Post by alecs on Aug 2, 2024 20:07:44 GMT -8
Pirates 51, Blizzard 28
8/2/24 --
GREEN BAY, WI - An exciting week of Conference Finals action kicked off on Friday evening at the Resch Center, with the top-ranked Eastern powerhouse Green Bay Blizzard hosting the third-seed Massachusetts Pirates for the right to represent the Conference in the 2024 IFL National Championship. In the first all-time playoff meeting between these two sides, the Pirates started scalding hot on both sides of the ball, building a massive halftime lead which Green Bay was ultimately unable to overcome. In the end, the visitors from the Bay State emerged victorious in "The Battle of the Bays", securing a ticket to the Championship game on August 17th in their 51-28 conquest of the Blizzard.
For the Pirates (10-8), this will be their second ever trip to the Championship and first since their 2021 United Bowl overtime victory over the Rattlers. An historic season comes to an unfulfilling close for the Blizzard (14-4), who were the IFL's regular season leader in point differential (+197). The five-win gap between teams in a playoff upset is also the largest in IFL postseason history, a record that the Pirates already achieved six days ago in their quarterfinal win against the Frisco Fighters. Massachusetts will now await the winner of Monday's Western Conference Final between the San Diego Strike Force and Arizona Rattlers.
The game started with a possession by the Pirates, after the Blizzard had won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Massachusetts executed an ideal, vintage scoring drive, taking up seven minutes of game clock on a nine-play drive ending with a three-yard scramble touchdown by quarterback Alejandro Bennifield. Green Bay's opening drive struggled to get moving, but was helped along by several ill-timed Pirate penalties. The Blizzard would make them pay for those infractions as Jalyn Cagle rushed for a game-tying four-yard touchdown across the far side. Bennifield and the Pirates reset and recovered quickly, scoring on the final play of the quarter with a beautifully thrown 22-yard catch and run from Bennifield to Teo Redding. Former Blizzard kicker Henry Nell provided the extra point game to give the Pirates a seven-point lead after 15 minutes.
The game's first defensive impact play occurred moments into the second quarter. With Green Bay on its second drive, Pirates defensive lineman Israel Antwine forced and recovered a fumble on a run by the usually reliable E.J. Burgess. A few moments after, the Pirates added to the lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Jimmie Robinson, the two-time defending IFL rushing king. The Pirates defense again held Green Bay in check, forcing a four-and-out on the ensuing Blizzard possession to take over at around midfield. With time trickling down towards the one-minute warning, the Pirates made it four touchdowns in as many possessions on a five-yard pass from Bennifield to longtime teammate Thomas Owens. Things would go from bad to worse for the Blizzard, with the first play of their next possession seeing a Max Meylor pass intercepted by former NFL defensive back Matt Elam, who returned the pick 17 yards for a quick six. Nell's drop-kick extended the Pirates scoring run to 27 unanswered points, a streak that the Blizzard would finally snap with 20 seconds on the clock, with Meylor scrambling out of the pocket and tossing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cagle. With time running out, the Pirates did move the ball into field goal range, but Nell was unable to hit the 27-yarder through the uprights, offering the Blizzard a much-needed bump in momentum as they trailed by 20 halfway through.
Green Bay got the opening drive to start the second half of play, and an unfortunate sequence of events doomed them once they got inside the five-yard line. A third touchdown by Cagle was taken off the board due to offsetting penalties, and then Burgess was banged up on a first-and-goal run where he violently hit the side wall. The Blizzard tried to adjust with a handoff to Cagle, but he fumbled the ball in the backfield, and Devin Hafford hopped on top of the ball for the Pirates to end the scoring threat. And just one play later, Bennifield hurled a perfectly thrown 38-yard pass to Isaac Zico, his first touchdown reception in three weeks since his return from injured reserve. Needing bunches of points in a hurry, the Blizzard were able to find the endzone on the next possession, with a two-yard receiving touchdown from Burgess and an Andrew Mevis drop-kick chewing away eight points from the overall deficit, which stood at 19 points entering the fourth quarter.
The Blizzard were able to find a good sequence of defense to open up the quarter, forcing the Pirates into a 34-yard field goal attempt, which Nell just pulled left of the mark. On the resulting seven-play drive, Green Bay was forced to go for a fourth-and-two, where Meylor was turned back on an attempted quarterback keeper, resulting in a turnover on downs. Massachusetts then orchestrated a drive lasting over three minutes and added a 19-yard field goal from Nell, pushing them ahead by 22 points. With time running short on Green Bay, Meylor provided a two-yard rushing score with roughly three minutes left to keep a faint amount of hope alive for the home team. An onside kick attempt settled harmlessly into the hands of the Pirates, though, and they went on to add another touchdown with a 12-yard run by Robinson. One last attempt at a Green Bay touchdown came up empty after an endzone-bound pass from Meylor was intercepted by C.J. Holmes of the Pirates. The fourth Pirate takeaway of the evening allowed Massachusetts to run the clock out and secure their fifth playoff win in franchise history, with the final score 51 to 28.
Alejandro Bennifield led another sterling outing for the Pirates, completing 10 of 15 passes for 118 yards, with three touchdowns and zero turnovers, adding an additional score on two rushes for 11 yards. Jimmie Robinson eclipsed the century mark, rushing 20 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns, with four more yards on a pair of receptions. Teo Redding (3/36/1) and Thomas Owens (3/26/1) each had a touchdown reception, while Isaac Zico's lone 38-yard touchdown catch was enough to lead all Pirates in receiving yardage. Jaiden Woodbey was the field general for Massachusetts, leading the defense with nine tackles. The Pirates recovered two fumbles (Israel Antwine and Devin Hafford) and hauled in two interceptions (Matt Elam's pick-six and C.J. Holmes' game-sealing interception).
Max Meylor completed 14 of 28 passes for 152 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while also leading Green Bay with 11 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown. E.J. Burgess rushed eight times for 23 yards and caught two passes for four yards and a touchdown. Jalyn Cagle had a game-high seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and added three rushes for six yards and another score. Demetrius Moore added four catches for 44 yards for a Blizzard receiving corps that was without Harry Ballard III (inactive) for this contest. Julius Wilkerson and DPOY-favorite Ravarius Rivers each had eight tackles to lead Green Bay's defense.
Both teams made it past the 200-yard mark in offensive production, with the 234 total yards from Massachusetts outpacing the 209 yards gained by Green Bay. A big component of this game was turnovers, as Green Bay coughed the ball up four times while the Pirates committed zero turnovers, resulting in a minus-four differential for the home team. For the second week in a row, the Pirates withstand a larger-than-desired wave of penalties - ten penalties accepted for 64 yards. In contrast, Green Bay was flagged four times for 25 yards.
The three-game season series in 2024 is won by the Pirates two games to one, with the road team winning all three times in Massachusetts' season-opening rally in March along with Green Bay's response win at Lowell in June. This is the first game between these two teams at Resch Center to have been decided by more than six points, and is now the third consecutive win for the Pirates at the Resch Center. Dating back to the beginning of this all-time series, which started in 2021, Massachusetts now leads six games to three.
2024 Head to Head: March 17 - Pirates 44, Blizzard (H) 40. June 8 - Blizzard 36, Pirates (H) 33.
The IFL National Championship Game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Sports Coast to Coast will present an exclusive preview of that game. That preview will appear on our Indoor Football League section. Additional broadcast information will be provided within that preview. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
8/2/24 --
GREEN BAY, WI - An exciting week of Conference Finals action kicked off on Friday evening at the Resch Center, with the top-ranked Eastern powerhouse Green Bay Blizzard hosting the third-seed Massachusetts Pirates for the right to represent the Conference in the 2024 IFL National Championship. In the first all-time playoff meeting between these two sides, the Pirates started scalding hot on both sides of the ball, building a massive halftime lead which Green Bay was ultimately unable to overcome. In the end, the visitors from the Bay State emerged victorious in "The Battle of the Bays", securing a ticket to the Championship game on August 17th in their 51-28 conquest of the Blizzard.
For the Pirates (10-8), this will be their second ever trip to the Championship and first since their 2021 United Bowl overtime victory over the Rattlers. An historic season comes to an unfulfilling close for the Blizzard (14-4), who were the IFL's regular season leader in point differential (+197). The five-win gap between teams in a playoff upset is also the largest in IFL postseason history, a record that the Pirates already achieved six days ago in their quarterfinal win against the Frisco Fighters. Massachusetts will now await the winner of Monday's Western Conference Final between the San Diego Strike Force and Arizona Rattlers.
The game started with a possession by the Pirates, after the Blizzard had won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Massachusetts executed an ideal, vintage scoring drive, taking up seven minutes of game clock on a nine-play drive ending with a three-yard scramble touchdown by quarterback Alejandro Bennifield. Green Bay's opening drive struggled to get moving, but was helped along by several ill-timed Pirate penalties. The Blizzard would make them pay for those infractions as Jalyn Cagle rushed for a game-tying four-yard touchdown across the far side. Bennifield and the Pirates reset and recovered quickly, scoring on the final play of the quarter with a beautifully thrown 22-yard catch and run from Bennifield to Teo Redding. Former Blizzard kicker Henry Nell provided the extra point game to give the Pirates a seven-point lead after 15 minutes.
The game's first defensive impact play occurred moments into the second quarter. With Green Bay on its second drive, Pirates defensive lineman Israel Antwine forced and recovered a fumble on a run by the usually reliable E.J. Burgess. A few moments after, the Pirates added to the lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Jimmie Robinson, the two-time defending IFL rushing king. The Pirates defense again held Green Bay in check, forcing a four-and-out on the ensuing Blizzard possession to take over at around midfield. With time trickling down towards the one-minute warning, the Pirates made it four touchdowns in as many possessions on a five-yard pass from Bennifield to longtime teammate Thomas Owens. Things would go from bad to worse for the Blizzard, with the first play of their next possession seeing a Max Meylor pass intercepted by former NFL defensive back Matt Elam, who returned the pick 17 yards for a quick six. Nell's drop-kick extended the Pirates scoring run to 27 unanswered points, a streak that the Blizzard would finally snap with 20 seconds on the clock, with Meylor scrambling out of the pocket and tossing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cagle. With time running out, the Pirates did move the ball into field goal range, but Nell was unable to hit the 27-yarder through the uprights, offering the Blizzard a much-needed bump in momentum as they trailed by 20 halfway through.
Green Bay got the opening drive to start the second half of play, and an unfortunate sequence of events doomed them once they got inside the five-yard line. A third touchdown by Cagle was taken off the board due to offsetting penalties, and then Burgess was banged up on a first-and-goal run where he violently hit the side wall. The Blizzard tried to adjust with a handoff to Cagle, but he fumbled the ball in the backfield, and Devin Hafford hopped on top of the ball for the Pirates to end the scoring threat. And just one play later, Bennifield hurled a perfectly thrown 38-yard pass to Isaac Zico, his first touchdown reception in three weeks since his return from injured reserve. Needing bunches of points in a hurry, the Blizzard were able to find the endzone on the next possession, with a two-yard receiving touchdown from Burgess and an Andrew Mevis drop-kick chewing away eight points from the overall deficit, which stood at 19 points entering the fourth quarter.
The Blizzard were able to find a good sequence of defense to open up the quarter, forcing the Pirates into a 34-yard field goal attempt, which Nell just pulled left of the mark. On the resulting seven-play drive, Green Bay was forced to go for a fourth-and-two, where Meylor was turned back on an attempted quarterback keeper, resulting in a turnover on downs. Massachusetts then orchestrated a drive lasting over three minutes and added a 19-yard field goal from Nell, pushing them ahead by 22 points. With time running short on Green Bay, Meylor provided a two-yard rushing score with roughly three minutes left to keep a faint amount of hope alive for the home team. An onside kick attempt settled harmlessly into the hands of the Pirates, though, and they went on to add another touchdown with a 12-yard run by Robinson. One last attempt at a Green Bay touchdown came up empty after an endzone-bound pass from Meylor was intercepted by C.J. Holmes of the Pirates. The fourth Pirate takeaway of the evening allowed Massachusetts to run the clock out and secure their fifth playoff win in franchise history, with the final score 51 to 28.
Alejandro Bennifield led another sterling outing for the Pirates, completing 10 of 15 passes for 118 yards, with three touchdowns and zero turnovers, adding an additional score on two rushes for 11 yards. Jimmie Robinson eclipsed the century mark, rushing 20 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns, with four more yards on a pair of receptions. Teo Redding (3/36/1) and Thomas Owens (3/26/1) each had a touchdown reception, while Isaac Zico's lone 38-yard touchdown catch was enough to lead all Pirates in receiving yardage. Jaiden Woodbey was the field general for Massachusetts, leading the defense with nine tackles. The Pirates recovered two fumbles (Israel Antwine and Devin Hafford) and hauled in two interceptions (Matt Elam's pick-six and C.J. Holmes' game-sealing interception).
Max Meylor completed 14 of 28 passes for 152 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while also leading Green Bay with 11 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown. E.J. Burgess rushed eight times for 23 yards and caught two passes for four yards and a touchdown. Jalyn Cagle had a game-high seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and added three rushes for six yards and another score. Demetrius Moore added four catches for 44 yards for a Blizzard receiving corps that was without Harry Ballard III (inactive) for this contest. Julius Wilkerson and DPOY-favorite Ravarius Rivers each had eight tackles to lead Green Bay's defense.
Both teams made it past the 200-yard mark in offensive production, with the 234 total yards from Massachusetts outpacing the 209 yards gained by Green Bay. A big component of this game was turnovers, as Green Bay coughed the ball up four times while the Pirates committed zero turnovers, resulting in a minus-four differential for the home team. For the second week in a row, the Pirates withstand a larger-than-desired wave of penalties - ten penalties accepted for 64 yards. In contrast, Green Bay was flagged four times for 25 yards.
The three-game season series in 2024 is won by the Pirates two games to one, with the road team winning all three times in Massachusetts' season-opening rally in March along with Green Bay's response win at Lowell in June. This is the first game between these two teams at Resch Center to have been decided by more than six points, and is now the third consecutive win for the Pirates at the Resch Center. Dating back to the beginning of this all-time series, which started in 2021, Massachusetts now leads six games to three.
2024 Head to Head: March 17 - Pirates 44, Blizzard (H) 40. June 8 - Blizzard 36, Pirates (H) 33.
The IFL National Championship Game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Sports Coast to Coast will present an exclusive preview of that game. That preview will appear on our Indoor Football League section. Additional broadcast information will be provided within that preview. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-AS
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