San Jose, CA — Saturday the Bay Area Panthers (1-14), The Bay's Indoor Football League (IFL) team, look to play spoiler against the visiting Tucson Sugar Skulls (8-7). Tucson can clinch the third seed in the West with either a win Saturday night or a Duke City loss to Northern Arizona. Saturday marks the second meeting between the two franchises, following Tucson's 58-33 victory on June 11.
Players to Watch
The Bay Area Panthers continue to feature one of the most exciting rushing attacks in the IFL. Head Coach Kurt Bryan will continue to emphasize his innovative run scheme led by RB Duane Gary. Gray leads the team in rushing and ranks at the top of the league leaderboards as well. Coach Bryan has stuck to his preseason commitment to the run game as the Panthers rank among the leaders in rushing yards per contest.
The Panthers Defense will continue to try to fill the significant void left by Bay Area standout LB Derik (DJ) Calhoun's injury. Calhoun had been a model of consistency and production for DC Derrick Chachere and sits sixth in the IFL with 73 tackles. The Panthers will continue to need a whole team effort defensively to replace Calhoun's production.
The Sugar Skulls are led by RB Mike Jones, who leads the league in rushing touchdowns as well as reigning special teams' player of the week Benjamin Jones. Mike Jones gashed the Panthers Defense for four rushing touchdowns in their last meeting, and will look to cement his statistical lead against the Panthers struggling Defense.
Game Notes
The Panthers have released QB Vincent Espinoza
The game will be broadcast on TV (CW) as well as on YouTube and can be heard on 95.7 the game.
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About the Bay Area Panthers:
The Bay Area Panthers, a new Indoor Football League Franchise, will join the Indoor Football League (IFL) and play home games at the SAP Center in San Jose in the Spring of 2022. The team is founded by Professional Football legend Marshawn Lynch, along with Roy Choi, an entertainment and gaming entrepreneur. For more information, visit bayareapanthers.com. More information on the Indoor Football League can be found at www.GoIFL.com.
