Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo by Ben

Even with an Arena Football League playoff berth already secure, there is still plenty for the Georgia Force to play for as they conclude the regular season against the Iowa Barnstromers tonight at 8:05 in Des Moines.

A win would guarantee the Force (10-7) the No. 3 seed in the American Conference playoff, which would mean traveling to Cleveland to take on the East Division champion Gladiators on Friday.

Meanwhile, a loss, combined with an Orlando win over New Orleans, would drop Georgia to the fourth seed, which means a trip to Jacksonville to take on the South Division champion Sharks (13-4) on July 31.

The Force will welcome back one of their top weapons in an attempt to lock down the higher seed tonight with the return of receiver Maurice Purify to the line-up.

The former University of Nebraska standout had signed with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League two weeks ago.

But that league's decision to delay the opening of its season by a month has made Purify available to return to Georgia for tonight's game, as well as the AFL playoffs.

Purify still leads the Force in receptions (123), receiving yards per game (101.7) and touchdowns (43), and his 1,525 yards trails only Larry Shipp's 1,632 on the team.

The added ammunition should help the Force even further against an Iowa defense that allows an AFL-worst 61.9 points per game despite boasting defensive back Cameron McGlenn (86.5 tackles, nine interceptions, 26 pass breakups).