Post by Monika on Apr 19, 2024 18:05:02 GMT -8
Blizzard 48, Storm 35
4/19/24 --
GREEN BAY, WI - The Green Bay Blizzard took advantage of three Sioux Falls Storm first half turnovers, an held off the Storm in the second half, to claim their third win of the season, 48-35, at Denny Sanford Premier Center.
With the win, the Blizzard move to 3-1 on the season and remain in third place, at least temporarily, in the Eastern Conference. The once-vaunted Storm fell to a league-worst 0-4 as they begin to prepare for the Fargo-IFL Gridiron Classic next week at Fargo, North Dakota.
Sioux Falls leads the overall series 21-3, including a mark of 9-2 at the Resch Center. Interestingly, the Blizzard's first-ever win over the Storm came just 22 months ago. These two teams are the two longest-tenured in the IFL. Note that those records include only the current iteration of the IFL. The teams play twice more this season; on May 3 and on July 20. Both of those contests are at Sioux Falls.
After a terrific opening kickoff return from Jaylin Cagle, the Blizzard scored on a Max Meylor bootleg around the left side for two yards. The Storm countered on their opening drive with an 11-yard draw from quarterback Billy Hall. The Storm forced a turnover on downs to take over inside the Green Bay 20. The Blizzard defense returned the favor, stopping Hall at the one-yard line on fourth down. Meylor connected with Lowell Patron, Jr. for 46 yards to the Sioux Falls three. However, Cagle fumbled on a run around the right side which was recovered by Elijah Reed of the Storm. Yet, on the very next play, Hall was intercepted by Jaylan Alexander. That set up a four-yard touchdown toss from Meylor to Patron in the left side of the end zone. Meylor then hit Tre Adger III for the two-point conversion. Green Bay led at the end of one quarter.
The Storm were driving, but fumbled which was recovered by Rafiq Abdul-Wahid of the Blizzard. They drove down to the one-yard line, but Meylor was stopped short on fourth down. Sioux Falls capitalized with a 22-yard touchdown toss to Kentrez Bell to tied the game with 5:21 remaining in the first half. The Blizzard retook the lead when Meylor plunged in from a yard out with just under 50 seconds remaining. The Storm fumbled as they were driving in the final seconds and it was recovered by Scean Mustin of the Blizzard. Green Bay's Andrew Mevis attempted a 38-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked. The Blizzard led 21-14 heading into intermission.
Sioux Falls received the opening kick, but a muffed snapped ended up in Mustin recovering the ball for the Blizzard. They capitalized on the turnover with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Meylor to Patron in the left side of the end zone. The Blizzard tried an onside kick, but it resulted in the Storm getting the ball at the 13-yard line. Hall scrambled right and threw a five-yard touchdown to Storm defensive lineman Claude Davis, who was eligible for the play. The Blizzard went on an extended drive which culminated with Meylor's two-yard touchdown to Demetrius Moore in the right corner of the end zone. Green Bay held a 35-21 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Storm scored a minute into the fourth quarter when Hall found Lorenzo Thompson for his first touchdown of the season; of 22 yards. The Blizzard scored again on a "tush push" where Meylor scored from a yard out. The Storm pulled back to within a touchdown once again when Hall found Thompson for a three-yard score with 6:23 left. Mevis nailed a 30-yard field goal to put the Blizzard up 45-35 with 3:30 left in regulation. Green Bay's defense forced a turnover on downs at the Sioux Falls 12. Mevis tacked on a 27-yard field goal to go up by 13 with 58 seconds remaining. The Storm were unable to complete the comeback.
Meylor finished with six all-purpose touchdowns. He completed 13 for 20 passes for 150 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed for 63 yards and another score. Meylor was returning from injury which kept him out of the team's previous game, a win over the Quad City Steamwheelers. Patron caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Ransom and Nijul Canada each had seven tackles for the Blizzard defense. Rafiq Abdul-Wahid had a pair of sacks.
Hall went 13 of 18 for 138 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. He rushed for 54 yards and another touchdown. Bell and Thompson each caught three passes for 42 and 40 yards, respectively. Each was one of four receivers to catch touchdown passes from Hall. Reed had 13 tackles and Jalen James had seven for the Storm defense.
The Blizzard gained 241 yards to 209 for the Storm. They held slight advantages in both the rushing game and the passing game. Sioux Falls lost the turnover battle, 4-1. The Storm were penalized seven times for 107 yards and the Blizzard were flagged six times for 48 yards.
A notable for the game is that Lorenzo Brown, Jr., who won three championships with the Storm, was back with the team this week. Brown had retired after last season, but came out of retirement for three games for the Arizona Rattlers. He was released on April 17 and re-signed by the Storm. He did not see action in this game, but could be called on in upcoming weeks.
The Blizzard will host the Iowa Barnstormers on April 26 with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. The Storm will take on the Massachusetts Pirates on April 27 for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff. That game will be at Scheel's Arena in Fargo, North Dakota and is dubbed the Fargo-IFL Gridiron Classic and is hosted by the Dakota (formerly Bismarck) Bucks who are dormant until next season. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
4/19/24 --
GREEN BAY, WI - The Green Bay Blizzard took advantage of three Sioux Falls Storm first half turnovers, an held off the Storm in the second half, to claim their third win of the season, 48-35, at Denny Sanford Premier Center.
With the win, the Blizzard move to 3-1 on the season and remain in third place, at least temporarily, in the Eastern Conference. The once-vaunted Storm fell to a league-worst 0-4 as they begin to prepare for the Fargo-IFL Gridiron Classic next week at Fargo, North Dakota.
Sioux Falls leads the overall series 21-3, including a mark of 9-2 at the Resch Center. Interestingly, the Blizzard's first-ever win over the Storm came just 22 months ago. These two teams are the two longest-tenured in the IFL. Note that those records include only the current iteration of the IFL. The teams play twice more this season; on May 3 and on July 20. Both of those contests are at Sioux Falls.
After a terrific opening kickoff return from Jaylin Cagle, the Blizzard scored on a Max Meylor bootleg around the left side for two yards. The Storm countered on their opening drive with an 11-yard draw from quarterback Billy Hall. The Storm forced a turnover on downs to take over inside the Green Bay 20. The Blizzard defense returned the favor, stopping Hall at the one-yard line on fourth down. Meylor connected with Lowell Patron, Jr. for 46 yards to the Sioux Falls three. However, Cagle fumbled on a run around the right side which was recovered by Elijah Reed of the Storm. Yet, on the very next play, Hall was intercepted by Jaylan Alexander. That set up a four-yard touchdown toss from Meylor to Patron in the left side of the end zone. Meylor then hit Tre Adger III for the two-point conversion. Green Bay led at the end of one quarter.
The Storm were driving, but fumbled which was recovered by Rafiq Abdul-Wahid of the Blizzard. They drove down to the one-yard line, but Meylor was stopped short on fourth down. Sioux Falls capitalized with a 22-yard touchdown toss to Kentrez Bell to tied the game with 5:21 remaining in the first half. The Blizzard retook the lead when Meylor plunged in from a yard out with just under 50 seconds remaining. The Storm fumbled as they were driving in the final seconds and it was recovered by Scean Mustin of the Blizzard. Green Bay's Andrew Mevis attempted a 38-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked. The Blizzard led 21-14 heading into intermission.
Sioux Falls received the opening kick, but a muffed snapped ended up in Mustin recovering the ball for the Blizzard. They capitalized on the turnover with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Meylor to Patron in the left side of the end zone. The Blizzard tried an onside kick, but it resulted in the Storm getting the ball at the 13-yard line. Hall scrambled right and threw a five-yard touchdown to Storm defensive lineman Claude Davis, who was eligible for the play. The Blizzard went on an extended drive which culminated with Meylor's two-yard touchdown to Demetrius Moore in the right corner of the end zone. Green Bay held a 35-21 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Storm scored a minute into the fourth quarter when Hall found Lorenzo Thompson for his first touchdown of the season; of 22 yards. The Blizzard scored again on a "tush push" where Meylor scored from a yard out. The Storm pulled back to within a touchdown once again when Hall found Thompson for a three-yard score with 6:23 left. Mevis nailed a 30-yard field goal to put the Blizzard up 45-35 with 3:30 left in regulation. Green Bay's defense forced a turnover on downs at the Sioux Falls 12. Mevis tacked on a 27-yard field goal to go up by 13 with 58 seconds remaining. The Storm were unable to complete the comeback.
Meylor finished with six all-purpose touchdowns. He completed 13 for 20 passes for 150 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed for 63 yards and another score. Meylor was returning from injury which kept him out of the team's previous game, a win over the Quad City Steamwheelers. Patron caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Ransom and Nijul Canada each had seven tackles for the Blizzard defense. Rafiq Abdul-Wahid had a pair of sacks.
Hall went 13 of 18 for 138 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. He rushed for 54 yards and another touchdown. Bell and Thompson each caught three passes for 42 and 40 yards, respectively. Each was one of four receivers to catch touchdown passes from Hall. Reed had 13 tackles and Jalen James had seven for the Storm defense.
The Blizzard gained 241 yards to 209 for the Storm. They held slight advantages in both the rushing game and the passing game. Sioux Falls lost the turnover battle, 4-1. The Storm were penalized seven times for 107 yards and the Blizzard were flagged six times for 48 yards.
A notable for the game is that Lorenzo Brown, Jr., who won three championships with the Storm, was back with the team this week. Brown had retired after last season, but came out of retirement for three games for the Arizona Rattlers. He was released on April 17 and re-signed by the Storm. He did not see action in this game, but could be called on in upcoming weeks.
The Blizzard will host the Iowa Barnstormers on April 26 with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. The Storm will take on the Massachusetts Pirates on April 27 for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff. That game will be at Scheel's Arena in Fargo, North Dakota and is dubbed the Fargo-IFL Gridiron Classic and is hosted by the Dakota (formerly Bismarck) Bucks who are dormant until next season. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-MMM
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