Game Preview: Tulsa Oilers vs. Iowa Barnstormers
May 9, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release
Tulsa, Okla. - Tulsa Oilers Football, a proud member of the IFL and powered by Community Care, hosts the Iowa Barnstormers and will seek to be 3-0 at home and push a home win streak to four games, dating back to last season.
LAST TIME OUT... Tulsa opened strong, holding Green Bay scoreless on its first drive despite a solid kick return, forcing a missed field goal. T.J. Edwards II capped the Oilers' first drive with a quarterback draw for his eighth rushing TD, followed by a Dean Sarris extra point to make it 7-0. The Oilers' defense forced a fourth-down stop early in the second quarter, leading to a touchdown pass from Edwards to "JuJu" Augustine - his fifth in three games - extending the lead to 13-0. Taylor Hawkins intercepted Max Meylor soon after, setting up another Edwards rushing TD for a 20-0 advantage. Hawkins then forced a fumble that Tre Harvey recovered, leading to "Sauce" Rogers' tough touchdown run to make it 26-0. Andrew Mevis hit a long field goal before halftime, putting Green Bay on the board at 26-3. Edwards opened the second half with a shovel pass TD to Augustine on fourth-and-goal, pushing the lead to 33-3. Meylor responded with a TD pass to cut it to 33-10, but Rogers answered with a third-quarter sweep score, restoring a 30-point lead. Hawkins snagged his second interception - his third forced turnover - early in the fourth. Green Bay returned a deflected field goal attempt for a score, then Meylor ran in a TD and hit a two-point conversion to cut it to 40-24. Tulsa sealed it when Marquez Bembry returned the onside kick for a touchdown, and Kentrell Pierce intercepted Meylor's fourth pick. The Blizzard scored once more, but the Oilers ran out the clock to secure a 46-30 win.
FOCUS AHEAD... The Oilers have now pushed to a 2-0 record at home and will face the lowest-seeded team in the East, the Iowa Barnstormers. Do not let that fool you into a false sense of security. Iowa has performed efficiently with their offense in perspective to how many turnovers they have had, just averaging 0.20 points less than the Oilers per game. Iowa has produced a lot of these points in games against the 6-0 Quad City Steamwheelers and in their lone win over Fishers, who beat Tulsa in Week Two. Tulsa has rushed the ball better this season than in any previous year. "Sauce" Rogers has emerged as an efficient runner and improves week by week. "JuJu" Augustine is now tied with Phazione McClurge with six receiving touchdowns and continues to be one of the biggest threats the Oilers have. Spenser Tears led the team last week in receiving yards in his debut and will look to exponentially improve his impact as the year goes. Taylor Hawkins is in peak form, helping lock down the secondary defensively for Tulsa thanks to his multi-interception performance against Green Bay. The Oilers have added Robert Fuentes to the Defensive Lineman core. Fuentes is a rookie and hails from Snow College, the former Badger is 6'5", 250lbs. and should help keep fresh bodies cycling for the Tulsa defense.
HOW TO "JOY RIDE" PAST THE BARNSTORMERS... The Oilers will need to focus on keeping the passing game of Iowa at bay. Iowa converts 65% of its first downs via the passing game and only 12% on the ground, with the remaining 27% coming from penalties. With the Barnstormers' leading rusher only having 33 yards on the campaign, the sharpest weapon Iowa has offensively is putting the ball in the air. Penalties have not hurt Tulsa in big spots as of late, and continuing that trend may prove important against a team that is desperate to find the win column quickly in the early portion of the season. Slamming the door early has proved effective for Tulsa as they are 3-0 when leading after three quarters and they are 3-1 when leading at half.
Tulsa looks to keep things rolling, hosting the Iowa Barnstormers at 7:05 p.m. at the BOK Center on Saturday, May 10. The first 1000 fans will receive a FREE bucket hat.
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