LOWELL – The Massachusetts Pirates will kickoff their 2025 Indoor Football League season on Friday, March 21 at 7:05 pm at the Tsongas Center against the Jacksonville Sharks.

The Eastern Conference Champions feature a new look this season, with a new Head Coach in Frederick Griggs. Griggs, the former Head Coach of the Duke City Gladiators, joined the organization last season as Defensive Backs Coach. He is the seventh Head Coach in the team’s seven-year history.

The Pirates have never missed the playoffs since the inception of the franchise. Since joining the IFL, Massachusetts had been to two league championship games in four seasons. Last year the Arizona Rattlers defeated the Pirates in a rematch of the 2021 title game when the Pirates claimed their first-ever championship.

The Pirates will also have a new starting quarterback in Kenji Bahar. Bahar started three games last year with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. In 2023 he was fourth in the USLF in passing yards with 1,709 and eight touchdown passes for the Houston Gamblers. Last year’s Pirates starter Alejandro Bennifield has retired.

Season Openers: The Pirates are 5-1 all-time in season opening games.

Home Openers: The Pirates are 4-2 in home openers. Last season the Pirates defeated the Sharks 26-21 in their first-ever game at the Tsongas Center.

This is the second consecutive year the Pirates will face Jacksonville in the Home Opener. Last season, the game was tied 14 all at the half but In the third quarter a 25-yard pass from Alejandro Bennifield to Teo Redding gave the Pirates the lead and running back Jimmie Robinson’s six-yard TD reception in the final quarter proved to be enough as the Massachusetts defense allowed just 12 points in the second half. Bennifield finished the game 10 of 21 passing for 141 yards and four scores against one interception. Robinson was the game’s top rusher with 70 yards on 16 carries. He was also the Pirates top receiver with three catches for 43 yards and a score. Robinson compiled 174 all-purpose yards as he returned three kickoffs for 61 yards.

Sharks quarterback Conor Blount was 16 of 26 for 138 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Running back Logan Wright was held to 26 yards on four carries with a touchdown and Marquis McClain pulled in seven passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Matt Elam led the Pirates defense with eight tackles, including two for a loss and a pass broken up. Eugene Ford and Darrius Williams each had interceptions for the winners. Harrison Poole led all tacklers with 11 stops with two for a loss for Jacksonville while Biron Murray had a “pick six” for the Sharks.

The Pirates swept the season series with a 44 to 30 win in Jacksonville, In that game the Pirates Jimmie Robinson ran 17 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. He also led Massachusetts with 4 receptions for 36 yards and a score.

The Series: All-time the Sharks hold a 5-3 record vs. Massachusetts. The Sharks moved to the IFL after winning the title in the National Arena League last season. The Pirates and Sharks met six times from 2018-2019 when Massachusetts played in the NAL. The Pirates had an overall record of 10-9 last season while the Sharks were 5-11.

Players to Watch: The Pirates return three of the top receivers in the league in Thomas Owens, Teo Redding and Isaac Zico. Owens is the team’s all-time leading receiver and the holder of nine regular season and seven playoff records. Last year Owens was fifth in the league with 20 touchdown receptions. Redding started all 16 regular season games last year and led the Pirates with 611 receiving yards. He was second on the team with 53 receptions and second with 11 touchdown receptions. Zico only played in eight regular season games due to injury, but still had 30 receptions for 375 yards and seven touchdowns.

On defense Guy Thomes returns for his second season. Last year Thomas was a member of the IFL’s All-Rookie Team as Massachusetts was number one against the run, allowing just 57.5 yards per game. Thomas appeared in 13 regular season games, making eight starts. He finished the regular season making 44 tackles with 14.5 tackles for a loss with 4.5 sacks. In the postseason Thomas made 16.5 tackles including 3.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. His combined totals of 60.5 tackles ranked him 20th in the IFL. His 18 tackles for a loss was second best in the league and his 5.5 sacks placed him seventh.

Of the seven defensive backs in camp, three played in Massachusetts last season. Matt Elam, who was a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 is back for his
second season. Elam had 52 tackles in 15 regular season games. He also had a “pick-six” in the Pirates win over Green Bay to clinch the Eastern Conference title. Also returning are C.J. Holmes and Paris Ford. Holmes made four starts with 13 tackles and three passes broken up.. His playoff interception against Green Bay was one of four turnovers the team caused in the Conference Championship win. Ford, a veteran of the USFL, appeared in eight regular season games last year, starting five times making 16 tackles with one for a loss while breaking up three passes.

Scouting the Sharks: Without question the biggest off season acquisition by Jacksonville was the signing of running back Jimmie Robinson. For the last two seasons, the former Pirate star was an All-IFL First Team running back. Including his playoff totals from last year, Robinson was the only rusher to eclipse 1,000 yards with 1,148. He had 32 rushing touchdowns. He was third in the league with 224 points and led the IFL with 2,780 all-purpose yards.

Also, quarterback Kaleb Barker is expected to lead the Sharks offense. Barker came on at the end of last season leading the team to a 3-1 as the team averaged 47.5 points per game with Barker as the starter.

The Coaches: This is the second stop for Frederick Griggs as a head coach. Before coming to the Pirates, Griggs was the Head Coach of the Duke City Gladiators. Including a playoff game, his all-time record in Duke City was 6 and 21.

Jacksonville Head Coach Jason Gibson is in his second season with the Sharks, with an overall record of 17 and 14. His All-Time Career record stands at 148 and 87.

Gibson guided Jacksonville to its fourth championship in team history in 2023. Prior to arriving in Jacksonville, Gibson spent 16 seasons with the Columbus Lions, amassing a 131-73 record as the team’s Head Coach and General Nanager. Gibson won three league championships between the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL), Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL), and American Indoor Football League (AIF). He has an all-time record of 3-5 coaching against the Pirates.