Sports stats



IFL Bay Area Panthers

Panthers to Host San Antonio on Military Appreciation Night

May 22, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


Coming off a perfect offensive game, the Panthers will need to produce at a high-level offensively when the San Antonio Gunslingers come to the SAP Center on Saturday.

Bay Area scored touchdowns on nine straight possessions in recording the franchise's first road win at Arizona. Quarterback Daquan Neal defined efficiency at the position, completing six of eight passes with three scoring tosses to JT Stokes. Head Coach Rob Keefe saluted the offensive line for dominating up front and paving the way for 157 punishing rushing yards. The plan is often to take what the defense gives but Dixie Wooten's offensive unit is just as inclined to take what it wants.

San Antonio (4-4) boasts the most prolific offense in the league in both points (54.5 per game) and yards (273.9 per contest). Only the April 12 loss at Vegas were they held to fewer than 50 points when the Knight Hawks came up with four defensive stops.

Quarterback Sam Castronova has emerged as an MVP candidate during his first IFL season. In last week's win over Tulsa, Castronova was 20-25 for 274 yards and seven touchdowns. For the season, he's completing 73 percent of his throws for 1734 yards (first in the IFL) with 46 touchdowns (13 more than San Diego's Nate Davis) and only two interceptions. Castronova has a legitimate indoor football resume with titles in Albany and Jacksonville along with winning an MVP award. He's able to get balls into tight windows and is an excellent decision-maker. Applying pressure with a mixture of pass coverage will be critical to keep him off balance. Four players have more than 30 receptions with DJ Meyers leading the way with 41 catches to share the league lead with Arizona's Glen Gibbons Jr. San Antonio is 12th in rushing offense while Bay Area is fourth against the run so this game will be all about defending the pass for the Panthers.

Coming off the win at Arizona, Bay Area proved it can match a team score for score. The Panthers scored a season high 68 points and went over 50 points for the second time this year. This week, they may be primed for another offensive outburst against a San Antonio team that ranks last in scoring defense (55.3 points) and 12th in total defense.

The Gunslingers are just as capable of lighting up the scoreboard as they are of getting lit up. If their defense can be tightened up, it's a squad that can be a factor in the playoffs with a veteran coach in Tom Menas who has championship pedigree.

On Military Appreciation Night, expect a high-scoring, fan-friendly game with the Panthers' defense needing to come up with a couple stops to keep the offense from having to be perfect to get a win. Bay Area was short-handed over the last three weeks but have reinforcements returning for Saturday's game. During that stretch, they were 2-1 and improved to 7-1 to share the top spot with Vegas in the Western Conference.

Kickoff is set for 6:05 Saturday at the SAP Center.

• Discuss this story on the Indoor Football League message board...

Indoor Football League Stories from May 22, 2024


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.

OurSports Central