Tulsa Oilers Football, proud member of the IFL, drop their fourth home game in a row in a loss to the Massachusetts Pirates, 54-48.
The Pirates began the scoring on the first play from scrimmage, connecting on a 22-yard touchdown reception over the middle to Isaac Zico to give Mass a 7-0 lead. Tulsa’s running back, Jo-El Shaw responded for the Oilers with a touchdown via a six-yard rush to tie the game 7-7 with 9:39 remaining in the first. The Pirates grabbed their second touchdown on their second possession thanks to a Thomas Owens 8-yard touchdown grab to give Mass a 14-7 advantage with 7:10 left in the opening quarter. Wide receiver, Jonathan Nance for Tulsa recorded a 16-yard touchdown catch with 5:23 left in the first quarter to tie up the score again at 14-14. Massachusetts scored three times in a row making it 21-14 with 1:49 left in the beginning frame via a one-yard rush by running back Jimmie Robinson.
Joshua Crockett picked up his first touchdown of the game on a four-yard reception into the end zone to open the second quarter scoring with 9:14 left in the half, a missed extra point kept the score 21-20 Mass. Zico for the Pirates scored his second receiving touchdown of the game on a nine-yard grab with 2:14 left in the half to give Massachusetts a 27-20 lead, a two-point conversion helped the Pirates work out to a 29-20 advantage. The Oilers responded with 0:14 seconds left in the second by picking up a four-yard rushing touchdown by Tre Harvey on a jet sweep to the right side to make it 29-27 Pirates. Mass kicker Josh Gable hit a 28-yard field goal with no time remaining in the half to end two quarters at a score of 32-27 Pirates.
Tulsa scored on the first drive of the third quarter by connecting on a 17-yard touchdown reception via Alexis Rosario with 12:33 remaining in the third, the Oilers had their first lead 33-32. Zico had three receiving touchdowns on the night after grabbing a 31-yard catch in the end zone to make it 38-33 Mass added another two-point conversion making it 40-33 Pirates with 2:24 left in the third quarter.
Tulsa wasted no time, scoring with 14:49 left in the game on another Rosario catch, this time an eight-yard reception, 40-40 it remained tied. Massachusetts scored twice in a row, once by an eight-yard catch via Robinson and next on a four-yard rush by quarterback Anthony Russo to make it 54-40 Pirates with 1:03 left in the game. Crockett for Tulsa made it 54-46 after a seven-yard scoring catch with 0:41 remaining, Jeremy Reynolds would proceed to hit a Deuce to make it 54-48, the eventual final score.
Tulsa heads to San Diego to face the Strike Force on Sunday, June 4. Kickoff is set for 5:05 p.m. CT.