Massachusetts Pirates end season with 45-30 loss to Bay Area

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For the first time in franchise history, the Massachusetts Pirates will not be playing in the IFL playoffs. Friday night’s game at Tsongas Center vs the Bay Area Panthers closed the books on the 2025 season. For the Panthers, the last regular-season game would be a dress rehearsal for the upcoming playoffs. Bay Area locked up the #1 seed in the Western Conference and awaits its first-round playoff matchup.

This game pitted two of the better quarterbacks in the league. Josh Jones of the Bay Area has thrown 37 touchdown passes on 174-of-301 passing, good for a 57.9% completion rate. He has 2,033 yards, averaging 145.2 yards per game. He is also the leading rusher in the IFL with 763 yards and 20 more touchdowns. He averages 54.5 yards on the ground. Pirates quarterback Kenji Bahar has 37 TDs, going 203-277 for 2,055 yards for an average of 137 yards a game with a 73.2% completion rate. Kenji has 27 rushing touchdowns and averages 10.8 points per game.

Bay Area won the toss and deferred to the second half, and Massachusetts started the game with the ball first. Taulia Tagovailoa would run the Pirates’ offense. His first pass was intercepted by Bay Area DB Joe Foucha down the right sideline for his 6th interception of the season. It would take Jones only one play to score as he found Tyrese Chambers in the right corner of the endzone for the first score of the game. For Chambers, it was his 14th TD of the year, and for Jones, it was his 38th TD throw of the year. It was 7-0 Panthers with 11:58 left in the first quarter. The second Pirates drive looked good as they got to the Panthers’ 13-yard line before Tagovailoa threw his second pick of the quarter to Foucha at the goal line on the right side for his seventh pick of the year. The Panthers’ second drive was run by Liam Thompson and ended with a 2-yard TD run by Trey Goodman to make it 14-0 Bay Area with 5:13 left in the quarter. Massachusetts got a great kickoff return from Pookie Williams that took the ball to the Panthers’ 2-yard line. He then took a handoff and ran around the right side for the score, his 11th of the season. It was now 14-7 Bay Area with 3:16 left in the first. Massachusetts’s defense rose up and forced a safety on the Bay Area’s next possession to make it 14-9 Bay Area with 27 seconds left in the quarter. Pirates DE Michael Mason caused the safety to happen by putting pressure on the QB. The quarter ended with Bay Area up 14-9.

Before the second quarter began, the Pirates honored WR Thomas Owens, who did not dress for the game, as the all-time leading receiver in team history. The Pirates tried a 45-yard FG that was short and returned to the Pirates’ 22-yard line. Thompson drove the Panthers downfield and scored on a 9-yard run off the right side with 8:35 left in the half. The extra point was good, and it was 21-9 Panthers. The next Pirates drive ended with a failed 39-yard FG attempt. The try was stopped on a bad snap that was recovered by Bay Area. Thompson made it count with a touchdown pass to Chambers in the left corner of the endzone. For Chambers, it was his second TD of the night and his best catch of the half. With 44 seconds left, it was 28-9 Panthers. Massachusetts drove to the Bay Area one-yard line with 09 seconds left, and they used their final timeout to set up a play. A defensive offside gave the Pirates a second chance, which went awry. On 4th down with 03 seconds left, Tagovailoa found Teo Redding in the left corner for a 1-yard score. The Pirates went for two and did not get it. Halftime arrived with Bay Area up 28-15.

Bay Area got the ball to start the third quarter, and they would score on Thompson’s second rushing TD of the night. This one from 5 yards out. The try for two did not work, and with 9:53 left in the third, it was 34-15 Panthers. Bay Area tried an onside kick, which was recovered by Massachusetts at the Panthers’ 20-yard line. From there, Tagovailoa took care of it himself with a 6-yard TD run off the left side. The kick was good, and with 6:26 left, it was now 34-22 Bay Area. The Pirates tried an onside kick, which also did not work. Bay Area had the ball at the Pirates’ 8-yard line. A Mason sack, his second of the game, forced a field goal by Bay Area of 36 yards, which was no good. The Pirates had the ball back after the stop with 3:17 left in the quarter. Instead of doing something with the football, they went backwards with a holding call made against the offense. A second safety of the game was called. This one against Massachusetts to make it a 36-22 game with 1:05 left in the quarter. That is how the quarter ended. It was on to the final quarter of the season for the Massachusetts Pirates.

The first drive of the fourth ended with Thompson running it in from 3 yards out for his third rushing TD of the game. The kick was good, and with 9:29 left in the gam, it was 43-22 Bay Area. The Panthers added two more points when the ensuing kickoff went through the goalposts, 45-22 Bay Area. The Pirates, on a 4 and 1, got a 19-yard TD run up the middle from Tagovailoa, then added a two-point conversion to make it a 45-30 game with 4:11 left. Tagovailoa had his second rushing score of the night. With 1:27 left, a 44-yard goal try was no good by the Panthers. The Pirates got the ball back at their own 5-yard line. A desperation pass from Tagovailoa resulted in his fourth INT of the night as Tyrese Wright made the pick for Bay Area. The game would end with Bay Area winning 45-30. The Panthers finished the year at 13-3, and the Pirates ended at 7-9.