Andy Hamilton

Mike Hohensee has been connected to Arena Football in some manner almost every season since the indoor game was introduced 27 years ago.

Yet prior to this season, even the former AFL quarterback, longtime indoor coach and current leader of the Iowa Barnstormers had never seen the sight that appeared on the stat sheet last week — teammates occupying the top two spots on the receiving chart.

Despite a litany of injuries and an assortment of quarterbacks throwing passes their way, the Iowa Barnstormers' Marco Thomas and Darius Reynolds are racking up receiving yards at a faster clip than anyone else in the league.

"Both of those kids have been banged up this year and they've fought through it and made some phenomenal plays just because they want to be great and they want to win," Hohensee said.

Thomas is the AFL leader in catches (112), receiving yards (1,472) and touchdown grabs (33), while Reynolds is second in yards with 1,263 and has 85 receptions and 23 for scores. They're aiming to become the first AFL teammates to finish first and second in receiving.

"That's pretty cool," Thomas said. "Our bodies (reflect) those standings. It's rough being at the top. You get targeted. You take a beatingand usually you're making more plays putting yourself out there. Hopefully we can just keep playing at that high level and it puts us in the playoffs."

Said Reynolds: "As long as we can stay healthy. I think we can finish one and two."

Iowa (6-7) is one game behind Tampa Bay for the last playoff spot in the American Conference going into tonight's game at Pittsburgh (10-3). Here are three Barnstormers storylines to follow this week:

Hard-working receivers: At the start of the season, the Barnstormers knew they had one of the league's top receivers in Thomas and thought they had another in Reynolds.

Thomas bounced around the NFL with four teams before latching on in the Arena League. He produced the best numbers of his career last season when he finished fifth in the league in catches with 142 and 12th in receiving yards with 1,564.

When asked which characteristics stand out about Thomas, Hohensee said: "Consistency, a passion to win and a passion to be great. He works extremely hard."

Reynolds, on the other hand, had shown all-league athleticism during his first two seasons with the Barnstormers, but injuries slowed his progress.

"Darius is just scratching the surface of how good he can be," Hohensee said.

"The first year he came in for spot work. Last year he played a little bit more but battled injuries that kept him from developing as quickly as I was hoping he would. This year he's just starting to understand the game. He's always had the athleticism, always put in the effort, but now he's starting to really understand how to run routes."

Playoff scramble intensifies: Change three plays and the Barnstormers could be in the race for a division title. Instead, they lost by a touchdown early in the season at Cleveland, dropped a road game against Philadelphia by five points and fell at home last week in overtime against Tampa Bay.

Iowa is in a three-team scramble for the last playoff spot in the American Conference with a pair of squads that own head-to-head wins over the Barnstormers.

"Great teams play every second like it's the last," Thomas said. "I think that's why we have failed to be the best we can be." We need to learn as a team how to play every down like it's your last. We've got talent on this team or we wouldn't be in games. I think once everybody realizes their potential and their greatness and play that way every play, those games will be different."

Hohensee said the Barnstormers are "just about as good as anybody in the league" man for man, but he said they've pressed in situations and lost track of their assignments.

"We can't get out of our own way sometimes," he said. "We're not outmanned. We haven't been outmanned yet, but we make basic mistakes."

Coffman set for return: J.J. Raterink earned AFL MVP honors for Week 14 after throwing for a franchise-record 398 yards against Tampa Bay and Brian Reader ranks fourth in the league in passing efficiency. The Barnstormers have gotten plenty of production at quarterback during Carson Coffman's absence, but there's little debate about who's No. 1 on the depth chart when healthy.

Coffman is expected to return tonight after missing the past five games with a knee injury.

<SW,-30>"He's going to play," Hohensee said. "He took all the snaps (Wednesday in practice) and did very well."