Tulsa, Okla. — Tulsa Oilers Football, proud member of the IFL, looks to record their first victory at home in the 2023 campaign.
LAST TIME OUT The Oilers headed out west for the final time this season, taking on the San Diego Strike Force on June 4 at Pechanga Arena. The Strike Force scored a touchdown to begin the game, but Tulsa responded with a touchdown of their own on their opening drive with a Joshua Crockett catch for 24 yards from new Tulsa QB, Andre Sale. The second quarter saw a massive amount of points, first coming from Tulsa on a 2-yard run by Jo-El Shaw to the right side for a touchdown to make the game 13-13 with 14:55 left in the frame. Tulsa's Jonathan Nance would return the following kickoff for a 56-yard touchdown to even the score at 20-20 with 10:45 remaining in the second. Tulsa now has two kickoffs returned for a touchdown this season. Oilers' wide receiver Alexis Rosario made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone with 1:45 left in the half for a score, to make it 27-27 all. Tulsa marched down the field quickly and scored the final touchdown of the half on a 1-yard rush by quarterback Sale, to finish the first two quarters at a score of 36-34 San Diego. Tulsa received the first possession of the second half and made the most of it, scoring a touchdown via a 5-yard catch by Crockett for his second score of the evening to make it 41-36 Oilers with 9:35 remaining in the third. Nance for the Oilers finalized the third quarter scoring by giving Tulsa the lead again on a 1-yard catch in the back right of the end zone to make it 48-42 Tulsa with the fourth quarter left to play. Tulsa had the ball teed up for an 18-yard field goal attempt with 0:04 left in the game to try and win it and had the kick miss wide right to end a heartbreaking loss by a final score of 56-55 in favor of San Diego.
FOCUS AHEAD Tulsa will attempt to sweep the regular season series over the Iowa Barnstormers tonight. The Oilers were able to defeat the Barnstormers back on April 22 in Des Moines, Iowa inside of Wells Fargo Arena by a score of 54-48. A last-second desperation effort on a hail mary to the end zone was picked off by DB Britto Tutt to solidify Tulsa's first victory in franchise history. The Oilers supplied depth at the quarterback position and defensive line prior to their home matchup against the Iowa Barnstormers. The Oilers added QB Kaleb Lowe and DL Zion Farmer. In order to make room for these new additions, Tulsa has released QB Vincent Espinoza as well as DL Eric Sadler. In related news, OL/DL Adrien Hernandez has been taken off of STIR and has returned as active, DB Britto Tutt, who has missed the last five games, has been placed on STIR, sidelining him for two more weeks at minimum. Lowe will wear #9 while Farmer will wear #44. Tulsa will also see the following jersey number changes. Jonathan Nance - #8, Adrien Hernandez - #92.
HOW TO "BARREL ROLL" PAST IOWA The Barnstormers are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They are also coming off their worst offensive performance, scoring just 17 points in a 43-17 loss at home against Green Bay. This can always mean two things, Iowa is spiraling or this was the wake-up call they needed to turn things around. Either way, the Oilers are focused on what they can control and that's building on this past week's progress. Iowa is trying to find their QB as they have had turnovers, Tulsa needs to manage the turnover battle well to gain an advantage on a desperate Barnstormers squad. Iowa is a relatively disciplined team, so Tulsa needs to match that to stay out of field-position trouble. Containing the run game can be key to success.
Tulsa's next home game is on June 10, as they face the Iowa Barnstormers at 7:05 p.m. CT.
Tulsa Oilers Football Season and Group Tickets are on sale now! Call the front office at 918-632-7825 or visit www.tulsaoilersfootball.com for more information.
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