Courtesy of the IFL
Kickoff: The Pirates will look to make it three in a row when they take on the arch rival Green Bay Blizzard this afternoon at the Tsongas Arena. The Pirates went on the road last week and picked up a big win over the Jacksonville Sharks. The team is finally starting to come together and they are playing their best football.
The Pirates own an all-time record of 6-3 over the Blizzard, including a playoff victory last season.
Here are four keys to today’s game.
1st Down: Come out slinging: The passing game finally came to life last week as quarterback Kenji Bahar finally settled into the offense and started getting the ball to his playmakers, Thomas Owens and Teo Redding. The Pirates need to stay aggressive in the passing game. It will allow them to get their best offensive players involved.
2nd Down: Do the Pooka! Running back Pooka Williams had 50 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns last week. He is a nice complement to the passing game and he needs to get touches to balance things out.
3rd Down: Throw Meylor off his spot. The Pirates need to get Blizzard quarterback May Meylor off his spot. He cannot have time where he can sit in the pocket, go through his progression and pick apart a leaky Pirates secondary.
4th Down: Defense must answer the call: The Pirates defense is going up against the top offense in the IFL. They will be challenged and must step up and answer the bell.
Extra Points: The Pirates are scoring 37.3 points per game (7th) while giving up 41.0, which is eighth in the IFL. Green Bay averages 54 points per game (2nd) and is twelfth in the league, allowing 51.3 points per contest. The Massachusetts defense yields 184.3 yards per game, which is third best, while the Blizzard are last with teams getting 269 yards per game. That said, the Green Bay offense is first, grinding out 239 yards per contest while the Pirates are tenth at 203.5 per game.
Final Drive: The Pirates offense is starting to get into a rhythm and the team as a whole is playing better. This is a statement game in the Eastern Division and the Pirates need to win and send the message that the division will have to go through them.