Post by DiamondThief on Jun 16, 2018 19:34:00 GMT -8
FINAL - Barnstormers 54, Titans 21
6/16/18 --
DES MOINES, IA - For the first time, the road to the United Bowl will run through Iowa's capital city.
The Iowa Barnstormers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a regular season finale win over their in-state rival Cedar Rapids Titans. The Barnstormers' convincing 54-23 win at Wells Fargo Arena, coupled with the Arizona Rattlers 59-23 win over the Nebraska Danger in Grand Island, clinched the number one seed for Iowa, which is in its fourth season in the Indoor Football League since moving over from the Arena Football League following the 2014 season.
The Barnstormers, Rattlers and Sioux Falls Storm entered week 17 atop the IFL standings with identical 10-3 records. The Barnstormers needed to win, as well as the Rattlers to win in order to secure the top seed. Iowa holds the tree-way tiebreaker but, had the Rattlers lost and the Storm had won, the Barnstormers would have found themselves as the second seed, as they lost the season series against the Storm, with which they would have been tied with 11-3 records. The Storm defeated the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday night in a thrilling triple-overtime decision. The trio of teams ended the night with wins, resulting in the aforementioned three-way tie.
Iowa will host the fourth seed Nebraska Danger on June 22, while the Storm will visit the Rattlers in the first round of the playoffs. Four of the IFL's six teams reach the playoffs this season. The Titans and Blizzard had been eliminated from the playoffs prior to entering the weekend.
Iowa took control early, scoring on a 14-yard run by Drew Powell on their first possession of the game. Powell added a one-yard run with 4:03 left in the opening quarter to put the Barnstormers up 14-0. The Titans got on the board on Jake Medlock's three-yard strike to a leaping Connor Hollenbeck prior to the end of the quarter.
The Barnstormers went on a 20-point run in the second quarter. Jamal Tyler scored on a 24-yard scamper. Powell then hit Brady Roland on a three-yard touchdown pass. Powell added a nine-yard run and Iowa had the lead at 24-6 at the 3:09 mark of the quarter. Medlock hit Javon Bell for nine yards, then found Marquel Wade for the two-point conversion. Powell and Roland weren't done for the half, though, as they connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left. The Barnstormers led 40-14 at intermission.
The second half was much more slow moving. With a 24-point lead at the half, Barnstormers' head coach Dixie Wooten pulled Powell in favor of Grant Rohach to save Powell for the playoffs. Rohach led the Barnstormers to a pair of wins during a two-game stint in the middle of the season when Powell was trying out in the Canadian Football League. Powell is widely considered a front runner for Offensive Player of the Year.
Iowa increased its lead to 47-14 on Jamal Tyler's 16-yard run at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter. The Titans struck back seven minutes later when Wade ran it in from five yards out. The Barnstormers led 47-21 heading into the final quarter.
The only scoring of the fourth came on Rohach's one-yard run with 2:51 left in the game, accounting for the final tally of 54-21.
Iowa held a slight edge in total offense, 268 yards to 261. The Barnstormers did their damage on the ground, with a 163 yards to 37 advantage in the rushing game. Behind the arm of Medlock, the Titans recorded 225 passing yards to the Barnstormers' 105. Cedar Rapids was penalized 10 times for 71 yards, while Iowa was flagged four times for 40 yards. The Titans committed three turnovers, while the Barnstormers did not turn the ball over during the contest.
In just a half of action, Powell was sensational. He completed 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed 8 times for 69 yards and 3 scores. Tyler provided a punch out of the backfield, gaining 79 yards off 12 carries with 2 touchdowns. Ryan Balentine led the Barnstormers in receiving with 4 catches for 63 yards, and Roland had 3 receptions for 32 yards and 2 touchdowns. Zachary Allen paced Iowa's defense with 5.5 total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Keith Jones, Jr. added a sack and 4 tackles for loss.
Medlock was efficient, but struggled to put points on the board. He went 24 of 33 for 230 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Wade was strong in the game, rushing 12 times for 37 yards and a touchdown, while leading all receivers with 7 receptions for 104 yards. Hollenbeck hauled in 8 receptions for 46 yards and a score, while Jordan Smith recorded 4 catches for 45 yards. Bell had 5 receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown. E.J. Frain's 5 total tackles led the Titans' defense, and James Calhoun had a tackle for loss.
The Barnstormers will host the Danger at Wells Fargo Arena on June 22. The Titans, who finish the season at 3-11, find themselves on vacation.
The Iowa Barnstormers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a regular season finale win over their in-state rival Cedar Rapids Titans. The Barnstormers' convincing 54-23 win at Wells Fargo Arena, coupled with the Arizona Rattlers 59-23 win over the Nebraska Danger in Grand Island, clinched the number one seed for Iowa, which is in its fourth season in the Indoor Football League since moving over from the Arena Football League following the 2014 season.
The Barnstormers, Rattlers and Sioux Falls Storm entered week 17 atop the IFL standings with identical 10-3 records. The Barnstormers needed to win, as well as the Rattlers to win in order to secure the top seed. Iowa holds the tree-way tiebreaker but, had the Rattlers lost and the Storm had won, the Barnstormers would have found themselves as the second seed, as they lost the season series against the Storm, with which they would have been tied with 11-3 records. The Storm defeated the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday night in a thrilling triple-overtime decision. The trio of teams ended the night with wins, resulting in the aforementioned three-way tie.
Iowa will host the fourth seed Nebraska Danger on June 22, while the Storm will visit the Rattlers in the first round of the playoffs. Four of the IFL's six teams reach the playoffs this season. The Titans and Blizzard had been eliminated from the playoffs prior to entering the weekend.
Iowa took control early, scoring on a 14-yard run by Drew Powell on their first possession of the game. Powell added a one-yard run with 4:03 left in the opening quarter to put the Barnstormers up 14-0. The Titans got on the board on Jake Medlock's three-yard strike to a leaping Connor Hollenbeck prior to the end of the quarter.
The Barnstormers went on a 20-point run in the second quarter. Jamal Tyler scored on a 24-yard scamper. Powell then hit Brady Roland on a three-yard touchdown pass. Powell added a nine-yard run and Iowa had the lead at 24-6 at the 3:09 mark of the quarter. Medlock hit Javon Bell for nine yards, then found Marquel Wade for the two-point conversion. Powell and Roland weren't done for the half, though, as they connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left. The Barnstormers led 40-14 at intermission.
The second half was much more slow moving. With a 24-point lead at the half, Barnstormers' head coach Dixie Wooten pulled Powell in favor of Grant Rohach to save Powell for the playoffs. Rohach led the Barnstormers to a pair of wins during a two-game stint in the middle of the season when Powell was trying out in the Canadian Football League. Powell is widely considered a front runner for Offensive Player of the Year.
Iowa increased its lead to 47-14 on Jamal Tyler's 16-yard run at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter. The Titans struck back seven minutes later when Wade ran it in from five yards out. The Barnstormers led 47-21 heading into the final quarter.
The only scoring of the fourth came on Rohach's one-yard run with 2:51 left in the game, accounting for the final tally of 54-21.
Iowa held a slight edge in total offense, 268 yards to 261. The Barnstormers did their damage on the ground, with a 163 yards to 37 advantage in the rushing game. Behind the arm of Medlock, the Titans recorded 225 passing yards to the Barnstormers' 105. Cedar Rapids was penalized 10 times for 71 yards, while Iowa was flagged four times for 40 yards. The Titans committed three turnovers, while the Barnstormers did not turn the ball over during the contest.
In just a half of action, Powell was sensational. He completed 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed 8 times for 69 yards and 3 scores. Tyler provided a punch out of the backfield, gaining 79 yards off 12 carries with 2 touchdowns. Ryan Balentine led the Barnstormers in receiving with 4 catches for 63 yards, and Roland had 3 receptions for 32 yards and 2 touchdowns. Zachary Allen paced Iowa's defense with 5.5 total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Keith Jones, Jr. added a sack and 4 tackles for loss.
Medlock was efficient, but struggled to put points on the board. He went 24 of 33 for 230 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Wade was strong in the game, rushing 12 times for 37 yards and a touchdown, while leading all receivers with 7 receptions for 104 yards. Hollenbeck hauled in 8 receptions for 46 yards and a score, while Jordan Smith recorded 4 catches for 45 yards. Bell had 5 receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown. E.J. Frain's 5 total tackles led the Titans' defense, and James Calhoun had a tackle for loss.
The Barnstormers will host the Danger at Wells Fargo Arena on June 22. The Titans, who finish the season at 3-11, find themselves on vacation.
All IFL post-season games will be streamed live on the IFL's Official YouTube Channel. SCtoC will present previews of the playoff games, as well as the United Bowl. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game.
- ANM
To share this post on social media, please go to the right side of the page (the top of the page on the mobile site) to the social media icons and choose which social media site(s) to share the thread. To comment on this thread and others on this forum, please login or register.