Pirates Tangle with Tulsa on Saturday Night

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IFL Massachusetts Pirates

Pirates Tangle with Tulsa on Saturday Night

June 20, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release


LOWELL, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center when they face the Tulsa Oilers at 7:05. The Pirates (5-5) are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference of the Indoor Football League while Tulsa is tied with Jacksonville for fourth place with a 7 and 4 record.

The Series:

The Pirates are 3-1 all-time against Tulsa. Massachusetts won the first three meetings before ending the 2024 regular season with a loss to the Oilers on the road.

The Last Meeting: July 19, 2024, The BOK Center, Tulsa, OK

The Ollers jumped out to a 26 to 11 lead in the first half and held the Pirates to just 14 second-half points in a 44-25 victory. Oilers quarterback Andre Sale had 191 passing yards and six touchdowns, with seven completions going to Alexis Rosario for 88 yards with a score. Teammate Jarrod Ward had nine catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Both Alejandro Bennifield and Connor Degenhardt saw time at quarterback for Massachusetts, and each completed nine passes. Running back Jimmie Robinson led the Pirates with 146 all-purpose yards, with nine carries for 10 yards and a score. He also had nine receptions for 64 yards and returned four kickoffs for another 72 yards.

The Last Time Out:

Last Saturday night in Des Moines, the Pirates had their biggest offensive output of the season in a 66-35 win over the Iowa Barnstormers. Massachusetts quarterback Kenji Bahar was nine of 15 passing for 168 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Running back Tiyon Evans started in his first game for the Pirates and ran 15 times for 66 yards with a touchdown. He also caught an eight-yard touchdown pass as he was one of three Pirates to have a pair of touchdowns. Wideout Thomas Owens had TD receptions of 10 and 15 yards while Teo Redding rushed 12 yards for a touchdown, and he also pulled in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Bahar. The play was the longest passing touchdown in team history.

The defense did its part with four sacks. Marquis Waters had 9.5 tackles with two sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Michael Mason added 1.5 sacks while DJ Dale had half a sack. Terry Beckner recovered a fumble, and DJ Daniel and Matt Elam both had interceptions.

The Oilers stopped a two-game losing streak by taking down the San Antonio Gunslingers at home 41-21. Quarterback TJ Edwards was 10 of 13 passing for 126 yards with three touchdowns and ran for two more scores. The Oilers led 21-14 at halftime and allowed just seven points in the second half. Running back Hasan Rogers ran 10 times for 49 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Jerminic Smith had six catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Cedarius Doss led the defense with eight tackles while the defense caused one turnover, had five tackles for a loss, and blocked a field goal attempt.

Team Stats: (Includes IFL Rankings)

The Pirates are scoring 38.6 points per game (10th) while allowing 37.3 (3rd). The team averages 220.8 yards per game (8th) and yields a league low of 199.5 yards per game. Massachusetts is the only team holding opponents under 200 yards per game. The Pirates' line play ranks the best in the league, allowing just four sacks (1st) while sacking opponents 16 times in ten games (1st). The Massachusetts defense has 10 interceptions (6th) and has recovered 8 fumbles (3rd). The Pirates' defense allows the fewest first downs in the league at 14.2 and boasts the best defense on fourth down, with opponents succeeding just 34.5 percent of the time.

Tulsa is sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 43.5 points per game. On defense, they are sixth, allowing 39.2. Their offense is 12th, gaining 212.1 yards per contest, with the defense giving up 217.2 yards on average (6th). The Tulsa defense has 13 interceptions (4th) and recovered four fumbles (T11th)

The game within the game will be the Pirates' ability to run the football. Massachusetts is sixth in the league, rushing for 91.5 yards per contest, while Tulsa is best in the league in stopping the run, giving up just 59.7 yards each time out.

The game will also feature two of the best pass defenses in the IFL as the Pirates give up just 132.0 yards in the air (4th) while the Oilers allow 133.3 (5th).

Third down will be a big down in this contest as the Oilers are number one in the league, converting 56.6 percent of the time, while the Pirates are second at 48.3.

Play in the Red Zone will be intriguing as the Pirates have a success rate of 82.7 percent (5th) while Tulsa is 6th at 61.5%. Defensively, the Oilers are number one, stopping opponents 66.7 percent of the time, while the Pirates are second at 67.4 percent.

Players to Watch (Includes IFL Ranking)

Even with missing last week's game, Pirates running back Pooka Williams Jr. still leads the IFL with an average of 70.9 yards rushing per game. He has rushed 119 times (2nd) for 496 yards (2nd) and has nine rushing touchdowns. His 106.7 all-purpose yards per game rank 4th in the league.

Tulsa quarterback TJ Edwards leads the IFL in three categories. He is number one in rushing attempts with 148, leads in yards with 560, and rushing touchdowns with 24. His average of 50.9 yards per game ranks fourth. His 13.5 points per game rank 6th.

Oilers running back Hasan Rogers is fourth in the league with 110 attempts for 369 yards (4th). He has six rushing touchdowns.

Pirates quarterback Kenji Bahar has completed 130 passes (6th) of 217 attempts (6th) with nine interceptions (3rd) and 21 touchdown passes (9th). His completion percentage is 59.9 percent. Bahar averages 128 passing yards per game. He also has 17 rushing touchdowns, which is fourth best in the league.

Edwards of Tulsa is 139 (4th) of 222 (5th) passing, which is 62.6 percent (6th). He has 36 passing touchdowns (2nd) and eight interceptions (5th) along with 1,345 yards (5th). Edwards averages 122.3 passing yards per game and has an efficiency rating of 159.8 (6th).

Pirates wide receiver Teo Redding has 30 receptions for 366 yards with six touchdowns, while Thomas Owens has 28 catches for 337 yards with ten touchdown grabs.

Tulsa wideout Cole Blackman has 29 receptions for 338 yards with 13 touchdowns.

Defensively, Marquis Waters of the Pirates is sixth with 11 tackles for a loss and is second with 5.5 sacks. DJ Dale ranks third in the league with 4.5 sacks. Marcus Floyd has three interceptions, and Tye Smith has two fumble recoveries.

For the Oilers, Tre Harvey is fifth in the league with 59.5 tackles, and Tre Smalls is second with 13.5 TFL. Defensive back Taylor Hawkins has defended 12 passes (8th), has broken up seven passes (8th), and has five interceptions.

The Coaches:

Tom Menas (3-2), who began this year as the Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator of the San Antonio Gunslingers, became the eighth head coach in the history of the Pirates on April 30th of 2025. Menas coached the Gunslingers to an eight-and-eight record last season, began this year with an eight-point loss to Tulsa, and then defeated Bay Area 28-21 on the road before his release. As a Head Coach, Menas has enjoyed success at the professional and collegiate levels. Before joining San Antonio, Menas was the Head Coach and General Manager of the Albany Empire of the National Arena League and led the franchise to back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022.

Menas has worked as an assistant coach in a few leagues. From 2020-2021, he was an Assistant Head Coach with the New Jersey Flight in the NAL. His first experience in the IFL was with the Green Bay Blizzard in 2019 as an offensive and defensive line coach. He also served as a Head Coach in the Rivals Professional Football League.

Marvin Jones is in his third season as Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, and now the Director of Operations of the Tulsa Oilers. Prior to the Oilers, he was the Head Coach of the Omaha Beef of Champions Indoor Football from 2019 through 2022, winning a title in 2021 and making the championship game the next season. In 2017, Jones was the Defensive Coordinator and eventual Interim Head Coach for the Colorado Crush. 2018 saw Jones move to the Cedar Rapids Titans of the IFL as Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.

As a player, Jones was an All-American linebacker at Florida State from 1990-1992. In 1992, He was inducted into the FSU Football Hall of Fame in 2000, Jones was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame 2022. Following his collegiate career, Jones was selected fourth overall in the 1993 NFL draft by the New York Jets. Jones played 11 seasons for the Jets from 1993-2003, excluding the 1998 season. He appeared in 142 NFL games, compiling more than 1,200 tackles, with over 700 of those being solo.



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