IFL 2025 Week 5: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- Apr 21
- 7 min read
We had a smaller slate of games this past weekend, all of which took place on a busy Saturday night in the arena world.
We had an undefeated team fall from the ranks and we are starting to see teams with flushed out QB situations start to separate themselves from the pack.
What did we learn in IFL Week 5?
Massachusetts Pirates @ Jacksonville Sharks
Result: 42-35 Massachusetts
What We Learned: Kenji Bahar is starting to settle in for the Pirates & Jacksonville's offense is in trouble
Heading into this game, the Pirates were coming off of a big win in which they knocked off the previously unbeaten Fishers Freight at home in a game they needed to win badly, where the offense came alive and was able to put together a game winning drive as time expired.
Fast forward one week, they faced another unbeaten Eastern Conference foe in Jacksonville in a rematch from Week 1 and really took it to them. QB Kenji Bahar looked pretty good in this one, but still had some head scratching moments throughout the game that shows he has a little ways to go to catapult himself into the league elite.
But lucky for him, this Pirates team doesn't need him to be elite to win.
Bahar went 16/20 for 158 yards and a TD through the air, along with 2 Tush Push / Pirate Plunders / Bahar Specials from the 1-yard line. RB Pooka WIlliams also had a really strong day, with 50 yards & 2 TDs on the ground and picked up some crucial 1st downs down the stretch in the passing game.
The Pirates have really turned things around since the arrival of Martin Theus at Offensive Coordinator and have positioned themselves in the playoff hunt nicely after their 0-2 start.
For Jacksonville, this game needs to be a wake up call for their offense. They just can not seem to get into gear and fulfill their potential that they have on paper. QB Kaleb Barker has looked just okay and made some really poor choices in this game that led to several interceptions -- including a Pick Six in the 2nd quarter that really tilted the game in Massachusetts' favor for the rest of the evening.
RB Jimmie Robinson is already banged up after picking up and injury in Tucson, and RB Tyler King got injured in this one -- and suddenly their deadly three-headed cerberus in the Sharks backfield is down to Ed Vander.
They were able to move the ball decently, but just couldn't punch it in to the end zone. For a team that is not afraid to boast about the college pedigree of their offensive line, they need to be able to impose their will and guide their ball carriers to the end zone more frequently than they have so far this season. WR Jaedon Stoshak had the most notable game of the day for the Sharks offense with 4 catches for 59 yards & 2 TDs, and RB Tyler King had 2 TDs on the ground before leaving the game in the 3rd quarter on a big hit that I shared my thoughts on here.
The defense played well and nearly forced Kenji Bahar into some bad decisions, but the offense has to finish drives better -- otherwise we might be looking at more losses to come.
Bay Area Panthers @ Fishers Freight
Result: 57-41 Bay Area
What We Learned: Bay Area is a wrecking ball & Fishers needs to figure out their QB situation
Bay Area stumbled out of the gates this season but they have seriously turned it on in the past couple of games since then. This was by far their best offensive output on the season, with QB Josh Jones leading the way both through the air and on the ground and scoring 5 total TDs. WR Josh Tomas continues to play a hybrid RB/WR role and found his way into the end zone for 2 rushing TDs as well.
But the story of the game, yet again, was this Bay Area defense. I feel like I've mentioned him in every What We Learned blog this year, but DB Tyler Watson had another really great game, this time hauling in THREE interceptions, running one back for a TD and running another back all the way down to the 1 yd line. The defense made life very difficult for the Fishers QB Keegan Shoemaker in his first IFL start, and forced him into 5 interceptions and limiting the Freight passing attack to 4 total completions on the day. (More interceptions than completions.. wow.)
The Bay Area secondary is proving again to be the strength of this Panthers team and will be a reason they win a lot of games this season.
For Fishers, this was a rough go on offense for some of the previously mentioned reasons. They just weren't able to pass the ball very well in this, but were able to get some success running the ball with both QB Keegan Shoemaker & RB Jon Lewis.
Shoemaker - 16 carries, 93 yards, 4 TDs
Lewis - 19 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD
Much like the Bay Area Panthers offenses from last year, this Freight team is built to run the ball but it looks like they also suffer from the same ailments of the 2024 Panthers when it comes to their ability to pass the ball when mounting a comeback.
They have a QB decision to make that isn't going to be a fun one:
Following the 5 INT game from Shoemaker, do you stick with him for another game or do you go back to QB Jiya Wright?
San Antonio Gunslingers @ Tulsa Oilers
Result: 45-31 Tulsa
What We Learned: Tulsa is finally looking how we expected them to in pre-season & San Antonio has an identity crisis they need to solve
After the Oilers offense exploded last week, we were looking for a complete game from Tulsa on both offense and defense -- and it was delivered in this one against San Antonio.
QB TJ Edwards had another great game for the Oilers and was just about as efficient as you could possibly be: 16/19, 147 passing yards, 4 TDs & 55 rush yards & 2 TDs. This Oilers offense was able to jump out to a 21 point lead in the 3rd quarter and were able to work the clock in the second half to improve to 2-2 on the year.
The Tulsa defense really rose to the occasion in their home opener, stymying an offense that exploded for 55 last week and holding them to just 24 points on offense. This was the first real game of complimentary football from Tulsa this year and really showcases what this team can be if things are clicking.
Team leading WR Phazione McClurge got the call up the UFL in the week leading up to this game, and the rest of the WR room was able to rise up and fill the void. They will need to continue to do so in order for this offense to continue their current run of form.
For San Antonio, they've got some soul searching to do. Not a whole lot was working well for them on offense in this one and they need to figure out what their identity is. QB Malik Henry struggled quite a bit in this one and couldn't really get things going, and outside of one long run play by backup QB Guy Myers in the 4th quarter, the running game was pretty nonexistent for the Gunslingers. Last year they didn't have much of a ground game, but they had All-IFL QB Sam Castronova back there making up for it.
They don't have that luxury this year and their offense is getting exposed for it in 3 out of their first 4 games this season.
They really need to start establishing the rushing attack early in the game to give the defense more to think about and ultimately help give Henry some time at QB to make plays.
But then the question becomes who becomes that running back that you feed?
They have RB CJ Odom on the roster who could be that downhill runner to help open things up, but he has not played in the past two games (per the participation reports on the box scores.) They have to get somebody involved on the ground to open things up for the offense, otherwise Malik Henry is going to have to take a massive leap and put the team on his back to get back in the win column.
Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Northern Arizona Wranglers
Result: 44-24 Tucson
What We Learned: Tucson might have their guy at QB & Northern Arizona... oof.
This was an ugly game. Both teams came in to this one looking for their first win and looking to get some momentum going to get their seasons back on track.
For Tucson, they made some roster moves and ended up bringing in two new faces at the QB position: Jorge Reyna & Larry Harrington. Reyna ended up getting the start in this one, with Harrington playing time at WR (and leading the team in receptions) throughout the game and then at QB later in the 4th with the game in hand.
Reyna played really well in comparison to some of the QB performances that Tucson has endured this season and most of 2024 -- and he should get even better as they get more time and reps under his belt.
But the Sugar Skulls defense REALLY stepped up in this one. They had a super impressive performance last week against Jacksonville and had another on this week -- where they ended up shutting out the Northern Arizona offense in the 2nd half.
They came up big with a blocked FG deep in NAZ territory and really put the Wranglers offense in a pretzel all game.
For Northern Arizona, this seemed like one of the few opportunities they have this season to get a win -- and they couldn't get it done.
QB CJ Fowler hasn't really turned in a good performance yet this season this offense has yet to crack 30+ points in a game. Fowler ended this game 10/20 for 121 yards, 2 TDs & 1 INT, but was also sacked 5 times. You take away one big chunk play that resulted in a 41 yard TD for WR Deshon Stoudemire and the offense wasn't impressive at all.
Similar to San Antonio, I'd like to see a somebody emerge as a go-to running option outside of QB CJ Fowler. David Elder has been able to fulfill that role to an extent this year and a bit of last season, but Marvin Kinsey looks like the type of RB that would be a great compliment to what CJ Fowler brings as a dual-threat.
They have faced some tough defenses to start the year, but regardless of the opponent they are gonna have to be able to score 30-40+ in order to be competitive in this league. The Wranglers gotta get things sorted out ASAP.
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