NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS HANDLE BAY AREA PANTHERS
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. - On Saturday evening, the Northern Arizona Wranglers completed the three-game season sweep of the Bay Area Panthers, by defeating them 52-27.
With the victory, Northern Arizona improves their record to 7-2 on the season. The Wranglers are also 5-0 when playing at home on Pinnacle Bank Field at the Findlay Toyota Center.
The Wranglers scored the game’s first touchdown on their second offensive possession, courtesy of a 15-yard scamper for the score by quarterback Kaleb Barker. The first quarter would end with a successful Panthers field goal that brought the game to a 7-3 score.
The Wranglers would strike first to start, in the action-packed second quarter, when Barker found wide receiver Glen Gibbons Jr. open for the 10-yard touchdown. Northern Arizona’s defense stood tall on the ensuing possession, with a huge stop on 4th and goal. The Wranglers went down the field in a flash, after wide receiver Ulice Gillard took a shorter reception for a 35-yard gain. Gibbons Jr. found the end zone for a second time, as the Wranglers scored a touchdown in just two plays. The Panthers would respond with a touchdown of their own. The Wranglers answered once again before the half, as Barker threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Gillard that took the Wranglers into halftime with a 28-9 lead.
The third quarter began with the Panthers scoring a touchdown, and both teams trading turnovers on the following two possessions. Wranglers defensive back Tevin Homer came up with a tremendous play to give the Wranglers the ball back. Homer notched both a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery on the same play. The Wranglers would even the third quarter box score with a four-yard touchdown run from Gillard, his second score of the game. The third quarter ended with a score of 36-15, in favor of Northern Arizona.
The Wranglers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, from wide receiver Jerrime Neal, then running back Israel Tucker. Wranglers defensive back Trae Meadows and running back Stanley “Boom” Williams combined for a tackle in the end zone on a kickoff return, recording a one-point rouge score. Immediately following the rouge, the Indoor Football League’s reigning Defensive Player of the Week, linebacker Darin Hungerford, recorded a sack for a safety.
Barker added five total touchdowns to his IFL resume as a quarterback. Two wide receivers had two touchdown performances for Northern Arizona on Saturday night: Gibbons Jr., and Gillard. Hungerford led the defense with another outstanding performance, recording 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack.
The Wranglers will be on the road next week, as they face the Tucson Sugar Skulls for the second time in three weeks. The Wranglers will need to continue to win, as they race for the top seed in the Western Conference. This race tightened on Saturday night, with the Wranglers improving to 7-2 record on the season, and the Arizona Rattlers falling to 7-2, with a loss to the Frisco Fighters in downtown Phoenix.