IFL 2025 Week 2: What We Learned

Week Two of the IN-DOOR WAR areyoureadyforthat is in the books! We had a big slate this weekend, with 12 of the 14 teams in action -- and 8 of them making their season debut.

The IFL Network was pretty good again and we were able to get the iOS & Android apps downloaded before kickoff, but still waiting for some of those promised features, bells and whistles to be made available.

Also, at the time of posting this, stats are still not live on the IFL's website, so some of the stat grabs through the article might not be 100% accurate (blame the IFL.)

But overall it was a great weekend of Indoor football from Friday to Monday -- a rare 4-day IFL weekend -- and there was no shortage of takeaways from the games.

What did we learn in Week 2?

Iowa Barnstormers @ Green Bay Blizzard

Result: 52-47 Green Bay

What We Learned: Green Bay are back in 2024 form & Iowa is a FIESTY team

Green Bay was really controlling this game for the majority of the first 3 quarters, going back to their 2024 ground and pound style with big Max Meylor at QB and rotating RBs to pair with him. Max Meylor had yet another game with at least 1+ Passing TD & 1+ Rushing TD and is on track for another MVP worthy season.

Rookie RB Kimo Clarke had a huge game and stepped up for the Blizzard offense -- having a big breakout performance by scoring 4 TDs on the day and having the offense flow through him early and often. Rookie DL Allen Henry had 2 sacks on the night -- including one for a safety. The Blizzard getting this type of production out of young players in their season opener is a a great sign of things to come for the Green Bay.

The Green Bay defense was able to limit the Iowa offense early and managed to get them in a hole late, but Iowa was able to fight back and give the Blizzard a sweat late.

Iowa was down by 19 with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter but kept fighting. They scored a TD, recovered an onside kick, scored another TD then nearly recovered ANOTHER onside kick. They have a lot fight in them and this was a VERY encouraging season debut for the Barnstormers despite the end result.

Green Bay seemed to have no answer for WR Quian Williams -- who scored the first 3 TDs of the season for the Barnstormers and was having his number called all night. Rookie QB Joaquin Collazo III looked really good in his debut, but made some of those rookie mistakes throughout the game that he'll learn from moving forward.

I wasn't entirely optimistic about the Barnstormers outlook before the season, but this was a great start and I am very excited to see how they build from here.

Quad City Steamwheelers @ Massachusetts Pirates

Result: 37-33 Quad City

What We Learned: QB woes continue to haunt Mass & Quad City is just gonna make every game a nail-biter, huh?

In 2024, Quad City was a beast at home but then seemed to struggle on the road. With the new veteran QB at the helm, I was curious if that would buck the trend for them..

(so far the answer is 'No')

But I will say this Quad City defense was VERY impressive in this game. Starting off with a Bubba Arslanian pick six and just stacking big hit and big stop after big hit and big stop all game long. The defense was swarming and getting a ton of pressure on the the Pirates QB all game long.

The offense as a whole wasn't that impressive in this one. The team scored 37 points -- BUT consider they scored points on:

• The Bubba Pick Six

• Kick Return TD

Take those away and you are at 25 points on the day. Usually not an amount you win with. The Steamwheelers offense is gonna have to put up numbers on the road to become a dominant force in the East.

For Massachusetts, the Week 1 QB woes bled into Week 2 -- albeit not as bad. QB Kenji Bahar was able to connect with Teo Redding right before halftime for a passing TD, but there really wasn't much else to account for. The offensive weapons are there to be successfully, they just need a QB that can be the 'straw that stirs the drink' and makes things happen.

The Pirates defense played really well in this one and limited the Steamwheelers offense to only ~25 points, which would usually be enough to win in the IFL with a competent offense to accompany it.

The Pirates get a bye week to hopefully collect themselves and right the ship after an 0-2 start -- falling to 0-3 or worse would not be great considering the depth of the East this year.

Fishers Freight @ Northern Arizona Wranglers

Result: 41-29 Fishers

What We Learned: Fishers' defense is pretty dang good... or is Northern Arizona's offense just bad?

This was one of the uglier games of the week -- multiple pick sixes, balls slipping out of the QBs hands while they were throwing, spamming the QB draw play -- it wasn't a highflying affair like some of the other games of the weekend.

Northern Arizona actually started off strong in this, jumping out to a 14-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter, but from then on it was alllll Fishers. Wranglers rookie QB CJ Fowler was dynamic on the ground when he was running the ball, but reallllllly struggled when it came to passing. NAZ eventually turned to fellow rookie QB Christian Arrambide for a spark in the 2nd half, but ultimately ended up being too little too late.

Northern Arizona has some great pieces on offense like WR David Elder & RB Marvin Kinsey Jr., but they have to get some consistency and production out of the QB position in order to be competitive in a very, very talented Western Conference.

For Fishers, this was a solid team debut for the expansion franchise. They've constructed quite a talent roster and it was just a matter of seeing how all the pieces would work together. It is very apparent that they are going to force feed QB Jiya Wright on the ground, so I'll be interested to see how the ball distribution evolves from here.

The offense started slow and needed several sparks from the defense to help take over the game, and it is exactly what they got. Fisher's defense cashed in 2 Pick Sixes -- including one from the big DL Izaiah Reed -- in the second half to start to pull away. Add in a turnover on a kickoff and safety later in the game and this defense was providing every opportunity for them to succeed.

But did they perform well because of their talent, or because of the team they were playing? We'll get some clarity on that next week when they host the Tulsa Oilers in their first ever home game.

Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Arizona Rattlers

Result: 56-28 Arizona

What We Learned: Arizona picked up right where they left off... and unfortunately so did Tucson.

Less than a week before the season was set to kick off, the Rattlers announced that they re-signed QB Dalton Sneed -- their QB from 2024 who led them to a IFL National Championship victory. It was unclear if Sneed would play again, but apparently things changed quickly and he ended up trotting out on the field as the starting QB in their opener. (what that says about the current status & form of Drew Powell, idc)

But Sneed and the Rattlers picked up right where they left off last year and just laid it on the Sugar Skulls. The Rattlers offense was able to productive through the air AND on the ground and was able to do just about anything they wanted once they got things moving and grooving in the first half. Sneed already looks like he is in mid-season form and was able to connecting with Tripp Harrington, Ron Brown Jr & Isaiah Huston for TDs through the air.

The Rattlers showed zero signs of a championship hangover in this one and will be a VERY fun team to watch all season in Glendale.

For Tucson, there was hope and optimism that they would be able to come out and make some noise in 2025 with a clean slate, but it was quickly realized that that just wasn't the case. Opening drive pick six is never a good omen and the offense couldn't get much going consistently throughout the game.

QB Jordan Ambrose was able to punch it in the end zone twice in the red zone, but getting there was an challenge all on its own. Tucson absolute NEEDS production out of their passing game in order to make some noise in the Western Conference. With Drew Powell suddenly being second string in Arizona, you start to wonder if Tucson makes a play to get him to Tucson -- I mean it wouldn't be the first time.

One of the bright spots for Tucson was their kicker Kevin Macias, who was able to connect on several long range FG attempts and give Tucson some hope early on. Tucson gets an early bye week to regroup and hopefully they can get some answers on offense soon.

San Antonio Gunslingers @ Bay Area Panthers

Result: 28-21 San Antonio

What We Learned: Despite an overhaul, some of the same issues persist for the Panthers & apparently a road win in Bay Area is a fireable offense in San Antonio?

Bay Area had a really strong 2024 with a tenacious defense and an offense that was opportunistic and controlled the game through a fierce rushing attack. They were able to keep many of the key pieces on defense that made them successful while overhauling the offense to hopefully provide a spark, essentially importing the 2024 Northern Arizona offense to San Jose for the 2025 season.

Great offense plus a great defense -- sounds like a winning combination!

The only problem is that the great offense didn't show up for this Panthers season opener.

Bay Area got some big plays early to get on the board quick, but really couldn't do much throughout the game. QB Josh Jones never looked fully comfortable and they just couldn't string things together consistently. Granted, the San Antonio defense has played exceptional football the first couple of weeks, but with the talent Bay Area has -- you just expected more.

The Bay Area defense was playing well and saw a great game out of second year DB Tyler Watson, but just didn't get enough complimentary football here to get the win.

For San Antonio, as mentioned before the defense played extremely well -- thanks in part to the addition of reigning IFL Defensive Player of the Year Ravarius Rivers. He made his impact felt all throughout the game, making big hits, causing pass breakups and even coming down with his first interception of the season. The defense was flying around the field and just making play after play to keep it a low scoring game.

On offense, they still experienced some struggles in this one but was able to piece things together and do just enough to win. QB Malik Henry looked a lot better in this one and was able to throw for a couple of touchdowns to WR Glen Gibbons Jr.

The Gunslingers identity is nearly flipped from last year -- where in 2024 they were all offense and no defense, and it's totally flipped so far in 2025.

But the most puzzling thing here is that it was announced the next day after the win over Bay Area, Head Coach & GM Tom Menas was relieved of his duties and OC James Fuller would be taking over. The wording of the press release makes it seem like some things went down behind the scenes that maybe one day we'll learn the specifics about, but what a weird start to the season so far for the Gunslingers.

Vegas Knight Hawks @ San Diego Strike Force

Result: 48-41 Vegas

What We Learned: Vegas is going to be an incredible watch every week & San Diego might be a more complete team than they were in 2024 -- despite the loss.

Oh man what a gem of a game this was to cap off a big weekend of arena ball. Coming into this game, these two teams were two of my favorite rosters overall and should have very productive seasons -- and to see them square off in their opening game was a treat.

Vegas started off slow in this one, while San Diego got cooking early and jumped out to a pretty big lead. The Strike Force offense looked efficient and organized for the first 3 quarters of the game, scoring on every drive in the first half and introducing two new elements that last year's team was severely lacking:

1. Solid Running Game

2. Consistent Kicking

I REALLY liked what I saw out of the scheme as a whole and RB Larry McCammon. There was a lot more intent with the running in this opening game than we saw most of last year, and makes me think that this team can be even better than last year if they can continue to be well-rounded like they were in this one. (obviously holding on to leads late in games would be great too, but baby steps.)

Friend of the program K Ernesto Lacayo also had a great re-debut for the Strike Force, connecting on a couple of mid-range FGs and making things complicated for the Vegas return team on kick offs as well. I thought we'd see more Deuce attempts from Lacayo in this one, but I think we'll see more of that as the season rolls on.

For Vegas, they started off slow and took a little bit to get into a rhythm on offense, but when they got going they were a delight to watch. QB Ja'Rome Johnson showed multiple times in the 2nd half why he is a the reigning IFL MVP -- including one run that just made me laugh.

WR Quentin Randolph had an unbelievable catch on 4th down late to take the lead and was really the focal point of the passing attack for the majority of the game. I am really excited about this wide receiver group to gel and to build on the excellent year they had in 2024.

They really got things going and came back from 20 points down (!!) in the second half to win this one, going on a 30-3 scoring run to end the game. To put together this type of come back in the first week of their season speaks volumes to how many veteran pieces they were able to bring back from last year and the adjustments they were able to make in the second half to pull it off.

Vegas is going to be a very, very good team in the West this year and this game was just the beginning.

What were your biggest takeaways from Week 2? Follow Off The Wall on Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok & BlueSky and let me know!