By virtue of their 63-57 overtime victory in Spokane last weekend, the Massachusetts Pirates have secured a berth in the upcoming Indoor Football League playoffs. The Pirates currently sit in third place in the IFL standings with an 8-3 record and will be one of the eight teams headed for the post-season which will begin the weekend of August 28.
The Pirates now have made the playoffs in each of its first three seasons since the team first took the field in 2018. This is the second time in the history of the organization that the Pirates have made the playoffs as an expansion team. In 2018 Massachusetts had the best regular season record in its first year in the National Arena League. What may be more impressive is that 2021 Head Coach Patrick Pass, Offensive Coordinator Bones Bagaunte and Defensive Coordinator Rayshaun Kizer have a grand total of one year of collective indoor football coaching experience between them. Kizer had his first coaching experience with Bismarck in 2019 as the Bucks Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs and Special Teams Coach. As for Pass and Bagaunte, this is their first experience coaching indoors.
The constant has been the leadership of Co-Owners Hassan and Jawad Yatim. With Hassan as the Chief Executive Officer and his son Jawad serving as President and General Manager, Massachusetts has established itself as a model of consistency with a tradition of winning.
In addition to building winning teams, they have assembled successful coaching staffs as even with three different units, the Pirates have accumulated a total regular season winning percentage of 65%.
In 2018 the Pirates won a franchise record 11 games against five losses under the direction of Head Coach Ameer Ismail, Offensive Coordinator Anthony Payton and Special Teams Coordinator Sergio Gilliam. This year the Pirates could reach 11 wins should they win the last three games on the 14-game schedule. An 11 and three finish would secure the best winning percentage in franchise history. It would also give the Pirates an eight-game winning streak which would surpass the mark of six that was set by the team in 2019. That edition of the Pirates was led by Payton as the Head Coach with Tim Shelley serving as Defensive Coordinator.
With anticipation of a home playoff game, the Pirates will have post-season tickets available through ticketmaster.com, at the DCU Center Box Office and online via www.masspiratesfootball.com, once the playoff schedule is secured. For more information fans can call the Pirates Sales team directly, at 508-452-6277.
The Massachusetts Pirates are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Pirates play all home games at Phoenix Field at the DCU Center located at 50 Foster St. Worcester, MA, 01608. For more information on the Massachusetts Pirates please call (508)452-MASS (6277), email contact@masspiratesfootball.com or visit http://www.masspiratesfootball.com. Single game tickets are available now at ticketmaster.com or the DCU Center Box Office. For 2022 season, half-season, luxury, or group ticket packages please call 508-452-MASS (6277). Follow the Pirates on Facebook via Facebook.com/MAPirates, Instagram @mass.pirates, and Twitter @mass_pirates. #GetHooked #AllAboard