Strike Force Complete Epic Comeback
April 11, 2022 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
San Diego Strike Force News Release
The San Diego Strike Force came out on top in in last night's game, shocking the Tucson Sugar Skulls 67-66 in thrilling fashion. The Strike Force overcame a 17-point fourth quarter deficit in a comeback win for the ages.
San Diego struck first in this high scoring affair on a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Cluley to wide receiver Rashad Ross to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Tucson wasted no time responding with a score of their own, as quarterback Daquan Neal hooked up with wide receiver Arthur Jackson for a 28-yard touchdown. The two teams traded scores at a rampant pace after that, and the first quarter ended with the Sugar Skulls leading 20-16.
Both teams maintained the pace they set early, and the first half ended with Tucson leading 40-30.
The Strike Force started the second half off with a bang, as defensive back David Haney claimed San Diego's first pick-six of the season, jumping in front of a wild pass from Neal and returning it 18 yards for the touchdown. Defensive lineman DeShon Cooper came screaming into the backfield untouched and put the pressure on Neal, forcing the errant throw that led to the interception.
San Diego's newly gained momentum vanished in a heartbeat, as Sugar Skulls running back Mike Jones ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing drive to give Tucson its ten point lead back. Tucson managed to hold and build on that lead as the game progressed.
With under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tucson had the ball and a 17-point lead. The tide turned when Strike Force linebacker Ricky Wyatt and defensive lineman DeShon Cooper combined to wrap up Sugar Skulls running back Mike Jones in the end zone for a safety to cut the Tucson lead to 15 with 9:00 minutes remaining.
Ishmael Adams returned the ensuing kickoff to around midfield, setting up the offense nicely with around 8:00 minutes remaining. Rashad Ross turned a quick pass into a 21-yard gain, and then running back Travon Van took a pitch from six yards out into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. A successful two-point conversion on a perfectly executed out-route along the wall from Cluley to Troy Evans made it a seven point game with 6:11 to go.
Tucson delivered an absolute gut punch on the very next play, as Benjamin Jones found a seam and turned on the jets to take the kickoff to the house. Sugar Skulls kicker Logan Justus missed the extra point, which seemed insignificant considering Tucson now had a 13-point lead with 5:15 to go. It would prove very costly.
Pass interference penalties hurt the Sugar Skulls in a big way all night, including on the next San Diego drive. Defensive back Elijah Belle committed one to set up the Strike Force inside the 5-yard line. Travon Van scored again on the very next play, taking another pitch to the right and plowing over a Sugar Skulls defender to get to the end zone. A successful PAT cut the lead to six with 2:20 remaining, and all of a sudden the Strike Force were a stop away from giving themselves a chance to win this one.
San Diego would get that stop in storybook fashion. In his second game back off of the IR list, defensive back E.J. Johnson came up with the defensive play of the season for the Strike Force. On a third-and-six with a minute remaining, Neal fired a pass to his top receiver Arthur Brown, who made the catch for what looked like a game-sealing first down conversion. Instead, Johnson wrestled with Brown for the football and ripped it away just before Brown hit the wall, giving Cluley and the offense the ball back at the Tucson 22-yard line with under a minute remaining and all three timeouts.
After two incompletions, Cluley stepped up in the pocket and took off on a third-and-ten, picking up a huge first down and jetting all the way down to the Tucson 4-yard line before he was ever even touched for an 18-yard pickup. A failed rush attempt for a loss and a false start penalty pushed San Diego to the 13-yard line with 12 seconds left. Another Tucson penalty put San Diego right back on the Tucson 6-yard line, where once again a broken-down run play lead to a loss of yards. San Diego called a timeout to set up one final play from the 8-yard line with two seconds remaining. Cluley dropped back and zipped one into the end zone, finding Rashad Ross for the game tying touchdown as time expired. Kicker Tanner Kuljian knocked the extra point through on the next play to seal the deal and cap off a historic night for the Strike Force.
Steve Cluley had a monster game, throwing for 127 yards and five touchdowns, making some big-time throws into small windows when it counted most. His go-to reciever was Rashad Ross, who hauled in four catches for 68 yards and three touchdowns. Troy Evans also got in on the action and picked up his first and second touchdown of the season. Kris Lewis also had three catches in some critical moments for a total of 32 yards. Running back Travon Van introduced himself to the league, running through and over Sugar Skulls defenders on a couple of pitch rights in the red zone. He finished the night with three touchdowns and 30 yards rushing on eight attempts.
For Tucson, running back Mike Jones delivered a historic performance, scoring five times on the ground to go along with his 86 yards rushing. Quarterback Daquon Neal had a rushing touchdown as well in addition to his three passing touchdowns. He completed 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 150 yards. Arthur Jackson, who is emerging as one of the top receivers in the league, led all Sugar Skulls' receivers with six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Running back Benjamin Jones was nearly unstoppable as a returner, racking up 215 yards on eight kickoffs. His longest return of the night was the 50-yard touchdown that he scored in the fourth quarter.
San Diego took advantage of penalties and won the time of possession battle. The Strike Force benefited from 55 yards of offense on ten penalties and cashed in, scoring on six out of their seven trips to the red zone. They had possession of the ball for almost 39 minutes, which was nearly double the amount of time that Tucson had it.
The defense may have given up 66 points, but they answered the call when they were needed the most. The Strike Force could not have won this game without the two turnovers from David Haney and E.J. Johnson. Haney's pick six to start the second half gave the team new life and cut the Tucson lead to three. Johnson's takeaway was the play of the game, and it gave the offense the one chance it needed to find the end zone and complete the comeback.
San Diego could not have won this game without the right leg of Tanner Kuljian. We'll remember the final kick of the game the most, but Kuljian contributed to this win well before the last play. He drilled a field goal from 38 yards out in the first quarter to give San Diego a 10-7 lead, and he finished the night 6-7 on PATs. Tucson went 6-10 on PATs and left four points off the board.
The Strike Force continue their Arizona road trip next week as they head to Phoenix for a rematch with the Rattlers. The two teams faced off two weeks ago on March 28 in the Strike Force's home opener, which resulted in a 48-10 Arizona win. San Diego will face an even tougher test this time around as they take on the 4-0 Rattlers on the road. Arizona is rolling right now after crushing the Vegas Knight Hawks 67-20 this past Friday. They currently hold a 35 point average margin of victory and lead the league in total touchdowns, points, and average points per game.
Kickoff is set for 7:05 PM Pacific Time on Friday, April 15. You can watch the game live on the IFL's YouTube Channel, or on Fox 5 San Diego.
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