2022 Championship
The 2022 IFL National Championship served as the championship game of the Indoor Football League season. Played on August 13, 2022, at The Dollar Loan Center, the title game drew a crowd of 4,149 fans to witness the Northern Arizona Wranglers capture the league’s top honor with a thrilling victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers.
Game Recap
The Northern Arizona Wranglers are bringing the Indoor Football League National Championship Trophy back to Prescott Valley after a thrilling 47–45 victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers on Saturday night.
Played at the neutral-site The Dollar Loan Center, Wranglers Nation turned the venue into a virtual home game as both teams battled until the final seconds to crown a national champion.
Quad City struck first, capitalizing on a short field to take an early 7–0 lead. Northern Arizona’s opening offensive sequence was rocky, losing yardage on consecutive plays before a false start backed the Wranglers up to a daunting third-and-16 from their own 1-yard line. Quarterback Kaleb Barker responded with a pivotal 19-yard strike to Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman, jump-starting the offense. The drive ended with Barker finding Glen Gibbons Jr.inside the 5-yard line, as Gibbons fought through contact for the tying touchdown. The first quarter ended locked at 7–7.
Momentum shifted early in the second quarter when the Wranglers forced Quad City to turn the ball over on downs. Barker capitalized moments later, scrambling untouched into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run to give Northern Arizona its first lead, 14–7. Quad City answered with a field goal, but the Wranglers quickly extended the advantage when Ulice Gillard took a handoff, froze the defense, and walked into the end zone for a score, pushing the lead to 21–10.
The Steamwheelers responded in just two plays with a touchdown of their own, cutting the deficit back to four. As time expired in the first half, Wranglers kicker Craig Peterson drilled a 25-yard field goal, sending Northern Arizona into halftime with a 24–17 lead.
Northern Arizona opened the second half with possession and immediately made it count. Chiaokhiao-Bowman powered in for a rushing touchdown, though the point-after attempt failed, extending the lead to 30–17. Quad City answered right back with a 42-yard touchdown on its next offensive snap. Refusing to relinquish momentum, Barker connected with running back Israel Tucker on a short pass that Tucker turned into a 20-yard touchdown. Despite a missed Quad City field goal later in the quarter, a late Wranglers turnover kept the game alive as the third quarter ended with Northern Arizona ahead 37–24.
The fourth quarter delivered championship-level drama. Quad City opened the final period with a touchdown to pull within six. Peterson responded with a 23-yard field goal to maintain a two-possession lead, but the Steamwheelers struck again, scoring a touchdown while missing the point-after to make it 40–37.
Northern Arizona appeared to land the decisive blow with just over a minute remaining when Barker found Tucker for another touchdown, extending the lead to 47–37. Quad City answered immediately, scoring in two plays and converting the two-point attempt to trim the margin to 47–45 inside the final minute. The Wranglers defense held firm, forcing the Steamwheelers to burn their remaining timeouts before Northern Arizona ran out the clock to secure the 2022 IFL National Championship.
Defensive end JaQuan Artis was named IFL National Championship MVP, recording five tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. Barker accounted for four total touchdowns—three passing and one rushing—while Tucker added two receiving touchdowns and 71 total yards.
The title capped one of the most remarkable turnarounds in league history. After winning just one game the previous season, the Wranglers completed a true “worst-to-first” rise, finishing atop the league as national champions—an achievement built on coaching, chemistry, and a tight-knit brotherhood that defined the 2022 season.