By Stephen Ur
The Massachusetts Pirates hosted the Bay Area Panthers at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, on Sunday afternoon. They were looking to improve to 2-0 on the season after a 55-41 victory over the Green Bay Blizzard.
Starting quarterback Alejandro Bennifield did not play in this game with injury, and first-time indoor football quarterback Anthony Russo got the start for the Pirates.
After Josh Gable kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead, they scored the game’s third touchdown to make the score 9-0. Bay Area, led by quarterback Dalton Sneed and running back Justin Rankin, they went on a 28-14 scoring run and led 38-30 at halftime.
With a chance to take a two-score lead, Rankin fumbled a handoff, and Ezekiel Rose recovered a fumble for the Pirates. This turnover led to Darrin Carrington II scoring a touchdown, tying the game at 45 at the end of the third quarter.
Pirates running back Jimmie Robinson scored his fourth touchdown of the game with 4:33 left to give the Pirates a 59-52 lead. In the end, the defense made a fourth-down stop with under a minute left to seal the victory.
Russo threw two touchdowns in the game, one to Isaac Zico and one to Thomas Owens. Robinson is now up to six touchdowns on the season for the Pirates.
They will have a bye Week 3 before going on the road the following two weeks. Their next home game will be Friday, April 28, when they host the Iowa Barnstormers.
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