IFL Massachusetts Pirates

Pirates vs. Sioux Falls Saturday

June 23, 2022 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Massachusetts Pirates News Release


WORCESTER, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates will look to make it 2-0 all-time over Sioux Falls when they travel to the Denny Sanford Premier Center for the first time on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 8:05 pm eastern time.

The Pirates are coming off a bye week with a record of 8-4 and in second place in the Eastern Division. Massachusetts has the fourth-best record in the Indoor Football League this season and has won three of its last four games.

The Storm is 7-6 and is tied for fourth place in the Eastern Division with Quad City. Sioux Falls has the seventh-best winning percentage in the league at .538 and has also won three of its last four games.

The Last Time Out:

Quarterback Taz Wilson threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the Pirates defeated the Green Bay Blizzard 48-30 at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center. The Pirates shut out Green Bay in the third quarter to break open a game that was deadlocked at halftime and pulled away for their eighth victory of the season.

The third quarter belonged to the Pirates. Massachusetts took the second-half kickoff and drove 30 yards in seven plays. Wilson connected with running back Deddrick Thomas on a six-yard strike to put the Pirates up by seven. Two plays later the defense contributed with a score. On second and nine from the Green Bay 23, Pirates defensive end Ivan McLennan sacked QB Jack Sheehan who fumbled. The ball was recovered by Da'Sean Downey who returned it 15 yards for a touchdown and Massachusetts led 34-20.

Massachusetts controlled the clock in the final quarter with Wilson running the ball. Wilson scored his second TD on a short two-yard run and added the team's final points with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Darren Carrington.

The Pirates outgained the Blizzard 243 yards to 139. The Massachusetts defense held Green Bay to just 23 yards rushing and also accounted for three sacks on the night. The Pirates were also a perfect four-for-four in the red zone, scoring four touchdowns.

For Massachusetts, Wilson was the leading rusher in the game with 48 yards on 15 carries with two scores. Wilson was 13 of 20 passing for 184 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. His top target was Thomas Owens who was the game's leading receiver with six catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Owens now has 49 touchdown receptions as a member of the Pirates making him the team's all-time leader in that category. Defensively, Pirates defensive back Lukas Denis and linebacker Reggie Floyd each had eight tackles. Floyd had two tackles for a loss and a half-sack. Downey added 1.5 sacks and the 15-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

The Storm saw its three-game winning streak come to an end in Green Bay with a 42-40 setback against the Blizzard. Sioux Falls had a 22-20 lead over Green Bay in the second quarter but trailed 33-22 after three quarters.

In the final quarter trailing 39-30, Storm quarterback Dalton Sneed scored on a four-yard touchdown run. Then with three seconds remaining, kicker Sawyer Petre connected on a 20-yard field goal for a 40-39 lead. Blizzard kicker Nick Jaworski answered as time ran out with a field goal from 35 yards and the Blizzard escaped with a 42-40 win.

Sneed finished the game 15 of 23 passing for 159 yards. He also ran ten times for 19 yards and three scores. Running back Nate Chavious carried seven times for 36 yards and a touchdown while Bryson Denley added 34 yards on three carries. Wideout Carlos Thompson was the leading receiver with six catches for 65 yards.

Defensively, Famus Hasty, Paris Taylor, and Mike Alvarez each had seven tackles with Hasty adding .5 tackles for a loss along with a fumble recovery and two passes were broken up.

The Last Meeting:

Pirates backup quarterback Mike Glass III threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Thomas Owens with six seconds to play leading Massachusetts to a 43-42 victory over the Storm at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center. The game featured ten lead changes.

With the Storm leading 42-36, the Pirates last drive began on the Sioux Falls 23 with 2:42 to play. On first down Pirates QB, Alejandro Bennifield hit wideout Isaac Zico, who made a leaping catch at the seven to set up first and goal. Bennifield then ran to the four, but on second and goal, Storm linebacker Undraez Lilly sacked the Pirates' quarterback. Bennifield was unable to return from the hit, and backup quarterback Mike Glass III entered the game with 33 seconds to play, looking at a third and goal at the 15. Glass ran to the eight yard-line setting up fourth and goal. From the shotgun, Glass took a two-step drop and then stepped up in the pocket and delivered a strike to Owens in the end zone that tied the game with six-seconds left. Kicker Craig Peterson's extra point gave the Pirates a 43-42 lead. The Storm's Nate Chavious returned the kickoff to his own 15-yard line. With one second left on the clock, Sawyer Petre attempted a 50-yard field goal that sailed wide left and the Pirates had earned a one-point victory.

The game turned into a classic run vs. the pass affair as Massachusetts threw for 193 yards compared to the Storm's 33, while Sioux Falls ran for 163 to the Pirates' 57.

Bennifield finished the night 19 of 23 for 208 yards with four touchdowns. Five Pirates had receptions including Zico who had seven catches for 60 yards and a score. Owens had five receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns while Darren Carrington added three for 48 yards and two scores. Deddrick Thomas led the Massachusetts ground game with eight carries for 32 yards.

Defensively, DB Lukas Denis had six tackles as did linebacker Reggie Floyd.

For Sioux Falls, QB Dalton Sneed was just two of eight passing for 33 yards and two scores. Chavious had 148 yards of total offense as he carried 15 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also returned two kicks for 33 yards. Undraez Lilly led the Storm defense with three sacks and had a total of six tackles. Carlos Thompson Jr. was the Storm's leading tackler with nine stops.

Team Stats:

The Pirates are averaging 39.4 points a game and are allowing 36.4, while the Storm is scoring 41.5 points per contest and yielding 41.2. Both teams average 213.2 yards of offense per game. Defensively Massachusetts is holding opponents to 197.5 yards while Sioux Falls gives up 208.8.

The Pirates have an edge on third down converting 51.3 percent of the time while the Storm checks in at 41.7. When it comes to extra points, Sioux Falls has the advantage with a success rate of 91.0 compared to that of 69.1 for the Pirates.

Players to Watch (League ranking included)

Taz Wilson has started the last two games at quarterback for the Pirates. He has completed 66 percent of his passes going 25 of 38 for 345 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. Wilson is averaging 172.5 yards passing per game.

Storm quarterback Dalton Sneed is 25 of 117 passing (64%) for 940 yards with 19 touchdowns and one interception. He averages 134.3 yards passing per contest.

Pirates running back Deddrick Thomas has carried 38 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas averages 3.2 yards per carry and 20.4 yards rushing per game.

Nate Chavious of the Storm is one of the top backs in the IFL with 126 carries (2nd) for 543 yards (3rd) with 16 touchdowns (8th). He averages 4.3 yards per carry (10th) and 41.8 yards rushing per game (5th). Chavious is third in the league with 41 kickoff returns for 758 yards (3rd) with a touchdown and averages 18.5 yards per return (4th). Chavious is also ninth in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game. He also has 1,514 all-purpose yards (2nd) and averages 116.5 all-purpose yards per game (3rd).

Pirates Wide receiver Thomas Owens continues to have an impressive season as one of the leading receivers in the Indoor Football League. Owens has played in all 12 games for Massachusetts this season and has 52 receptions (4th) for 685 yards (3rd) with 17 touchdown receptions (2nd). He also gains 13.2 yards per catch, pulls in 4.3 receptions per game (6th) and 57.1 yards per game (5th). Owens also ranks eighth in scoring with 9.6 points per game and is fifth in touchdowns with a total of 19.

Kicker Sawyer Petre of the Storm is ninth in the league in scoring averaging 9.2 points per game. Petre is tied for first with 18 made field goals this season. He is 18 of 35 for 51.4 percent which is second in the league.

The Storm has a pair of receivers who appear in the league's top ten. Carlos Thompson has 41 receptions (8th) for 600 yards (4th) with 13 touchdowns (5th). He averages 14.6 yards per catch (3rd), 3.4 receptions per game, and 50.0 yards per game (6th). Aaron Dilworth has 39 catches for 509 yards, eight touchdowns, averages 13.1 yards per catch, 4.3 receptions per game (7th), and 56.6 yards per game (5th).

Defensively, Aarion Maxey-Penton is third in the IFL with 18 passes defended. He is tied for third with four interceptions and is second with 14 passes broken up. Famus Hasty of the Storm has 16 passes defended (4th) and is tied with Maxey-Penton with 14 PBU"s. Lukas Denis of the Pirates is tied with several players for seventh with three interceptions.

Massachusetts defensive lineman Da'Sean Downey is seventh in the IFL with 4 sacks. Storm linebackers Undraez Lilly and Marquis Hendrix also are having top-ten seasons. Hendrix is fourth with 5.9 tackles per game and eighth with 65 tackles. Lilly ranks second with 8.5 sacks and is eighth with two fumbles recovered this season.

The Coaches:

Rayshaun Kizer is 8-4 in his first season as Head Coach of the Pirates. He is also the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. During the 2021 season, Coach Kizer was the mastermind behind the IFL's best defense and developed a unit that had five players listed on the All-IFL team. In 17 games, Kizer's defense held opponents to a league-best 31.6 points per game and led the league in eight other defensive categories.

A native of Euclid, Ohio, Kizer played his college ball at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. In 2007 he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets. He went on to have two stints in the Canadian Football League and a stellar career in arena ball in the AF2 and AFL. Playing for Orlando in 2011, Kizer set an Arena Football League single-season record with 16 interceptions.

Storm Head Coach Kurtiss Riggs played for the Sioux Falls Cobras from 2000 through 2001. In 2002 he was the offensive coordinator for the re-named Storm before moving to head coach in 2003. A four-time Coach of the Year (including awards in the NIFL, the UIF, and IFL) his teams have won 11 championships. Riggs has an all-time record of 253-58. He is currently in his 18th season with Sioux Falls. Riggs was inducted into the Indoor Football League's Hall of Fame class in 2021.



Indoor Football League Stories from June 23, 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