Panthers Outlast Wranglers, 41-30, in Back-And-Forth Tilt

Sports stats

IFL Bay Area Panthers

Panthers Outlast Wranglers, 41-30, in Back-And-Forth Tilt

June 29, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


Week 15 brought the Bay Area Panthers to warm and lofty Prescott Valley, AZ for a conference showdown with the Northern Arizona Wranglers. The Panthers entered the matchup with a five-game winning streak in the balance. Additionally, Bay Area was listed as a 17.5-point road favorite ahead of kickoff.

Putting the oddsmakers' input aside, this was a contentious battle on the gridiron that featured seven lead changes. The Panthers emerged victorious 41-30 to move to an IFL-best 10-2 record (winning their sixth bid in-a-row), but Northern Arizona (1-12) certainly made them earn it.

Saturday's action at Findlay Toyota Center started slowly. Both the Panthers and the Wranglers were forced into field-goal attempts on respective opening drives, and both kickers-Axel Perez and Michael Hall-missed.

The Wranglers managed to strike first after NAZ quarterback Ramone Atkins began to heat up. Northern Arizona's second drive consisted of Atkins completing four passes, the last of which to wide receiver Arland Bruce IV for a 10-yard highlight-reel touchdown.

To answer the call, Panthers quarterback Josh Jones fell into a groove of his own on Bay Area's third possession. The Panthers initially got on the scoreboard via an impressive 52-yard field goal from Perez, and from there, safety Tyrese Wright intercepted Atkins to return the football to Bay Area.

Next, Jones did well to lean on Panthers receivers Trevon Alexander and Tyrese Chambers. Both wideouts hauled in second-quarter touchdowns, giving Chambers his second score in as many weeks.

After missing a couple kicks early, it should be noted that Perez-who was with NAZ last season-registered a deuce on the kickoff following Alexander's TD. For a bit of foreshadowing, Perez went on to play a major role on Saturday night: more on that later.

As noted, the Wranglers had no intentions of lying down for the heavily favored Bay Area squad. Atkins continued to orchestrate a productive offense throughout the first half, adding one tuddy with his legs and second through the air to Bruce.

With halftime approaching, the Panthers were on the verge of scoring until disaster struck. Bay Area had possession on Northern Arizona's three-yard line, and Jones' subsequent pass was intercepted by Wranglers defensive back Dayvia Gbor-that left NAZ with a 18-17 lead heading into the locker rooms.

The Panthers choice to defer the opening kickoff paid off. They used the initial drive of the second half to regain form. Jones and Tomas provided more chunk runs downfield until Jones found Chambers for another touchdown reception-this one a leaping grab in the back-left of the end zone.

However, the NAZ offense was there to answer the call in the third quarter. After a couple quick plays, Atkins took a QB keeper up the right sideline for a pivotal 29-yard touchdown to reclaim the advantage, 24-23, which held into the final period.

Northern Arizona scored again shortly after the fourth quarter started (a three-yard dart from Atkins to Wranglers wide receiver Deshon Stoudamire on fourth down), but from there, it was all Bay Area.

The Panthers' defense did an amazing job on PATs and two-point attempts all evening, forcing NAZ to fail on five separate occasions. Those instances would prove vital down the stretch.

With Bay Area down 30-23, defensive back Joe Foucha returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Wrangler five-yard line. Following, Jones took a quarterback sweep directly into the end zone while Perez nailed the extra point to knot the score at 30 apiece. Next, Perez converted his second deuce of contest, putting Bay Area back ahead, 32-30.

Thanks to relentless efforts from Panthers linebacker Wes Bowers (eight tackles), cornerback Trae Meadows (team-high 10 tackles) and defensive lineman EJ Ane (one sack), Northern Arizona's offense stalled for the remainder of the game. As well, the Wranglers drew multiple momentum-killing penalties down the stretch.

Bay Area had one last touchdown in store. On their penultimate possession, Jones and Tomas powered the offense into the NAZ red zone for receiver Tosin Oyekanmi to then blast through the goal line on a short pitch play. To put the game on ice, Perez delivered his third deuce, giving the road team a 41-30 advantage that would eventually go final.

Even after committing a red-zone interception, Jones was poised and professional visiting his former team on Saturday. He connected on nine of 16 pass attempts, throwing three touchdowns. He also churned out 88 yards and a score on the ground.

The Panthers will next travel to Oceanside, CA to face the San Diego Strike Force. The Week-16 intrastate rivalry is set for Monday, July 7 with kickoff 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. Of course, you can always head to the official watch party at The Plex in San Jose!

Bay Area is on the road until Friday, July 11 when the Vegas Knight Hawks come to SAP Center for the Panthers' final home game of the 2025 regular season. Tickets for that matchup-including single-game, season, group, and suite experiences-are available now through Ticketmaster.



Indoor Football League Stories from June 29, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Bay Area Panthers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central