Sioux City Bandits



Years of Existence: 2013-
Venue: Tyson Event Center (Sioux City, IA)
Accomplishments
2013 – Playoff appearance
2014 - Championship game appearance
2015 - CIF Champions
2016 - Playoff appearance
2017 - Semifinal appearance
2018 - Championship game appearance
2019 -
2021 - Playoff appearance
2022 - Semifinal appearance
2023 - Playoff appearance
Lifetime Record: 86-43
Home: 52-14
Away: 34-29
Playoffs: 6-8
Average Attendance: 3,259

The Sioux City Bandits joined the CPIFL after leaving the defunct APFL. Two losses to Omaha were the only blemishes on the regular season. Scott Jensen quarterbacked the Bandits, passing for 1,282 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine picks. Damon Mothershead and Eddie Pertilla both caught eight scores. Johnny Bentley was a top running back for the league, amassing 767 yards and scoring eleven times. Only seven extra points were missed during the entire season. In their second meeting in the playoffs, Salina defeated the Bandits 29-26. In a game that featured nine made field goals, Sioux City missed a potential tying kick as time expired. Scott Jensen returned to quarterback the team in 2014, throwing for 1,904 yards, 42 touchdowns and ten interceptions. Eddie Pertilla caught 19 scores and Frederick Bruno brought in ten of his own. John Bentley accounted for 31 rushing touchdowns. The Bandits defense was very impressive, picking off 25 passes and sacking opposing quarterbacks 36 times. The Bandits put together a 9-3 regular season, with the three losses coming by a combined 21 points. The team qualified for the playoffs and hosted Salina, drubbing the Bombers 66-37. Then it was a second meeting in three weeks with Wichita, this time for the Champions Bowl. The meeting in the final week of the regular season was a five point victory for the Wild, and so would the title game be. Wichita took a 30-7 lead in the second quarter, but Sioux City did fight back, falling short in a 46-41 decision. The Bandits returned in 2015 and again posted a great regular season record at 9-3 and qualified for the playoffs. Charles Dowdell took over quarterbacking duties in 2015, passing for 2,128 yards, 45 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Frederick Bruno led receivers with 19 touchdowns, while Damon Mothershead brought in ten along with 647 yards. Rahn Franklin picked eleven passes off, taking one to the house. On the ground, John Bentley and Drew Prohaska combined for 38 touchdowns and 994 yards. After getting off to a rough 2-3 start, including losses at Wichita and Omaha, the Bandits put together seven consecutive wins to steal the top seed in the playoffs that looked early like Dodge City would secure. Sioux City put up over 50 points in all of the wins. In the semifinals, the Bandits romped Amarillo, taking a 59-21 halftime lead and running away with an 83-52 victory and berth into the Champions Bowl. The Texas Revolution and Sioux City played to a 35-35 halftime, but the Bandits took over for a 76-61 title victory. The defending champions returned ready to defend their title in 2016, getting out to a 7-2 start to the regular season. Chuck Wright and Anthony Graham split time at quarterback, neither hitting the 1,000 passing mark. Sioux City was much more dangerous on the ground, with Drew Prohaska and John Bentley combining for 898 yards and 37 scores. The Bandits were also a strong defensive squad, allowing just 38 points per game, 39% on third down conversions, and sacking opposing quarterbacks 23 times. After a five-game winning streak, the season ended with four losses in a row to Wichita and Bloomington, including a 65-45 playoff defeat at Bloomington. Taylor Genuser quarterbacked the 2017 Bandits, throwing for 1,716 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 picks. The team was mostly a running oriented offense, as Dom Carson, Frederick Bruno, and Jeffrey Mack combined for 57 scores and over 1,500 yards. The team cruised to a 9-3 regular season, with three surprise losses to Kansas City, Bismarck, and West Michigan. After an 82-43 first round playoff win against the Bucks, the team fell to Omaha 55-45. Omaha scored twice in the final eleven seconds, including a pick six on the final play of the game. The Bandits would continue their successes in 2018, going all the way to the title game again. Liam Nadler was the quarterback this time around, throwing for shy of 2,000 yards, but 42 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. Darrian Miller was the league's leading rusher, amassing 855 yards and scoring 35 times, twice more than opponents scored on the ground against the Bandits all season long. After a 4-0 start to the year, Sioux City dropped three in a row. After that, the Bandits won every remaining game and won by three or more scores in four of their last five. Duke City would ultimately defeat Sioux City in the Champions Bowl, 31-27. Despite a winning record, the team missed the playoffs in 2019. In 2021, Dillon Turner returned to quarterback the team for five games, while Daniel Smith split the other half of the year with him. They combined for 1,241 yards, 16 scores and 11 picks. Turner also ran for seven touchdowns. Jeff Mack ran for 184 yards and 13 trips to the end zone. After beating Omaha twice out of three meetings in the regular season, they met again in the playoffs. The Beef would win this one off of a missed extra point by the Bandits with 21 seconds left in regulation, 40-39. The Bandits returned in 2022 with Lorenzo Brown at quarterback. Brown passed for 1,179 yards, 26 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Brandon Sheperd led all receivers with 334 yards and nine touchdowns, while Drew Prohaska ran for seven scores and 287 yards. Brown ran for ten touchdowns, as well. The Bandits went 9-1 in the regular season, with the only loss coming against Salina. After a first round bye and earning the top seed in the playoffs, however, Sioux City had a very quick exit in a 49-45 loss to Omaha. A one yard Andrew Jackson touchdown run with eleven seconds left ousted the Bandits from the postseason. The Bandits returned in 2023, quarterbacked by Tasleem Wilson. Wilson threw for 1,194 yards, 34 scores and 14 interceptions. Frederick Bruno caught twelve touchdowns, while Brandon Shepherd returned to the roster and caught ten. Drew Prohaska led all rushers with 332 yards and nine scores. The team got out to a 5-1 start but dropped their final four to fall back in the standings and a fifth seed in the playoffs. Sioux City traveled to Billings and would fall 39-31 in the opening round.