Tuesday, Oct. 07, 2008

Vijil has sights set on playing in AFL

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

Don't take this the wrong way, but Raul Vijil doesn't really want to play for the Spokane Shock next season.

It's not that he didn't enjoy his three seasons with one of the most successful franchises in arenafootball2 league history. But the Pasco High graduate is ready to move on.

And moving on means playing in the Arena Football League.

So far the prospects of that happening are pretty good. He has had tryouts with the Los Angeles Gladiators and the defending ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul. He has another workout planned with the Colorado Crush next month.

He says both workouts have gone well, but he has yet to receive a contract.

"The teams have seemed very interested," Vijil said. "I am just hoping for an opportunity to prove them right."

Vijil, a three-year veteran of the af2, developed into one of the most dangerous kick returners and reliable receivers this past season.

In 14 games, he finished second in the league in scoring (42 TDs) and fourth in all-purpose yards (181.8 per game). Vijil was second on the Shock in receptions with 107 for a team-high 1,212 yards and 35 TDs.

The numbers are good, but the questions surrounding Vijil have to do with his health. He missed two games last season and seven in 2007 with a variety of injuries.

"I did everything I could this year," Vijil said. "This is the year for me."

Fever sign first player: One down. A bunch more to go.

The Tri-Cities Fever were assigned defensive back Devon Walker (6-foot, 180 pounds) out of the University of Nevada-Reno on Monday.

He is the first player signed by new coach Richard Davis, with more to come this week, Davis said.

"I don't mind him being the first guy I signed at all," Davis said from his home in Oklahoma. "I would love to have a team full of guys like him."

Walker, 23, played two seasons for the Wolfpack after transferring from Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., where he had 77 tackles in two seasons.

Walker spent the last three weeks of last season with the Arena Football League's San Jose SabreCats.

Notes

The af2 is contracting for a second straight season. Daytona Beach and Lubbock decided not to play in 2009, and most recently Austin was added to the list of teams that have folded. The Wranglers played in the AFL in 2007 and then the af2 last season as a cost-cutting measure by owner Doug MacGregor. Two of the teams folding after the 2008 season are owned by MacGregor, who also owns the Fever.

The only expansion team for 2009 is the Milwaukee Iron.

The West Division will stay intact with Tri-Cities, Spokane, Stockton, Boise and Central Valley. Again, each team is expected to play the others three times when the schedule is released some time this month.

Albany will be returning to the af2 this season, but with a new name. The Conquest have been rebranded the Firebirds for 2009.

The Boise Burn decided not to renew coach Lee Leslie's contract for a third straight season, the team announced last week. Leslie, who led the Burn to identical 8-8 marks in the franchise's first two seasons, was a consultant for the Tri-Cities Fever during its championship run in the National Indoor Football League in 2005.