IFL 2025 Week 9: What We Learned

Week 9 is in the books, folks!

We had a team crack 70+ points for the 2nd time this season, we've got a darkhorse in Tucson finding it's way, a thriller in the desert and the Northern Arizona Wranglers finally get their first win of the season!

But what did we learn in IFL Week 9?

Tulsa Oilers @ Quad City Steamwheelers

Result: 36-34 Tulsa

What We Learned: Tulsa was fortunate to be able to win ugly & Quad City needs Daquan Neal back ASAP

Heading into week 9, this game felt like it was Tulsa's to lose. They were in a pretty good spot coming in on a winning streak against a Quad City team rolling with their backup QB for the second consecutive week and were in a position to really control this game wire-to-wire. The Oilers offense started off great with two touchdown drives, but stalled in the 2nd quarter as they missed 2 FGs (3 total on the day) before scoring another touchdown on a tush push at the goal line right before halftime. Luckily for Tulsa, Quad City's offense also sputtered in the 2nd quarter -- so they were in lock step into the second half.

The Oilers were able to score on 3 out of 4 second half drives while working the clock and did just enough to hold on for the win, but it feels like this was one that shouldn't have been a sweat. TJ Edwards had 5 total TDs on the day, but with the exception of a 12-yard scramble the Tulsa ground game was pretty bottled up and not able to really get much going (<2 ypc without that 1st quarter scramble).

Tulsa got the win, but makes you wonder how different this game would have played out with a healthy Daquan Neal in the lineup for the Steamwheelers.

For Quad City, this was an impressive game considering the circumstances. Massive kudos to this defense for how well they played containing QB TJ Edwards and the explosive big play, while really neutralizing the Oilers rushing attack for nearly the entire game. They really gave their squad a fighting chance with a backup QB against one of the top teams in the East. Demry Croft didn't look good in his first game at QB against Green Bay, but did look much better in this one. He scored 3 rushing TDs and was able to make things happen on the ground, but there was just no aerial threat in this game to make the Tulsa defense pause at all.

Quad City is currently 6-0 with Daquan Neal at QB, and 0-2 with Demry Croft filling in. They need Neal back soon in order to keep pace at the top of the East -- because they blinked and suddenly Tulsa, Jacksonville & Green Bay are all knocking on the door for that top spot.

Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Bay Area Panthers

Result: 68-57 Bay Area

What We Learned: Bay Area is in full on wagon status on offense & Tucson's offense showed that they can now put points in bunches

I've been referring to Bay Area as a wagon recently, and I realized I'm not 100% confident people know fully what I mean by that. Basically, in hockey slang a "wagon" refers to "a team that is consistently successful, hot, and considered a strong contender for the playoffs. It signifies a team with a high-caliber roster and a winning streak."

Kinda plays off of the term bandwagon and is fun to say to describe a team that is just COOKING. So, in this instance Bay Area is a team that is successful, hot & considers a contend for the playoffs -- aka A WAGON.

Tucson came into this game with a very strong defense that kept them in a ton of ball games, and Bay Area's offense just steamrolled them. They ran for a combined 168 yards on the ground -- with QB Josh Jones & WR Josh Tomas getting 80 yards a piece, with Jones also accounting for four rushing TDs & Tomas adding one on as well.

This was one of the most impressive offensive performances that you will see in the IFL and the Panthers offense is just looking phenomenal. The usually stout defense was getting ran through, but had a couple of plug and plays on the backend that may have caused some issues. When this team is back to 100%, they are going to be a SCARY team.

For Tucson, while their defense did get scorched this was a really promising game in terms of their offense. This offense went from barely being able to break 20+ points through the first couple weeks of the season to being able to put 40+ in Weeks 7 & 8, then nearly 60 this week against the Panthers!

QB Jorge Reyna has cemented himself as the Sugar Skulls starter and has improved week over week throughout the last month. He was able to make some big plays through the air while being really impressive on the ground -- specifically with a really fantastic scramble for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

RB Jamyest Williams is one of the quickest players in the IFL and I would expect him to get the ball much more often going forward based on some of the burst he was able to show in this game.

Tucson had some boneheaded, self inflicted wounds in this one that really put them in a rough spot early, but the offense fought back and gave them a strong chance to steal this game in San Jose. This one was a real 180 degree change for what we've seen from Tucson early in the year, and I will be VERY interested to see how they adjust and try to capture the offense from this game plus the defense from the first half of the season.

San Diego Strike Force @ San Antonio Gunslingers

Result: 49-48 San Antonio

What We Learned: San Diego is still sorta stuck in the mud on offense & San Antonio got a new face at QB and a new outlook on the season

For the Gunslingers, it looks like they have their guy at QB in Joaquin Collazo III. Collazo started the season in Iowa and had some moments of brilliance, but the ol' Barnstormer turnover bug got him big time. But it looks like a new change of scenery was what the doctor ordered, as he looked FANTASTIC in this game finishing the game with:

21/32 for 197 passing yards, 7 TDs & 1 INT

He provided the Gunslingers offense with a spark and the Gunslingers offense gave him a spark to unlock his potential in his first start with the team -- a true win-win. WR NyQwan Murray had a massive 5 TD game in this one, with WR Kali Rashaad also hauling in 11 catches for 95 yards & a TD. San Antonio was able to overcome a double digit deficit behind the defense getting a couple of turnovers and the offense keeping their foot on the gas in the second half. The best game of the season for the Gunslingers by far and one that they can certainly build off of.

For the Strike Force, this was a tough one to see slip away from them. It looked like they were starting to get things going in the right direction and were looking to string together some wins, but they had different opportunities to keep piling on here and just couldn't pile on when they needed to.

They had two missed FGs in the first half & two turnovers in the second half, while San Antonio was able to maximize on more of their opportunities, force overtime and then steal the win. WR John Maldonado continues to look good in the offense where he had 7 catches for 78 yards & 2 TDs, and they are finding different ways to get OW Rudy Johnson 18 touches total on the day.

The offense wasn't bad in this one -- they scored nearly 50 points -- but just finishing more of their drives is what is missing right now. They started to get RB Ed Vander more involved in the gameplan, but still think there is more that can be done with him to help extend and finish more of these drives in the end zone.

San Diego is one of the more disappointing teams in the IFL this year for me personally, but they still have the talent to be able to be a contender in the West. This San Antonio game was supposed to be one of the more 'gimme' games on their schedule, and it's only going to get tougher from here.

Fishers Freight @ Jacksonville Sharks

Result: 59-27 Jacksonville

What We Learned: Fishers is in hell at the QB position & Jacksonville was able to put together a clean game on offense and truly dominate

I've been tough on Jacksonville's offense this year, but this was their absolute best performance of the year by far. EVERY SINGLE drive ended in a touchdown for the Sharks offense and QB Kaleb Barker was able to put together a really strong game with ZERO turnovers, which is huge for this Sharks team. They were winning games despite some of their own self-inflicted wounds this season, but this was the one where it all came together and showed what this Sharks team can be when they are fully clicking. WR Jaedon Stoshak hauled in 4 catches for 80 yards & 2 TDs, marking his 5th straight game with a TD catch as he is putting together quite a season.

Barker ended up with 5 total touchdowns and they were able to get recently acquired RB Larry McCammon involved in the running game and that seems to be something gave this team a boost. They've been without Jimmie Robinson & Tyler King for a couple weeks now, but McCammon seems like the right guy at the right time for this team.

The Sharks have already matched their 2024 win total in Week 9 of the 2025 season, and they are only going up from here.

For Fishers, they are in hell right now when it comes to the QB position. I mentioned in the IFL Week 9 Picks blog how it seems like no matter who they choose at QB, it should have been the other guy. Very reminiscent of Quad City last season, but without the upside of the occasional good passing game.

This offense looks incredibly disjointed and could not get out of their own way in the first half against the Sharks:

• 1st Drive - INT

• 2nd Drive - Turnover on Downs

• 3rd Drive - Turnover on Downs

• 4th Drive - Touchdown

• 5th Drive - Turnover on Downs

The Sharks defense is really good, but for Fishers to have four turnovers in the first half is just mind-boggling. The QBs went a combined 10/22 for 92 passing yards, 1 TD & 3 INTs and had 63 yards & 2 TDs on the ground.

With 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, the score was 42-7 in favor of Jacksonville and that is just a CRAZY scoreline to see in the IFL. The Freight are in serious need of a new QB and there just so happens to be one on the market that has experience with Coach Dixie Wooten... hmmm.

Green Bay Blizzard @ Iowa Barnstormers

Result: 74-58 Green Bay

What We Learned: Green Bay is a scary, scary team heading into the back half of the season & Iowa continues to Iowa

This Green Bay team, man. This offense has taken a big step from last season, in which they were already impressive, and really has brightest outlook for the rest of the 2025 season in my opinion. If the IFL was a stock market, I would be buying a lot of Green Bay Blizzard stock for the remainder of this season.

Blizz QB Max Meylor had 8 passing TDs on 13 completions, plus a rushing TD, as this Green Bay offense could do no wrong in this game. QB/WR TJ Davis has been a lightning rod at wideout this season and had another awesome game in this one, hauling in 4 catches for 4 touchdowns, including two incredible highlight reel worthy catches.

He's been an incredible asset for the Blizzard offense and seems to be getting better and better in the WR position each week.

Last season the Blizzard were a team with a stingy defense could lean on you with a physical offense and really wear you down through 4 quarters.

This year? An electric offense capable of scoring at any moment, with a defense that needs to find its groove. They are scoring 5 more points per game on average (including two games where they scored 70+), but on defense they are giving up nearly 10 more points per game on average -- but I would expect them to be able to get the defense worked out soon with some reinforcements that are on the way.

For Iowa.....they did it again.

They got absolutely manhandled in the first half of this game, heading into halftime with a 47-21 deficit (that should have been 47-13 if not for this weirdo play). They managed to get things going in the second half and make the bleeding not look as bad, but this whole game was perfectly on brand for the Barnstormers in 2025.

• Start slow

• Multiple 1st Half Turnovers

• Light it up in the 2nd Half

• Give false hope for next week

Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.

WR Quian Williams is having one of the best seasons in the IFL this year, but isn't getting a ton of recognition because it's happening on such a bad Iowa team. In this game alone, he had 9 catches for 76 yards & 2 TDs, a rushing TD, 7 kick returns for 186 yards & a TD and a offensive fumble recovery TD right before the half takes a deep breath.

I've been discussing the Iowa offense at length over the past few weeks, but this defense is playing at a historically bad level. The San Antonio defense in 2024 was one of the worst of all time at 53.6 points per game allowed -- this year's Iowa team is currently giving up 54.9 points per game. It's just bad all around in Iowa right now, as they now sit at 1-6 on the year in a very top heavy Eastern Conference.

Vegas Knight Hawks @ Arizona Rattlers

Result: 50-47

What We Learned: Vegas showed they belong at the top of the West & Arizona will just never quit

I had this game circled as the Game of the Week and boy oh boy did it deliver!

Arizona was down by 12 with a minute left in the game, but came back and won in regulation thanks to a touchdown, an onside kick recovery (questionable if they touched it before 10 yards), then ANOTHER touchdown with 9.6 seconds left to take the lead for good.

QB Dalton Sneed wasn't jumping off the stat sheet for most of this game, but really turned it on in the 4th quarter and was locked in with WR Isaiah Huston down the stretch to convert big plays in the final minute to take the lead in the dying moments of the game.

Huston ended up with 7 catches for 67 yards & 2 TDs, including the game-winner with less than 10 seconds to go. RB Shannon Brooks also had impact in this one with 2 rushing TDs of his own.

Now, there were some referee decisions that went in favor of the Rattlers in those final moments that were questionable. The touchdown to Jamal Miles to make it a one possession game before the onside kick looked like the ball wasn't fully controlled going out of bounds, but they upheld it as a touchdown after Vegas challenged.

The ensuing onside kick looked like it was touched by Arizona at about the 9 yard line, which would be illegal but was not called. Unfortunately for Vegas, they didn't have any timeouts remaining to challenge it.

Regardless, this game was the 2nd one this year where Arizona came back from a double digit deficit in the final minutes of a game to win it (@ Green Bay) and they just show time and time again why they are the class of the IFL right now.

For Vegas, they had this game under control and should have walked away with the win just based on the eye test of this game as a whole. They were able to control the game on offense and stymie with a couple of turnovers and a huge blocked kick right before halftime.

QB Ja'rome Johnson looked good in this one, with 4 passing TDs & 2 rushing TDs, but had a completion percentage below 50%. RB Antonio Wimbush had a career day against San Antonio the week before this game, but only managed to get 5 rushes total in this one.

He is a proven playmaker and has shown that good things happen when he gets the ball, so I think that has to be a higher priority going forward to take some of the pressure off Ja'rome, but also open up that read-option game EVEN MORE as the game progresses.

WR Quentin Randolph had an incredible game in this one, hauling in 8 catches for 113 yards & 3 TDs and is continuing to add to his All-IFL Resume for this season.

Vegas should be fine the rest of the way. This game proves that they compete with the best in the West. They've got a big run of games coming up, including a rematch with Arizona in a couple of weeks that will be another must watch game.

Massachusetts Pirates @ Northern Arizona Wranglers

Result: 33-24 Northern Arizona

What We Learned: The panic button needs to be smashed in Massachusetts & Northern Arizona might be alright if Ramon Atkins can build on this game

Folks, Northern Arizona is finally in the Win column!

QB Ramone Atkins got his first start of the season for the Wranglers and he looked pretty good out there for it being his first game back in action. There are certainly some kinks that need to be worked out, but overall this offense looked the best that it has all season in this one against a Pirates team that has an extremely talented roster.

Atkins totaled 5 touchdowns on the day -- 3 through the air, 2 on the ground -- and looked to get better as the game progressed and he knocked some of the rust off. He seemed to be building a rapport with WR Deshon Stoudemire, who hauled in 5 catches for 67 yards & 2 TDs, and this offense can get better every week from here.

It was good to see Ramone Atkins back in action, as they won the turnover battle and had a handful of passes where the timing was just slightly off, but if you were to run those back in 2-3 weeks they are probably on the money.

This Wranglers defense also played well and were really able to put the Pirates offense in some tough spots all game -- holding an opposing offense under 30 for the first time this season.

For the Pirates, the panic button should be smashed right now and there needs to be some outbound phone calls to get this quarterback situation taken care of.

QB Kenji Bahar is just not the guy. Is he a rookie? Yes. But he has had 9 weeks to get some of this basic stuff sorted out and it continues to be a problem. In this game, every throw he attempted in the red zone was air mailed and way off target, he was tossing balls in the turf on throws to the outside -- he just isn't the guy that can make this Pirates offense work.

They either need to give some reps to QB Felix Harper or they need to bring in some additional bodies to give them a shot to see what they can do. 10 points through 56 minutes of football is awful in the IFL and I know it is not the standard that the Pirates have in the building.

RB Dominic Roberto was the lone bright spot on the offense, as he was able to make things happen on the ground with 61 yards & 2 TDs, but outside of that there wasn't much to be proud of here.

The Pirates are sitting at 2-5 on the season with their 3rd game against their rivals the Jacksonville Sharks coming up. They need answers on offense and they need them quickly.

What were your biggest takeaways from Week 9? Follow Off The Wall on Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok & BlueSky and let me know!