Post by DiamondThief on Jul 27, 2019 11:41:40 GMT -8
Storm o-line and Rattlers d-line square off in the United Bowl.
(SCtoC photo by Gary Royall).
We're two weeks removed from the conclusion of the 2019 IFL season, but the recollections are still fresh in our minds.
There were no shortage of thrilling moments and exciting games to go around during the league's 11th season; a year which saw an upswing from the 2018 campaign. As with every season, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Four new teams were added to the league, making for an intriguing off season prior to the start of the campaign. It also increased the competitiveness of the league. Two franchises made the move from Champions Indoor Football League and a pair of franchises were announced. The additions added parity to the league and made for some truly interesting football.
Shortly following last season, two coaches had their interim tags removed and one team had not only a coaching change, but an absolute makeover. The Iowa Barnstormers, coming off the first championship in either their IFL or Arena Football League history (not even Barnstormer and NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner was able to pull that off in the 1990s). The Barnstormers had a bullseye on their backs as they looked to repeat under head coach Dixie Wooten. The Arizona Rattlers and Sioux Falls Storm were expected to compete with the Barnstormers for the IFL championship. The questions remained, however, would another team emerge as a contender and which one of the league's seven other teams might jump into that challenger's role. Maybe an existing team or one of the new four teams. Hint: One did. (see below).
With the addition of four teams, the league schedule expanded to 70 regular season games from 42 game a year before. Each team played seven games at home and seven away. The playoffs also were expanded from four teams in two rounds to six teams of three rounds with the top two seeds earning first round byes. Essentially, the league was looking up. The Barnstormers, Rattlers and Storm each made the playoffs with the former two earning those byes. It was up to the remaining seven to battle it out for the final three spots. Those battles would prove to be entertaining to say the least.
In the following, I will attempt to encapsulate the 2019 IFL season and the impact its teams made and, make no mistake, each team had its own distinction in the league during the season.
It's no secret that the Cedar Rapids Titans had been struggling for the past couple of seasons. All reports and credible rumors had them folding after 2018. Step in Roy Choi, who led an ownership group to purchase the team. The group immediately brought in former Spokane Shock/Empire general manager Ryan Eucker to retool and re-brand the franchise. The Titans became the River Kings with a new logo and color scheme. The River Kings added Mark Stoute, who had helmed the team for four seasons, as their head coach. The team faced the Storm in the season opener. With the score tied 44-44 in the final seconds, the Storm kicked a long field goal as time expired to win the game. It appeared that the new River Kings would be able to compete with the upper echelon of the IFL. Despite a win over the expansion San Diego Strike Force in week 3, the River Kings struggled most of the season while trying to be competitive. They lost their last 11 games of the season and finished tied for last in the standings and well out of the playoff race. They hold the unfortunate distinction of being the only team in IFL history to be shut out in a game twice; an ironic note since they were the last team to win a shut out game, which was during Stoute's 2015 season with the Titans. However, after dismissing Stoute on July 21, the River Kings will look for a different direction in 2020.
Strike Force KR/WR Marques Rodgers led the IFL in all-purpose yards in 2019.
(SCtoC photo by Gary Royall).
With the league at nine teams, a 10th was announced just three months prior to the start of the season and two months after the start of free agency. Like the River Kings, the San Diego Strike Force would be owned by Choi, a California businessman. The franchise got off to a rocky start when their first hire as head coach, Ameer Ismail, moved on to become an assistant coach in the National Arena League. Former San Diego Charger Burt Grossman was brought in to take over the team. The Strike Force lost their first six games before defeating the River Kings at home in San Diego in week 8; a win which would become the only win for the team during its expansion season. Like their “cousin” River Kings, they finished 1-13 and were eliminated from the playoffs with several games to be played in the season. After the six opening losses, Eucker was moved over from the River Kings to the Strike Force, while retaining an advisory position and becoming a co-owner of the Cedar Rapids franchise. San Diego was competitive in several games during the course of the season but for the most part were unable to break through. Veteran quarterback Derrick Bernard started the season, but bolted to another league. A bright spot was wide receiver and kick returner Marques Rodgers, who led the league in all-purpose yards. The Strike Force are expected by be back in 2020 with a full off season to prepare for 2020.
The Bismarck Bucks were one of two teams which came over from CIF to the IFL over the course of the season. This was a team which had the promise of IFL success and a welcome new Midwest regional addition to the league. Yet, the team struggled, losing its first six games. Veteran indoor quarterbacks John Gibbs and Homer Causey shared time at quarterback, and wide receiver and kick returner Mike Tatum joined the team after a successful multi-year stint with the Storm. Bismarck's first win came in a 40-25 win over the River Kings at Cedar Rapids in week 9. They followed that up with a thrilling 51-48 win at home over the Quad City Steamwheelers the following week. It was their signature win of the season. However, the Bucks would go on to drop their final six games and finish at 2-12. Tatum, among the league leaders in all-time all-purpose yards, was released by the team in late May and signed with the Nebraska Danger the following day. An influx of new ownership energy came in the middle of the season and has the potential of keeping the Bucks in the IFL for 2020. That's probably more likely than not, though Rod Miller's position of head coach could be in jeopardy should that happen. On the other hand, failing to make the playoffs and seeing first-hand the competition in the IFL could prepare the Bucks for a future in the league. This story will be one to watch over the off season.
Steamwheelers QB E.J. Hilliard led the IFL in passing in 2019.
(Photo by Jessica Gallagher/Quad City Times).
The Steamwheelers possessed an explosive offense in their first season in the league after making the jump from CIF during the off season. They had the top passing quarterback in the IFL, and a pair of punishingly athletic receivers. They were in the playoff hunt through the last game of the regular season – literally. All they needed to do in their season finale was defeat the Tucson Sugar Skulls on the road. Quad City had already put away the Sugar Skulls in week 9 by 18 points, so it was a realistic task. Yet, it was not to be as they fell to the Sugar Skulls, 55-50, at Tucson. It was a disappointing end for the Steamwheelers, which finished 6-8 on the season. E.J. Hilliard led the league in passing at 195.6 yards per game and was second with 57 touchdown tosses. Keyvan Rudd and Quinton Pedroza were among the top three receivers in the league. Head coach Cory Ross' offense could have used a bit more balance (mid-season signee Zavier Steward did what he could), but they were in several games right up into the last minute. Their Achilles heel was a pair of mid-season losses to the Green Bay Blizzard in consecutive weeks which turned the Steamwheelers' season downward and from which they were never able to fully recover. Despite a disappointing season in 2019, the Steamwheelers (note that this franchise is not related in any way to the previous Quad City Steamwheelers incarnation), have building blocks for next year. They likely will continue to be in the playoff hunt and, if their core returns, they could be dangerous in 2020.
It's an interesting dynamic with the Tucson Sugar Skulls, who were announced as an expansion franchise shortly following the conclusion of the 2018 season. Rattlers head coach, Kevin Guy, his wife Cathy, and Ali Farhang lead the ownership group, along with executive director Mike Feder. The Sugar Skulls brought a natural rivalry with the Rattlers; just less than a two-hour drive from Tucson to Phoenix. With Kevin Guy coaching the Rattlers, the team was run by Cathy Guy and Feder, who turned it into a class franchise. Marcus Coleman, the defensive coordinator for the Barnstormers last season, was named head coach early in the process. Under quarterbacks Matt Behrendt and Jake Medlock, the team did a lot of good things on the field. Mike Jones was the top rusher among running backs in the league over the course of the season. Though they lost to the Rattlers in all four meetings, they took Arizona to overtime in week 16, losing 50-49 on a two-point conversion run in the first overtime. The Sugar Skulls persevered, though. They faced a do-or-die in the season finale at home against the Steamwheelers. The winner in that game made the playoffs; the loser went home. Tucson pulled out the 55-50 win to earn its trip to the post-season. They gave the Storm everything they had, but fell just short to Sioux Falls in the first round of the playoffs. Some fine tuning in 2020 could see them go further.
Danger RB Davonte Sapp-Lynch.
(SCtoC photo by Gary Royall)
Coming into the season, the Nebraska Danger had made the IFL playoffs the six previous seasons, but had not won a playoff game since 2016. That trend of playoff berths would continue, and they would change their fate in the latter. Pig Brown was named permanent head coach of the team after having served as co-interim head coach for the final four games of 2018. The announcement was made right before the 2018 United Bowl; the same week he was inducted into the IFL Hall of Fame as a player. Tommy Armstrong, Jr., who set records of 8,871 passing yards and 67 touchdowns in four years at the University of Nebraska, was signed and became an early fan favorite. The team added running back Davonte Sapp-Lynch (Marshawn “hand-the-ball-to Lynch's” kid brother). Both excelled in the team's explosive running attack. Things looked bleak a couple of weeks prior to regular season's end and the Danger were eventually forced to defeat the defending champion Barnstormers at Des Moines in the week 17 season finale to earn a playoff spot. That they did on a last-minute score to finish the season 7-7. When the Sugar Skulls put away the Steamwheelers in the finale, the Danger emerged as the fifth of six seeds in the playoffs. They went into Green Bay and stole a win over the Blizzard in the first round before being dropped by the Rattlers in the Intense Conference Championship Game, ending their season. Armstrong had a tryout with the forthcoming XFL so it is unsure if he may be back in 2020. The Danger are also questionable for next season as they have been put up for sale by owner Charlie Bosselman.
There was no better story in the IFL this season than the Green Bay Blizzard. Barring a pair of wins over the Danger in 2018. last season was a disaster. Finishing 2-12 in Titletown can't go over well. On the other hand, Green Bay football fans love their teams. Corey Roberson took over as interim head coach after five games last season and was promoted to full head coach shortly after the 2018 United Bowl. From winning just two games last year, Roberson turned the Blizzard around this season. They finished 9-5 and earned the fourth seed in the playoffs. The Resch Center consistently has a strong fan following. Quarterback Lenorris Footman was a thrill to watch as he improved mightily over the course of the season, both as a passer and a rusher. Kezlow Smith and Keshaun Taylor were stellar receivers. Footman engineered four last-minute wins during the season; two against the Danger and two against the Steamwheelers in back-to-back weeks. With four tries at the end zone in their playoff game in western central Wisconsin, one catch could have propelled them to the conference championship. Unfortunately for the Blizzard, one last attempt at a final-minute comeback was thwarted by the Danger. For the turnaround, Roberson was deservedly named IFL Coach of the Year and earned the SCtoC Golden Helmet Award of the same honor.
Blizzard head coach Corey Roberson during a home game against the Rattlers.
(Photo via Green Bay Blizzard Official Facebook page).
The Barnstomers came into 2019 in an unfamiliar position; that of a champion who needed to defend their championship. They lost their MVP quarterback in Drew Powell, but replaced him with the nearly identical style of Daquan Neal. Very identical; down to even the same jersey number (#2). Dixie Wooten's crew seemed to be on it's way to another United Bowl throughout the season. Despite a loss to the Storm in week 9 at Sioux Falls, they went undefeated until their season finale loss to the Danger which, in turn, clinched a playoff spot for Nebraska. Neal was named IFL MVP and won our Golden Helmet Award for Offensive Player of the Year. Ryan Balentine finished the season as the top receiver in the league and the defense was, once, again, stalwart. Wooten's crew finished the regular season at 12-2, which gave them the second seed and a bye in the first round. The Barnstormers did not face the Rattlers this season, but split games with the Storm. Iowa hosted Sioux Falls in a back-and-forth affair. With the Barnstomers up 44-31 early in the fourth quarter, Neal went down with a leg injury. That forced the Barnstormers, who did not have a backup quarterback on the roster, to insert Balentine into the position. The Storm scored on three straight possessions and held off the Barnstormers to advance to the United Bowl and send the Barnstormers home.
Of all indications, it appeared that the Rattlers would walk into the United Bowl and complete their perfect season. As the reader undoubtedly knows by now, that didn't quite happen. It was one of the most exiting United Bowls in IFL history, as well as one of the higher scoring. After Verlon Reed, Jr. went down to injury mid-season, Jeff Ziemba took over and was efficient. However, after Drew Powell, the 2018 IFL MVP with the Barnstormers, was released from a tryout with the AFL, he and the Rattlers connected and he quickly became the stater ahead of Ziemba. The Rattlers led the league as the top office and the top defense. Arizona finished the regular season at 14-0 and had a chance to become the first team since the 2015 Storm to claim a winless season through the playoffs. They fended off the Danger in the Intense Conference Championship game, 62-45, to earn a trip to the United Bowl. The game was hosted not at Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena, but at Gila River Arena in nearby Glendale. It was much of a back-and-forth-battle in which the Rattlers had the upper hand into the third quarter, but the experienced Storm squashed the Rattlers title hopes for 2019. Still, through the season, the Rattlers made their IFL presence known, making it to a pair of United Bowls in three seasons in the IFL since moving over from the now-regional AFL following the 2016 season.
The 2019 United Bowl champion Sioux Falls Storm.
(SCtoC photo by Gary Royall).
What of the Storm. Many may have projected them to make the playoffs and be eliminated, probably in a conference championship game. After having won six straight United Bowls from 2011 to 2016, they made it to their 10th straight title game in 2019. They may not have had the easiest of roads to earn their seventh IFL title, but they took advantage of every opportunity. Their three losses in the regular season came to teams ranked above them in the final standings (Rattlers twice, Barnstormers once). The Storm took care of every other opponent during the year. They were challenged, but persevered. Sioux Falls had the most difficult road through the playoffs. They hosted the upstart expansion Tucson Sugar Skulls in the first round and emerged with a 50-47 win at home. However, it would turn out that their most important two games of the season would come on the road. The Storm came back to put away the Barnstomers in the United Bowl Championship Game, which pitted them against the Rattlers at Glendale, Arizona in their bid for a seventh championship. Veteran quarterback Lorenzo Brown, Jr. and a stringent second half defense pulled Sioux Falls into winning position. That's exactly what they did. Kurtiss Riggs' group gained its IFL championship and Brown was named MVP. The Storm have won seven of the last 10 United Bowls. They will have a target on their backs in 2020.
EXTRA POINTS
- As the premiere sports forum covering the IFL, we appreciate the efforts of team website updates. With one exception, this improved from last season to this season. Keep bringing on the updated sites.
On the previous point, we would like to recognize the Storm's director of media relations Kayley Shade and her team for complete updates of roster moves, player numbers and general updates of Storm news. Several teams are very good at this, but the crew over in Sioux Falls is just a notch above the rest in this area. This is invaluable to the internet media.
Related to the previous point; to the Arizona Rattlers: Update your rosters constantly. You could easily have someone updating your website daily and, quite frankly, you just don't do it. On our site, we have someone who updates rosters daily and it takes him just a couple minutes a day. You should too.
- After last season, there were three top head coaches in the league. There are now four. Corey Roberson, you have joined the group.
- Speaking of Coach Roberson's Blizzard, you are absolutely the feel-good story of the league. That turnaround is something extremely special.
- Kurtiss Riggs' Storm rarely disappoints. That United Bowl win was one for the ages. Congratulation to the team, players, coaching staff and the Sioux Falls community in it's entirety.
- To Rattlers fans complaining about the refereeing in the United Bowl: Stop. This was among the best and most accurate refereeing in the league this season. I understand championship losses are hard, but complaining about legitimate refereeing is beneath any legitimate fan.
2020 WISH LIST
- IFL please continue broadcasting on YouTube. Hundreds of people are watching these games, getting closer to these teams and players; local and non-local. Think of it this way: The advertising on the dasher boards and on the screens is getting through.
- I mentioned this in my entry following last season. The league did a great job of staggering game dates and times of the season this year. They had some Friday games, Sunday afternoon games and even a couple of Monday night games. I am absolutely cognizant that this relies on arena availability. With the potential of more teams and games next season, the live games at different dates and times will only enhance the exposure of the league.
- Corey Roberson, keep doing what you have done. Great defense; opportunistic offense. Terrific work to our friend. The Blizzard are looking up.
- Cedar Rapids River Kings social media, keep up what you did. There is a reason you got that award. We loved the collaboration, especially late in the season. Essentially from 2018 to 2019, you went from worst to first in this area.
- To the producers and writers of the television show Supernatural, who use Sioux Falls as one of your significant setting locations: Mention the Storm and the IFL. I know you're going into your 15th and final season, so it would be a nice reference. Just sayin'.
Supernatural season 14 title card.
(Graphic via YouTube).
- To Roy Choi: Keep the faith. This is the top indoor football league in the world. Let the AFL think what it wants, but the IFL is clearly now the top-run indoor football league.
- To any team looking for a head coach: Marvin Jones could be available. Give him another head coaching spot with your team. He won't disappoint.
- Less than two weeks following the end of the season, there are already rumblings about as many as five teams joining the IFL for 2020 through various avenues. We at SCtoC have been told by a confidential source that the Duke City Gladiators are planning on making the jump from Champions Indoor Football to the IFL next season. We are also told that as many as four expansion teams are in talks to join the league.
FINALLY
On behalf of this site, its staff and its members, it has been an absolute blast covering the IFL during its 11th season. The future is glowing bright for this league and there is no shortage of excitement surrounding next season. We are looking forward to a strong 2020 season and are already talks on how to improve the information we bring to our readers.
Thank you to all those who have visited and signed up for SCtoC, and who have shown interest via social media. We are here because we love this game and enjoy bring it to you. Again, thank you.
-Angi
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