Standings

Regular Season Schedule

Weekly Recaps

Week 1 (17-19 March 2023)

Arizona Rattlers opened the 2023 Indoor Football League (IFL) season with a 60-53 defeat of Quad City Steamwheelers in Illinois on St. Patrick’s Day. Two days later Frisco Fighters more than doubled their opponents score in a 76-30 win at Green Bay Blizzard in Wisconsin. The IFL’s first full weekend of fixtures starts in week 2. [References: 1]

Week 2 (24-26 March 2023)

Frisco Fighters moved to 2-0 in the Eastern Conference with a 35-13 victory at home to newcomers Tulsa Oilers and Massachustetts Pirates opened their season with a 55-41 defeat of Green Bay Blizzard (0-2). Quad City Steamwheelers won 49-47 at San Diego Strike Force to level up at 1-1. In the Western Conference Vegas Knight Hawks (57-44 versus Iowa Barnstormers, Duke City Gladiators (43-35 at defending Champions Northern Arizona Wranglers) and Bay Area Panthers (47-46 at home to Arizona Rattlers) all opened their seasons with wins. [References: 1-2]

Weeks 3-4 (31 April-9 April 2023)

After four weeks the Frisco Fighters of Texas (3-0), Massachusetts Pirates (2-0) and Tucson Sugar Skulls of Arizona (2-0) were the only undefeated teams in the IFL. Frisco had improved to 3-0 in week 3 with a close 60-55 victory at Duke City Gladiators from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Massachusetts Pirates kept pace with the Fighters in the Eastern Conference with a 59-52 defeat of Bay Area Panthers from San Jose, California in the Pirates home in New England, while Tucson Sugar Skulls picked up wins in their first two outings: 35-16 at San Diego Strike Force in a low-scoring game for Indoor rules in week 3, and a 54-48 win at Arizona Rattlers in an Arizona rivalry game.

The Eastern Conference’s Green Bay Blizzard and Sioux Falls Storm both picked up their first wins of the season in victories over Iowa Barnstormers: the Wisconsin-based Blizzard winning 44-25 at home in week 3 and the South Dakota-based Storm 54-24 at home in week 4. Other teams picking up first wins were Northern Arizona Wranglers (48-42 versus Vegas Knight Hawks), San Diego Strike Force (37-36 at Vegas Knight Hawks) and Duke City Gladiators (57-36 at home to league newcomers Tulsa Oilers). [References: 1-2]

ABOUT THE IFL 2022

For the 2023 season the Indoor Football League lost the Bismarck Bucks but added the Tulsa Oilers to remain a 14-team league, divided into two Conferences (East and West) of seven teams each. Northern Arizona Wranglers are the defending Champions.

The Indoor Football League is a Major American Football League playing Reduced Numbers (8v8) Arena Indoor American Football in USA. Previously AAA, it has since the demise of the Arena Football League (a Major League) after the 2019 season, expanded its Geographic Reach, and has taken the AFL’s position as the Major League in Indoor/Arena Football. This version of American Football is most popular in Mexico, hence names like Tucson Sugar Skulls. LEXFA (Liga Extrema de Futbol Arena) in Mexico is the Major League in Mexico (and also one of four Mexican Majors)

SAP Center, San Jose – Home of Bay Area Panthers

References

[1] Indoor Football League (2023) 2023 Football Standings [Internet] Available from: https://goifl.com/standings.aspx?standings=10 [Accessed 12 April 2023]

[2] Indoor Football League (2023) IFL Schedule [Internet] Available from: https://goifl.com/calendar.aspx?season=2023 [Accessed 12 April 2023]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Bart Barden, Tim Leadingham & Sam Thompson

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 12 April 2023

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2023

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.