Tag: ifl

WEEK 11 RECAP

Lorenzo Brown carried the Storm to Victory in Week 11 in Record Setting Fashion.
Photo Credit: siouxfallsstorm.com

STORM 59 STEAMWHEELERS 46

Lorenzo Brown tossed a season high 7 touchdown passes in the win for Sioux Falls which moves him into 4th all-time, passing Willie Copeland. Kent Shelby and Brandon Shepard were the main targets for Brown, hauling in three touchdowns a piece. For Quad City their toughest stretch of schedule could not be coming at a worse time. The ‘Wheelers now sit a game back of Tucson for the sixth and final playoff spot with a date against the Barnstormers awaiting them this weekend.

RATTLERS 56 DANGER 46

The first taste we got to see of reigning MVP Drew Powell wasn’t overly impressive, but it got the job done. Powell was efficient, completing 8 of 10 passes for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns against 1 interception. The Rattlers also got a lot of help defensively as Dillion Winfrey added an interception and veteran Bubba Chapman added two more.The Danger tried a new approach against the unbeaten Rattlers, focusing on a ground heavy attack with Tommy Armstrong, Davonte Sapp-Lynch and converted wide receiver Quincy Walden. The Rattler defense slowed down Walden and Sapp-Lynch, limiting them to just 66 yards and a touchdown combined. Armstrong had a strong night on the ground with 73 yards and 2 touchdowns, but his 3 interceptions were too much for Nebraska to overcome.

BARNSTORMERS 43 RIVER KINGS 18

If you have watched a Barnstormer or River Kings game this season, you can guess what went down in Des Moines Saturday night. Daquan Neal continued his MVP caliber season, throwing for 186 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with 1 on the ground. Wide receiver Ryan Balentine continued to climb the record ladder, moving into 3rd place all-time in receiving yards as he earned 109 against Cedar Rapids, while also catching a touchdown. 4 different Barnstormers caught touchdown passes. Tyrell Pearson also added an interception which gives him a league-leading 6 for the season. As for the River Kings, we haven’t minced words on how we feel about the situation for Cedar Rapids. Ben Wilkerson struggled again. He went 8-20 passing for 93 yards a touchdown and 3 picks. Mark Stoute should probably receiving his walking papers sooner rather than later, and the River Kings will be playing in Oakland next season if things don’t change.

SUGAR SKULLS 54 STRIKE FORCE 34

Good for the Sugar Skulls here, they took an opportunity and made the most of it. despite losing four straight coming into the ball game Tucson did a fantastic job finishing on Saturday, earning the victory behind 3 Rico Brown touchdown catches and moving back into the sixth and final playoff spot. All hope is not lost for San Diego, there are times where this team looks like it’s heading in the right direction. This was the first time they looked like they took a step back in a few weeks. A late season surge is still in the cards for a playoff push but performances like the one seen in Week 11 must be avoided.

BLIZZARD 48 BUCKS 39

Unfortunately the YouTube stream of this game never posted so we have not seen the entirety of this game. With that being said the Bucks are dangerous. They were down 2 points with 3 minutes to go and are going to be the most formidable challenger to Quad City and Tucson for the sixth and final playoff spot. The Blizzard keep doing what they need to do to set themselves up for a home playoff game. At 6-3 they are 1.5 games up on Nebraska for the fourth spot and own the tiebreaker. Lenorris Footman had arguably his best game throwing the football, going 8-14 for 135 yards, 3 touchdowns and most importantly no interceptions.

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.

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.