Panthers scored a franchise best point total to improve to 7-3 on the season

Panthers celebrate at June 3 game against Duke City Gladiators Photo courtesy Bay Area Panthers

Published June 4, 2023 on MorganHillLife.com

By David Lewis

The Bay Area Panthers maintain sole possession of first place in the Western Conference of the Indoor Football League after a 69-52 win over the Duke City Gladiators at the SAP Center.

Bay Area scored a franchise best point total to improve to 7-3 on the season—the previous high was 62 points in wins over Vegas and Frisco.

Duke City took their first lead at 16-14 when Jimmy Thomas tackled Panthers’ quarterback Dalton Sneed for a safety on the first play of the second quarter.

The Gladiators (4-6) were on the verge of adding to the lead but were turned back on fourth down from the Bay Area 1-yard line when Darin Hungerford stopped Duke City quarterback Charles McCullum’s reach for the end zone.

“The stop at the goal line was huge,” said Offensive Coordinator Dixie Wooten.  “In a game like that with both teams scoring at will, a play like that makes a difference.  It was the biggest play of the game.”

The Panthers took advantage of the momentum with Justin Rankin scoring on a 15-yard run to cap a 7-play, 42-yard drive with just over six minutes left in the half.

The score ignited a 21-point second quarter—preceding two Sneed scoring passes to Cutrell Haywood as Bay Area took a 35-31 lead at halftime.

The Panthers expanded the advantage to 42-31 when Imeek Watkins returned the second half kickoff 56 yards for a touchdown.  It was Watkins’ third return for a touchdown following his two scores in San Diego that earned him IFL Special Teams Player of the Week.

The closest Duke City would get is 48-86 when McCullum completed his third TD pass to Gary Brown with 5:31 to go in the quarter.

Sneed’s 21-yard run on the next play from scrimmage regained momentum and soon the defense stepped up to put the game away.

The Panthers outscored Duke City 14-0 in the final quarter.  Antwon Kincade and Trea Meadows intercepted the two-time former MVP McCullum and Rankin added two more scores to ice the victory.

“What helps our defense is having a great offense,” said Defensive Coordinator Rob Keefe.  “Coach Wooten and those guys on the side of the ball are doing an outstanding job.  It’s an amazing situation we have with the offense doing what they do and our side taking care of business.”

The Panthers set a season-high with 313 yards of total offense.  Rankin ran for a season-best 100 yards along with four touchdowns.  He has scored 12 touchdowns in the last three games.

McCullum accounted for 299 yards of total offense for Duke City with four touchdown passes- three to Brown and the other to Tyron Laughinghouse.

Bay Area takes its one game lead to the desert for a showdown with the Arizona Rattlers next Sunday at 3:05 while Duke City is on the road at Tucson before finishing with four straight home games.

Click HERE for more details on the game.

Dave Lewis is director of communications for the Bay Area Panthers/IFL