SAN JOSE--The Bay Area Panthers slowed down the most prolific offense in the Indoor Football League and Shane Simpson scored four touchdowns in a 42-31 win at the SAP Center on Military Appreciation Night.

The Panthers (8-1) set the tone on the opening series forcing Sam Castronova into four consecutive incomplete passes and took possession on the San Antonio 12-yard line.  Daquan Neal scrambled to his right before finding Pierre Williams in the end zone on a 6-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead with 10:42 to play in the first quarter.

"One of our keys heading into the game was to start fast," said Bay Area defensive back Antwon Kincade.  "It was important to get him (Castronova) out of his rhythm early because once he gets going, he's hard to stop."   

A defensive stop book-ended the half with the Gunslingers threatening late in the second quarter.  On 4th and goal from the Bay Area 5-yard line, Castronova was intercepted in the end zone by Kincade, marking just the third time this season Castronova has been picked off.  The Panthers marched down the field and Simpson scored on a 4-yard run with 11 seconds to play for a 21-13 lead. 

San Antonio cut the lead to 21-16 when TC Stevens nailed a 43-yard field goal to close the second quarter. 

The Gunslingers (4-5) made a charge early in the fourth when Castronova connected with NyQuan Murray on a 7-yard TD throw.  Stevens converted the PAT and knocked in a deuce on the following kickoff to complete the 9-point possession.  The sequence trimmed the Panthers' lead to 28-25. 

Bay Area put the game out of reach with a pair of short Simpson TD runs in a stretch of just over five minutes.  Simpson's 1-yard run boosted the lead to 41-25 with 1:43 to play.  

Castronova had completed 73 percent of his passes before Saturday.  He finished the game 16-38 for 174 yards with three scores and one interception.  

"The plan was to get after him as much as possible and disguise our coverage," said Bay Area Head Coach Rob Keefe.  "Castronova is a great quarterback and to hold him under 200 yards says a lot.  We did our job tonight."

The Panthers recorded 5.5 stops against a San Antonio team that had only been held once to fewer than 50 points with a previous low of 44 in an April 12 loss at Vegas. 

"Everyone played really well and fed off each other's energy," said defensive back Tyler Watson.  "We were really having a good time on that field playing against a great offense."  

In his return to the starting lineup after sitting out the previous three games, Kincade had seven solo tackles and 10.5 total. 

"Those guys were playing great, but I was dying to get back on the field," said Kincade.  "Just to have everybody contribute in a major way had me hungry to be out there for my guys."  

Watson and Joe Foucha both recorded five pass breakups to pace the defensive backfield.  

Once again, the Panthers relied on a dominant run game.  They rushed the ball 29 times to go with just 10 pass attempts.  Simpson had 14 carries for 84 yards and four scores.  He now has 16 rushing touchdowns on the season.  Neal only need to throw the ball 10 times after eight pass attempts the week before at Arizona. 

"We're an in-shape football team and when you don't have a bye week until now, it's nice to be where we are," said Keefe.  "These guys have been grinding for three months and we're an in-shape, hungry, in your face football team.  We love to be physically dominant with our offensive line and close the game out in physical fashion."

Since the home loss to Vegas, the Panthers have won three straight and lead the Knight Hawks by one-half game for the top record in the IFL.  The team stressed all week the importance of playing at a high-level heading into the bye week.  

"The type of guys Keefe recruited are guys who love to win," said Kincade.  "We wanted to win today for Coach Keefe so he could have a wonderful bye week and didn't have to think about a loss.  We wanted to make him proud."

Bay Area will host Tucson on Saturday, June 8 at the SAP Center.  The Gunslingers return to action the same night at home against Duke City.