The Massachusetts Pirates are set to take on the Bismarck Bucks Saturday, May 28 at 7 pm at DCU Center in Worcester, MA. This is an important matchup that the Pirates should win as they are the defending champions of the Indoor Football League, and the Bucks are currently the last place team in the Eastern Conference. The 7-2 Frisco Fighters and 6-3 Massachusetts Pirates currently lead the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the 7-2 Arizona Rattlers and the 7-2 Northern Arizona Wranglers lead the Western Conference. The Wranglers are a dark-horse team that is turning into a contender in the Indoor Football League. The Wranglers are red hot, and just beat a quality 5-4 Tucson Sugar Skulls team two weeks ago, adding to their four-game win streak.
The 3-7 Bismarck Bucks currently have the third-worst record in the Indoor Football league and have struggled to win games. The Bucks have beaten a struggling 4-6 Green Bay Blizzard team twice and an abysmal 1-8 Bay Area Panthers team to get their three wins.
The Pirates have already beaten the Bucks in a 54-43 shootout earlier this season. The Pirates look to go 2-0 on the season against the Bucks on Saturday. A win here will show that the Pirates are officially back on track with two consecutive wins after dropping three of their last six games. The Pirates are coming off a close 43-42 win against the 4-5 Sioux Falls Storm this past Saturday.
Pirates quarterback Alejandro Bennifield had a monster game that saw him put up four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown against Sioux Falls. Bennifield now has the most passing yards per game in the entire Indoor Football League. Thomas “T.O.” Owens also caught two receiving touchdowns against Sioux Falls and is now tied with Green Bay Blizzard wide receiver Keshaun Taylor for the most receiving touchdowns in the Indoor Football League with fourteen on the season. The Pirates need huge games from Bennifield and T.O. on Saturday.
The Pirates defense also needs to slow down Bucks quarterback Jayru Campbell. Campbell is the true definition of a dual-threat quarterback as he leads the Bucks in passing yards, rushing yards, passing touchdowns, and rushing touchdowns. At times, Campbell is the Bucks' offense, as he has been involved in 30 of the 46 Bucks touchdowns this season. Shutting Campbell down is the biggest key to victory for the Pirates if they want to steal the one-seed in the Eastern Conference from the Frisco Fighters before the playoffs.