PHOTO VIA ORLANDO PIRATES FACEBOOK PAGE
The Orlando Pirates just punched their ticket to the postseason with a 67-63 win over the Fishers Freight (terrible name) on Sunday afternoon at the Fishers Event Center.
Orlando (10-6) closes the regular season as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, while Fishers (8-8) lost its fourth straight game and saw its season come to an end.
Note: The following is regurgitated from the Pirates’ press release, because I know nothing about this sport.
The game was a back-and-forth scoring battle from the start. The Pirates struck first on a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Paxton DeLaurent to Nyqwan Murray. Fishers answered immediately with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Felix Harper to Jordan Davis, and the first quarter ended with Fishers ahead 14-13.
The teams traded touchdowns throughout the second quarter, and Fishers regained the lead in the third quarter on a 12-yard fourth-down touchdown catch by Davis, but DeLaurent responded with a rushing touchdown and a fourth-down touchdown pass to Teo Redding, pushing Orlando’s lead to 46-34 heading into the fourth.
The two teams combined for 130 points and 539 yards of total offense. Orlando finished with more first downs (12-9), a far better third-down conversion rate (71% to 33%), more passing yards (244-196) and a longer time of possession (38:16 to 32:54).
The Pirates, the 2021 IFL National Champions playing their debut season in Orlando after relocating from Massachusetts, now head to Green Bay to face the top-seeded Blizzard in the first round of the IFL Playoffs on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 2 p.m. Orlando was swept by Green Bay during the regular season.
