Bay Area Wins Indoor Bowl


Dalton Sneed ran for three touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to JT Stokes as the Bay Area Panthers won the Dollar Loan Center Indoor Football League (IFL) National Championship with a 51-41 victory over the Sioux Falls Storm.  The Storm cut a 14-point deficit to 37-34 on Lorenzo Brown's 2-yard run on the first possession of the third quarter.  Bay Area responded in the fourth with Sneed's second scoring pass to Stokes and put the game out of reach when Marquise Bridges returned Brown's second interception for a touchdown and a 51-34 lead.

Bay Area finished the season at 13-5 which included a five-game winning streak at the end as they claimed the first championship for the franchise in their second season.  The Panthers were 1-15 last season.  Former NFL superstar, Marshawn Lynch, is co-owner of the team.

This was Sioux Falls first championship game appearance since their 2019 championship. The game marked the end of the career of Storm Head Coach Kurtis Riggs, who leaves after winning 11 league titles and seven IFL Championships.

Watch the game here:  https://youtu.be/ix0mOfAgttM

Here's a recap of the 2023 IFL Season:

Eastern Conference
  1. Frisco Fighters (13-2)
  2. Sioux Falls Storm (9-6)
  3. Massachusetts Pirates (9-6)
  4. Quad City Steamwheelers (9-6)
  5. Green Bay Blizzard (7-8)
  6. Iowa Barnstormers (3-12)
  7. Tulsa Oilers (2-13)
Western Conference
  1. Arizona Rattlers (11-4)
  2. Bay Area Panthers (10-5)
  3. Tucson Sugar Skulls (9-6)
  4. Northern Arizona Wranglers (7-8)
  5. San Diego Strike Force (6-9)
  6. Duke City Gladiators (5-10)
  7. Vegas Knight Hawks (5-10)
Conference Semifinals
Sioux Falls 42, Massachusetts 39
Frisco 57, Quad City 29
Bay Area 46, Tucson 34
Northern Arizona 62, Arizona 53

Conference Finals
Sioux Falls 45, Frisco 44
Bay Area 68, Northern Arizona 46

Championship
Bay Area 51, Sioux Falls 41

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