Post by alecs on May 13, 2023 19:43:28 GMT -8
Barnstormers 73, Pirates 43
5/13/23 --
DES MOINES, IA -
The Iowa Barnstormers held their re-match with the Massachusetts Pirates at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Saturday night. In what would become arguably the biggest upset of the season, the Barnstormers blitzed the Pirates and ran wire-for-wire in a dominant 73-43 winning effort.
Iowa took the opening kickoff and took five plays on their drive to draw first blood. Thanks to a two-yard run by Antonio Wimbush, the Barnstormers took an early 7-0 lead. The Iowa defense would hold the Pirates to a four-and-out on the next possession, and they immediately capitalized. Zach Reader found a wide open Antonio Wimbush for an 18-yard catch and run touchdown to make the game 14-0. The next Pirates drive would stall in the redzone, and Josh Gable's 23-yard field goal was blocked, and Iowa took over in Pirate territory. Four plays later, Wimbush would record his third touchdown of the quarter, a one-yard plunge. By the end of the first quarter, Iowa built up a 21-0 lead.
The Pirates would get on the board on the first play of the second quarter, with Anthony Russo finding Isaac Zico for a nine-yard TD pass. The Pirates defense would hold Iowa out of the endzone on their next possession, but Gabriel Rui connected from 37 yards out on a field goal to build the Iowa lead to 24-7. The next drive for Massachusetts would cover eight plays, and end with Kelvin Taylor punching in a one-yard run for a touchdown, his first in a Pirate uniform. Iowa would have the answer, with a fourth touchdown from Wimbush on a five-yard run. Taylor would again rush for a one-yard score just shy of the one-minute warning to make the game 31-21. With just seconds to go in the half, Wimbush would again find paydirt for a fifth touchdown on a one-yard rush. The Barnstormers would enter halftime with a 38-21 advantage.
Massachusetts received the kickoff to start the second half, but could not get the score they needed to keep pace with Iowa. Their 4th-and-12 play came inches short of converting. The Pirates defense would manage its first stop by forcing Iowa into a 53-yard field goal attempt, which Rui could not convert. Three plays later, Russo would get intercepted by Tyrell Pearson, who took the return 15 yards for a touchdown. Following another four-and-out from the Pirates offense, Reader connected with Caleb Smith for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Rui would connect on a deuce on the ensuing kickoff to make the game 54-21, which is how the third quarter ended.
The fourth quarter opened with Russo finding Kelvin Taylor on a four-yard touchdown pass, but an unsuccessful two-point attempt kept the game 54-27. The Reader-to-Smith connection would strike again, this time for a 26-yard scoring pass. Taylor would find the endzone for a fourth time on a six-yard run on the next possession for the Pirates. Rui would boot through a 22-yard field goal, giving Iowa a 64-35 lead. Thomas Owens would score his first touchdown of the game on a ten-yard pass from Russo, and a successful two-point conversion brought the Pirates back to 64-43. After a botched onside kick attempt, Reader once again found Caleb Smith for a one-yard touchdown pass. Rui would kick a second deuce on the kickoff to bring the score to 73-43, which is how the game ended.
In the win, Zach Reader attempted 20 passes, completing ten of them for 136 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, and added 21 rushing yards as well. Antonio Wimbush carried 13 times for just 25 yards, but accounted for four touchdowns on the ground, while catching his lone target for an additional 18-yard score. Caleb Smith paced all Iowa receivers with four catches on five targets for 71 yards and three touchdowns, and added three rushing yards. Gabriel Rui accounted for 18 total points, including a perfect 8-for-8 extra points, 2-of-3 field goals, and a pair of deuces.
Anthony Russo connected on 19-of-36 passes for 191 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception in the losing effort. Kelvin Taylor made his IFL debut tonight, leading the Pirates in rushing with 19 carries for 49 yards and three touchdowns; he also caught two of five targets for seven yards and another score.
Isaac Zico was Russo's favorite target yet again, commanding an absurd 21 targets, of which he caught 14 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Thomas Owens was held to two catches on four targets for 19 yards and a score.
The loss for Massachusetts drops them back to 4-3, currently tied for third in the East with Sioux Falls. They are 1 1/2 games behind Quad City (6-2) for the second spot in the conference. Iowa's first win puts them at 1-6, tied with Tulsa for sixth in the conference. This was the second and final game in the regular season series, with both teams winning at home.
2023 Head to Head: April 28 - Pirates (H) 56, Barnstormers 36.
Coming up next week, the Pirates will host the Quad City Steamwheelers on Saturday May 20 for a 4:05 p.m. kickoff. The Barnstormers will visit the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday May 20 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. All times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
5/13/23 --
DES MOINES, IA -
The Iowa Barnstormers held their re-match with the Massachusetts Pirates at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Saturday night. In what would become arguably the biggest upset of the season, the Barnstormers blitzed the Pirates and ran wire-for-wire in a dominant 73-43 winning effort.
Iowa took the opening kickoff and took five plays on their drive to draw first blood. Thanks to a two-yard run by Antonio Wimbush, the Barnstormers took an early 7-0 lead. The Iowa defense would hold the Pirates to a four-and-out on the next possession, and they immediately capitalized. Zach Reader found a wide open Antonio Wimbush for an 18-yard catch and run touchdown to make the game 14-0. The next Pirates drive would stall in the redzone, and Josh Gable's 23-yard field goal was blocked, and Iowa took over in Pirate territory. Four plays later, Wimbush would record his third touchdown of the quarter, a one-yard plunge. By the end of the first quarter, Iowa built up a 21-0 lead.
The Pirates would get on the board on the first play of the second quarter, with Anthony Russo finding Isaac Zico for a nine-yard TD pass. The Pirates defense would hold Iowa out of the endzone on their next possession, but Gabriel Rui connected from 37 yards out on a field goal to build the Iowa lead to 24-7. The next drive for Massachusetts would cover eight plays, and end with Kelvin Taylor punching in a one-yard run for a touchdown, his first in a Pirate uniform. Iowa would have the answer, with a fourth touchdown from Wimbush on a five-yard run. Taylor would again rush for a one-yard score just shy of the one-minute warning to make the game 31-21. With just seconds to go in the half, Wimbush would again find paydirt for a fifth touchdown on a one-yard rush. The Barnstormers would enter halftime with a 38-21 advantage.
Massachusetts received the kickoff to start the second half, but could not get the score they needed to keep pace with Iowa. Their 4th-and-12 play came inches short of converting. The Pirates defense would manage its first stop by forcing Iowa into a 53-yard field goal attempt, which Rui could not convert. Three plays later, Russo would get intercepted by Tyrell Pearson, who took the return 15 yards for a touchdown. Following another four-and-out from the Pirates offense, Reader connected with Caleb Smith for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Rui would connect on a deuce on the ensuing kickoff to make the game 54-21, which is how the third quarter ended.
The fourth quarter opened with Russo finding Kelvin Taylor on a four-yard touchdown pass, but an unsuccessful two-point attempt kept the game 54-27. The Reader-to-Smith connection would strike again, this time for a 26-yard scoring pass. Taylor would find the endzone for a fourth time on a six-yard run on the next possession for the Pirates. Rui would boot through a 22-yard field goal, giving Iowa a 64-35 lead. Thomas Owens would score his first touchdown of the game on a ten-yard pass from Russo, and a successful two-point conversion brought the Pirates back to 64-43. After a botched onside kick attempt, Reader once again found Caleb Smith for a one-yard touchdown pass. Rui would kick a second deuce on the kickoff to bring the score to 73-43, which is how the game ended.
In the win, Zach Reader attempted 20 passes, completing ten of them for 136 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, and added 21 rushing yards as well. Antonio Wimbush carried 13 times for just 25 yards, but accounted for four touchdowns on the ground, while catching his lone target for an additional 18-yard score. Caleb Smith paced all Iowa receivers with four catches on five targets for 71 yards and three touchdowns, and added three rushing yards. Gabriel Rui accounted for 18 total points, including a perfect 8-for-8 extra points, 2-of-3 field goals, and a pair of deuces.
Anthony Russo connected on 19-of-36 passes for 191 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception in the losing effort. Kelvin Taylor made his IFL debut tonight, leading the Pirates in rushing with 19 carries for 49 yards and three touchdowns; he also caught two of five targets for seven yards and another score.
Isaac Zico was Russo's favorite target yet again, commanding an absurd 21 targets, of which he caught 14 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Thomas Owens was held to two catches on four targets for 19 yards and a score.
The loss for Massachusetts drops them back to 4-3, currently tied for third in the East with Sioux Falls. They are 1 1/2 games behind Quad City (6-2) for the second spot in the conference. Iowa's first win puts them at 1-6, tied with Tulsa for sixth in the conference. This was the second and final game in the regular season series, with both teams winning at home.
2023 Head to Head: April 28 - Pirates (H) 56, Barnstormers 36.
Coming up next week, the Pirates will host the Quad City Steamwheelers on Saturday May 20 for a 4:05 p.m. kickoff. The Barnstormers will visit the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday May 20 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. All times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
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.
- AS
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.