Pirates Spark Win Streak with Season-High 66 Points Scored
June 17, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release
Massachusetts Pirates quarterback Kenji Bahar
(Massachusetts Pirates)
DES MOINES, IA - Fighting back from a 2-5 start to the season, the Pirates picked up their third win in a row against the Iowa Barnstormers Saturday night, making history while scoring a season-high 66 points on offense.
The night was highlighted by quarterback Kenji Bahar, who was responsible for six touchdown scores, passing for five and rushing for another. The Baltimore, MD, native threw for 168 yards and rushed for an extra 18 yards.
"The [offensive] line was blocking well today, and we had a good run game that opened up the passing [game]," said Bahar. "[Iowa] was playing a lot of man [coverage], and not a lot of defenses in this league are covering all receivers man-to-man."
Bahar also found himself involved in Pirates history Saturday night. Halfway through the third quarter, the Massachusetts offense found itself at its own one-yard line, potentially facing a long drive ahead.
Preparing for the first play of the drive, wide receiver Teo Redding lined up on the outside with the opposing defensive back in man-to-man coverage. Redding, a former NFL prospect who ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, sailed past the Iowa defense, reeling in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Bahar - the longest touchdown connection in franchise history.
It was a play that was not originally planned.
"We were supposed to run the ball out of the end zone because we were backed up," said Bahar. "I was like, 'Let's just take a shot,' because [Iowa] was expecting us to run, so they're just going to keep everything in front of us ... and we made a connection."
The Pirates' scoring barrage began with a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Running back Tiyon Evans, filling in for one of the IFL's leading rushers in Pooka Williams, was left wide open in the flat and caught a shovel pass from Bahar for the first score.
Three minutes later, Bahar completed a pass to wide receiver Thomas Owens for another score, who broke open at the top of a corner route, increasing the lead to 14-7. After the Massachusetts defense forced a turnover on downs, kicker Josh Gable made a field goal on 4th & goal, just before the end of the quarter.
Two contested catches from Redding resulted in first downs on the Pirates' last two drives of the quarter that set up both scores. Then, the 6'3", 190 lb. receiver opened the second quarter with a rushing score, taking a direct handoff from Bahar to complete a two-play drive. Redding finished the game with two scores and 114 yards on five catches.
With the Barnstormers closing in on the Pirates' lead, 24-13, Bahar and company made sure to shut down Iowa's momentum. Beginning from about the Iowa 20-yard line, Bahar connected with Owens in the end zone again; a one-play drive to lead 31-20. With eight seconds left in the first half, Bahar ran into the end zone untouched, as the offense ran a fake "tush-push" and the quarterback pivoted to the right side of the trenches.
The Pirates entered the second half with a 38-21 lead. Typically, Massachusetts has struggled to maintain offensive success through the second half of games in 2025. However, head coach Tom Menas' offense refused to take its foot off the pedal.
Following the Redding 49-yard touchdown, Evans found the end zone on a second occasion, shedding a tackle to fight his way across the goal line to increase the lead to 52-21. The Tennessee and Louisville product ran for 66 yards on the night.
The Pirates' offense scored twice in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Bahar connected with wide receiver Isaac Zico on a crosser, running into open space for the score, and with two minutes left on the clock, wide receiver Steven McBride took a direct handoff across the goal line for the final score of the evening.
Entering Saturday night's matchup, the Massachusetts offense ranked No. 12 out of 14 teams in total offense, scoring just 35.6 points per game. With the No. 1-ranked total defense in the IFL, the challenge Menas faced when he became the team's head coach in Week Eight was fixing the offense's inconsistencies.
Menas seems to be doing just that, as over the last three games, the Massachusetts offense has scored well over 50 percent of the team's point total from its first seven games of the season.
The Pirates return home to the Tsongas Center in Lowell on June 21 at 7:05 PM (EST) to face the 7-4 Tulsa Oilers, looking to advance to 6-5 on the year by maintaining their recent offensive success.
"We'll just take it day-by-day and win-by-win each week," said Bahar. "Instead of looking to the future and for the championship, [we're] just taking it week-by-week and staying on track."
Images from this story
 Massachusetts Pirates quarterback Kenji Bahar |
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- Pirates Spark Win Streak with Season-High 66 Points Scored - Massachusetts Pirates
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