Panthers Head to Tucson with No. 1 Seed in Sight
IFL Bay Area Panthers

Panthers Head to Tucson with No. 1 Seed in Sight

July 18, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


After returning to the winner's circle last Friday, the Bay Area Panthers (11-3) are back on the road for their final Western Conference contest of the 2025 Indoor Football League regular season.

Bay Area will next embark on the Sun Corridor as 8.5-point favorites for a Saturday evening affair with the Tucson Sugar Skulls (6-8). Tucson is returning home after a Week-17 loss at the Northern Arizona Wranglers.

Notably, the Panthers have already secured a home playoff game for the 2025 IFL postseason, but a win Saturday at Tucson Arena-or loss from the Arizona Wranglers in San Antonio-will clinch the Western Conference's number-one seed.

Meanwhile, the Sugar Skulls are literally staring elimination in the face. They'll bring their best effort at home in hopes of keeping their postseason chances alive. Undoubtedly, the Pima County crowd will be present with raucous support.

Bay Area and Tucson last played head-to-head in Week 9. On that evening in San Jose, the Panthers lit up the scoreboard for 68 points to pull away with the home victory. In particular, Panthers quarterback Josh Jones was exceptional en route to seven all-purpose touchdowns.

Across the way, the Panthers-currently allowing a league-best 35.0 PPG-know they must respect Sugar Skulls signal caller Jorge Reyna. The former-Fresno State Bulldog possesses a prolific throwing arm and natural playmaking ability. However, Bay Area defensive linemen Morris Joseph Jr. and Jonathan Ross logged pivotal sacks on Reyna in the last meeting; they'll look to continue that trend come Saturday in Tucson.

With the cards stacked how they are, the Panthers absolutely understand the assignment at hand, and that all flows down from quality leadership at the top.

"Nobody's going to give this up easily," Panthers Head Coach Rob Keefe asserted on KNBR's Bay Area Panthers Weekly. "We've worked 365 days to get to this point. I have to respect the opponents because I know they're doing the same thing," professed Coach Keefe.

Bay Area's upcoming romp in Tucson is set for Saturday, July 19 at 6:05 PM PT. Fans can livestream the action with a subscription to IFL Network, or tune in to the radio broadcast on KNBR 1050. As always, the official watch party is happening at The Plex in San Jose!

The Panthers will remain on the road until their playoff bid on Sunday, August 3 at SAP Center. Postseason tickets-including single-game, season, group, and suite experiences-are available now through Ticketmaster.



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