Blaze Draw #1 Playoff Seed

ROCKWELL, IA - The Des Moines Blaze (7-1) locked up the top seed in the SPFL Eastern Division last Saturday with a convincing 41-0 victory against the North Iowa Bucks (5-3). 

The Defense continued their season of domination, shutting out their fourth opponent while forcing six turnovers. A Jordan Smith strip sack recovered by Billy Messenger, two interceptions each by Tahaun Fountain and Dwine Rankins, and a pick by Chris Reeves.

The dynamic duo of LaMar Sayles Jr. and Jeremy Batiste rushed for touchdowns of eight and five yards, respectively, to open the game, followed by a 16-yard Fountain pick-six. 

Quarterback Anthony Meyer heated up in the third quarter, connecting on long touchdowns tosses to Jay Heathcote, Kain Krizek, and Leslie Owusu. Des Moines took the 41-0 lead into halftime and rode it through the second half. 

"We're peaking at the right time," said Head Coach Tyrone Tyler. "Offensively, it took us a few weeks to adjust to this brand of (9-man) football, but feel like we're clicking now. We've got our foot on the gas heading into the post season."

A loss by the Minneapolis Warriors (4-4) gave North Iowa (5-3) the final playoff slot in the East and will bring them to Des Moines for a rematch in a first-round playoff on July 10th. Kickoff is at 6pm at the Spring Creek Sports Complex in Altoona.