Month: April 2019

IFL NETWORK WEEK 10 REALLY GOOD PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Sugar Skulls RB Mike Jones and Danger KR Eric Thomas
Photo Credit:
Instagram: @thekickodilehunter and Jimmy Rash of the Grand Island Independent

OFFENSE

SUGAR SKULLS RB MIKE JONES JR: Despite his team failing to protect a 17 point lead in the first half and a 10 point lead with under 5 minutes remaining Saturday, Tucson running back Mike Jones Jr. was impressive again. Jones carried the ball 21 times for a season high 109 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also caught 3 passes for 13 yards. Despite this, Tucson surprisingly kept the ball out of Jones’ hands in crunch time which could be the reason Tucson failed to protect their lead en route to a fourth straight loss. Jones now is the IFL’s leader in rushing yards per game with 61.4, and is third in the league in rushing yards with 430 and rushing touchdowns with 14.

DEFENSE

DANGER DL D’VONN BROWN: The Danger found their way to the quarterback 5 times in their week 10 victory. Leading the way was Defensive Lineman D’Vonn Brown who registered a season high 2 sacks to go along with 7 tackles, 4 of which were for a loss. Brown now ranks 6th in the league in sacks and tackles for loss with 3.5 and 7.5.

SPECIAL TEAMS

DANGER KR ERIC THOMAS: The Nebraska wide receiver had a night to remember on Friday against the team he called his own in 2016 without catching a single pass. Thomas returned the opening kickoff 52 yards for his 2nd kickoff return touchdown of 2019 before following that up with a missed field goal return for a score at the end of the first half from 58 yards. On the night Thomas had 3 returns, totaling 104 yards. Thomas joins Marquel Wade as the only players with multiple kickoff return touchdowns in a single game this season.

Controversial No-Call Completes Barnstormer Comeback Over Upset-Minded Sugar Skulls

Iowa Barnstormers Head Coach Dixie Wooten celebrates with Quarterback Daquan Neal as Tucson Quarterback Jake Medlock looks on.
Photo credit to Kelly Presnell of the Arizona Daily Star

BARNSTORMERS: 61 SUGAR SKULLS: 58

From the opening kickoff everything pointed towards the Sugar Skulls pulling off an upset which would have serious playoff implications. A win would put Tucson back into the top six and an Iowa loss most likely meant no first round bye for the defending champions in this year’s playoffs. The homestanding ‘Skulls held an 11 point lead thanks to a fantastic first half offensively led by quarterback Jake Medlock and running back Mike Jones. When the second half came around the bounce the Barnstormers have gotten all season never seemed to come, every bounce went the Sugar Skulls way. Tucson led by a 10 point margin with 4:11 remaining in the ball game. That’s when things, like they have at every point since the Skulls 3-1 start, went wrong. Ryan Balentine hauled in a Daquan Neal TD pass making the score 51-47. Tucson then went nowhere offensively and right on que had a Josh Gable field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown giving Iowa their first lead of the game. Tucson fought back as Shaq Curenton hauled in a 28 yard toss from Jake Medlock with 54 seconds left. Those 54 seconds were too much for the defending champions. Iowa drove down the field and Daquan Neal scrambled to his left, diving into the endzone for the deciding score. On the play a blatant holding call which spring Neal to paydirt was missed.

The Sugar Skulls would have one more crack, as Josh Gable lined up for a game tying field goal. The strong legged kicker picked the wrong time to come up short as his attempt didn’t have enough strength behind it, giving the Barnstormers the comeback win.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Iowa: Daquan Neal (QB): 19-26 265 Yards, 5 TD, 0 INT.

Tucson: Mike Jones (RB): 21 Carries, 109 Yards, 3 TD.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t know how the Sugar Skulls managed to blow this one. I kept waiting for them to make a mistake or for Iowa to show why they are the defending champions. That moment looked like it would never come. I thought the game was over when Mike Jones took a carry 28 yards to the house with 5:10 left to give Tucson a ten point lead. The Sugar Skulls have a legitimate gripe on the no call for the hold on the Daquan Neal go ahead touchdown. That call is the worst no-call this season and maybe in the last few seasons. Tucson could possibly miss out on playoff football because of this, and that’s unacceptable. However, they don’t get put on that position if they could figure out how to close out a game. That 3-1 start feels like a distant memory now. As for Iowa, there are some serious problems the Barnstormers need to figure out before the playoffs hit. Iowa deserved to lose this game but they got lucky. They should’ve lost to the Danger earlier this season. This could very well be a three loss team. Don’t be surprised if they lose again this season and wind up playing a first round playoff game.

Danger Control Struggling River Kings 66-42

Eric Thomas returns the opening kickoff for a Touchdown in the Nebraska Danger’s victory over the Cedar Rapids in Week 10.
Photo credit to Jimmy Rash of The Grand Island Independent

DOMINANT FROM THE START

From the opening kickoff Eric Thomas was a thorn in the side of the River Kings as the Danger handed the Cedar Rapids squad their sixth consecutive loss. Thomas returned the opening kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown before returning a missed Philip Nwosu field goal 58 yards for a touchdown. The Danger held Cedar Rapids out of the endzone the entire first half, heading into the break up 31-9.

RIVER KINGS MISS PALANDECH

In a season where there haven’t been many bright spots for the River Kings Quarterback Kurt Palandech has been a rare reason for optimism. Unfortunately for CR fans Palandech was not with the team in Grand Island tending to a family emergency. This meant Ben Wilkerson would earn his first career start. Wilkerson did not impress, going 7-14 for 65 yards with 2 touchdowns to go along with 2 interceptions. The IFL rookie was also sacked 5 times.

SECOND HALF FIREWORKS

Both teams woke up offensively in the final thirty minutes. The River Kings had their best offensive half of the season, putting 32 points on the scoreboard. Unfortunately the Danger outscored their visitors scoring 35 points.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Things are bad in Cedar Rapids. Really bad. You can’t help but feel bad for a player like Marquel Wade who most likely will one day enter the IFL Hall of Fame. Wade caught just 3 passes for 29 yards Friday. The River Kings have somehow gotten worse every week, 9 weeks after losing by 3 points to the Sioux Falls Storm they have gone from a dark-horse United Bowl contender to a difficult spectacle to watch. Ben Wilkerson was miserable, he sported the awareness of a dead fish in the pocket and looked visibly uncomfortable from the opening kickoff. I don’t think any team in the league wants to play the Danger. Tommy Armstrong Jr. is a top 3 or 4 Quarterback in the league when he is playing well and Davonte Sapp-Lynch is at times unstoppable. This team is getting hot at the right time and could surge to earn themselves a home playoff date. The Danger head to the desert next week to take on the Arizona Rattlers while the River Kings head to Des Moines to battle the in-state rival Barnstormers.