Photo: David Elder is confronted by former Wrangler Bill Atkins in the first quarter
In a battle of the last two IFL champions, the Bay Area Panthers held on in the final minute to beat the Northern Arizona Wranglers 39-36 in Prescott Valley.
The Wranglers led 3-0 after one quarter on an Axel Perez field goal, but the Bay Area got the offense in sync and outscored Northern Arizona 20-10 in the second quarter.
The Panthers led 20-13 at the half, but the Wranglers tied the game at 27 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was full of action, starting with the Panthers going up six on Bay Area quarterback Daquan Neal hitting receiver Shane Simpson to lead 33-27. The kick after failed.
The key to the game came when the Bay Area defense rose to the occasion and sacked quarterback Joshua Jones on consecutive plays, forcing a field goal. The Wranglers were forced to settle for a 45 yard Axel Perez field goal to cut the deficit to 33-30.
Bay Area answered with Shane Simpson running the ball for a 24 yard touchdown and a 39-30. Once again the extra point was missed, leaving a window of opportunity to tie the game.
Photo: Joshua Jones looks for a receiver as former Wrangler Darin Hungerford closes in during the first quarter
Wranglers QB Joshua Jones, who threw for 160 yards, connected with Tosin Oyekanmi on a 14 yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds remaining. It was the second TD pass for Jones. A two point conversion try failed, leaving only one option, an onside kick. Bay Area recovered and ran the clock out to end the game.
Northern Arizona falls to (4-3), and will travel back east to face Massachusetts on Saturday, at 10:05am. Bay Area improves to (6-1).
BAY AREA PANTHERS 39, NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS 36
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Bay Area 0 20 7 12 – 39
Northern Arizona 3 10 14 9 – 36
Scoring Summary
NAZ-Perez 18 yard FG
BA-Simpson 16 yard run (Kick failed)
NAZ-Elder 4 yard pass from Jones (Perez kick)
BA-Peterson 20 yard pass from Neal (Artigue kick)
NAZ-Perez 16 yard FG
BA-Simpson 19 yard pass from Neal (Artigue kick)
NAZ-Jones 1 yard run (Perez kick)
BA-Stokes 4 yard run (Artigue kick)
NAZ-Jones 3 yard run (Perez kick)
BA-Simpson 7 yard pass from Neal (Kick failed)
NAZ-Perez 45 yard FG
NAZ-Oyekanmi 14 yard pass from Jones (Pass failed)
ATT:2800
IFL STANDINGS
Western Conference W-L
Vegas 7-0
Bay Area 6-1
WRANGLERS 4-3
San Diego 4-3
Arizona 4-3
San Antonio 3-4
Tucson 1-5
Duke City 0-6
Eastern Conference W-L
Frisco 6-1
Massachusetts 5-2
Green Bay 5-2
Tulsa 3-4
Quad City 3-4
Iowa 2-5
Sioux Falls 1-6
Jacksonville 1-6
SCOREBOARD
Bay Area 39, Northern Arizona 36
Arizona 38, Tucson 32
Vegas 68, San Diego 64
Quad City 56, Sioux Falls 49
Frisco 68, Jacksonville 33
Green Bay 42, Tulsa 22
Iowa 42, Massachusetts 34
San Antonio 56, Duke City 33
