The San Diego Strike Force earned their second win of the season yesterday against the Bismarck Bucks. San Diego put together a fantastic game plan for this matchup, and they executed it to bring home a 38-28 victory.

The Strike Force got off to a red hot start, scoring on their first two offensive plays of the game. A David Haney interception and 29-yard return set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Steve Cluley to a wide open Troy Evans. San Diego got a defensive stop and scored on the first play of their second drive in almost identical fashion, with Cluley finding Evans down the sideline again for a 30-yard touchdown. 

After a big return and a quick score from Bismarck, the Strike Force found the end zone for a third straight time, finishing a methodical seven play drive with a tough 1-yard run from Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks, who churned his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the year. 

San Diego kept things rolling on the ensuing kickoff, recovering an onside kick in Bismarck territory. After a big bounce off of a Bismarck player, Marques "Hoodie" Rodgers showed off his speed and athleticism, flying downfield with reckless abandon and diving on the loose ball amongst a number of Bucks to give the Strike Force possession. 

The Strike Force cashed in and punched it in for six for a fourth straight drive. Trayvon Van scored from two yards out, bouncing off of Bismarck defenders and avoiding the wall to give San Diego a 21-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. 

The San Diego offense hit a dry spell after that, and Bismarck came roaring back with two big passing touchdowns of 40 and 31 yards to make it a 28-21 game with a little under two minutes left in the third quarter. A Tanner Kuljian 23-yard field goal after an 8:00 minute drive made it a two possession game with 8:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. After Bismarck responded with a long drive of their own that resulted in a touchdown, the Strike Force put the game on ice. Trayvon Van would not be denied and delivered a spectacular 30-yard run, breaking multiple tackles on his way to paydirt. 

The San Diego defense came up with two more stops to hold the lead and close out a solid performance as a unit. They allowed only seven points per quarter and limited Bismarck to 195 yards of offense. After not recording a sack all season, the Strike Force recorded five in this one, with Javian "BubbaD" Williams leading the way. They also snatched three takeaways to win the turnover battle. In addition to David Haney's interception and Marques Rodgers' onside kick recovery, Terrence Fullum forced a fumble deep inside their own territory that was recovered by Daquan Brown. This came immediately after a Steve Cluley interception late in the second quarter and kept the Bucks out of the end zone, ensuring that San Diego would take a two touchdown lead into halftime. 

David Haney delivered another impactful performance, adding four tackles and two impressive pass breakups to go along with his interception. Ishmael Adams led all Strike Force players with five tackles and added two pass breakups of his own. Ben Moa got in on the party up front as well with three tackles and a sack. 

On the offensive side, Steve Cluley started the game 4-4 for 90 yards and two touchdowns. He stayed efficient and finished the night 20 of 30 for 197 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Troy Evans was his go-to target, hauling in four catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Rashad Ross added to his own totals with five catches for 33 yards. 

Trayvon Van contributed in the run game with some highlight reel runs, including his 30-yard touchdown rumble late in the fourth quarter. He would end the game with 45 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. 

For Bismarck, Tahj Tolbert started the game at quarterback but was taken out after throwing an interception on the first possession. Jayru Campbell would finish the game out and completed 9 of 15 pass attempts for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell also rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts. He led all Bismarck players in those categories.

Wide receivers Alexis Rosario and John Brunner accounted for the majority of those passing yards. Rosario racked up 51 yards and two touchdowns on just two catches, and Brunner tallied up 47 yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Benjamin Giles contributed on the ground for the Bucks as well with 8 yards and a touchdown on four attempts. 

The Strike Force improve to 2-4 on the season and are just one game out of the fourth playoff spot in the Western Conference. They currently sit behind the Vegas Knight Hawks (3-4) and Duke City Gladiators (2-5) in the standings. The team will return to San Diego to kick off a long home stand next week as they take on the Massachusetts Pirates on Monday, May 9 at 7:05 PM Pacific Time. Get your tickets today here on our website.