Highlights from the Dunedin Pirates' 2018 FFA schedule release

Highlights from the 2018 Dunedin Pirates FFA Schedule:

 - The Pirates will face a schedule with a 2017 opponent combined record of 63-27 in the FFA.

 - The Pirates will face teams who had a 2017 winning record in the FFA in seven of their ten games.

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 - The Pirates will face seven different opponents in their ten games, playing three of those teams twice in home-and-homes (Hollywood, SW Florida, and Tampa Bay)

 - Of the seven franchises the Pirates will play against in 2018, four of them were 2017 opponents as well (Jax, Tampa Bay, SW Florida, and River City). The Pirates were 0-6 against those opponents in 2017. The Pirates will be facing Hollywood, Port Orange, and expansion team Golden Isles all for the first time in franchise history.

 - Nine of the ten games will be on natural grass, with the lone game on artificial turf being in Week 2, February 3 to face the Hollywood Browns at Carter Park in Ft. Lauderdale. The Pirates are 1-0 all-time on artificial turf, with a 17-6 win last year at the South Florida Chargers on February 4 in Miami.

 - The Pirates' five road games will take them a total of 1472 miles round trip, an average of 294 miles round trip per road game.

 - Three of the Pirates' five road games will take them on trips of 3 hours or longer - February 3 at Hollywood (travel time 4 hours), February 10 at Port Orange (3 hours), and March 17 at Jacksonville to face River City (3 hours, 45 minutes).

 - The Pirates will open at home in Week 1 for the second consecutive season. They will be looking for their first ever win at Dunedin Memorial Stadium, going 0-4 there in 2017.

 - For the first time in franchise history, the Pirates will play back-to-back-to-back road games, in Weeks 2-4 (at Hollywood, at Port Orange, and at Tampa Bay).

 - Two of the five road games will be at venues the Pirates have visited in the past, at Tampa Bay on February 17 and at SW Florida on March 31. The Pirates visited both places last season and were 0-2.

 - There are no back-to-back home games on the 2018 Pirates schedule.

All stats courtesy of the Dunedin Pirates Sports Information Department