The Sioux Falls Storm Indoor Football Team are set to embark on the 2024 Indoor Football League season, hitting the road for a Week 1 matchup against Eastern Conference rivals, the Quad City Steamwheelers.

The Sioux Falls Storm advanced to the IFL National Championship Game last season after an incredible run at the end of the season that saw Sioux Falls post a 6-1 record over the final seven games before losing to the Bay Area Panthers in the title game in August.

The Sioux Falls Storm will unveil their new-look coaching staff and roster this weekend in the opening game of the 2024 season in Moline, Illinois.

THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
Andre Fields will make his Head Coaching debut on Friday night, taking over for long-time head coach Kurtiss Riggs, who spent the last 20 years leading the franchise.  Riggs steps down as the winningest head coach in the history of the game. Riggs holds a 268-67 overall record (.800 winning percentage) in 20 seasons, and a 37-7 postseason record (.841 winning percentage) that included 11 Indoor Football Championships.
 
Fields is no stranger to the game. He was inducted in the Storm Hall of Fame in 2021 and just completed his 10th season overall as a member of the Storm coaching staff. Fields served as Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach during the 2023 Eastern Conference Championship season.
 
Fields previously served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Storm during the 2010-2011 seasons and was a member of the coaching staff for five Storm Championship teams, working primarily with the defensive backs. 

Fields won four Indoor Football championships with the Storm as a player and was a key member of the unit that won 40 consecutive games, including back-to-back undefeated campaigns during the 2006 & 2007 seasons.

SERIES HISTORY
The Sioux Falls Storm will face the Quad City Steamwheelers in their first game of the Indoor Football League season for the third consecutive year.

Sioux Falls earned a March 13th home win (35-24) over The Steamwheelers during the 2022 season.Quad City returned the favor with a 36-34 win on April 1st last season in Moline, Illinois.
The Storm fell to 0-1 on the year with Quad City improving to 2-1 in their third regular season game.

The Sioux Falls Storm hold a 5-3 record over the Quad City Steamwheelers. All three losses against Quad City came on the road in Moline, Ill.

The Eastern Conference rivals faced each other three times during the 2023 season with the Steamwheelers winning two of the three contests. 

The Storm's last win on the road against the Quad City Steamwheelers came on 5/28/22 in Moline, Ill. with a 62-55 final score.
Wide Receiver Donnie Corley Jr. scored on an overtime touchdown pass from QB Dalton Sneed to secure the Storm win.

SCOUTING THE QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS
The Quad City Steamwheelers finished the 2023 Indoor Football League season with a 9-7 record and 4th place finish in the Eastern Conference Standings.

The Steamwheelers offense ranked 5th in the IFL last season, averaging 48.4 points per game.

QB EJ Hilliard finished the year tied for the IFL lead in TD passes (49) and 3rd in the league in passing yards (2,334). Hilliard finished 6th in the league in rushing yards (678) and tied for 4th in the IFL in rushing TD (28).

The Steamwheelers offensive backfield will look different from the previous two seasons as two rookie QB's, Judd Erickson and Mike Irwin, will compete for the starting spot.

All-Pro veteran receivers Jarrod Harrington and Keyvan Rudd will help guide a young offensive lineup and former San Diego Strike Force RB Edward Vander joins the Steamwheelers this season after finishing the 2023 season with 567 all purpose yards and 20 touchdowns in San Diego.

SCOUTING THE SIOUX FALLS STORM
The Sioux Falls Storm finished the 2023 Indoor Football League season with a 11-7 record and an Eastern Conference Championship title.

The Storm lost to the Bay Area Panthers in the IFL National Championship game, in what turned out to be the final game in the Hall of Fame careers of legendary Head Coach Kurtiss Riggs, and Quarterback Lorenzo Brown.

The Storm offense ranked 4th in the IFL last season in touchdowns (121) and 7th in points per game (46.4).
 
QB Lorenzo Brown Jr. was the top offensive threat, finishing 3rd in the IFL in rushing touchdowns (33) and tied for 4th in passing touchdowns (48).

The Storm signed a pair of IFL backup quarterbacks to compete for the starting job this season, with former Vegas Knight Hawks QB Billy Hall and former Tucson Sugar Skulls QB Dylan Vanboxel competing for the job.

Running back Xavier Jackson returns for his 2nd season in a Storm uniform after scoring 14 rushing TDs and 6 receiving TD's during his rookie season.

The Storm reloaded at the Wide Receiver position with the addition of ALL-IFL receiver Kentrez Bell, who finished the year leading the IFL with 1,092 receiving yards. He brings San Diego teammate, and former Sioux Falls Storm wideout Carlos Thompson Jr. back to sioux falls for the first time since the 2022 season.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

• The Sioux Falls Storm finished the 2023 Indoor Football League season with a 5-4 record in road games. The Quad City Steamwheelers finished the 2023 Indoor Football League season with a 6-1 home record.
   
• The Storm's last win on the road against the Quad City Steamwheelers came on 5/28/22 in Moline, Ill. with a 62-55 final score. Wide Receiver Donnie Corley Jr. scored on an overtime touchdown pass from QB Dalton Sneed to secure the Storm win.
   
• Two-time IFL Champion and All-IFL Defensive Lineman Claude Davis returns to the Sioux Falls Storm for the upcoming Indoor Football League season. Davis won the IFL championship two times with the Storm, winning titles during the 2016 and 2019 seasons. Davis last played for the Sioux Falls Storm during the 2019 season, spending five total seasons with the organization during the 2015-2019 campaigns. 
  
  Including the playoffs, Davis has racked up 213.5 total tackles (163 solo) with the Sioux Falls Storm. He currently sits in the top 10 all-time in franchise history in career tackles for loss (6th place- 59), sacks (8th place- 25), forced fumbles (8th place- 5), and blocked kicks (5th place- 6).  Davis needs 36 total tackles this season to move into the top 10 all-time in Sioux Falls Storm history.
   
• Sioux Falls Storm Head Coach Andre Fields announced Team Captains for the Sioux Falls Storm ahead of their Week 1 road matchup with the Quad City Steamwheelers.
  
  Storm running back Xavier Jackson is the only returning player from last years Eastern Conference Championship team to be named a team captain this season. Veteran defensive lineman and two-time IFL Champion, Claude Davis brings leadership and experience to the Storm locker room for the 2024 season. Joining Davis as team captain will be former Quad City Steamwheelers defensive back Kendricks Gladney Jr. Former Vegas Knight Hawks quarterback Bill Hall has also been named a team captain for the 2024 Sioux Falls Storm roster.
  
  WEEK 1 GAME NOTES