IFL Bay Area Panthers

Panthers IFL Western Conference Champions

July 30, 2023 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


SAN JOSE-One season after winning one game, the Bay Area Panthers will play for the IFL National Championship after beating defending champion Northern Arizona 68-46 to win the Western Conference Championship.

Justin Rankin set a franchise record with six rushing touchdowns and leads all players in post season touchdowns with eight.

"Being able to turn around a program like this is amazing," said Rankin. "We came here to do this and it's great to see it all come to fruition. We just have to do it one more week."

Bay Area (12-5) took the lead for good in the second period when Rankin's 3-yard run capped a 7 play, 34 yard drive for 14-12 advantage. The lead expanded to 20-12 on the next series when Dalton Sneed hooked up with JT Stokes from eight yards out.

The closest the Wranglers (8-9) would get was 20-18 when rookie Ryan Wisniewski extended on a 23-yard strike from Watson with nine seconds left in the half.

But the Panthers answered on the next snap from scrimmage when Sneed lofted a 39-yard rainbow to Nih Jackson for a 26-18 lead with at the break.

Sneed capped the first drive of the third quarter with a 2-yard run to finish off a 41-yard drive for 33-18 lead.

NAZ twice cut the lead to eight points in the second half but couldn't come up with a stop as the Panthers scored over 60 points for the fifth time this season. Rankin rushed for three scores in the fourth on the way to a new franchise record. His six rushing TD's eclipsed his own team record of four, set three times.

The defending champions entered the game with the second-best scoring defense in the league but surrendered 10 touchdowns on 10 possessions, including seven rushing scores.

Sneed finished 4-7 for 73 yards and three scores-two to JT Stokes and one to Nih Jackson. At the trophy presentation, Sneed was showered with the chant of "MVP" by teammates and fans.

The Panthers' quarterback started by saying MVP is really a team award and then addressed the challenge ahead against his former team.

"This is not the final destination," said Sneed. "This is not where we want to be. We've got one more to go with Sioux Falls on our minds. We'll see you all in Vegas, baby."

In the loss, Nick Watson finished 12-22 for 127 yards and three touchdowns, adding another score on the ground. One game after shredding Arizona for five touchdowns, Chiaokhiao-Bowman was held to three catches for 51 yards and his one score on the opening series.

Northern Arizona joins an expanding list of one-time champions. The last IFL team to repeat was Sioux Falls in 2016 to end a run of six straight championships. Since the Storm's win over Spokane, there have been five different teams to win the title. One of those championship teams was Iowa in 2018 with Dixie Wooten coaching the Barnstormers to a win over Sioux Falls. The Storm stands in the way of Wooten's second championship.

"This is what it's all about," said Wooten. "When you work hard all season and get close to winning the championship, it feels great. We still have work to do."

The Dollar Loan Center IFL National Championship Game will be played next Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, NevPrint Friendly Version



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