IFL 2026 Week 9: What We Learned

Chapter Nine of #TheIndoorWar is in the books! Green Bay is starting to separate itself from the pack, with Jacksonville & Orlando trending up behind them in the East.

The West is shaking out exactly as most people expected and we've got teams both starting to form their identity and struggling to get their offenses off the ground.

Just another day in the wonderful world of the Indoor Football League!

But what did we learn this past weekend about these teams?

Quad City Steamwheelers @ Green Bay Blizzard

Result: 65-40 Green Bay

What We Learned: Green Bay is starting to pull away in the East & it might be a wrap for Quad City's 2026 season

Green Bay just goes.

Despite a couple of early hiccups from Liam Thompson that saw him triple his interception total on the season (that's a dramatic way to point out that he only had one INT going into this one), this offense was rolling early and often throughout the game as they put NINE touchdowns on the board for the second consecutive home game at the Resch Center.

Thompson had 5 passing TDs through the air to go with 207 passing yards, 45 of which came on what should have been a routine hitch that WR Terrell Carey exploded into a scamper the full length of the field. Five through the air along with 4 TDs on the ground and this offense continues to be efficient, effective and well balanced.

Right now, it seems like Liam Thompson is the run away favorite for IFL MVP and if the Blizzard have a second half of the season that is even remotely close to what they've been able to do this first half, we're probably looking at multiple home playoff games in Green Bay.

For Quad City, this might be the one that does them in.

This loss drops them to 2-6 in what is by far the most disappointing season in the entire 50-yard football landscape this year. This Steamwheelers roster looked incredible on paper heading into this season and they just haven't been able to fulfill their potential.

The offense was stale and stagnant in the first half, in which they were gifted a couple of opportunities to make this a game early, but essentially gifted it right back to the Blizzard. I like what Coach Cory Ross has been able to build in Quad City, but this team this year just continues to find ways to beat themselves.

Watching this Quad City team is death by a thousand self-inflicted papercuts, where there isn't really a blatant "hole" in their team but they just keep shooting themselves in the foot. I would never say this team is a poorly coached team, but they continuously do things that poorly coached teams do week in and week out and they have fallen out of the Eastern Conference playoff race as a result.

Four lost fumbles, including a kickoff return in which two players tried to field the kick, and an interception sunk them vs a team where they have to be near perfect to compete.

I'm not sure where Quad City goes from here, but they still have a ton of potential. But unfortunately, they have put themselves in a position where they have to essentially go 8-0 the rest of this season to get into the playoffs. Can they? Yes. Will they?

Ehhhhh I don't know, Jim.

Fishers Freight @ Orlando Pirates

Result: 60-57 Orlando

What We Learned: Orlando's offense paves the way for a big conference win & Fishers is still in a good spot despite the loss

OTW had #BootsOnTheGround for this one, which was the first of the IFL Florida Doubleheader taking place that weekend and it was a #CertifiedBanger.

The Pirates came into this game reeling after a couple of losses and a defense that was giving up points in bunches, but with an offense that was scorching hot and playing amongst the best in the league. They added 4 new coaches to the staff, including "Co-DC" Jason Simpson, who was calling the defense all game in this one, to hopefully right the ship and get them back on track.

The defense had a strong start to this one, but eventually the Freight offense got rolling and there wasn't a lot that this Pirates defense could do to slow it down. But luckily for them, the Pirates offense played a nearly perfect game of football in a game in which they needed every single yard and every single point.

QB Paxton DeLaurent had a nearly perfect game, going 28/31 for 308 yards & 5 TDs, finding hometown hero WR Nyqwan Murray 9 times for 133 yards & 3 TDs and hit WR Teo Redding on the game winning score with a toe tap over the wall for the dramatic win.

Mix in Pooka Williams tacking on 3 more scores on the ground and this Pirates offense is looking scary in the best way possible. Now they just need to make sure the defense doesn't revert to being scary in the worst way possible.

For Fishers, this was a back and forth game that felt like they had within their grasp multiple times as they had long methodical drives that were absolutely soul crushing.

In the absence of RB Josiah King, RB Dominic Roberto was on a rampage in the ground game and was an absolute menace to the tune of 102 rushing yards and FIVE rushing TDs. He was getting 5.7 yards per carry and was bowling over defenders on nearly every rushing attempt. There were multiple times that I said to folks that I was at the game with, "This guy is unbelievable".

As a team, the Freight were averaging 5.6 yards per carry and were able to get some chunk plays in the passing game, but the rushing attack was working so well that they didn't need too much more out of the passing game than what they got. But while Orlando was able to convert nearly every drive into touchdowns, Fishers settled for field goals thrice and was only able to convert one of them through the uprights.

While K Calum Sutherland was able to make up for it with 3 deuces on the day, being able to convert a touchdown on just one of those drives would have sealed the game for them.

Fishers drops to 4-3 on the year and are set to continue to be one of the better teams in the East, but getting more out of the passing game early on in the game will get them to the next level.

San Antonio Gunslingers @ Northern Arizona Wranglers

Result: 30-29 San Antonio

What We Learned: San Antonio follows the formula again but will need to break 40 eventually & Northern Arizona's big midweek switch up might be exactly what they needed

San Antonio kept their winning streak rolling by sticking to their formula of "play disgusting, Big Ten West style football and drag the other team in the mud" to an absolute tee.

There weren't very many big explosive plays from the Gunslingers in this one, as most of their drives forced the ball down the field and punched it in as the field condensed. QB Fredy Paton Jr had another steady, but not eye popping, performance with 95 passing yards & 3 TDs, with WR Glen Gibbons Jr finding his way back to form reeling in all 3 of those touchdowns through the air.

This was another game where the Gunslingers failed to register 40+ points, but for 3rd straight game it didn't matter. But for San Antonio, the "sweet spot" of their schedule is done. The past 3 weeks, the teams they have beat are a combined 2-17.

The next 3 weeks? 13-7. This run of games in May will tell us what we need to know about this Gunslingers team.

For Northern Arizona, even though it wasn't a win, it certainly felt like one in terms of gaining hope that this team can turn things around this season. They completely cleaned out the QB room and brought in brand new faces leading into this one, and QB Anthony Garrett got the start in this one. Garrett spent some time in the Vegas Knight Hawks training camp leading into this season and made a pretty good impression on the ground in this one, but left a little to be desired through the air.

He was a breath of fresh air as we saw a ground attack that we had not yet seen in NAZ this year, with 85 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. But unfortunately, the positivity stopped there. The Wranglers could not pass the ball in this one, completing just four passes for a total of 46 yards and leaving much to be desired through the air.

But as I mentioned, there are some good takeaways if you are the Wranglers. Get the passing game cleaned up a bit and continue to pound the ball and get Nolan Susel more in the mix, and they can be competitive in the back half of the season.

Tulsa Oilers @ Jacksonville Sharks

Result: 41-34 Jacksonville

What We Learned: Jacksonville keeps proving the doubters (me) wrong & Tulsa has to learn how to finish games

OTW was in the building for this one as part of the second leg of the IFL Florida doubleheader and it was another really solid game with a great ending. Tulsa was controlling this game in the first half and Jacksonville was struggling to get their offense going, but something flipped at halftime.

Jacksonville came out in the 3rd quarter got kickstarted with some good scoring drives and were able to hold Tulsa to multiple field goal attempts to get back ahead and ultimately take the win on a goal line stand with no time left.

QB1 James Cahoon had a rough start to this one, but finished strong throwing for 179 yards & 3 TDs and QB2 Sammy Edwards has proven to be the secret weapon for this Sharks offense once they get into the red zone. 2 rushing TDs and a 2-pt conversion (the highly sought after "Octopus" made an appearance in this one) and they are giving teams a lottttt to think about with both him and RB Jimmie Robinson in the backfield.

Multiple players got in the mix with receiving TDs and this Sharks offense we saw in the second half can be a problem for the rest of the league, especially with how well that defense played to shut Tulsa down late.

For Tulsa, this is their 4th loss of the season and all four losses have been by a combined 16 points on the year. They had a double digit lead heading into halftime and a chance to really lean on the Sharks and impose their will, but offensively they just couldn't get back up to full speed.

They were much more willing to run the ball in this one, which was great to see (and badly wanted if you've been keeping up with all the OTW content as of late) and I think they have a good RB in rookie Caleb Ramseur in the mix now. But the run game just didn't work when they needed it to in the 2nd half.

The red zone calling was just not good for the Oilers and became very predictable at times. The last three drives for the Oilers all ended with "rush-rush-pass" once they got in the red zone. All in all, only 10 points scored in the second half and it just highlights a continued theme with this Oilers team: They can't finish games.

• They had Orlando on the ropes, they let them back in and lost in OT.

• They had Arizona on the ropes, they let them back in and lost in the dying seconds.

• They had Jacksonville on the ropes, they let them back in and died a slow painful death in the 2nd half.

This Oilers team is very talented and should be much better than their 2-4 record current shows, but until they can learn how to finish games they are going to continue to struggle.

Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Arizona Rattlers

Result: 66-14 Arizona

What We Learned: Arizona made a QB switch that impressed in this one but I'm not sure of the long term viability & Tucson is a disaster and a half right now

Heading into this one, this was a prime bounce back spot for the Rattlers. They came up short vs the Knight Hawks and, with the IFL Cup just a week away, they were poised to right the ship against a Tucson team that has really been struggling as of late. It felt like the perfect opportunity for QB Max Meylor to get back on track and get this offense right.

Aaaaaaaaaand then QB Drew Powell trots out as the starter for Arizona, leaving some folks confused and wondering "what happened to Max?"

There are some theories you could roll with, but the commentary team for the came (shoutout Ari & Sed) made it sound as if the Rattlers turned to Powell due to Meylor's performance in recent weeks. To his credit, Powell had one heck of a game with 171 passing yards & 2 TDs through the air, along with 4 rushing TDs & an average of 8.2 yards per carry on the ground.

He got Arland Bruce the ball early and often and got a little support from K Matthew Cook to the tune of 4 Deuces on the day. Not that they needed them, but they were just pouring it on all throughout the game. With the IFL Cup just a week away, it kinda makes you think what is the direction of this Arizona offense and who is gonna be QB1 moving forward?

I feel for Meylor because he missed a prime "get right" spot against the Sugar Skulls, but Powell proved he's still got what it takes to be an impactful QB1 in this league.

For the Sugar Skulls, oh boy. This was a brutal spot to be in heading into this game, with an offense that has really been struggling and a defense that has been trying their absolute best to keep this team in games.

But they were just overmatched by a very good Arizona Rattlers team. QB Taz Wilson had a hard time getting things going through the air and turned the ball over a couple of times in this one, and in a game where they simply could not afford to make many mistakes, they made many, many mistakes. I think we're reaching the point of the season for the Sugar Skulls where you almost have to go back to QB Dreylen Ellis and let him develop and try to get him to air the ball out. Over the past couple of years, we know who Taz Wilson is and his ceiling is probably not too far beyond what we've seen these past couple of games. Ellis feels like he has a much higher ceiling that just needs to be activated early and get him into a rhythm through the air. The weapons are there, he just needs to be able to pull the trigger quickly and decisively and let his guys go and a play.

What did YOU think of IFL Week 9? What were your takeaways?

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