SAN DIEGO—The Bay Area Panthers allowed only seven second-half points and recorded four defensive stops after halftime in a 30-20 win over the San Diego Strike Force in the final game of the regular season.   

The same two teams will play in the first round of the IFL playoffs next Sunday, July 28 at the SAP Center at 4:05.  The Panthers (13-3) are the top overall seed in the Western Conference and the Strike Force (10-6) is the fourth seed.  

Bay Area won three of four head-to-head matchups during the regular season.  

"San Diego is a well-coached, physical football team and we wanted to play hard knowing just how dangerous of a team they are regardless of the playoff positioning of both teams," said Head Coach Rob Keefe."  

San Diego took its only lead at 20-13 when Darius James Peterson connected with Isaiah Crocker on a 33-yard scoring pass with 10:36 to play in the third quarter.   

Those would be the only points the Strike Force would score in the second half.  Joe Foucha's lunging interception preceded a pair of stops on downs.  During that decisive stretch, the Panthers scored 17 consecutive points.   

Benjamin Jones' 1-yard run capped a six-play, 32 yard game drive as the Panthers pulled even at 20 with 6:25 to play in the third quarter.  The score was his first with the Panthers since signing with the team on June 6.  

Early in the fourth, Craig Peterson connected on a season-best 48-yard field goal to put his team ahead for good.   

Quarterback Felix Harper closed the scoring with a 6-yard TD run with 1:42 remaining.  The score finished off a 10-play, 48-yard drive that chewed up 7:17 of the game clock.   

Harper finished the game completing 11 of 15 passes for 84 yards and a 22-yard scoring pass to Jazeric Peterson in the first quarter.   

Jones led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 52 yards.   

Tevaughn Grant paced the defense with seven tackles, five solo stops and 2.5 tackles for loss.  In this second game since signing with Bay Area, Jonathan Ross recorded 6.5 tackles, five solo tackles and three tackles for loss.  

"We want that momentum going forward to take us into the playoffs," said Grant.  "We attacked it like we attack every game.   When you're the number one seed, you've got to live up to that.  Our mindset is to do what we have to do and take care of business."   

The defense recorded seven stops in the win and held the Strike Force to two scores on five trips inside the red zone.   

"It was a hard-fought, low scoring battle and our defense was fortunate to come up with some key stops down the stretch," said Keefe.   

The playoff meeting on July 28 will be the second time the teams will face each other on consecutive weeks.  On April 20, the Panthers rallied for a 53-50 win at the SAP Center and held on for a 33-32 win in San Diego on April 28.   

The Bay Area Panthers and the San Diego Strike Force will play in the first round of the IFL playoffs Sunday, July 28 at the SAP Center at 4:05.  

Tickets are on sale now. Click HERE to get your tickets as the Panthers look to defend their IFL National Championship.