It’s becoming a familiar—and frustrating—pattern for the Fishers Freight: a competitive first half, followed by a second-half unraveling. That trend continued Saturday night at the Fishers Event Center, where the Freight suffered a 40-23 loss to the Massachusetts Pirates.

“We have to make plays,” Head Coach Dixie Wooten told reporter Eva Hallman after the game. “Tonight, we didn’t.”

Things started well for the home team. Quarterback Carlos Davis got the Freight on the board with a 4-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Kicker Calum Sutherland followed with a deuce—a two-point score under Indoor Football League rules awarded when a kickoff sails through the uprights—putting Fishers ahead 9-0.

However, momentum shifted after a fumble by Shane Simpson late in the first quarter gave Massachusetts a short field. The Pirates capitalized quickly with a touchdown.

A 20-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter gave the Pirates a 14-9 lead, but Fishers answered with a 21-yard strike from Davis to Simpson, reclaiming a slim 15-14 halftime advantage.

Then came another second-half collapse.

The Freight turned the ball over on downs early in the third quarter, setting up a Massachusetts touchdown that put the visitors ahead 21-15. Another turnover on downs led to another Pirates score, stretching the lead to 28-15. A Pirates deuce at the end of the third quarter extended their advantage to 30-15.

Fishers never recovered. Though they managed a late touchdown, the outcome was never in doubt.

With the loss, the Freight fall to 2-8, having dropped eight straight games after starting the season with two wins. The Pirates improved to 4-5.

Fishers now turns its attention to a road trip to Quad City, hoping to break their losing streak in what has become a trying inaugural season for the IFL’s only expansion team in 2025.