Pirates Look for First Road Win in Green Bay
May 5, 2023 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release
This Saturday night the Massachusetts Pirates (3-2) go looking for their first road victory when they face the Green Bay Blizzard (2-3) at the Resch Center at 6:05 p.m. CT. The Pirates are currently tied for third place in the Indoor Football League's Eastern Conference. Only Frisco, Quad City and Tucson have a higher winning percentage in all of the IFL.
The Series:
The Pirates own a 3-2 all-time record against the Blizzard. In the series, the home team has won every game since the first meeting in 2021. Green Bay has won both games at the Resch Center while the Pirates have defended their home turf including the last confrontation at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center to start the season.
The Last Meeting - May 26, 2023
The Pirates won their season opener at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center with a 55-41 victory over the Blizzard. Running back Jimmie Robinson had 135 all-purpose yards in his first game with the Pirates. Robinson was the game's' leading rusher, carrying the ball 16 times for 73 yards with two touchdowns and also was the Pirates top receiver with five catches for 62 yards.
Teammate Jovon Durante added 113 all-purpose yards with two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown along with five kickoff returns for 92 yards. Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield, in his only game of the season to date, was 18 of 21 passing for 188 yards with three touchdowns without an interception. Bennifield also added two rushing touchdowns with 16 yards on eight carries. Defensive back Momodou Mbye led Massachusetts with seven tackles. He also forced a fumble and had an interception with both leading to Pirates scores.
Blizzard quarterback Ja'rome Johnson was 15 of 26 passing for 192 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He was also his team's leading rusher with 14 carries for 55 yards and two scores. His top targets were Marquise Irvin with seven receptions for 68 yards and Steve Newbold who had five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Nick Yearwood led Green Bay with nine tackles and one fumble recovery.
The Last Time Out:
Pirates' running back Jimmie Robinson set a pair of team single game records and tied two others as Massachusetts defeated the Iowa Barnstormers 56-36 at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center. Robinson set records with six rushing touchdowns and rushing yards with 163 in the victory. He carried 15 times (one less than his record of 16 carries vs. Green Bay in the season opener). His six touchdowns and 36 points tied the franchise mark established by Bones Bagaunte in a win at Maine in 2018. His six rushing touchdowns were two more than Alejandro Bennifeild had against the Blizzard in 2021 at the Resch Center, and his 163 yards bested the mark of 76 by Justin Stockton at Louisville vs. the Xtreme in 2021.
Massachusetts never trailed, jumping out to a 27-0 lead. Pirates Quarterback Anthony Russo was 6 of 12 passing for 92 yards and two scores. Thomas Owens was his top receiver with four receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. Defensively Brendon White, Aarion Maxey Penton, Dedrick Mackey and Momodou Mbye each recorded seven tackles. White Blocked a kick and Mackey broke up two passes.
Green Bay had a bye week after suffering a home loss to the Sioux Falls Storm, 55-47 on April 21. The game saw eight lead changes in the first half as the Storm led 29-27 at halftime. With 11:39 remaining in the game, Ja'rome Johnson connected with Shaq Curenton with an eight-yard touchdown pass and the Blizzard trailed 48-47, but they would get no closer.
Johnson was 12 of 19 passing for 162 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran 12 times for 120 yards and two scores. Wideouts Marquise Irvin had three catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns while Terrence Smith had four receptions for 47 yards. Trevaughn McNeill led the defense with nine tackles.
Team Stats: (Includes IFL Rankings)
The Pirates are second in the IFL in scoring averaging 50.6 points per game. Their offense averages 230.8 yards per game (third). The offense is balanced as the Pirates rank fifth in rushing and passing, rushing for 83.3 yards per game while passing for 147.0. Massachusetts continues to be the best team in the IFL in third down conversions with a success rate of 56.7 percent. The Massachusetts defense is yielding 46.6 points per game (ninth), When it comes to special teams, the Pirates are second in the IFL in field goal percentage (.778) and number one in PAT percentage (.931).
The Blizzard is ninth in the IFL averaging 41.8 points per contest while giving up 50.4 (12th). The offense gains the most yards per game in the IFL at 257.0 per night. They are also third in rushing with an average of 95.0 yards per game. Green Bay is fourth in passing (166 yards per game).
Both teams are great at protecting their quarterbacks as the Blizzard has not allowed a sack this season while the Pirates have given up just one.
Players to Watch:
Pirates' running back Jimmie Robinson leads the IFL with 347 rushing yards and is second averaging 69.4 yards per game. He has rushed 53 times (sixth), is second with 14 touchdowns and has the longest touchdown run of the season at 45 yards. Robinson averages 6.5 yards per carry (fifth). The rookie running back leads the IFL in scoring with 96 points averaging 19.2 points per game. His 16 total touchdowns are tops in the league as well. As a returner, Robinson averages 22.0 yards per return which is seventh in the league. He has brought back 14 kickoffs for 308 yards (5th) with two touchdowns (first) with a long of 51 (fifth). When it comes to all-purpose yards, Robinson leads the IFL with 145.6 per game.
Blizzard quarterback Ja'rome Johnson has the second longest scoring run of the year at 41 yards. Johnson has rushed 50 times (eigth) for 304 yards (second), averaging 6.1 yards per carry (seventh) with seven touchdowns (seventh). He averages 60.8 rushing yards per game (third).
Throwing the ball, Johnson is 53 (ninth) of 93 (seventh), 57%, for 758 yards (3rd) with 14 touchdowns (fourth) and six interceptions (first). He averages 151.6 yards per game (fifth) with an efficiency rating of 162.2 (seventh). Johnson is second in the league averaging 212.4 yards of total offense.
Pirates quarterback Anthony Russo's numbers are 46 (10th) of 83 (10th), 55.4%, for 546 yards with 11 touchdowns (10th) against two interceptions. He averages 136.5 yards per game (eigth) with an efficiency rating of 149.6.
Pirates' wide receiver Thomas Owens is tenth in the IFl with 271 receiving yards. He has 18 receptions with six touchdowns. Owens is averaging 15.1 yards per catch (seventh) and 54.2 yards per contest.
Isaac Zico of Massachusetts ranks fifth with 32.2 receiving yards per game. He has 17 receptions for 161 yards with four touchdowns. He also averages 9.5 yards per catch. Wideout Marquise Irvin of Green Bay is fourth in the league averaging 68.2 receiving yards per game. He has 26 catches for 341 yards (fourth) with five touchdowns and averages 13.1 yards per catch. He also ranks eighth with 5.2 receptions per night. Terrence Smith of the Blizzard ranks ninth in scoring averaging 12.4 points per game. His 10 touchdowns are fifth best in the league.
Pirates' kicker Josh Gable is fourth in the IFL averaging 7.8 points per game. On Extra points Gable has made 27 (third) of 29 attempts (fourth). He has made four field goals (fifth) out of seven attempts (ninth). His field goal percentage of 57.1 is second best in the league. He has scored a total of 39 points (fourth). Gable's long field goal of 41 yards is seventh best in the IFL.
Blizzard kicker Justus Logan averages 5.4 points per contest (10th) as he has made 21 extra points (sixth) in 29 chances (fifth). He has made two field goals in eight attempts (eigth). His 27 points are eighth best in the league.
Pirates' linebacker Brendon White has 35 tackles which leads the IFL. His average of seven stops per game is third best in the league. Green Bay linebacker Calvin Bundage is fifth in the IFL with an average of 6.8 tackles per contest. Teammate Trevaughn McNeill ranks tenth with an average of 6.1. Defensive lineman Anthony Hayes has 10.5 tackles for a loss which is best in the league. His 2.1 per game average also leads the IFL. Hayes also has 3.5 sacks which is tied for first.
Pirates' defensive lineman Antwan Owens is averaging 1.5 TFL per contest which is sixth in the IFL.
Pirates' defensive back Dedrick Mackey is sixth in the league averaging two passes defended per game. DB Harlan Miller is tied for seventh with five passes broken up.
The Coaches:
This is the first season for Mark Stoute as Head Coach of the Massachusetts Pirates. Stoute joined the Pirates organization in June of 2021 as a senior advisor to Head Coach Patrick Pass and helped Massachusetts hoist the United Bowl trophy at the end of the season. Last year Stoute served as offensive coordinator for Head Coach Rayshaun Kizer and was the Special Teams coach at the end of the season. As the team's offensive coordinator, Stoute helped the Pirates to be the 4th-best passing attack in the IFL.
Stoute is the fifth head coach in Pirates history and has 27 years of coaching experience in the indoor game working in the AF2, AFL, NAL and IFL. Stoute has previously been a head coach with the Louisville Xtreme, Cedar Rapids River Kings/Titans, Nebraska Danger and Jacksonville Sharks. His professional coaching experience began in the AFL in 1995 with the Connecticut Coyotes.
Stoute had his most success as a head coach from 2012 to 2016 with the Cedar Rapids Titans leading them to four-straight playoff appearances. After an impressive 2013 season, Stoute was named the IFL Coach of the Year.
Corey Roberson is now in his fourth season as Head Coach of the Blizzard. He was named head coach of Green Bay in 2019 led the Blizzard to its first playoff appearance in seven seasons and was named IFL Coach of the Year. His team led the IFL in scoring defense that season and since has never finished lower than four in the league in that category. Roberson played nine seasons of indoor football. His stops included Rapid City, Billings, Wyoming and finished in 2010 with the Green Bay Blizzard. As a coach, he spent the next three seasons as a special teams and skills position coach. He became the defensive coordinator in 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he continued to assist with special teams and defense.
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