Day: March 8, 2020

WEEK 1 PREVIEW: STRIKE FORCE AND BUCKS BOTH LOOK FOR STRONG STARTS IN YEAR TWO

WHAT’S AT STAKE

San Diego: Seeking first road win in franchise history. Lost road games by an average of 28.6 points in 2019.

Bismarck: Attempting to get to .500 as a franchise in season openers. (1-2)

SERIES HISTORY

First meeting.

STORYLINES

The marketing team of the San Diego Strike Force has done one of the great jobs in all of progessional sports this offseason. This San Diego team had a worse record than Bismarck last season. You’d think San Diego was lightyears ahead of Bismarck based on how they handled themselves this offseason. The question will be, will the big name signings be enough to propel San Diego to a 1-0 start or will Bismarck’s group of small-school signees and indoor veterans prevail?

MATCHUP TO WATCH: MICHAEL CARRILLO V. TAZ WILSON

The two quarterbacks, Wilson spent last offseason in Tucson Sugar Skulls camp, got picked up late in the season by Bismarck and now has been named a team captain in 2020 after throwing for 415 yards and 7 touchdowns. Carrillo is a San Jose State product who beat out indoor veterans Rudy Johnson and Quinn McQueary for the starting job. Obviously the coaching staff in San Diego saw something they liked in Carrillo and I’m very excited to see what that is come gametime. These are two guys who are vastly unproven and now have a chance to get their team to 1-0. It’s time to put their money where their mouths are and we’ll see who rises to the occasion.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

OFFENSE: WR Marques Rogers (SD): It’s hard to pick against the most electrifying player on the field. The 2019 IFL Special Teams player of the year is surrounded by a serious increase in talent from last season and could be in for a big afternoon.

WR: Ari Werts (BIS): A big body rookie, Werts stands 6’4” and could be a difference maker if he develops solid chemistry with Taz Wilson, especially down near the goal line.

DEFENSE: DB: Daquawn Brown (SD): One of a few major signings in the secondary this offseason, Brown is a former PAC-12 Honorable Mention selection while at Washington State and if he can adjust to the indoor game he has All-IFL potential.

DL: Latreze Mushatt (BIS): Mushatt is one of the veterans we referred to earlier and he has established himself as one of the best player’s in the Bucks young history already, leading the team in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles last season.

PREDICTION

Like we said in our Steamwheeler and River Kings preview, we have been harsh critics of the Bucks over the offseason. Now is their time to silence the doubters. Will it happen? It’ll come down to quarterback play. If San Diego gets it this one won’t be close. Bismarck does have the luxury of many players returning and this one will be a lot closer than many people think.

SAN DIEGO: 38 BISMARCK: 33

BIG FIRST HALF PROPELS STEAMWHEELERS OVER RIVER KINGS

HOW IT HAPPENED

There was excitement, there was energy, there was hope this would be a new River Kings team. That lasted all of six seconds, as Keyvan Rudd returned the opening kickoff of the 2020 IFL season for a touchdown. Cedar Rapids did make things interesting in the first half as the new-found athleticism of Victor Mann’s squad showed itself when Chris Franklin returned a kickoff for a touchdown to pull the River Kings within six. After another QC touchdown Derrick Bernard scored on an impressive 21 yard touchdown run. That’s when the wheels fell off and Quad City does what they do so well, answer quickly. Hilliard threw a beautiful ball downfield to Rudd from 34 yards out to give the ‘Wheelers a two-score lead which they turned into a four-score lead by halftime as Hilliard scored on the ground from one and ten yards out.

The second half saw the River Kings take out some of their first half frustrations and turn things into a game in the third quarter. Cedar Rapids was able to score 26 points in the half, thanks to an improved passing game as Bernard threw two touchdown passes, while Javin Kilgo threw his first career IFL touchdown. The only turnover of the night came on a fumble recovery in the endzone in which River King Diante Thomas fell on a ‘Wheeler fumble for a score. In the end, the River Kings were a much more intriguing team on Saturday night but the quick strike offense was too much for the inexperienced River Kings to overcome.

RIVER KINGS CONFUSION

The second half can be summed up with a “What if?” The River Kings did a fantastic job battling their way back into the game after halftime only to throw in the towel. There were three instances which come to mind. Derrick Bernard finally got going after a 5/15 first half, throwing for two touchdowns, only to be benched for Javin Kilgo. While Kilgo played well, Bernard provided a much bigger threat for a comeback and he wasn’t given that opportunity. Second, the team chose to not kick onside down 54-33 with 39 seconds remaining, and then didn’t attempt an onside kick again down just two scores, 54-39 with 32 seconds left. Lastly, the team had a chance to get the ball back if they were able to tackle Quad City behind the line of scrimmage and use their final two timeouts but instead let the clock run out as the River Kings failed to win their fourth consecutive season opener.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was a bit dissapointed in the ‘Wheelers tonight. They did get the win which is their job, not to entertain me. They took what the River Kings gave them which was a lot of short throws and we didn’t see a whole lot of what we expected, which were the deep throws we saw last season from QC. Cedar Rapids is going to be such a fun team to watch this season whether they win a lot or not. They are athletic, and passionate, and are a perfect underdog story. If they can find their identity they can be dangerous. One thing is for sure, they need to clean up A LOT of things defensively.

STAT LEADERS

PASSING YARDS: EJ Hilliard (QC): 125

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: Derrick Bernard (CR): 2

RUSHING YARDS: EJ Hilliard (QC): 47

RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS: EJ Hilliard (QC): 3

RECEPTIONS: Marcus Bagley (QC), James Harden (CR): 4

RECEIVING YARDS: Tre Harvey (QC): 56

RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS: Keyvan Rudd (QC), Bones Baguante (CR), Shaq Curenton (CR), Elijah Johnson (CR): 1

EXTRA POINTS: Jacob Stytz (QC): 6

FIELD GOALS: None

KICKOFF RETURN YARDS: Chris Franklin (CR): 119

KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWNS: Chris Franklin (CR), Keyvan Rudd (QC): 1

TACKLES: Treavor Pugh (CR): 12

TACKLES FOR LOSS: Walter Walker (CR): 2

SACKS: Shaun Hill (QC): 1.5

INTERCEPTIONS: Kiante Goudeau (QC): 1

FORCED FUMBLES: Shaun Hill (QC), Lamore Wise (CR): 1

FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Diante Thomas (CR): 1

GAME AWARDS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: EJ Hilliard (QC): 8-12 passing, 1 TD, 47 yards rushing, 3 TD.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Shaun Hill (QC): 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Chris Franklin (CR): 5 KR, 119 yards, 55 long, 1 TD.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Keyvan Rudd 34 yard TD pass from EJ Hilliard.