New quarterback of the Iowa Barnstormers, Travis Partridge takes the snap, looks left, right, lets the pass fly… and its tipped. The ball goes out of bounds, and the Sioux Falls Storm hang on to win.
Iowa gave it all they had, in what was one of their most complete team efforts all year, but could not come out with the upset in the end losing 50-49 in overtime.
Barnstormers Lose Nail-Biter to Juggernaut, but Find QB in Travis Partridge
“We had the opportuninty to close it out and just weren’t able to do that,” head coach Joe Brannen said to LWOS after the game. “Defense played well, but we had a couple of snafoos on our special teams and kicking department that hurt us. [We] had a chance to win at the end and just couldn’t get it done. It’s tough, but the guys played hard and I’m really proud of their effort, and the way they fought.”
The Barnstormers did indeeed have their chances, up by eight with the ball, the team failed to score. With just shy of a minute on the clock, Sioux Falls threw an interception, but it was called back thanks to a roughing the passer call.
Sioux Falls found their way to the end zone, still down by two, and made the two point conversion look easy.
In overtime, after the teams traded scores, Iowa elected to go for a two-point conversion to win the game, and the pass was tipped.
The official attendance of 8,451 sighed, after being a hostile environment throughout the game.
“It was amazing, I wish every home game that had 9 or 10 thousand people,” linebacker Javicz Jones told LWOS. “It was that atmosphere that made us want to play.”
Although Iowa came out on the losing end, it appears the Barnstormers have found a quarterback in Travis Partridge.
Partridge was 20-33 with 209 yards and five touchdowns, looking as calm and collected as any one. It was as if he was not playing against the five-time reigning champs.
“Travis played a heck of a ball game, he’s a football player first and then a quarterback,” Brannen said. “I was really happy with the way he played tonight.”
The Barnstormers will continue their season when Cedar Rapids visits Wells Fargo Arena next Saturday.
