Panthers 2023 Dollar Loan Center IFL Championship Game notes...

The Bay Area Panthers are looking to become the second consecutive IFL team to win the championship following a one-win season.  Northern Arizona captured the 2022 title, one year after a 1-13 season in 2021.   The Panthers won their 2022 opener before closing the season with 15 consecutive losses. 

In the Western Conference Championship game, the Panthers scored touchdowns on all 10 of their possessions in a 68-46 win over Northern Arizona at the SAP Center.  Justin Rankin set a franchise record with six rushing touchdowns.  In all, Bay Area rushed for seven scores.

The previous week in the first playoff game in franchise history, the Panthers avenged their only home field loss with a 46-34 win over Tucson.  The defense recorded stops on three of the first four series on the way to a 22-0 lead after the first quarter.  Bay Area advanced despite a season-low 132 yards in total offense to improve to 12-5 on the year.

The Panthers will take the field in Henderson with a four-game winning streak since a 45-38 loss at Frisco on June 24.  Sneed missed his first game of the year with the flu as rookie Felix Harper made his first IFL start. 

Numbers don't lie in explaining the franchise turnaround.  In 2022, Bay Area's offense ranked last in both scoring and total offense--scoring fewer than 30 points in 10 games.  The Panthers also finished 14^th in both categories on defense.  A year later, the Panthers are scoring 23 more points per game and rank third in the IFL in scoring with more than 60 points in six games.  On defense, Bay Area is fifth in points allowed at 43.6 points per game.

Rankin's 44 rushing touchdowns are tops among IFL running backs and second among all players behind TJ Edwards of Frisco.  His 878 rushing yards is second to Jimmy Robinson of Massachusetts. 

The Panthers' coaching staff has a track record of success.  Defensive Coordinator Rob Keefe has six indoor championship rings and Offensive Coordinator Dixie Wooten has one.  Keefe was the DC for Northern Arizona in last year's championship run and returns to Henderson for the title game for the second consecutive season. 

Wooten's title came in the 2018 United Bowl with a 42-38 win over Sioux Falls.  Jamal Tyler scored the game-winning touchdown on an 8-yard run with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter.  League MVP Drew Powell threw four touchdown passes in the win.  The title was the first in franchise history for the Barnstormers and the loss for the Storm came in their ninth consecutive trip to the championship game. Following the 2018 regular season, Wooten was named IFL Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

Seven Panthers played in last season's Dollar Loan Center IFL National Championship game as members of the winning Wranglers:  Bill Atkins, Marquise Bridges, Kenton Bartlett, Darin Hungerford, Trae Meadows, Craig Peterson and Imeek Watkins. 
Quarterback Dalton Sneed will face his former team for the first time.  As a member of the Storm in 2022, Sneed threw 25 touchdown passes with three interceptions.  He was acquired by the Panthers in an off-season trade. 

The Panthers and Storm have only faced each other once—April 22, 2022 with the Storm coming away with a 49-27 win.  Bay Area only led once when Raysean Pringle returned the opening kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown.  Dalton Sneed made his first start at quarterback for Sioux Falls and was 9-10 for 98 yards and two touchdowns to Carlos Thompson before leaving with an injury in the second half.  Nate Chavious led the Storm on the ground with 17 carries for 75 yards and four touchdowns.