Arena football will be back in Northern Kentucky on Sunday for the first time in over a decade.
The Kentucky Barrels will kick off their inaugural season in the AF1 (Arena Football One) on Sunday at Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena against the Michigan Arsenal at 5 p.m.
Here’s what to look for:
Arena Football One is in its second year of existence. Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is the commissioner. There’s nine teams in the league and each will play a 12-game regular season from April through July before playoffs begin in mid-July.
For information on other teams and more league info, visit the AF1 website here.
ROSTER
While no players are from Northern Kentucky on the roster, a few are from around the region. Most notably is Jalin Marshall from Middletown, Ohio. Marshall went on to play at Ohio State.
No. Name Position College Height Weight 4 Cedric Thomas DB Fayetteville State 5′ 10″ 170 lbs 7 Dalton Oliver QB Kentucky Wesleyan University 6′ 3″ 210 lbs 6 Darius Prince WR Penn State Beavers 6′ 1″ 190 lbs 3 Dezmon Epps WR Idaho University 5′ 10″ 180 lbs Eldridge Dockery Iii LB NC Central 6′ 2″ 240 lbs 5 Ezekiel Rose DL West Virginia 6′ 3″ 310 lbs 11 Geemontae Peck DL Davenport Univ. 6′ 4″ 305 lbs 10 Jalen Wilson WR Kentucky Wesleyan 17 Jalin Marshall DB Ohio State 5′ 10″ 200 lbs 50 Jamezz Kimbrough OL Central Michigan University 6′ 3″ 305 lbs 15 Jeremiah Spencer WR Shepard Univ. 6′ 2″ 198 lbs 0 Joe Golden DL Northern Colorado / Oregon St 6′ 4″ 285 lbs 1 Joe Powell DB Globe Tech 6′ 2″ 210 lbs 18 Justin Foster FB Samford 6′ 4″ 300 lbs 77 Melvin Hollins OL Jackson State 6′ 2″ 315 lbs 13 Mike Lee DB Kansas 5′ 9″ 180 lbs 66 Noah Buttiglieri OL Delaware 6′ 3″ 315 lbs 71 Ryan Johnson OL Youngstown State 6′ 3″ 310 lbs 2 Shae Spencer QB Keiser Univ. 6′ 0″ 190 lbs 9 Shiloh Flanagan WR 6′ 5″ 200 lbs 8 Sidney Houston Jr. DL Ball State University 6′ 2″ 265 lbs 56 Terrence Ames Jr OL Virginia University of Lynchburg 6′ 0″ 315 lbs 35 Vincent Dileo II LB Delaware Valley 6′ 2″ 235 lbs 31 Aaron Baum K Murray State N/A N/A
SCHEDULE
The Barrels play 12 regular season games. Six home games, six away games.
April 12 — vs Michigan Arsenal, 5 p.m.
April 19 — vs Oceanside Bombers, 3 p.m.
May 3 — vs Nashville Kats, 3 p.m.
May 9 — at Albany Firebirds, 7 p.m.
May 17 — vs Beaumont Renegades, 6 p.m.
May 24 — at Oceanside Bombers, 9 p.m.
May 30 — at Minnesota Monsters, 6 p.m.
June 7 — at Oregon Lightning, 6 p.m.
June 13 — vs Oregon Lightning, 6 p.m.
June 27 — vs Albany Firebirds, 7 p.m.
July 5 — at Minnesota Monsters, 7 p.m.
July 11 — at Beaumont Renegades, 9 p.m.
Rules
While the game is very similar to what you see on Friday’s, Saturday’s and Sunday’s in the prep, college and pro scene, there are some differences.
It’s a much faster paced game. It’s eight vs eight instead of 11 vs 11. Each team will have eight players on the field at a time. On offense, this consists of three receivers, one fullback, one quarterback, and three offensive linemen. One offensive lineman may report as an eligible receiver each play and be designated as the tight end. All three receivers, the fullback, and the tight end, may be eligible receivers on any play.
Defensively, the eight players consist of three defensive backs, three defensive linemen, one Mac linebacker, and a Jack linebacker. The linemen must rush straight ahead and may not run stunts or twists at the line of scrimmage. On each play, the Mac linebacker will be the linebacker closest to the line of scrimmage and must line up opposite the tight end. The Jack linebacker covers the tight end and can move wall to wall in coverage. Neither linebacker may move beyond five yards downfield in coverage.
The big difference is the rebound nets at each end zone.
Each net section spans thirty feet wide and 32 feet high, with a nine-foot wide crossbar connecting the nets. Balls off the nets are live and in play. Most often, you will see the ball live off the nets on kickoffs, but they can be used to field missed field goals and pass plays as well. Catching the rebound off the net is no easy feat, but it allows players to kick-start the action.
The nine-foot crossbar is fifteen feet off the ground and used for field goals, extra points, and the deuce. Kicking is a lost art, and the narrow uprights and rebound nets make the kicking game an integral part of the AF1 game, where games can be won or lost based on the kicker’s performance.
The walls are 48 inches high and consist of an outer padding of high-density foam padding. These “dasher boards” are a key factor in the Arena game as they create the boundary of the playing field. However, like the nets, a ball can be played off the wall! Players will fly into them, over them, and onto the walls, so pay attention if you are sitting at field level.
A player is only considered “out of bounds” if hit into the wall. However, a player can make a catch by going over the wall, and so long as they make contact with the wall on their way out of play and maintain possession, they make the catch. This leads to exciting plays where players are leaping over the wall and making highlight reel catches.
Scoring is similar. Touchdowns are worth six points, extra points are one and two-point conversions take place from the two-yard line, field goals are three points but an added twist is four points are awarded for a drop kick field goal. Safeties are two points. Another way to score is the “deuce”, two points awarded on a kickoff if it goes through the small uprights.
Besides the giant nets and walls, people first notice a man in motion on every offensive play. The High Motion Man can get a running start toward the line of scrimmage before the snap. So long as he doesn’t cross the line of scrimmage before the snap, he is onside.
The Motion Man is often a talented receiver for the offense who makes the offense go. A running start puts pressure on the defense and lets the offense bring some speed to the field. Defending is challenging even the most talented defenders and creates exciting one-on-one matchups.
TICKETS/HOW TO WATCH
Single-game tickets can be purchased at the Truist Arena Box Office or Ticketmaster.com.
Shortly before the 2026 season, the league announced that HomeTeam Network would be the AF1’s television production and streaming partner for the season, with HTN producing all of the league’s telecasts (including those on Vice and KZJO) and carrying select games on the AF1 YouTube channel.