Pirates vs. San Diego Saturday
July 14, 2022 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release
WORCESTER, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates, the defending champions of the Indoor Football League, will play its final regular season game this Saturday night on Phoenix Field at the DCU Center when they face the San Diego Strike Force at 7:05.
The Pirates (10-5) have the fourth best record in the league and have secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming playoffs. The Pirates will open their title defense at home on Friday, July 22 against an opponent that has yet to be determined. The first order of business however will be in facing the Strike Force (3-12) who are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference.
The Last Time Out:
The Pirates trailed the Bay Area Panthers 22-16 on the road at halftime, but then allowed only six points the rest of the way in a 44-28 victory. Quarterback Taz Wilson was 8 of 17 passing for 113 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran six times for 39 yards and three scores. Two of his rushing touchdowns came in the second half. The leading rusher for Massachusetts was Deddrick Thomas who carried five times for 54 yards, including a 29-yard TD run to start the third quarter to give the Pirates a lead they would never relinquish. Darren Carrington was the leading receiver with four receptions for 63 yards and a score.
On Defense defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose and linebacker Terrance Smith played in their first game for Massachusetts. Rose was the leading tackler with six tackles with one for a loss and Smith added five stops with a pair for a loss and one sack.
The Strike Force led the Duke City Gladiators 51-47 with 19 seconds to play, only to see Ramone Atkins throw a 15-yard pass on the final play of the game as Gladiators won by a score of 53-51. Wide receiver Marques Rodgers had 135 yards all-purpose yards as he had nine receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, 20 yards rushing on three carries with a score and 12 yards on returns. Quarterback Jorge Reyna was 16 of 22 for 199 yards passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Wideout Amechie Walker added two receptions for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, DB's Daquawn Brown and Tre Johnson each had seven tackles with Brown adding one for a loss.
The Last Meeting:
The only previous meeting took place on May 9 of this season. Pirates quarterback Alejandro Bennifield passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more as Massachusetts defeated the Strike Force 51 to 30 in a Monday night matchup on the road at the Pechanga Sports Arena in the first ever meeting between the two teams. San Diego trailed 22-17 at the half, but the rest of the game belonged to the Pirates.
The Pirates first possession of the second half resulted in points with a six-play, 40-yard drive that culminated with Bennifield hitting wide receiver Thomas Owens with a 16-yard TD pass, giving Massachusetts a 29-20 lead.
The final quarter began just like the third with San Diego kicker Victor Leventritt making his third field goal of the game with a 23 yarder, but the Pirates would keep the Strike Force at arm's length as Jovon Durante brought the kickoff back 26 yards to the San Diego 16. Bennifield then ran three consecutive times and scored on a two-yard run. He then threw a two-point conversion pass to Isaac Zico to make the score 37-20, Massachusetts.
Marques Rodgers continued his impressive night with a 21-yard touchdown reception from Steven Cluley with 12:47 to play and trailed by seven, but Bennifield went to the air to widen the lead. He completed four straight passes with the final toss caught by Owens from eight yards out for a 44-30 advantage.
Cluley then went for everything on the next play from scrimmage, passing from his own goal line, but his bomb was intercepted by the Pirates Aarion Maxey-Penton who returned the ball 41 yards to the nine-yard line. The Pirates would outscore the Strike Force 22-10 in the final quarter as Bennifield scored his second touchdown of the game with an eight-yard run to cap the scoring at 51-30.
Team Stats:
The Pirates are scoring 40.8 points per game while allowing 37.1. San Diego averages 38.7 points per contest and yields 50.0. Massachusetts ranks fourth in the IFL with 219 yards of offense per game and has the third best passing numbers at 151.7 per night. The Pirates also have the best field goal percentage at 57.6; are second in third down conversions at 50.5 percent and fourth in sacks with 23.
Players to Watch: (League Ranking Included)
Massachusetts running back Deddrick Thomas is fourth in the IFL with 5.5 yards per carry. On the year he has rushed 60 times for 330 yards and averages 27.5 yards per game.
Pirates quarterback Taz Wilson is 60 of 100 passing (60%) for 827 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. He averages 165.4 yards per game. Jorge Reyna of the Strike force is 98 of 166 (59%) with 27 touchdowns, two interceptions, has 1,172 yards and averages 168.1 yards per contest.
Pirates wide receiver Thomas Owens has 61 receptions (3rd) for 842 yards (2nd) and 20 TD receptions (2nd). He averages 15.8 yards per catch (5th), 4.4 receptions per game (4th) and 60.1 yards per game (3rd). Additionally, Owens is seventh in scoring averaging 9.6 points per game.
Marques Rodgers of San Diego has 54 receptions (8th) for 607 yards (10th) with 11 touchdown catches. Rodgers averages 11.2 yards per catch, 3.6 receptions per game and 40.5 yards per night.
Also for the Strike Force Ishmale Adams is ninth in All-Purpose Yards averaging 70 per contest.
Pirates kicker Josh Gable has made 8 of 14 field goal attempts for a league best average of 57.1 percent. His eight made field goals are sixth best in the league.
Defensively, Pirates defensive back Aarion Maxey-Penton is first in interceptions with six on the season. He is also third with 20 passes defended and third with 15 passes broken up.
The Coaches:
Rayshaun Kizer is in his first season as Head Coach of the Pirates after serving as Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach last season. This is his third year overall coaching in the IFL.
San Diego Head Coach Taylor Genuser was hired as the Strike Force Offensive Coordinator for the 2019 season. He was named Head Coach after San Diego started the season 2-5. This is his first assignment as a professional Head Coach and currently has a 1-6 record.
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