Post by DiamondThief on May 4, 2019 20:05:57 GMT -8
FINAL - Sugar Skulls 54, Strike Force 34
5/4/19 --
TUCSON, AZ - The first, second and third times have all turned out to be charms.
The Tucson Sugar Skulls opened up a 41-21 halftime lead and never looked back as they turned away the San Diego Strike Force for the third time this season, 54-34, tonight at Tucson Convention Center. Tucson improved to 4-5 on the season and stayed in the IFL playoff hunt. San Diego fell to 1-8 and 0-5 on the road.
It was the third of four meetings between the Indoor Football League's expansion teams. They face each other once more, in just five days, in San Diego. The Sugar Skulls won the first meeting, 65-44, on March 3 in San Diego and the second meeting, 51-31, on March 31 in Tucson.
The Sugar Skulls scored first on an 11-yard pass from Jake Medlock to Rico Brown, but the Strike Force came right back when Marques Rodgers rushed in from five yards out. Medlock's three-yard pass to Brown with 6:34 left in the first put the Sugar Skulls up 14-7. That score would last through the end of the quarter.
Tucson extended the lead to 21-7 on Medlock's three-yard run, then to 27-7 midway through the second quarter on Medlock's 14-yard pass to Shaquon Cutenton. San Diego got a spark from their special teams and defense when Rodgers returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown, followed by Tyler Thornton's 36-yard interception return for a score which cut the lead to 27-21. The Sugar Skulls scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from Medlock to Brown. They closed out the first half with a one-yard run from Medlock to lead by 20 at intermission.
The only score of the third quarter came from Tucson; a six-yard pass to Malique Belfort from Matt Behrendt, who replaced Medlock after he went down with a leg injury.
George Moreira, Jr. rushed in from two yards out to cut the deficit to 20 with 12:44 remaining in the final quarter. Behrendt's three-yard rush doubled the score at 54-27 with 1:13 left. The Strike Force scored with 36 seconds left on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jihad Vercher to Victor Dean.
The Sugar Skulls gained 204 yards of total offense to 163 for the Strike Force. The major difference was a 54-yard edge in the passing game. San Diego was penalized a dozen times for 94 yards and Tucson was flagged five times for 52 yards. Neither defense recorded a sack.
Medlock completed 14 of 20 passes for 90 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for two scores. Behrendt went eight of 12 for 60 yards with a touchdown through the air and another on the ground. Brown finished with six receptions for 42 yards and three touchdowns. Kasey Johnson recorded seven tackles and Cam Gaddis had an interception for the Sugar Skulls' defense.
Vercher, making his third start, went 12 of 21 for 96 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He also rushed 10 times for 42 yards. Rodgers caught four passes for 35 yards in addition to his rushing and kickoff return touchdowns. Thornton paced the Strike Force's defense with eight tackles and an interception.
It's a short turnaround for these teams as they will head to San Diego for their fourth and final meeting on Thursday, May 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. pacific standard time.
5/4/19 --
TUCSON, AZ - The first, second and third times have all turned out to be charms.
The Tucson Sugar Skulls opened up a 41-21 halftime lead and never looked back as they turned away the San Diego Strike Force for the third time this season, 54-34, tonight at Tucson Convention Center. Tucson improved to 4-5 on the season and stayed in the IFL playoff hunt. San Diego fell to 1-8 and 0-5 on the road.
It was the third of four meetings between the Indoor Football League's expansion teams. They face each other once more, in just five days, in San Diego. The Sugar Skulls won the first meeting, 65-44, on March 3 in San Diego and the second meeting, 51-31, on March 31 in Tucson.
The Sugar Skulls scored first on an 11-yard pass from Jake Medlock to Rico Brown, but the Strike Force came right back when Marques Rodgers rushed in from five yards out. Medlock's three-yard pass to Brown with 6:34 left in the first put the Sugar Skulls up 14-7. That score would last through the end of the quarter.
Tucson extended the lead to 21-7 on Medlock's three-yard run, then to 27-7 midway through the second quarter on Medlock's 14-yard pass to Shaquon Cutenton. San Diego got a spark from their special teams and defense when Rodgers returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown, followed by Tyler Thornton's 36-yard interception return for a score which cut the lead to 27-21. The Sugar Skulls scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from Medlock to Brown. They closed out the first half with a one-yard run from Medlock to lead by 20 at intermission.
The only score of the third quarter came from Tucson; a six-yard pass to Malique Belfort from Matt Behrendt, who replaced Medlock after he went down with a leg injury.
George Moreira, Jr. rushed in from two yards out to cut the deficit to 20 with 12:44 remaining in the final quarter. Behrendt's three-yard rush doubled the score at 54-27 with 1:13 left. The Strike Force scored with 36 seconds left on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jihad Vercher to Victor Dean.
The Sugar Skulls gained 204 yards of total offense to 163 for the Strike Force. The major difference was a 54-yard edge in the passing game. San Diego was penalized a dozen times for 94 yards and Tucson was flagged five times for 52 yards. Neither defense recorded a sack.
Medlock completed 14 of 20 passes for 90 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for two scores. Behrendt went eight of 12 for 60 yards with a touchdown through the air and another on the ground. Brown finished with six receptions for 42 yards and three touchdowns. Kasey Johnson recorded seven tackles and Cam Gaddis had an interception for the Sugar Skulls' defense.
Vercher, making his third start, went 12 of 21 for 96 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He also rushed 10 times for 42 yards. Rodgers caught four passes for 35 yards in addition to his rushing and kickoff return touchdowns. Thornton paced the Strike Force's defense with eight tackles and an interception.
It's a short turnaround for these teams as they will head to San Diego for their fourth and final meeting on Thursday, May 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. pacific standard time.
That game, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL's Official YouTube Channel. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. 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.
