Sports stats



Bay Area Panthers

Panthers to Host San Diego on Father's Day

June 14, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


The defending IFL champion Bay Area Panthers put their four-game winning streak on the line on Sunday against the San Diego Strike Force in the third of four meetings between the teams this season.

The Panthers (9-1) set a team record for fewest points allowed in last Saturday's 51-12 win over the Tucson Sugar Skulls while making seven defensive stops in the lockdown effort. Coach Rob Keefe's defense established this year's IFL standard for fewest points allowed and eclipsed the previous franchise-best of 13 in last season's home win over Northern Arizona.

Defensive back Antwon Kincade led the Panthers with nine tackles including seven solo stops.

On the other side of the ball, Daquan Neal threw three touchdown passes while adding another score on the ground in the win as Bay Area surpassed 50 points for the third time in 2024.

The Strike Force (6-5) has alternated wins and losses over the last seven games and are coming off a 47-46 home loss against Arizona. San Diego gave up the winning score with 16 seconds left to fall to fifth place in the Western Conference. Nate Davis ended the night completing 20 of 29 throws for 147 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

While the Panthers have beaten the Strike Force twice this season, both games have been up for grabs. On April 20, the Panthers clawed to a 53-50 win on Felix Harper's 4-yard run with 13 seconds left and escaped with a 33-32 win the following week by turning away a 2-point conversion in the closing seconds after being outscored 20-0 in the fourth quarter.

The Strike Force will enter the game ranked fifth in offense but have struggled rushing the ball with the loss of star running back Chance Bell. They are 15th in rushing offense but the versatile Rudy Johnson added 49 yards on 11 carries in the loss to the Rattlers. Davis is second in the league in both passing yards and touchdowns, generally regarded as the IFL's best pure passer.

With Davis the key to the offense, applying pressure and mixing up coverage is the formula for any team in trying to slow down San Diego. The Panthers share the IFL lead in sacks with 16 and recorded the only sack of Davis all season in the first meeting. Bay Area is third in scoring defense, only behind Green Bay and Massachusetts.

On offense, the Panthers are seventh at 46.8 points per game and have eclipsed 50 in two of the last three. After going run-heavy in the win over San Antonio, Bay Area passed the ball on 24 of 46 offensive snaps in the rout of Tucson. All year, the motto has been to take what the defense gives while showing the ability to dominate and take what they want.

Neal is first among quarterbacks in rushing and only trails Jimmie Robinson of Massachusetts for the overall league lead. Shane Simpson is second among running backs in rushing and leads all backs with 18 rushing scores.

Kickoff is set for 3:05 on Sunday at the SAP Center.

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

Indoor Football League Stories from June 14, 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.

Other Recent Bay Area Panthers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central