The Sioux Falls Storm Indoor Football Team are entering a crucial stage of their 2023 Indoor Football League Season. The Storm currently sit at 6-5 on the season and hold the final playoff spot in the IFL's Eastern Conference.

Tonight the Storm will face the Green Bay Blizzard, who currently sit a half game behind the Storm for the final playoff spot in the East. Both teams have won a game in the season series, with each team walking away with a road win.

There are two different opinions on the overall series history between the two organizations.  The Sioux Falls Storm claim a 12-8 record over the Blizzard, going 3-7 at home and 9-1 on the road.  Green Bay historians claim that the Blizzard hold a 9-11 record against Sioux Falls with an 8-2 home record and 1-9 road record.
 
WHATS AT STAKE
 
A win tonight for the Storm would put them in the driver's seat for the final playoff spot in the East. A Sioux Falls win would put them at 7-5 on the season and could launch them into 3^rd place in the conference if Quad Cities also loses.

A win for Green Bay would drop the Storm to 6-6 on the season and into 5^th place in the East with three games remaining on the schedule, including a road game against the first place Frisco Fighters and a July 15^th home game to wrap up the regular season against the Massachusetts Pirates.

Green Bay will be in the road for the final four games of the 2023 IFL season, including tonight's contest in Sioux Falls. The Blizzard will also visit the Tulsa Oilers (7/1/23), the Quad City Steamwheelers (7/8/23), and the Tucson Sugar Skulls (7/15/23).


LAST TIME THEY MET

(4/21/23)

The Sioux Falls Storm Indoor Football Team avenged their home loss last Sunday to the Green Bay Blizzard by scoring a season-high 55 points in the  road win over Green Bay on Friday night.

There were eight different lead changes in this game, but Sioux Falls took the lead for good on the final play of the 1^st half, when Storm quarterback Lorenzo Brown Jr. found Donnie Corley Jr. on 1-yard touchdown pass to make it a 29-27 game.

Eugene Ford intercepted Green Bay quarterback Ja'rome Johnson on the opening drive of the 2^nd half, eventually leading to a Brown rushing touchdown that gave Sioux Falls the 35-27 advantage.
 
Johnson gave the Blizzard new life on the next possession, taking a 41-yard run into the end-zone, cutting the Storm lead to 35-34 with 6:30 remaining in the 3^rd quarter.

Both teams would exchange second half touchdowns, including a Bryson Denley kickoff return that went 53 yards to give the Storm a 48-40 lead with less than a minute remaining in the 3^rd quarter.

Johnson and the Blizzard battled back again midway through the 4th quarter, this time on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Shaq Curenton to make it 48-47.

Sioux Falls struck again with a Lorenzo Brown rushing touchdown late in the 4^th quarter, pushing the Storm lead to 55-47.

Green Bay had one last comeback effort in them, but Eugene Ford snagged his 2^nd interception of the night at the goal line to stop the Blizzard, and seal the road victory.

Lorenzo Brown finished the night 13-of-16 in the pass attack with 120 yards and two touchdowns through the air.  He also added four rushing touchdowns and 44 yards on the ground in the win.

It was the second time this season that the veteran quarterback posted three or more rushing touchdowns in a game, and the first time he has totaled 4 touchdowns on the ground this season.

Brown now has 11 rushing touchdowns in 2023, second most in the IFL this season. Frisco's T.J. Edwards has 14 rushing touchdowns, which is currently tops in the league.

Storm defensive back Eugene Ford continues his hot start to the 2023 Indoor Football League season. Ford's two interceptions on Friday night gave him a league leading 4 INTs overall this year.

Donnie Corley Jr. paced the Storm receiving corps with 5 catches for 44 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.

Draysean Hudson made his Storm debut on Friday night, finishing the game with 3 catches for 31 yards and added 2 carries for 21 yards.

Hudson's 7-yard run in the 2nd quarter was the former Western Illinois standouts first rushing touchdown in a Sioux Falls uniform.
 
 
SCOUTING THE GREEN BAY BLIZZARD

The Green Bay Blizzard enter Friday night's game with a 6-5 record and currently sit in 5th place in the IFL's Eastern Conference. The Blizzard have won 4 of their last 5 games and will have to play the final four games of the regular season on the road.

The Blizzard offense ranks 7th in the Indoor Football League, averaging 47.3 points per game this season. The Blizzard have had two different quarterbacks leading the offensive charge this season.

 Ja'Rome Johnson appeared in 7 games for the Blizzard before injuries forced him to the injured-list. When healthy, Johnson is a pest. He has thrown for 18 touchdowns to go along with his 946 passing yards. Johnson has also racked up 391 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Maxwell Maylor has also appeared in 7 games for the Blizzard this season, throwing for 754 yards and 15 touchdowns. Maylor has also ran for 223 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Marquise Irvin and Steve Newbold are the top receiving options for the Blizzard this season. Irvin leads the team with 661 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Newbold is right behind him with 396 yards and 10 TD on the year.

Green Bay's defense ranks 7th in the IFL, allowing opponents to score 46.4 points per game.

The Blizzard's top defender this season has been Ravariu Rivers who enters the night ranked 8th in the IFL in total tackles (53.5).



SCOUTING THE SIOUX FALLS STORM
 
The Sioux Falls Storm enter Friday night's game holding a 6-5 record and currently sit in 4^th place in the IFL's Eastern Conference.

The Storm Offense ranks 6^th in the Indoor Football League, averaging 48.1 points per game this season.

Storm Quarterback Lorenzo Brown Jr. leads the offensive attack ranks 7th in the IFL in rushing touchdowns (17) this season and leads the Storm in rushing yards (437) ranking 6th in the league overall.

Wide Receiver Donnie Corley Jr. is having a breakout year for the Storm.  The Detroit, MI native leads the team in receptions (39), receiving yards (584), and receiving touchdowns (16).
 
Corley's 46-yard reception against the Tulsa Oilers on April 29th is the longest catch of the season for a Sioux Falls Storm player and is the 2nd longest catch by an IFL receiver this season.

Corley currently ranks 6th in the IFL in receiving touchdowns.

The Storm defense enters the weekend tied for 2^nd in the IFL, allowing opponents to score an average of 41.0 points per game this season.

The Storm are the only team in the Indoor Football League to have 3 players in the top-10 in total tackles this season. Laronji Vason-McCoy is currently 4^th in the IFL in total tackles (59.5) while Clifton Duck ranks 6^th (56.5) and James Brown ranks 7^th (56.0). No other team in the league has more than one player in the top 10 in tackles this season.

The Storm defense currently leads the league in total interceptions (16).  Defensive back Eugene Ford leads the team with six interceptions, but fellow DB Byron Edwards has had the hot hand lately, snagging four interceptions over his last three games. Edwards earned IFL Player of the Week honors after a two interception game last week against Tulsa, including a pick-six in the 3^rd quarter that gave the Storm a seven point lead.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sioux Falls Storm enter the final month of the 2023 Indoor Football League season with several must-win games on the schedule.

Including tonight's game against the Green Bay Blizzard, the Storm will have three of their five remaining regular season games played against teams fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

   6/23 vs. Green Bay (6-5), 7/1 @ Frisco (10-2), 7/15 vs. Mass (8-3)

The Storm will also have a road game against the Iowa Barnstormers on July 8th. Iowa has struggled with injuries all season long and have been eliminated from playoff contention, but could play the role of spoiler in the coming weeks for several playoff hopeful teams.