The National Arena League (NAL) is coming off of a great first season. Let’s take a look at what game is going to be at number four in the NAL Top Five games of 2017.

Before we dive into what our number four game is, let’s take a moment and review what our number four game of 2017 is.

NAL Top Five: No. 4 – Monterrey Steel @ Corpus Christi Rage

The Steel and Rage fought a long battle until the Steel’s defense showed that they could be the one to have the most impacting defense in the game, having a game-securing interception with under a minute to go, beating the Rage 33-30.

Coming in at number four in the NAL Top Five Games of 2017, we have the (6-4) Monterrey Steel traveling to face the (11-0) Jacksonville Sharks.

The Steel have played in a lot of close battles, being put in both number five and number four on the list of the best games in the NAL.

NAL Top Five: No. 4 – Monterrey Steel @ Jacksonville Sharks

On June 17, 2017, the Monterrey Steel were looking to get a small taste of who they were going to play in the playoffs the next week. The Steel were set to be on the road for the remainder of their season, being the last ranked team in the NAL Playoffs.

Monterrey got exactly what they wanted in this small playoff preview. The offense had a more stable quarterback, signing Bernard Morris just a few weeks before this game. The chemistry with his receivers grew to be arguably one of the best in the NAL.

Game Review

Things started off rough for Jacksonville as quarterback Jason Boltus fumbled the very first play of the game. Monterrey got the ball back, but it didn’t last for long after Morris quickly threw an interception to defensive back Erick McIntosh.

After a quick start for Jacksonville, the Sharks were up at the end of the first quarter 16-6.

Monterrey still showed some fight and gave Jacksonville a run for their money, scoring two consecutive touchdowns and getting a field goal to Jacksonville’s two touchdowns of the quarter. The Steel were slowly closing in on the Sharks at halftime with a score of 29-21 Jacksonville still on top.

The third quarter was a bit of a scare for Jacksonville. Jacksonville, doing what they do best, ran the clock down, but this time, not in their favor. Monterrey is the first team to ever lead against Jacksonville after halftime. The Sharks were down 29-31 at the end of the third quarter after not scoring a single point and allowing 10 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Sharks decided to bring in quarterback Damien Fleming to replace the struggling Boltus. Fleming was looking like he was the guy to help Jacksonville get their lead back and continue this undefeated season.

However, it didn’t work out that way after Sharks fullback Derrick Ross fumbles the potential game-tying touchdown to go to overtime.

After the fumble and recovery, Monterrey forced Jacksonville to use all of their timeouts, waste the remainder of the clock, and seal the deal with a win 44-37.

Player Statistics

Jacksonville Sharks

In his first start as a Jacksonville Shark, Boltus had a rough night, throwing nine of 23 for 97 yards and three touchdowns. Those stats are decent, but what makes him have a rough night was his fumbles on the snaps. Boltus struggled with getting a real feel for the snaps, fumbling the snaps a total of three times on the night.

Fleming took over in the fourth quarter and threw for a perfect four-for-four and 63 yards. No touchdowns and no interceptions for Fleming during this game.

Wide Receiver Maurice Williams caught four passes for 40 yards and one touchdown.

Wide Receiver Devin Wilson also caught four passes, but for 29 yards and one touchdown.

Wide Receiver Emughedi Umodu impressed the crowd catching three passes for a total of 51 yards.

Ross may have fumbled on the last Sharks offensive play, but he helped the team by getting 33 yards and one touchdown.

Monterrey Steel

Morris had a weird night, throwing 16 of 24 for 163 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. Morris also lead the team in rushing with 47 yards and one touchdown.

Wide Receiver London Crawford against his former team performed quite well by putting up 79 yards on eight catches and three touchdowns.

Wide Receiver David Lewis caught five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Lastly, Wide Receiver Dello Davis caught four passes for 40 yards and no touchdowns.

Stay tuned to the Top Five countdown as we look at the number three game of the 2017 NAL season next week. Has your team made the list so far?