The Sioux Falls Storm picked up their second-straight win Saturday night, beating the Iowa Barnstormers 42-34 in a much-needed victory for the Storm's playoff hopes.
The Barnstormers (6-5) only led for 35 seconds as they picked up their only lead of the game on a six-yard touchdown pass from Darius-James Peterson to Kentrez Bell, taking a 7-3 lead. The very next play, Carlos Thompson returned the ball for a 35-yard kick return touchdown, giving the Storm (6-5) back the lead at 10-7.
Sioux Falls would score 19 unanswered points for most of the first half, building up a 22-7 lead. Iowa then marched down 46 yards in six plays, with Peterson running the ball into the endzone two yards, cutting the lead to eight points at 22-14.
Quarterback Dalton Sneed threw a 22-yard touchdown to Thompson on another quick possession, reclaiming a 15-point lead at 29-14 with 14 seconds remaining in the half. Iowa was able to kick a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, draining it from 28 yards, trailing 29-17 at halftime.
The Storm were able to hold off the Barnstormer's attempts at a comeback, answering each of their touchdowns they had. The closest Iowa got was five points after Antonio Wimbush ran in an eight-yard touchdown making the game 39-34 with 14 minutes left in the contest.
Sawyer Petre kicked a 33-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the game, giving the Storm an eight-point advantage with under a minute to play. The Barnstormers were back in their own territory before a roughing the passer call bailed them out and got themselves to midfield with 10 seconds left. Peterson threw an interception on the last play of the game, securing the win for the Storm, giving the team its sixth win of the year.
The Storm put up 149 yards of total offense in the game, with 56 of those yards rushing and 93 of them passing. Sneed threw 10-for-18 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. He had 12 rushing attempts for 34 yards and a rushing touchdown. Behind him was running back Nate Chavious with nine rushing attempts for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Carlos Thompson led the Storm in catches and yards with six receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Dilworth reeled in three catches for 21 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Mike Alvarez led the way with seven tackles. Marquis Hendrix had five tackeles and Famus Hasty had four tackles. Petre had a better kicking game, going 4-for-5 on field goals, making it from 23, 43, 18 and 33 yards, with his miss coming from 60 yards.
Sioux Falls hopes to build on its momentum as they return home June 11 for the first time since May 14 for a matchup with the Bismarck Bucks. In their first matchup of the season, the Storm won 38-36 in a game that the Storm almost blew as they held a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The game will be at 7:05 p.m. at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. The theme for the night is SIOUXPERCON NIGHT, where you can dress as your favorite character from a book, movie or video game for a chance to win:
- A weekend pass to SIOUXPERCON
- The new exclusive 2022 limited edition game ball
- 4 tickets to every remaining Storm regular season game in 2022.
The Storm are tied for tied for third place in the Eastern Conference standing with five games left in the regular season. The top four teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs. The Storm are currently 0.5 games ahead of the Quad City Steamwheelers for fifth place in the conference.
