SAN JOSE--For the first time, the Bay Area Panthers have sole possession of first place in the conference race heading into Saturday's game against the Duke City Gladiators on Youth Sports Night at the SAP Center.
Bay Area (6-3) has won five of six after a 44-42 win at Tucson—coming back from 30-17 down in the second quarter for the biggest comeback win of the season. Dalton Sneed threw three touchdown passes and Justin Rankin had three rushing touchdowns.
For the second straight game, the Panthers scored touchdowns on their first two plays from scrimmage.
Rankin is first among IFL running backs in rushing scores (20) and second in yards (400).
Sneed is tied for second in touchdown passes (29) and has thrown the second fewest interceptions (3) among quarterbacks who have played at least six games.
Defense came through in the key moments—intercepting Tucson quarterback Ramone Atkins twice and turning back a late try at a two-point conversion.
The Gladiators are 1-4 on the road and have dropped four straight away from New Mexico after an opening win at Northern Arizona. Most recently on the road, Duke City lost at San Diego 57-44.
Duke City (4-5) completed the sweep of the Wranglers with a 47-40 home win to push NAZ one game back of the Panthers in the Western Conference.
In the biggest eye-opening move of the season after Game 4, Duke City traded franchise quarterback Nate Davis to San Diego for both Strike Force quarterbacks and defensive lineman Jeremiah Caine. Since the trade, the Gladiators used Demry Croft and Aaron Aiken before turning to veteran Charles McCullum. The two-time MVP is the all-time leading passer in the IFL had been with the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League.
DB Roderick Chapman leads the IFL in interceptions with seven.
The Gladiators play their final road game next week at Tucson before finishing with four straight home games. They'll take the field as one of five teams separated by one game for second place in the conference behind Bay Area.
Last season, the Gladiators won 50-28 at Duke City on April 9. Ramone Atkins threw five touchdown passes and added another on the ground. In the loss for Bay Area, Duane Gary ran for two scores.
Duke City completed the sweep with a 40-23 win in San Jose on May 7. The game was put away at halftime with the Gladiators jumping out to a 30-7 lead.
