SIOUX FALLS, SD – The Sioux Falls Storm Indoor Football team survived a late 4
th quarter comeback attempt by the Green Bay Blizzard on Friday night, posting a 47-45 home win inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
The Storm carried a 41-26 lead into the 4
th quarter before Green Bay Quarterback Maxwell Meylor found wide receiver Steven Newbold on a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it a nine point game.
Storm quarterback
Lorenzo Brown Jr. extended the lead back to double-digits after scoring on a two-yard touchdown run with 9:44 left in regulation.
The Blizzard responded on the next drive, scoring on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Meylor to wide receiver Marquise Irvin. Kicker Logan Justus converted on the extra-point to make it 47-39 with 6:53 remaining.
Green Bay defensive back Trey Claybourne made the play of the night on the next Storm drive, intercepting a Brown pass attempt intended for wide receiver
Dwight Blakey to set up one final drive for the Blizzard.
Meylor orchestrated a seven-play drive that ate up 4:15 seconds before completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Irvin to make it 47-45.
The Blizzard initially converted a pass on a two-point conversion that would have tied the game, but an officials review showed that Meylor's pass hit the turf before Newbold could secure it, preserving the two-point win for the Storm.
The Sioux Falls offense racked up seven rushing touchdowns in the win, led by quarterback
Lorenzo Brown Jr. who scored a season-high five times in the win.
Brown finished the night completing 13-of-15 pass attempts for 116 yards, but failed to record a passing touchdown for just the second time this season.
Running back
Bryson Denley played well in his return for the injured list, scoring on a pair of rushing touchdowns to go along with his 155 all-purpose yards.
With the win, the Storm improved to 7-5 on the season and now sit in third place in the IFL's Eastern Conference standings. The Sioux Falls win leapfrogged the Storm over the Quad City Steamwheelers, who are set to host the Iowa Barnstormers on Saturday night (6/24/23). The Steamwheelers have lost 3 of their last 4 games, including an 80-41 road loss in Iowa City last weekend.
A Quad City win would bump the Storm back into 4
th place in the IFL's Eastern Conference standings with three games left in the 2023 season.
The Storm hit the road next weekend to face the 1
st place Frisco Fighters on Saturday, July 1
st. The Storm will be out for revenge after suffering a 54-51 home loss against Frisco back on June 10
th.
The Storm will wrap up the road trip on Saturday July 8
th against the Iowa Barnstormers before returning home on July 15
th to host the 2
nd place Massachusetts Pirates in the final regular season game of the 2023 season.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting the storm website at siouxfallsstorm.com or by visiting the KELOLAND Box Office located inside the main lobby of the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
ABOUT THE SIOUX FALLS STORM
The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, SD. The Storm have won 11 indoor football championships over 23 seasons and are participants in the Indoor Football league. The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center has been the home of Storm Indoor Football since construction of the site was completed prior to the 2015 season.
