Although the Tulsa Oilers Football team didn’t make the playoffs, they ended the IFL regular season on a high note Saturday night, defeating the Massachusetts Pirates, 44-24, in front of 7,031 fans at the BOK Center.
The win gives the Oilers a season record of 6-10 overall, while the Pirates dropped to 8-8.
The Pirates jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead eight minutes into the first quarter, scoring on a 22-yard field goal by Henry Nell, followed by a two-point rouge on the kickoff.
Tulsa responded with a six-yard touchdown pass from Andre Sale to Jarrod Ware Jr. to make the score 7-5, with 2:55 left in the first quarter.
The Oilers scored back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 20-5 lead.
D’Marcus Adams caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Sale, in the corner of the end zone, followed by a three-yard scoring play from Sale to Tyrone Howell.
The Pirates’ quarterback, Connor Degenhardt, scored on a two-yard keeper to cut the Oilers lead to 20-10 with just 0:21 left in the half.
However, the Oilers scored before the intermission when Sale and Ware connected again. This time on a 21-yard touchdown pass-play with 0:13 to go, and the Oilers led 26-10 at halftime.
Tulsa kicker Ross Moore kicked a 27-yard field goal five minutes into the third quarter giving Tulsa a 29-10 lead.
Jimmie Robinson responded for Massachusetts with a seven-yard touchdown run with 3:17 remaining in the third.
The Oilers put the game away early in the fourth quarter, when Sale found an open Adams on a four-yard pass into the end zone, and the Oilers led 37-16 with 14:39 remaining in the game.
Alexis Rosario became the fourth Tulsa player with a touchdown reception in the game, when he completed a 24-yard pass-play from Sale to extend the Tulsa lead to 44-16, with 7:47 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates scored one final time late in the fourth, when Degenhardt scampered into the end zone from nine yards out, plus a drop-kick extra point attempt brough the final score to 44-24.
This was the end of the Oilers second season in the IFL and their franchise record is now 8-23 after two seasons.