A big fourth quarter from the Iowa Barnstormers Saturday night allowed them to pull away and give the Sioux Falls Storm their third-straight loss 47-37.
The Storm (2-3) were playing their second game in a row on the road and it was their second matchup with the Barnstormers (3-1) in the last three games.
It was a back-and-forth affair that saw many different ties and lead changes throughout the game. Iowa got the game going with a 31-yard run from quarterback Darius-James Peterson. Daniel Smith got the start at quarterback for the Storm and took advantage of their good field position on their first possession answering right back with a touchdown run from Smith to knot things up at seven early in the first quarter.
After an interception from Peterson, the Storm marched right back down to Iowa's side of the field but were not able to get a touchdown. A field goal from Sawyer Petre gave the road team a 10-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
There were 29 total points scored in the second quarter between both teams, with the Storm scoring 13 and the Barnstormers had 16. Peterson threw for two touchdown passes in the quarter giving Iowa a 21-13 lead with 7:53 to go in the half. Sioux Falls got back into it on the next possession on a 13-yard Carlos Smith touchdown. Iowa forced a safety in the final minute of the half, but Petre was able to tie things back up at 23 heading into halftime.
Nate Chavious got his first and only touchdown of the game on the first possession of the second half on a two-yard run into the endzone. Not long after, Peterson tied things back up again midway through the third. Then, a 40-yard bomb from Smith to Thompson gave Sioux Falls a seven-point lead.
That touchdown was the last time the Storm would get on the board as the Barnstormers went on to score 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter en route to their 10-point victory in Des Moines.
The Barnstormers dominated the run game, putting up 102 rush yards compared to the Storm's 33 rush yards. On the other side, Sioux Falls led Iowa in the pass game, 207-112.
Smith went 20-for-31 overall with 207 yards, two touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and an interception. Thompson had four catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Tim Keith led the team in catches with eight receptions for 53 yards.
Chavious struggled in the run game, putting up a mere nine yards on seven attempts and one touchdown. He did manage four catches for 27 receiving yards in the game.
Marquis Hendrix excelled on the defensive side of the ball, with 13 tackles in the contest. Mike Alvarez had 10 tackles and Famus Hasty and Ta'Cordian Darden had five tackles apiece and one interception each.
The Storm return to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Friday at 7:05 p.m. to play the Bay Are Panthers for the first time this season. The Panthers currently sit at 1-3 on the season in their inaugural season in the IFL. They were set to debut in 2020, but because of COVID-19 restrictions the past two seasons, they were not able to participate.
