Game Recap: UW-Green Bay Frozen Phoenix vs Iowa Barnstormers - April 18

It's Saturday. April 18th and Week 6 in the IFL which features a storied rivalry between the Iowa Barnstormers as they traveled to Freeze Field to take on the Green Bay Frozen Phoenix. No, that is not a typo, the Blizzard donned the moniker Frozen Phoenix in partnership with the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, whose mascot is a Phoenix. This game marked an athletic milestone for the university as they have never had a football team. Did the Blizzard, or shall I continue to say, the Frozen Phoenix, grab a win in their inaugural game? Let's dig into the action!

Green Bay fielded the ball first. The Frozen Phoenix offense converted on two third downs and an eventual 4th and goal situation to put up the first points of the game. The eventual score was by RB Demilon Brown who powered through for a two-yard score, chewing up nearly half of the first quarter clock. On Iowa's first possession, they quickly moved the ball into Green Bay territory and came to a 4th down of their own. The Barnstormers successfully converted on 4th down with a touchdown pass from QB Ivan Corbin to RB Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei. After a fumbled snap on the point-after attempt, the score at the end of the first was 7-6 favoring the Frozen Phoenix.

At the start of the second quarter we rejoin the Green Bay drive as they get into a goal to go situation. The Frozen Phoenix would score another touchdown, this time on a rush by WR Trevon Alexander. The Barnstormers following possession would go 4 and out where Corbin would be stood up in the backfield and tackled for a loss by the tandem efforts of Green Bay defensive linemen Scean Mustin and Tevaughn Grant. In just one play, Green Bay would score on a pass from QB Liam Thompson to WR Isaac Ross for 25-yards. On Iowa's second possession of the quarter, the Green Bay defense proved to be a tough match as the Barnstormers would go 3-and-out, not even netting one total yard. They attempted a long field goal, which came up short. Green Bay took over on their own 18, and in just a few plays, Trevon Alexander would waltz into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the quarter. The Barnstormers would take over as the clock hit the 1-minute warning. The Barnstormers offense came to life and very quickly managed the clock and drove down to a goal-to-go situation, but the clock would hit zeroes before adding any points. At the half the Frozen Phoenix were up 28-6.

Kicking off the third quarter, Iowa begins with possession. Once again, the Iowa offense went nowhere in three plays, and settled for a long field goal which again was not successful. The Green Bay offense would continue to impress as they went 1-play, 45 yards on a pass from Thompson to Brown, further extending the Frozen Phoenix sizable margin. The next Iowa sequence began with a moderate chunk play of 17 yards on a pass from Corbin to WR Josh Simmons. Three plays later, Corbin would scramble for a 1-yard score. The Barnstormers, needing as many points as they could to claw back into the game, opted to go for two points, but the pass would fall incomplete. The score is now 35-12, as the Frozen Phoenix have built a comfortable lead. Green Bay would not be done and would continue to keep the gas on. The next Green Bay drive would feature a chunk play of their own, a 20-yard completion from Thompson to Alexander. Thompson would complete a pass to Alexander two plays later to extend their lead. At the end of three, the score was 42-12, Frozen Phoenix firmly in control. 

The start of the final frame finds Iowa in a 3rd down situation, which they would fail to convert and then would subsequently stalled on 4th down as well. Green Bay would take over and immediately backup QB Cole Stenstrom would connect with Alexander for 20 yards. Demilon Brown would carry the next two plays for a combined 13 yards and a touchdown. Iowa would need some sort of miracle to get back into the game, but it was not the Barnstormers night. Their next drive was quickly ended in one play when DL Tevaughn Grant would strip sack Corbin and the ball was recovered by DL Allen Henry for a Frozen Phoenix touchdown. The point after try for K Andrew Mevis, who otherwise was perfect on the night, was unsuccessful after a bad snap. Green Bay now sat at 55 points, and that would be their final tally. Iowa would, however, score a garbage time touchdown on their next drive. Former Green Bay Blizzard, and current Iowa Barnstormer, WR Andre Williams would catch an 8-yard pass from Corbin. The Barnstormers once again tried for 2 points and failed, going 0-3 on two-point conversion attempts. The ensuing Iowa kickoff, Green Bay was unable to return the ball out of their own endzone, resulting in a 1-point rouge for the Barnstormers. Green Bay would keep possession. On the drive, Stenstrom would throw an interception to DB Richie Coffey III. Iowa quickly went 4 and out and the Frozen Phoenix would kneel out the final seconds of the game. The final score was a lopsided victory, 55-19.

The Iowa Barnstormers fall to 0-4 and sit in the basement of the Eastern Conference. The Barnstormers return home with a game against Fishers Freight on Saturday, April 25th. The Frozen Phoenix improve to 1-0 in their history, and the Green Bay Blizzard return to the win column and sit at 4-1. The Blizzard name will return next week as they host the Orlando Pirates on Friday, April 24th at 6pm on Freeze Field inside the Resch Center for Kids Night. Get your tickets now by visiting the Green Bay Blizzard website. 

Written By: Tyler Klackner