Post by DiamondThief on Sept 25, 2021 14:40:35 GMT -8
The Rattlers and Pirates in the 2021 United Bowl. (SCtoC photo by Gary Royall).
The Season
In what was clearly a challenging season given the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indoor Football League put together one of its most successful seasons in its 13th year. The campaign ended with a thrilling 37-34 win by the Massachusetts Pirates over the Arizona Rattlers in the United Bowl; we'll call it United Bowl XII.
As IFL commissioner Todd Tryon outlined in the United Bowl press conference on September 11, the league had a bit of a rough start to the season. First was a delay in the season start by roughly a month, though four teams opted to play a pair of games each prior to when the other eight would start the season. Week 1 included a matchup between the Bismarck Bucks and Green Bay Blizzard in Titletown, but the Bucks were only able to travel 19 players due to COVID-19 protocols. Typically, the roster would have been at 21 plus four on the inactive list. That didn't faze the Bucks as they pulled out a 41-35 win over the Blizzard. The following week, the Pirates visited the Blizzard for a Sunday afternoon matchup. On Saturday night at the Oneida Hotel and Casino where the Pirates were staying, there was a nearby active shooter. The Pirates players voted to play the game. The game was pushed back three hours and the Blizzard emerged with a 40-36 win.
And then there was Louisville. The Xtreme were one of the newest entries into the IFL and one of the four teams to play a pair of games prior to the other eight teams. It was rumored, and later became evident that the Xtreme ownership had not paid approximately $30,000 for their field and other items which were utilized. The league, amid financial concerns regarding the Xtreme, terminated their membership of the league after they had played just five games, going 0-5 in what is now considered their brief history.
Still, the league moved on. As Tryon noted, not a single game had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, though a few were changed for the start times. As previously stated, the league navigated the pandemic successfully. Of course, 11 games were cancelled after the Xtreme were exited from the league
For the first time in league history, the 2021 IFL Hall of Fame Class was inducted into the Hall during the league's first-ever Hall of Fame Game. The league entered former IFL/NFL running back Fred Jackson, Sioux Falls head coach Kurtiss Riggs, coach Heron O'Neal and late Iowa Barnstormers executive John Pettit into the Hall during the May 15 Hall of Fame Game between the Storm and Barnstormers. Previously, the inductions took place during the weekend of the United Bowl. With the delayed schedule, this year's United Bowl was pushed to September 12 which coincided with week 1 of the National Football League schedule. Those who chose to view the United Bowl were treated to a terrific back-and-forth event.
HOF inductees (clockwise from top left): Fred Jackson, Kurtiss Riggs, John Pettit, Heron O'Neal.
Once again, the IFL set up its games to be streamed live on Youtube. A few weeks into the season the league and Stadium sports network announced an agreement to broadcast and stream a game of the week on the network. Stadium provides streaming services on its platform. Broadcasts are also available over the air with a digital UHF antenna in some areas. Games on Stadium, sans the semifinals and United Bowl, were no longer available to stream on Youtube. A playoff game of the week throughout the playoffs, as well as the United Bowl, was available on both Stadium and Youtube. The broadcasts began on the hour rather than five minutes after the hour of the scheduled start times. They were accompanied by a pre-game show and halftime report.
The IFL saw quite a bit of parity with the league as three of the eight playoff spots were not clinched until the final week. Only one team, the expansion Northern Arizona Wranglers, were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with four weeks left in the regular season. The top three seeds from at the end of the season came from across the table. The Rattlers have been a powerhouse since moving over from the Arena Football League prior to the 2017 season. the Pirates moved over from the NAL prior to this season, and the Frisco Fighters were an expansion team in the IFL this season. In fact, two teams --the Pirates and Duke City Gladiators -- advanced to the semifinals after having switching from their previous leagues to the IFL.
Massachusetts began the season 3-3, but rebounded to win 11 straight, including their run through the playoffs. The Pirates ended the season with the league's top defense behind a talented group which seemed to get better as the season went along. It culminated with the first championship in their three-year history. Santos Ramirez, Harlan Miller, Martrell Spaight and Chucky Williams were among the standouts on the defensive side of the ball. Alejandro Bennifield led an efficient offense with Thomas Owens being one of the top receivers in the league all season long. Laquvionte Gonzalez emerged as an offensive threat and was outstanding as a kick returner for the Pirates. Justin Stockton was a stalwart rusher in the Pirates' offense.
The Rattlers were on the precipice of claiming their second United Bowl title until they ran into the Pirates in the United Bowl. Including the playoffs, Arizona went 14-3 with two of those losses coming against Massachusetts. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of the Storm in Sioux Falls in week 5. Arizona finished the season with a seven game winning streak which was snapped in the title game. Drew Powell was outstanding, completing 69 percent of his passes and leading the league in rushing. Darrell Monroe and Nick LaSane provided the rushing punch, while Jarrod Harrington was the lead receiver for the team. Dillon Winfrey, Devin Cockrell and Nikolas D'Avanzo lead the stout Rattlers defense.
Rattlers and Gladiators square off in the semifinals. (SCtoC photo by Gary Royall)
The Bismarck Bucks showed marked improvement over their 2-12 finish in 2019. The Bucks finished with a 7-8 regular season record and a playoff berth. Though they were defeated by the Pirates in the opening round of the playoffs, it's an indication that head coach Rod Miller has his team headed in the right direction. Their success might have been elevated had it not been for inconsistencies at the quarterback position. Four different players lined up to start behind center this season and a fifth saw significant action in a few games. Running back Justin Rankin and receiver Raheem Harvey were bright spots for the offense. Darreon Jackson, Malik Duncan and Da'von Keith were standouts on defense.
Duke City made its mark on offense this season, averaging over 52 points per game including the playoffs. The Gladiators made the successful move over from Champions Indoor Football and were set to play last season before the cancellation. After they started the season 2-4 with Martino Theus as head coach, they made a switch as Robert Kent took the reigns. The Gladiators also had to play their games 30 miles northwest of Albuquerque in Rio Rancho due to their home arena, Tingley Coliseum, being used as a COVID-19 vaccination site. Nate Davis was the top passer in the IFL with a receiving group led by Dello Davis, Jared Elmore and Xavier Amey. Ray Jones, Jr. paced the defensive unit with 82 tackles.
By the end of June, it looked as if the Fighters might run the table. They were 5-0 on the season, but dropped three of their last eight games. The playoffs might have ended differently had they defeated the Rattlers in the regular season finale. Both teams came in with the winner earning the top seed and the loser dropping to number three (the Pirates already had clinched no less than the second seed). Coach Clint Dolezel adapted to the new league with a team which remained competitive. Jonathan Bane started the season at quarterback and Malik Henry ended it. Backup Jerrod Heard turned into a effective receiver and runner, and running back Demarcus Felton were highlights on offense. Khalil Williams and Charles Williams powered the defense.
Fighters RB Demarcus Felton. (SCtoC photo by Gary Royall)
Green Bay came into the season looking to build on a 9-5 campaign in 2019 and make a run through the playoffs. It didn't quite turn out like that for the Blizzard. As it turned out, their Achilles Heel turned out to be their regional rival, the Bucks. Bismarck swept the Blizzard 4-0 this season, and they finished at 6-8 and out of the playoffs. Green Bay's signature win came early in the season over the eventual-champion Pirates, 40-36. Aaron Aiken, Damion May and Brook Bolles could not recreate Lenorris Footman's magic from two years ago. Kezlow Smith and Keshaun Taylor were solid targets in the passing game. Diondre Wallace, Momodu Mbye, Malik Reaves and Bakari Triggs each finished with 81 or more tackles, and combined for 13 interceptions.
The Iowa Barnstormers went through a couple transitions at head coach since they last saw action in an IFL game. They had hired Ameer Ismael for the 2020 season before it was cancelled. Ismael left and the Barnstormers brought in veteran indoor football coach Les Moss. Along with 2019 IFL Player of the Year Daquan Neal, there was an anticipated recipe for success. The Barnstormers had three games cancelled due to the Louisville departure, but one added against the Storm, leaving them with just 12 games. They climbed into the playoff race, earning a home game with the fourth seed before losing to the Gladiators. Elad Covaliu emerged as a solid rusher and Carrington Thompson, Sr. led the team in receiving. Tony Jones was the defensive leader.
Northern Arizona got a late start in the offseason and struggled through most of its inaugural 2021 season. Former Duke City head coach Dominic Bramante was brought in to set up the franchise's roster and compete. The Wranglers made progress during the season, but were unable to put together a streak of wins. They made a quiet coaching change in the second half of the season, replacing Bramante with Landrick Brody. The Wranglers had their best showings against the Tucson Sugar Skulls, earning their only win with a 48-44 victory on June 26. They also took the Sugar Skulls to three overtimes before dropping 48-46. Verlon Reed, Jr. was the most efficient quarterback for the team, and Russell Williams, Jr. led the defensive charge.
The defending champion Storm expected to be back in the big game this season, but they struggled. After an early season win over the Rattlers, they looked to be headed in that direction. However, things did not go as planned. Head coach Kurtiss Riggs attempted to exchange two-time United Bowl MVP Lorenzo Brown, Jr. for the 2019 IFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Tommy Armstrong, Jr. This led to much of a QB rotation between the two and the inconsistency did not play very well on the field. Both had mixed results. Nate Chavious was exceptional as a rusher, kick returner and receiver ending with IFL honors in the former two areas. Brandon Sheperd was the top receiver for the club. Marquis Hendrix and Trey Wafford recorded 96 and 91 tackles for the defense, respectively.
Spokane Shock defense. (SCtoC photo by David Hein)
Pro football returned to Spokane and the team was competitive throughout the season. An injury to quarterback Charles McCullum was a setback, though Blake Sims was effective until he got hurt as well. The Shock benefitted from the running of Davonte Sapp-Lynch and the mid-season addition of receiver Keyvan Rudd was a bonus, but the Shock dropped the last four games of the regular season and were eliminated by the Fighters in the first round of the playoffs. The Shock featured the best kicker in the IFL this season in Sawyer Petre who, by unofficial count, nailed three deuces and hit 57.7 of his field goal tries. Kamrin Solomon and Jordan Jolly led the team in receiving. The key on defense was Mike Green, who led the IFL in tackles and was all over the field in any particular contest.
Tucson had a rough go of it during their second IFL season after making the playoffs in 2019 with a 7-7 record. The Sugar Skulls finished 6-8 and out of the playoff hunt. They actually had a chance to get into the playoffs, but the match of the final week denied them the opportunity when the Duke City Gladiators won their season finale. The benchmark of the season was that the Sugar Skulls swept the season series against the Gladiators and would have won the tiebreaker with a Duke City loss that weekend. Demry Croft served as the quarterback for most of the season for Tucson, and Mike Jones was the lead back. During the season, Ryan Balentine became the IFL's all-time leading receiver. Delondo Boyd and Matt Elam lead the defense, and Elam and Jajuan Harley each had three sacks.
In addition to the 11 teams which finished the season, at least five or six more are already scheduled for 2022. Four teams went dormant for this season due to concerns surrounding the pandemic and COVID-19 state mandates where some of the teams were located. The San Diego Strike Force and Quad City Steamwheelers will return after having played in 2019. The Oakland Panthers were set to play in 2020, but never saw the field before the season was shut down. The Panthers recently announced that they are moving to San Jose and will be known as the Bay Area Panthers. The Cedar Rapids River Kings are also on the slate to return, but there seems to be some doubt given the team has been quiet about a possible return. The Strike Force, Panthers and River Kings are all principally owned by California businessman Roy Choi. Two expansion teams have already been announced for next season. The Columbus Wild Dogs are owned by the Germaine family which also owns the Fighters are joining the Vegas Knight Hawks as two expansion franchises. The Knight Hawks are owned by the same group which helms the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights. Further expansion announcements are eagerly anticipated during the off season.
So, league growth is certainly imminent and the product on the field is strong. The future looks bright for the IFL.
Extra Points
-With the passing of Iowa Barnstormers' executive John Pettit, huge props to the Barnstormers for tabbing His daughter, Juli Pettit, to step into his role as general manager. Juli Pettit had most previously been the marketing and sales director for the team.
-I'm personally interested to see the Wranglers next season. They got a late start in the expansion process and had a coaching change late in the season. I think they can make an impact in 2022 with a full offseason under their belt. They could surprise or even play spoiler late in the season.
-While it was unfortunate the Louisville experiment did not pan out, the IFL made the right call by terminating a team which was not meeting its financial obligations.
-Columbus is a good start, but you just get the sense the IFL could use a little bit more eastern expansion to compete regionally with the likes of the Pirates and Wild Cats. I anticipate that's precisely what we'll see over the next couple off years.
-It will be curious to see how the return of the XFL in 2022 might affect the IFL talent pool. I believe the leagues can co-exist. However, we could see a struggle in getting top talent. Then again, it's one more outdoor league to which IFL players could advance.
-When Josh Gable went down with injury after the first round of the playoffs, The Pirates simply went out and got Super Bowl champion kicker Garrett Hartley to fill in for the semifinals and United Bowl. Nice work by the Pirates on that one as Hartley nailed the game winner in overtime to give the Pirates the championship in the United Bowl.
-While it's been confirmed that both the San Diego Strike Force and Bay Area (formerly Oakland) Panthers will come back in 2022, There is major skepticism about the third Roy Choi owned team (actually, his first from a chronological standpoint), the Cedar Rapids River Kings. No official announcement has been made nor has there been any social media presence. That's unfortunate as it seems to lead to the conclusion that Cedar Rapids is about to lose the team.
-The Bismarck Bucks, in my humble opinion, presented one of the top broadcasts of their home games this season; perhaps the top. Quite of improvement over 2019. Great work.
-I'm less concerned than others with whom I have spoken that the return of the XFL in 2022 will lower the talent pool of players in the IFL. I believe there are plenty of quality players out there who are trying to break into a league and get a chance to either gain film to try and make it to a next level, or to simply play for the love of playing football.
2022 Wish List
-To the IFL: Please continue broadcasting on Youtube. the Stadium deal turned out to be a great thing and the streaming quality is much better than a lot of other mediums out there. Additionally, a digital UHF antenna can get Stadium over the air (OTA) in certain areas. Being near Portland with one such antenna and Netflix for entertainment, I'm fortunate to be in one of those areas ...
-To Stadium: Please work on improving the number of regional areas for receiving OTA signals. I know you're a young broadcaster, but this would aid a lot of people in viewing your content; including IFL games of the week.
-I've mentioned this in my previous two entries (2018 and 2019). At times, the IFL does a nice job of staggering games throughout a weekend. At other times, not so much. week 13 was nice. There was a game on Friday, two on Saturday night and then two on Sunday (a double-header). That's a full weekend for all of us to get our fix of the IFL ...
-However, when you have five games in a week (possibly more than that next season) all broadcast at the same time, you dilute the audience. Just think that if 500 viewers on for five games each all at the same time on Youtube, you get 2,500 fans all at the same time. Think of staggering the games so that there are no conflicting times. You get 2,500 hungry IFL fans watching each game. That's potentially 10,000 more in a weekend that what you had before. Perhaps those numbers are slightly exaggerated, but the ease of access goes very far when it comes to fans' perspective of the league.
-Speaking of the Youtube broadcasts, clearly teams need a week or two to work out the kinks to broadcasting their home games. With the delays which have occurred over the past few seasons near the beginning of the season, I have an idea. Each team could broadcast a training camp scrimmage and get some experience in broadcasting through the IFL on Youtube. Why not give it a shot?
-IFL, continue to expand. However, don't grow too quickly. Take the Louisville Xtreme as an example. Responsible growth best suits the IFL rather than running into a situation like that again.
-The IFL came out with an enhanced online presence this season and the format of each team's website was effective. However, digitally, the league and many teams failed in this area. According to goifl.com's transactions page, No players have been signed, released, transferred, placed on IR or refused to report since April 16. The regular season ended more than four months later. This is a disservice to fans who want to keep up to date with the comings and goings of players and teams' rosters ...
-To expound on that, many fans (and media) would appreciate live stats that are actually live during games. When Nate Davis hits Dello Davis for the Gladiators for the third or fourth touchdown of the game, we'd love to see if it was actually the third or the fourth. If the Shock's Mike Green records a tackle and we know he's been all over the field the whole game, it would be nice to check out how many tackles, interceptions, pass break ups and other accumulations he might have. If we miss part of a game during the first half due to cooking dinner or have to be away from the game for more than a moment, it would be nice to check out the scoring updates of the time we missed. I understand that this comes from the home team, but there absolutely isn't any reason for not keeping them updated. Remember, this is all about the fans.
Finally
On behalf of this site, its staff and its members, it has been an absolute blast covering the IFL during its 12th (full) season. The future is glowing bright for this league and there is no shortage of excitement surrounding next season. We at SCtoC are looking forward to a strong 2022 season and are already in 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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