2, +54)
- Troy (OH) Fighting Irish (3-3, -5)
Seeding isn’t the only deciding factor for what teams play in each round of the playoffs. The league heavily factors in travel distance as well.
