Post by DiamondThief on Jul 29, 2023 20:08:12 GMT -8
Panthers 68, Wranglers 46
7/29/23 --
SAN JOSE, CA - For the third time in the last three years, there will be a different Western Conference vying for the IFL National Championship.
Justin Rankin rushed for six touchdowns and the defense came up when it needed to as the Bay Area Panthers held back the visiting Northern Arizona Wranglers, 68-46, tonight at the SAP Center. The Panthers, in just their second season, advance to their first IFL title game.
The Panthers will face the Sioux Falls Storm on August 5 in the IFL National Championship Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. pacific daylight time at Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and its streaming services. This is the second of three seasons that the IFL's title game will be held at the Dollar Loan Center, with the possibility of an extension of that into the near future. The Storm completed a thrilling last-minute comback to defeat the Frisco Fighters, 45-44, in the Eastern Conference Championship Game tonight.
After finishing 1-13 in 2021, the Wranglers turned around their fortunes to earn the second seed and eventually win the IFL Championship last year. The Panthers, who finished 1-15 in their inaugural season last year, are looking to accomplish precisely what Northern Arizona did last year. This was the third meeting between the teams this season with the home team winning each time. The Panthers claimed the first contest, 47-13, on April 23, and the Wranglers picked up a 35-34 win on May 13. Northern Arizona now holds a 4-2 advantage in the overall series, 4-2. Bay Area is 2-2 at home. This is the first year since 2018 that the United Bowl/IFL National Championship will not include a team from the state of Arizona.
Nick Watson put Northern Arizona on the board on the opening drive when he found Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman crossing the middle for a 22-yard touchdown. Bay Area scored on a nine-yard run from Justin Rankin with four minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Watson hit Jarrod Ware, Jr. for a 22-yard score down the left sideline. The Wranglers led 12-7 at the end of one.
The Panthers retook the lead when Rankin took a pitch from Watson on the left side and ran it on for a three-yard score. Connor Mangan attempted a dropkick field goal from 33 yards out, but the four-point attempt sailed wide to the right. Bay Area extended their lead to eight points on Dalton Sneed's right-side toss to JT Stokes, who reached the ball over the goal line for the touchdowns. Watson fired a 23-yard touchdown to Ryan Wisniewski with nine seconds left in the first half. Mangan, who made five dropkick points after last week, missed his third of the first half, and the Panthers' lead was momentarily down to two points. Sneed threw deep to Nih-jer Jackson in the deep right corner of the end zone. Bay Area took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
Sneed's two-yard rush put the Panthers up by two scores four minutes into the third quarter. The Wranglers came right back, scoring on a three-yard run around the right guard from Chiaokhiao-Bowman. Bay Area struck right back on a one-yard plunge from Rankin. The Wranglers continued the see-saw battle of the quarter when Watson rushed up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown. The Panthers led 40-32 heading into the final quarter.
Bay Area went up by two scores again when Snead found Stokes around the right side for a 13-yard touchdown. After forcing a turnover on downs by the Panthers, Rankin rushed in seven yards to put the Panthers up by 22 points with just over 10 minutes left. Ware narrowed the score for Northern Arizona with a nine-yard touchdown run and Mangan added a dropkick extra point to pull within a 54-40 deficit. After Marquise Bridges of the Panthers recovered Mangan's onside kick attempt, Rankin took the handoff around the right side and into the end zone for the three-yard score. Ware scored on a one-yard touchdown run which was followed up by another onside kick from Mangan. The kick was recovered by Panthers' Bill Atkins. Bay Area sealed the game on Rankin's sixth touchdown of the evening in the final minute.
Sneed tossed the ball just seven times, completing four for 73 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 15 times for 51 yards and a touchdown. Rankin added 87 yards off 21 carries to his six touchdowns on the night. Jackson's 39-yard touchdown came on his only catch of the night, and Stokes caught three passes for 34 yards and a pair of scores. Antwon Kincade led the defense with seven tackles, while Bridges added 4.5.
Watson finished 12 of 22 for 127 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also finished with 29 yards and a score on the ground. Ware rushed eight times for 60 yards and two touchdowns, and caught three passes for 29 yards and another score. Chiaokhiao-Bowman had three catches for 51 yards and a score. Kerry Starks led the defense with seven tackles, while Travion Banks had six.
The teams each accumulated 216 total yards. Bay Area had a 48-yard edge in rushing yards and Northern Arizona had an identical advantage in passing yards. The Wranglers were penalized seven times for 66 yards, while the Panthers were flagged six times for 51 yards. The Panthers possessed the ball 33:42 minutes to 26:38 for the Wranglers.
Any times listed in this recap are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule. As with all season SCtoC will present a comprehensive preview of that game. The preview will be posted on the main Indoor Football League page of this site.
7/29/23 --
SAN JOSE, CA - For the third time in the last three years, there will be a different Western Conference vying for the IFL National Championship.
Justin Rankin rushed for six touchdowns and the defense came up when it needed to as the Bay Area Panthers held back the visiting Northern Arizona Wranglers, 68-46, tonight at the SAP Center. The Panthers, in just their second season, advance to their first IFL title game.
The Panthers will face the Sioux Falls Storm on August 5 in the IFL National Championship Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. pacific daylight time at Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and its streaming services. This is the second of three seasons that the IFL's title game will be held at the Dollar Loan Center, with the possibility of an extension of that into the near future. The Storm completed a thrilling last-minute comback to defeat the Frisco Fighters, 45-44, in the Eastern Conference Championship Game tonight.
After finishing 1-13 in 2021, the Wranglers turned around their fortunes to earn the second seed and eventually win the IFL Championship last year. The Panthers, who finished 1-15 in their inaugural season last year, are looking to accomplish precisely what Northern Arizona did last year. This was the third meeting between the teams this season with the home team winning each time. The Panthers claimed the first contest, 47-13, on April 23, and the Wranglers picked up a 35-34 win on May 13. Northern Arizona now holds a 4-2 advantage in the overall series, 4-2. Bay Area is 2-2 at home. This is the first year since 2018 that the United Bowl/IFL National Championship will not include a team from the state of Arizona.
Nick Watson put Northern Arizona on the board on the opening drive when he found Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman crossing the middle for a 22-yard touchdown. Bay Area scored on a nine-yard run from Justin Rankin with four minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Watson hit Jarrod Ware, Jr. for a 22-yard score down the left sideline. The Wranglers led 12-7 at the end of one.
The Panthers retook the lead when Rankin took a pitch from Watson on the left side and ran it on for a three-yard score. Connor Mangan attempted a dropkick field goal from 33 yards out, but the four-point attempt sailed wide to the right. Bay Area extended their lead to eight points on Dalton Sneed's right-side toss to JT Stokes, who reached the ball over the goal line for the touchdowns. Watson fired a 23-yard touchdown to Ryan Wisniewski with nine seconds left in the first half. Mangan, who made five dropkick points after last week, missed his third of the first half, and the Panthers' lead was momentarily down to two points. Sneed threw deep to Nih-jer Jackson in the deep right corner of the end zone. Bay Area took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
Sneed's two-yard rush put the Panthers up by two scores four minutes into the third quarter. The Wranglers came right back, scoring on a three-yard run around the right guard from Chiaokhiao-Bowman. Bay Area struck right back on a one-yard plunge from Rankin. The Wranglers continued the see-saw battle of the quarter when Watson rushed up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown. The Panthers led 40-32 heading into the final quarter.
Bay Area went up by two scores again when Snead found Stokes around the right side for a 13-yard touchdown. After forcing a turnover on downs by the Panthers, Rankin rushed in seven yards to put the Panthers up by 22 points with just over 10 minutes left. Ware narrowed the score for Northern Arizona with a nine-yard touchdown run and Mangan added a dropkick extra point to pull within a 54-40 deficit. After Marquise Bridges of the Panthers recovered Mangan's onside kick attempt, Rankin took the handoff around the right side and into the end zone for the three-yard score. Ware scored on a one-yard touchdown run which was followed up by another onside kick from Mangan. The kick was recovered by Panthers' Bill Atkins. Bay Area sealed the game on Rankin's sixth touchdown of the evening in the final minute.
Sneed tossed the ball just seven times, completing four for 73 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 15 times for 51 yards and a touchdown. Rankin added 87 yards off 21 carries to his six touchdowns on the night. Jackson's 39-yard touchdown came on his only catch of the night, and Stokes caught three passes for 34 yards and a pair of scores. Antwon Kincade led the defense with seven tackles, while Bridges added 4.5.
Watson finished 12 of 22 for 127 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also finished with 29 yards and a score on the ground. Ware rushed eight times for 60 yards and two touchdowns, and caught three passes for 29 yards and another score. Chiaokhiao-Bowman had three catches for 51 yards and a score. Kerry Starks led the defense with seven tackles, while Travion Banks had six.
The teams each accumulated 216 total yards. Bay Area had a 48-yard edge in rushing yards and Northern Arizona had an identical advantage in passing yards. The Wranglers were penalized seven times for 66 yards, while the Panthers were flagged six times for 51 yards. The Panthers possessed the ball 33:42 minutes to 26:38 for the Wranglers.
Any times listed in this recap are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule. As with all season SCtoC will present a comprehensive preview of that game. The preview will be posted on the main Indoor Football League page of this site.
- ANM
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