IFL Massachusetts Pirates

Pirates Playoff Preview

July 19, 2022 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release


WORCESTER, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates, the reigning champions of the Indoor Football League, will begin its 2022 playoff run this Friday night at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center at 7:05 when they host the Quad City Steamwheelers. The Pirates earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference with an 11-5 record while the Steamwheelers at 9-7 are the third seed. The Pirates are 1-0 all-time against Quad City.

The Last Time Out:

The Pirates closed out the regular season with a home victory over the San Diego Strike Force 60-17. Massachusetts led 18-10 at halftime and then outscored the Strike Force 42-7 in the second half with 24 of those points coming from the defense and special teams.

Jovon Durante returned the second half kickoff 58 yards for a touchdown. Aarion Maxey-Penton intercepted a Jorge Reyna in the end zone and brought it back 52 yards for a score. Jamiyus Pittman sacked Reyna for a safety, Kicker Josh Gable added four extra points in the half, and Isaac Zico returned the game's final kickoff 48 yards for a touchdown.

For Massachusetts, quarterback Alejandro Bennifield finished the game 6 of 11 for 43 yards and a touchdown. Backup Mike Glass was just 1 of 1 with a 43-yard TD pass. Thomas Owens was the Pirates leading receiver with two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Durante added two catches for ten yards and posted 98 all-purpose yards with two kickoff returns totaling 88 yards. Jalin Marshall was the team's top rusher with 38 yards on five carries. Defensively, Ezekiel Rose led all tacklers with eight, including one for a loss while Debione Renfro added seven stops.

Last Friday night Quad City defeated the Iowa Barnstormers 42-35 at home in their final regular season game. The Steamwheelers led 19-14 at halftime and saw the game tied three times in the second half. With 3:31 remaining and the game knotted at 35, Steamwheelers quarterback E.J. Hilliard threw a 43 touchdown pass to Keyvan Rudd to take a 42-35 lead. The Barnstormers drove to the Steamwheelers 8-yard line to set up a first and goal. Iowa quarterback DJ Peterson completed a pass to Antoino Wimbush to the two. On fourth and goal Noah Lyles of Quad City sacked Peterson to end the threat. The Steamwheelers ran out the clock for the victory.

Hilliard led QC with 17 carries for 74 yards and three touchdowns. Rudd carried twice for seven yards and had four receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Hilliard was 10 of 16 passing for 150 yards and with one TD pass. Isaiah Grice finished with five receptions for 81 yards. On defense Darreon Jackson had eight tackles and an interception.

The Last Meeting: (April, 3, 2022)

Pirates' wide receiver Thomas Owens scored three touchdowns and running back Martez Carter rushed for 66 yards on eight carries as the defending champions of the Indoor Football League defeated the Quad City Steamwheelers 36-25 at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center.

Owens led all receivers with five receptions for 77 yards and TD receptions of 28 and eight yards in addition to his one carry for a five-yard touchdown. Carter was the game's leading rusher. Alejandro Bennifield finished the contest 12 of 18 for 146 yards passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Pirates leading tackler was defensive back Harlan Miller who had seven. Massachusetts had three sacks on the day and four tackles for a loss. Defensive back Aarion Maxey-Penton had the Pirates' only turnover with an interception.

For the Steamwheelers, Kerrion Moore had 106 total yards with six carries for 18 yards, four receptions for 76 yards, and one kickoff return for 12. David Perkins was 6 of 13 passing for 71 yards. Aaron Aiken finished 8 of 13 for 92 yards with a touchdown to wideout Isaiah Grice of 21 yards and an interception. Aiken was the team's leading rusher with 35 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. Defensively, DB Jevaugh Codlin led Quad City with seven tackles.

Team Stats:

The Pirates are scoring 42.0 points per game while allowing 35.8. The Steamwheelers are averaging 41.5 per contest and give up 40.1.

Massachusetts is fourth in the IFL in passing with an average of 147.6 yards per game. Their offense is second in the IFL with a 51.6 conversion rate on third down. The Pirates have the best field goal percentage as a team, making 58.8 percent of three point attempts.

Quad City has the edge in the running game as they rank third in the IFL with an average of 94 yards per game while the Pirates are yielding 89.7 yards on the ground per game.

Players to Watch (League Ranking Included)

The Pirates leading rusher is Deddrick Thomas who has 330 yards on 60 carries for an average of 5.5 per carry and 27.5 yards per game.

E.J. Hilliard of Quad City is second in the IFL in rushing with an average of 49.5 yards per game. In 11 games Hilliard has carried 105 times (9th) for 545 yards (9th), averaging 8.2 per rush (8th) with 22 touchdowns (5th). Teammate Keyvan Rudd averages 5.7 yards per carry which is good for fourth in the league.

Pirates quarterback Alejandro Bennifield in nine games has completed 118 passes (8th) in 179 attempts (9th) for 1,270 yards (8th) with 27 touchdowns (7th) with five interceptions (9th). He is passing for 141.1 yards per game (3rd) and completes 66 percent of his throws (3rd). Hilliard has completed 112 passes (7th) in 201 attempts (7th) for 1,547 yards (7th) with 27 touchdowns (8th) against nine interceptions (3rd). He completes 60.7 percent of his passes (6th) and averages 140.6 passing yards per game (5th).

The Pirates' Thomas Owens leads the IFL with 899 receiving yards. He is second in touchdown receptions with 21 and ranks third with 63 receptions, 14.3 yards per catch and 59.9 receiving yards per game. He is also fifth with 4.2 receptions per game. Teammate Darren Carrington is tenth with an average of 13.3 yards per catch and 46.1 receiving yards per game.

When it comes to scoring, Hilliard is second in the IFL averaging 12.4 points per game while Owens is seventh averaging 9.3.

Two of the top ten kick returners should be on the field Friday as Mike Carrigan of Quad City averages 17.9 yards per return (7th). He has returned 32 kicks (7th) for 574 yards (7th) with one touchdown. The Pirates' Isaac Zico has a 17.1 average (10th) on 25 returns for 428 yards (10th) and one touchdown.

Massachusetts kicker Jose Gable leads the IFL making 60 percent of his field goals as he is nine (6th) of 15 (12th) on the season.

One of the top defensive backs will look to continue an impressive season as Aarion Maxey-Penton of the Pirates leads the IFL with seven interceptions. He is also second with 24 passes defended and in passes broken up with 17. Lukas Denis of Massachusetts has three interceptions as does Darreon Jackson of the Steamwheelers. Jackson also has two fumble recoveries this season.

The Coaches:

This will be the first time that head coaches Rayshaun Kizer of the Pirates and Cory Ross of the Steamwheelers will lead teams into an IFL playoff game. Last season as Massachusetts' defensive coordinator, Kizer's unit got the best of Ross' offense three times in victories over the Bismarck Bucks where Ross served as the offensive coordinator. Kizer's team won the first and only meeting over Quad City in April of this season.

The 2021 United Bowl Champions; Massachusetts Pirates are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Pirates play all home games at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center located at 50 Foster St. Worcester, MA, 01608. For more information on the Massachusetts Pirates please call (508)452-MASS (6277), email contact@masspiratesfootball.com or visit http://www.masspiratesfootball.com. For 2022 season, half-season, luxury, or group ticket packages please call 508-452-MASS (6277) or visit www.masspiratesfootball.com/tickets. Follow the Pirates on Facebook via Facebook.com/MAPirates, Instagram @mass.pirates, and Twitter @mass_pirates.



Indoor Football League Stories from July 19, 2022


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