Post by alecs on Jun 22, 2024 20:47:02 GMT -8
Pirates 44, Sharks 30
6/22/24 --
JACKSONVILLE, FL - After a massive flurry of roster moves leading up to this week, the new-look Jacksonville Sharks hosted the Massachusetts Pirates in an Eastern Conference tilt on Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The Pirates sought to complete the two-game series sweep over their former NAL rivals and bring an end to a three-game losing streak. Backed by an all-IFL performance out of electric running back Jimmie Robinson, the Pirates earned a solid 44-30 victory over the Sharks to retain their current spot at third place in the Eastern Conference.
Massachusetts began the game with the football, but a strong effort out of Jacksonville's defense forced a short field goal attempt. Newcomer Henry Nell, whom the Pirates picked up this week from the now-defunct West Texas Desert Hawks (AFL), made a solid first impression by booting through the 19-yarder to open the scoring. Jacksonville stormed down the field on its first chance, taking a three point lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Joshua Mack, one of Jacksonville's many debutants. Another recent signee, kicker Kevin DiDio-Weber, hit a deuce on the ensuing kickoff for a five-point lead. It would not faze the Pirates, however, as Alejandro Bennifield tossed a 16-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Teo Redding near the end of the quarter. After 15 minutes of play, the Pirates led ten to eight.
The Sharks made another trip down the field, but on a fourth down at the Pirates' eight yard line, a pass from Fred Payton Jr. was knocked away by the defense of C.J. Holmes, giving the Pirates possession and a chance to extend the lead. Massachusetts would take full advantage with a scoring drive ending in a seven-yard touchdown rush from Jimmie Robinson. On Jacksonville's next possession, the Pirates played stifling goal-line defense on multiple plays and forced a field goal attempt from DiDio-Weber, whose 18-yarder was good. Massachusetts would soon complete its third straight touchdown drive, with Bennifield hitting his longtime teammate and fellow veteran Thomas Owens on an open four-yard passing score. Jacksonville had just enough time to string together one last chance to score points before the end of the half; they succeeded in that endeavor with a 31-yard field goal by DiDio-Weber. The halftime score stood at 24-14, in favor of the Pirates.
Jacksonville received the second-half kick with an opportunity to cut the lead down to one score, but were pushed back into a lengthy field goal from DiDio-Weber. His attempt missed short, and Robinson was able to return it all the way to the Sharks' one-yard line, where Bennifield would rumble a perfectly executed read-option rush for a touchdown on the very next play. The usual third-quarter conundrum would continue for the Sharks, with an endzone-bound pass from Payton Jr. intercepted by Cyrus Fagan. Despite the turnover, the Sharks were able to force a three-and-out on the Pirates' next drive, resulting in a lengthy field goal miss from Nell. The stand infused much-needed momentum for the Sharks, who parlayed that into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Payton Jr. to D.J. Stubbs. Before the third quarter would come to a close, Bennifield would find his third different pass-catcher for a touchdown, with the four-yard dart going to Robinson. Nell's extra point clanked off the post, though, limiting the Massachusetts advantage to 37-21.
Needing to make up points quickly, Jacksonville met the urgency of the situation with a clutch scoring play on third down, a ten-yard toss in the corner of the endzone from Payton Jr. to Jaedon Stoshak. DiDio-Weber provided his second deuce of the ballgame to put further pressure on the Pirates - their lead down to just seven points. Massachusetts was able to run valuable time off the clock, and more importantly, get into the endzone on Bennifield's second rushing score of the evening from two yards out, restoring the 14-point advantage. Inside the one-minute warning, the Sharks thought they had a huge touchdown on third and goal to bring it back to a one-score margin, but a well-timed Massachusetts challenge identified a false start on the Sharks, wiping the score off the board. The ensuing pair of passes to the endzone following that ruling failed to connect for Jacksonville's offense, resulting in a game-sealing turnover on downs. Following a Pirates first down, they were able to run out the clock and finalize their win over the Sharks, 44-30.
Alejandro Bennifield led the Pirates to victory, with 11 completions on 16 attempts for 101 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, adding a pair of scores on four rushing attempts for six yards. Jimmie Robinson turned another voluminous workload into a monstrous day: 17 rushing attempts for 118 yards and a touchdown, with three catches for 27 yards and another score. Teo Redding hauled in three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, while Thomas Owens (two catches for six yards) also made a house call. Cyrus Fagan accounted for the game's only takeaway with his interception in the third quarter.
Fred Payton Jr. connected on 14 of 30 pass attempts for 159 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the loss. He added 46 scoreless yards on eight carries as a rusher. Joshua Mack accounted for a touchdown on five rushes for 14 yards to go along with four catches for 36 yards out of the backfield. Jaedon Stoshak (6/65/1) and D.J. Stubbs (1/40/1) each had receiving touchdowns for Jacksonville.
The Pirates kept a clean sheet on the turnover front, whereas the interception from Fred Payton Jr. was the Sharks' only turnover of the game. Massachusetts was found guilty on 11 penalties for 61 yards, and Jacksonville was flagged seven times for 49 yards.
With the win, Massachusetts completes the season sweep of the Sharks, having won already in Lowell on March 23 by a score of 26-21. The all-time series now stands at 2-0 in the IFL era, after the Sharks strung together a 4-1 record against the Bay Staters as National Arena League (NAL) rivals in 2018 and 2019.
The Pirates end a three-game losing streak and push their record above .500. At 7-6, the Pirates retain third place in the East over fourth-place Quad City (6-6), who staged an upset over Green Bay (10-3) to stay half a game behind the Pirates. The Sharks dip down to 2-10, but still remain mathematically alive for the final Eastern playoff spot, but winning out plus some serious help is their only theoretical avenue to a postseason bid.
The Sharks (2-10) will visit the Sioux Falls Storm (3-9) on Saturday June 29 for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff. The Pirates (7-6) will host the Quad City Steamwheelers (6-6) in a pivotal duel on Monday July 1 with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
6/22/24 --
JACKSONVILLE, FL - After a massive flurry of roster moves leading up to this week, the new-look Jacksonville Sharks hosted the Massachusetts Pirates in an Eastern Conference tilt on Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The Pirates sought to complete the two-game series sweep over their former NAL rivals and bring an end to a three-game losing streak. Backed by an all-IFL performance out of electric running back Jimmie Robinson, the Pirates earned a solid 44-30 victory over the Sharks to retain their current spot at third place in the Eastern Conference.
Massachusetts began the game with the football, but a strong effort out of Jacksonville's defense forced a short field goal attempt. Newcomer Henry Nell, whom the Pirates picked up this week from the now-defunct West Texas Desert Hawks (AFL), made a solid first impression by booting through the 19-yarder to open the scoring. Jacksonville stormed down the field on its first chance, taking a three point lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Joshua Mack, one of Jacksonville's many debutants. Another recent signee, kicker Kevin DiDio-Weber, hit a deuce on the ensuing kickoff for a five-point lead. It would not faze the Pirates, however, as Alejandro Bennifield tossed a 16-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Teo Redding near the end of the quarter. After 15 minutes of play, the Pirates led ten to eight.
The Sharks made another trip down the field, but on a fourth down at the Pirates' eight yard line, a pass from Fred Payton Jr. was knocked away by the defense of C.J. Holmes, giving the Pirates possession and a chance to extend the lead. Massachusetts would take full advantage with a scoring drive ending in a seven-yard touchdown rush from Jimmie Robinson. On Jacksonville's next possession, the Pirates played stifling goal-line defense on multiple plays and forced a field goal attempt from DiDio-Weber, whose 18-yarder was good. Massachusetts would soon complete its third straight touchdown drive, with Bennifield hitting his longtime teammate and fellow veteran Thomas Owens on an open four-yard passing score. Jacksonville had just enough time to string together one last chance to score points before the end of the half; they succeeded in that endeavor with a 31-yard field goal by DiDio-Weber. The halftime score stood at 24-14, in favor of the Pirates.
Jacksonville received the second-half kick with an opportunity to cut the lead down to one score, but were pushed back into a lengthy field goal from DiDio-Weber. His attempt missed short, and Robinson was able to return it all the way to the Sharks' one-yard line, where Bennifield would rumble a perfectly executed read-option rush for a touchdown on the very next play. The usual third-quarter conundrum would continue for the Sharks, with an endzone-bound pass from Payton Jr. intercepted by Cyrus Fagan. Despite the turnover, the Sharks were able to force a three-and-out on the Pirates' next drive, resulting in a lengthy field goal miss from Nell. The stand infused much-needed momentum for the Sharks, who parlayed that into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Payton Jr. to D.J. Stubbs. Before the third quarter would come to a close, Bennifield would find his third different pass-catcher for a touchdown, with the four-yard dart going to Robinson. Nell's extra point clanked off the post, though, limiting the Massachusetts advantage to 37-21.
Needing to make up points quickly, Jacksonville met the urgency of the situation with a clutch scoring play on third down, a ten-yard toss in the corner of the endzone from Payton Jr. to Jaedon Stoshak. DiDio-Weber provided his second deuce of the ballgame to put further pressure on the Pirates - their lead down to just seven points. Massachusetts was able to run valuable time off the clock, and more importantly, get into the endzone on Bennifield's second rushing score of the evening from two yards out, restoring the 14-point advantage. Inside the one-minute warning, the Sharks thought they had a huge touchdown on third and goal to bring it back to a one-score margin, but a well-timed Massachusetts challenge identified a false start on the Sharks, wiping the score off the board. The ensuing pair of passes to the endzone following that ruling failed to connect for Jacksonville's offense, resulting in a game-sealing turnover on downs. Following a Pirates first down, they were able to run out the clock and finalize their win over the Sharks, 44-30.
Alejandro Bennifield led the Pirates to victory, with 11 completions on 16 attempts for 101 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, adding a pair of scores on four rushing attempts for six yards. Jimmie Robinson turned another voluminous workload into a monstrous day: 17 rushing attempts for 118 yards and a touchdown, with three catches for 27 yards and another score. Teo Redding hauled in three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, while Thomas Owens (two catches for six yards) also made a house call. Cyrus Fagan accounted for the game's only takeaway with his interception in the third quarter.
Fred Payton Jr. connected on 14 of 30 pass attempts for 159 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the loss. He added 46 scoreless yards on eight carries as a rusher. Joshua Mack accounted for a touchdown on five rushes for 14 yards to go along with four catches for 36 yards out of the backfield. Jaedon Stoshak (6/65/1) and D.J. Stubbs (1/40/1) each had receiving touchdowns for Jacksonville.
The Pirates kept a clean sheet on the turnover front, whereas the interception from Fred Payton Jr. was the Sharks' only turnover of the game. Massachusetts was found guilty on 11 penalties for 61 yards, and Jacksonville was flagged seven times for 49 yards.
With the win, Massachusetts completes the season sweep of the Sharks, having won already in Lowell on March 23 by a score of 26-21. The all-time series now stands at 2-0 in the IFL era, after the Sharks strung together a 4-1 record against the Bay Staters as National Arena League (NAL) rivals in 2018 and 2019.
The Pirates end a three-game losing streak and push their record above .500. At 7-6, the Pirates retain third place in the East over fourth-place Quad City (6-6), who staged an upset over Green Bay (10-3) to stay half a game behind the Pirates. The Sharks dip down to 2-10, but still remain mathematically alive for the final Eastern playoff spot, but winning out plus some serious help is their only theoretical avenue to a postseason bid.
The Sharks (2-10) will visit the Sioux Falls Storm (3-9) on Saturday June 29 for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff. The Pirates (7-6) will host the Quad City Steamwheelers (6-6) in a pivotal duel on Monday July 1 with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-AS
