With the league now entering week four, six teams will make their debut for the 2021 season. There are four games slated for the weekend starting with the Green Bay Blizzard (2-1) traveling to face the Bismarck Bucks (1-1).
Of the six teams making their debut, the Iowa Barnstormers head to take on the Sioux Falls Storm, the Spokane Shock will host the Frisco Fighters and the Arizona Rattlers will go head-to-head with the Northern Arizona Wranglers.
GREEN BAY BLIZZARD AT BISMARCK BUCKS – SATURDAY, MAY 15, 6:05 P.M. CT
The Blizzard and the Bucks are the only two teams this weekend who have already started their 2021 season.
Green Bay enters the match-up coming off a strong win over the Louisville Xtreme, 49-29, to notch their second win in a row and of the season after dropping their home opener.
On offense, Blizzard quarterback Damion May has led the way since making his first appearance in week two where May completed 5-of-10 passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns to lead to Green Bays’ comeback victory over the Massachusetts Pirates, 40-36.
The Green Bay defense has helped set their tone for the season. The Blizzard’s secondary has picked off opposing quarterbacks four times this season with defensive back Mason Gray intercepting two in one game.
Bismarck comes into the contest off a tough loss to the Massachusetts Pirates, 36-18, but will look to take down Green Bay for the second time this season. The Bucks defeated the Blizzard, 41-35, on the road in their first game of the season.
Wide receiver Raheem Harvey has had a strong start to his season. Harvey has a total of seven catches for 189 and three touchdowns between Buck’s two games.
IOWA BARNSTORMERS AT SIOUX FALLS STORM – SATURDAY, MAY 15, 7:05 P.M.
The two teams have faced off in two of the last three United Conference Championship games. The year where they didn't, the pair matched up in the United Bowl – the IFL's Championship Game. Sioux Falls beat Iowa to end the season in 2019, however, the Barnstormers took the win against the Storm in the 2018 United Bowl.
The Storm last played 669 days ago when they won the 2019 United Bowl. South Dakota Beef Industry Council presents the inaugural IFL Hall of Fame game where head coach Kurtiss Riggs will be inducted alongside Fred Jackson, Heron O'Neal and John Pettit.
The Storm return five from last year’s squad including wide receivers Damian Ford and Brandon Sheperd, quarterback Lorenzo Brown, defensive back Trey Wafford and offensive linemen Lawrence Martin.
When the Iowa Barnstormers take the field on Saturday against the Sioux Falls Storm, it will have been 686 days since the last time the team was in action.
Headed by Daquan Neal, the same quarterback that led the team during the 2019 campaign on his way to the IFL MVP Award, as well as impact wide receiver Connor Hollenbeck and offensive lineman Quante Hines to lead the offense against the Storm.
At halftime of the matchup, the 2021 hall of fame class will be inducted which includes former Iowa Barnstormers COO and Vice President John Pettit.
FRISCO FIGHTERS AT SPOKANE SHOCK – SATURDAY, MAY 15, 9:05 P.M.
Nineteen months after new Shock owner and former Seahawks defensive tackle Sam Adams announced the return of the franchise – the Shock were a championship-level organization in Arena Football League and AF2 for years before switching brands and leagues in 2015 and ultimately folding – the team is aiming for an IFL championship.
Shock quarterback Charles McCullum is closing in on the all-time passing yards record, just 1,022 yards short of the mark.
New Shock head coach Billy Back, who won a National Arena League championship with the Carolina Cobras before accepting the same job in Spokane.
The Fighters are entering the season with three quarterbacks. There’s the arena vet, Jonathan Bane, the electric playmaker and former University of Texas wide receiver, Jerrod Heard and the talented rookie from the University of Nevada, Malik Henry.
The defensive side of the ball is stacked with veterans like Malcolm Goines and Charles Williams, who both played for The IFL’s 2019 Sioux Falls Storm championship team. Trey Caldwell, safety, is an asset to the secondary. An alum of Louisiana-Monroe, he was drafted to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
ARIZONA RATTLERS AT NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS – SUNDAY, MAY 16, 5:05 P.M.
The six-time world champion Arizona Rattlers will take the field for the first time since their undefeated 2019 season culminated with a trip to the United Bowl.
Returning to the field for the Rattlers at quarterback is former IFL MVP Drew Powell, who threw for 804 yards and 18 touchdowns in six games to end the 2019 season. He will look to replicate his 2018 MVP season, where he threw for over 1,600 yards and 34 touchdowns. Powell also dominated on the ground with 945 rushing yards; the most by a quarterback in IFL history.
Powell will be throwing to the IFL's 2019 Most Improved Player, wide receiver Jared Harrington. With a second-year campaign that included 14 touchdowns and 696 receiving yards, Harrington was awarded second-team All-IFL honors.
The Rattlers brought in some new faces to bolster the defensive side of the ball, including defensive back Tyrell Pearson. In 2019, Pearson tied for the IFL lead in interceptions for the Iowa Barnstormers en route to earning first-team All-IFL honors.
Pearson will be joining a defense led by another first-team All-IFL member, in defensive lineman Nik D'Avanzo. D'Avanzo racked up 5.5 sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss in his first season with the Rattlers.
The Northern Arizona Wranglers will be playing their first game in franchise history, marking the third IFL team to be located in Arizona.
The Wranglers come with some familiar faces, such as quarterback Verlon Reed Jr. In the 2019 season, Reed played in four games for the Rattlers, throwing seven touchdowns before his season was ended by an injury.
Northern Arizona is led by head coach Dominic Bramante, the co-founder and former head coach of the Duke City Gladiators, who has over 20 years of coaching experience. He spent six years with the Gladiators and never had a losing season and was awarded the Head Coach of the Year award in 2018.