Northern Arizona Wranglers Drop Season Opener To Fishers Freight By A Score Of 41-29

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IFL Northern Arizona Wranglers

Northern Arizona Wranglers Drop Season Opener To Fishers Freight By A Score Of 41-29

April 1, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Northern Arizona Wranglers News Release


The Wranglers began this matchup in possession of the football and were led right down the field by rookie quarterback CJ Fowler. On the game's opening drive, Fowler scored a rushing touchdown which put Northern Arizona on the scoreboard for the first time in 2025. Fowler evaded multiple defenders and dove in for the score. The Wranglers defense stood tall on the next possession, getting the stop on fourth-and-goal. Northern Arizona's offense regained possession after the stop and barreled down the field. On this drive, the Wranglers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the Freight. This touchdown was courtesy of running back Marvin Kinsey Jr. on the ground.

Early in the second quarter, the Freight came storming back, scoring two straight touchdowns and cutting the Wranglers lead to one point. Just before the end of the first half, the Wranglers offense responded promptly. Fowler located wide receiver Kobe Smith open in the end zone, and threw a dart to Smith for the touchdown, and Northern Arizona entered the locker room, at the half, with a 21-13 lead over Fishers.

The Wranglers defense surrendered a touchdown to open the game's second half. This cut the Wranglers lead back down to a single point, and they held on to a 21-20 lead. The Wranglers offense began driving down the field, led by Fowler when suddenly, the momentum of the game shifted. Fowler lost control of the football, and his pass was intercepted by a Freight defensive lineman. The Fishers' defender ran it all the way back for the defensive touchdown, giving the Freight their first lead of the game. Midway through the third quarter, Fishers led the Wranglers by a score of 26-21. Fishers added an additional point with a rouge on the kickoff, as wide receiver David Elder was corralled in his own end zone. On this drive, Northern Arizona faced a 4th and 15 in their own territory. Elder was stopped just shy of the sticks on fourth down, despite making multiple defenders miss and an incredible effort to fight for the first down. The Wranglers turned the ball over on downs with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Freight capitalized off the change of possession, scoring a touchdown that put left the Wranglers facing a larger deficit.

The final quarter began with the Wranglers in possession of the football and on the move, despite being behind by a score of 33-21. The Wranglers offense failed to convert a fourth down and found their defense back on the field. The Wranglers defense returned the favor, with an incredible fourth down stop courtesy of a pass breakup from defensive back Kieran Page. The Freight quickly regained firm control after another pick-six. The Wranglers regained some traction after moving down the field with rookie quarterback Christian Arrambide and capping off the drive with another Kinsey Jr. rushing score, his second of the game. The Wranglers successfully scored on the two-point conversion, courtesy of another Kinsey Jr. run. The Wranglers cut their deficit to a manageable one possession game, as they were down by 10. On the following kickoff, kicker Brandon Fischer attempted to hit the deuce, but did not knock it through. The Wranglers defense got the stop and forced a missed field goal on the following drive. This set up the Wranglers offense for one last shot with under one minute to play. In deflating fashion, Arrambide lost control of the ball and was sacked in the end zone for the safety. The final score of this game was 41-29 in favor of the Freight.

Northern Arizona heads into a bye-week, after their season opener, with a good opportunity to regroup. The Wranglers next game will be on the road on April 13th against the Bay Area Panthers, in San Jose, Calif. The Wranglers showed flashes on both sides of the football early, but lost control of the game in the second half. Fowler threw one touchdown and ran for another in the first half when the offense was humming. Defensively, the Wranglers got multiple stops when they needed them. There are many positives for the Wranglers to build upon from their first game of the season and will look to bounce back on the road in two weeks. After all, this was just the first game of a mostly new look Wranglers squad. The Wranglers want to extend a major thank you to Pizza Hut for providing the Wranglers with the postgame meal on Saturday. The Wranglers will return home in three weeks, with their next home game against the Tucson Sugar Skulls. This matchup will take place inside the Findlay Toyota Center on April 19th.

The Northern Arizona Wranglers 2025 HOME games, with dates and matchups, are listed below. (All games are listed in AZ time.)

Saturday, March 29th, 6:05 P.M. vs Fishers Freight

Saturday, April 19th, 6:05 P.M. vs Tucson Sugar Skulls

Sunday, May 18th, 3:05 P.M. vs Massachusetts Pirates

Saturday, May 24th, 6:05 P.M. vs Arizona Rattlers

Saturday, June 7th, 6:05 P.M. vs Vegas Knight Hawks

Saturday, June 14th, 6:05 P.M. vs San Diego Strike Force

Saturday, June 28th, 6:05 P.M. vs Bay Area Panthers

Saturday, July 12th, 6:05 P.M. vs Tucson Sugar Skulls

Grab your Season Tickets for the 2025 season today! Deposit through the link below and we will contact you to select your seats!

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