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The Minnesota Monsters will host the Beaumont Renegades in the Arena Football One regular-season finale at 6 p.m. Saturday at Amsoil Arena.
Minnesota (7-4) has secured the No. 3 seed and will host a first-round playoff game the following weekend. The Monsters’ opponent will be either Washington or Beaumont.
A Minnesota victory would give Washington (5-7) the sixth and final playoff berth. The Wolfpack then would return to Duluth for a quarterfinal rematch against the Monsters. Washington completed its regular season with a 56-42 loss at Minnesota last Saturday.
A Beaumont victory would move the Renegades to 5-7 and give them the final playoff berth through the league’s tiebreaking procedures. Beaumont then would return to Duluth to play Minnesota again in the No. 3-vs.-6 quarterfinal.
Nashville has secured the No. 1 seed after winning the regular-season championship. Defending Arena Crown champion Albany is seeded second. Both teams have first-round byes and will host semifinal games in two weeks.
Minnesota has won two consecutive games, defeating Kentucky 60-8 on July 5 and Washington 56-42 last Saturday. The Monsters scored 21 consecutive points to open the second half against Washington after leading 29-20 at halftime.
Jarvai Flowers caught six passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns against the Wolfpack. Claude Davis scored three rushing touchdowns, and Minnesota’s defense forced a kickoff fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
Quarterback Ja’Vonte Johnson enters the finale ranked fifth in AF1 with 1,594 passing yards. He is tied for third with 38 touchdown passes and ranks fifth with 1,672 total offensive yards.
Minnesota fullback Shannon Brooks leads AF1 with 237 rushing yards and an average of 33.9 yards per game. The Monsters have indicated that Brooks is expected to rest Saturday in preparation for the playoffs.
Davis ranks third in the league with 131 rushing yards and is tied for fourth with six rushing touchdowns. Flowers, Carlos Thompson Jr. and late-season addition Shiloh Flanagan provide Minnesota with additional receiving options.
Beaumont enters the finale with a 4-7 record and must win to continue its season. Washington has no games remaining and will qualify for the playoffs only if Minnesota defeats the Renegades.
The Monsters’ first-round playoff game will be played at Amsoil Arena the weekend of July 24-26.
