The Green Bay Blizzard (11-3) are on the road this Saturday, July 13th, in Jacksonville, FL, where they will match up against the Jacksonville Sharks (4-10). Kickoff at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is slated for 6:05 PM CST. 

Green Bay makes their inaugural trip down to Jacksonville, fresh off a bye week. Their most recent action was on June 29th, when they traveled to Tulsa, OK to face the Oilers. Green Bay started the game hot, capitalizing on a Ravarius Rivers interception and scoring 23 unanswered points. The Blizzard maintained their 23-point lead through the half and added to it in the third, expanding to a 29-point lead. Green Bay's defense was stout, only allowing the Oilers to score three times, holding them to 20 points, giving the Blizzard the win 54-20. 

Jacksonville hosts this matchup after a win over the Iowa Barnstormers on July 6th. The Sharks started the game fast, scoring twice and adding a deuce in the first six minutes of the game to take a very early 16-point lead. After the hot start, Iowa and Jacksonville scored back and forth the rest of the way, with the Sharks holding their lead and adding two more deuces, cruising to a 69-43 win. 

This is the second time this season that these two teams have met. On June 14th, Jacksonville traveled north to Green Bay for the first time in franchise history and left with a loss. The game was highlighted by six total Max Meylor touchdowns and the Blizzard defense only allowing 35 points as Green Bay coasted to a 63-35 victory. 

If Jacksonville wants to stand their ground at home, they will need to keep Max Meylor out of the endzone. During IFL Week 15, Quad City kept Meylor from scoring through the air and on the ground, and the Steamwheelers walked away with a 10-point victory. The Sharks will also have to slow down running back EJ Burgess Jr. Against Tulsa, Burgess had three rushing touchdowns in the first half, which earned him Green Bay Blizzard Player of the Game honors. Perhaps most importantly, Jacksonville must limit their mistakes against Green Bay. The Blizzard defense is fourth in the league in interceptions, while the Sharks have thrown the fifth-most interceptions in the IFL this season. 

If Green Bay wants to make the trip home as victors and stay in the hunt for the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, they will first need to stop Jacksonville's quarterback, Kaleb Barker. Barker took over the starting role two weeks ago and led the Sharks to back-to-back victories, throwing nine touchdowns and no interceptions. The Blizzard will also have to corral proven kick return threat DJ Stubbs. Stubbs has over 400 kick return yards and a touchdown on 25 returns this season. Stubbs' kick return touchdown came back in Week 7 against Arizona, when he had five returns for over 100 yards and a touchdown, which earned him IFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors.  

With the Blizzard on the road this week, you can catch all the action at D2 Sports Pub Stadium District (788 Armed Forces Dr. Green Bay, WI 54304) at the official Green Bay Blizzard Watch Party! The game kicks off at 6:05 PM CST. You can also stream the game live from the IFL YouTube Channel!

Written By: Seth Kluck