Post by DiamondThief on Jun 8, 2019 19:08:00 GMT -8
FINAL - Barnstormers 55, Storm 43
6/8/19 --
DES MOINES, IA - It wasn't pretty, but the Iowa Barnstormers will have a week off during the opening round of the Indoor Football League playoffs.
Barnstormers quarterback Daquan Neal threw six touchdown passes and rushed for two more as Iowa secured at least the second seed in the playoffs and a bye in the first round with a 55-43 win over the Sioux Falls Storm tonight at Wells Fargo Center.
Iowa, the defending IFL champions, still have a slim chance to earn the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They would need to win their season finale next week against the Nebraska Danger and hope that the San Diego Strike Force can pull off a miraculous upset of the 13-0 Arizona Rattlers next week. Should those happen, Iowa and Arizona would end up with identical 13-1 records with the Barnstormers winning the strength of schedule tiebreaker.
Sioux Falls, who fell to 10-3, is locked into the third seed and will be at home in the first round against one of three teams yet to be determined; the Nebraska Danger, Quad City Steamwheelers or Tucson Sugar Skulls. The three teams are battling for the league's final two playoff spots. The Green Bay Blizzard have sealed up the fourth seed and will host one of those teams.
The Storm defeated the Barnstormers 36-32 on April 20 at Sioux Falls in the team's only other meeting of the season.
The Barnstormers got on the board on their first drive when Neal rushed in from 13 yards out. They followed that up on Neal's 30-yard pass to Ryan Balentine to take a 13-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter. The Storm got on the board on a 40-yard bomb from Lorenzo Brown, Jr. to Damian Ford, who was activated from short term injured reserve earlier in the week. Iowa led 13-6 at the end of one.
Iowa extended its lead to 20-6 early in the second quarter on a five yard touchdown pass from Neal to Connor Hollenbeck. Calen Campbell's six-yard run drew Sioux Falls to within a touchdown at 20-13 with 6:45 left in the quarter, but Iowa struck back on Neal's 26-yard pass to Jazeric Peterson with five minutes to go. Brown scored on a 25-yard run before the Storm got the ball back. Parker Douglass' 24-yard field goal as time expired in the half cut Iowa's lead to 27-23 at the break.
The Barnstormers went up 34-23 on a 29-yard pass from Neal to Hollenbeck with 9:15 left in the third quarter. The Storm scored two minutes later on a seven-yard run from Brown. Neal's 35-yard scamper with 5:07 left in the third gave the Barnstormers a 41-30 advantage which lasted through the end of the quarter.
The Storm cut the deficit back to four points early in the fourth quarter on Brown's 14-yard run. The Barnstormers came back with 14-straight points to begin to put the game out of reach. Neal hit Balentine for six yards, then found Peterson for nine yards and Iowa's lead was 55-37 with 2:50 left in the final quarter. Brown ran for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:36 left, but Iowa was able to run out the clock from there.
Iowa gained 326 yards of total offense to 269 for Sioux Falls. The Barnstormers had an 87-yard edge in the passing game while the Storm had a 30-yard advantage in the rushing game. Iowa was penalized 12 times for 82 yards and Sioux Falls was flagged six times for 45 yards.
Neal finished 17 of 23 for 238 yards with six touchdowns and no picks. He rushed 11 times for 77 yards and two scores. Balentine caught eight balls for 123 yards. Hollenbeck and Peterson each caught four passes, for 60 and 41 yards, respectively. Each of the three had two touchdown catches. Tevin Maditon led Iowa's defensive effort with six tackles and an interception, and Jonah McCutcheon also had an interception.
Brown went 13 of 31 for 151 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. He was the game's leading rusher with 110 yards off 13 carries and four touchdowns. Ford caught three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Kent Shelby had five grabs for 44 yards. Charles Williams and Trey Wafford recorded nine and eight tackles for the Sioux Falls defense, respectively.
Both teams are at home for their regular season finales. Iowa will host the Nebraska Danger on June 15 with kickoff scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Sioux Falls will be at home against the Bismarck Bucks on June 15, also with a kickoff at 5:05 p.m. All times listed are pacific standard time.
6/8/19 --
DES MOINES, IA - It wasn't pretty, but the Iowa Barnstormers will have a week off during the opening round of the Indoor Football League playoffs.
Barnstormers quarterback Daquan Neal threw six touchdown passes and rushed for two more as Iowa secured at least the second seed in the playoffs and a bye in the first round with a 55-43 win over the Sioux Falls Storm tonight at Wells Fargo Center.
Iowa, the defending IFL champions, still have a slim chance to earn the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They would need to win their season finale next week against the Nebraska Danger and hope that the San Diego Strike Force can pull off a miraculous upset of the 13-0 Arizona Rattlers next week. Should those happen, Iowa and Arizona would end up with identical 13-1 records with the Barnstormers winning the strength of schedule tiebreaker.
Sioux Falls, who fell to 10-3, is locked into the third seed and will be at home in the first round against one of three teams yet to be determined; the Nebraska Danger, Quad City Steamwheelers or Tucson Sugar Skulls. The three teams are battling for the league's final two playoff spots. The Green Bay Blizzard have sealed up the fourth seed and will host one of those teams.
The Storm defeated the Barnstormers 36-32 on April 20 at Sioux Falls in the team's only other meeting of the season.
The Barnstormers got on the board on their first drive when Neal rushed in from 13 yards out. They followed that up on Neal's 30-yard pass to Ryan Balentine to take a 13-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter. The Storm got on the board on a 40-yard bomb from Lorenzo Brown, Jr. to Damian Ford, who was activated from short term injured reserve earlier in the week. Iowa led 13-6 at the end of one.
Iowa extended its lead to 20-6 early in the second quarter on a five yard touchdown pass from Neal to Connor Hollenbeck. Calen Campbell's six-yard run drew Sioux Falls to within a touchdown at 20-13 with 6:45 left in the quarter, but Iowa struck back on Neal's 26-yard pass to Jazeric Peterson with five minutes to go. Brown scored on a 25-yard run before the Storm got the ball back. Parker Douglass' 24-yard field goal as time expired in the half cut Iowa's lead to 27-23 at the break.
The Barnstormers went up 34-23 on a 29-yard pass from Neal to Hollenbeck with 9:15 left in the third quarter. The Storm scored two minutes later on a seven-yard run from Brown. Neal's 35-yard scamper with 5:07 left in the third gave the Barnstormers a 41-30 advantage which lasted through the end of the quarter.
The Storm cut the deficit back to four points early in the fourth quarter on Brown's 14-yard run. The Barnstormers came back with 14-straight points to begin to put the game out of reach. Neal hit Balentine for six yards, then found Peterson for nine yards and Iowa's lead was 55-37 with 2:50 left in the final quarter. Brown ran for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:36 left, but Iowa was able to run out the clock from there.
Iowa gained 326 yards of total offense to 269 for Sioux Falls. The Barnstormers had an 87-yard edge in the passing game while the Storm had a 30-yard advantage in the rushing game. Iowa was penalized 12 times for 82 yards and Sioux Falls was flagged six times for 45 yards.
Neal finished 17 of 23 for 238 yards with six touchdowns and no picks. He rushed 11 times for 77 yards and two scores. Balentine caught eight balls for 123 yards. Hollenbeck and Peterson each caught four passes, for 60 and 41 yards, respectively. Each of the three had two touchdown catches. Tevin Maditon led Iowa's defensive effort with six tackles and an interception, and Jonah McCutcheon also had an interception.
Brown went 13 of 31 for 151 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. He was the game's leading rusher with 110 yards off 13 carries and four touchdowns. Ford caught three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Kent Shelby had five grabs for 44 yards. Charles Williams and Trey Wafford recorded nine and eight tackles for the Sioux Falls defense, respectively.
Both teams are at home for their regular season finales. Iowa will host the Nebraska Danger on June 15 with kickoff scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Sioux Falls will be at home against the Bismarck Bucks on June 15, also with a kickoff at 5:05 p.m. All times listed are pacific standard time.
Both games, 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
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