Freight look to rebound Saturday night at Orlando

The Fishers Freight will try to get back on track Saturday night when they travel to Orlando for their first meeting of the season with the Orlando Pirates.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Eastern at Kia Center, with the game scheduled to stream on Yahoo Sports.

Fishers enters the matchup 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Eastern Conference after last weekend’s 57-52 loss to the Green Bay Blizzard at the Fishers Event Center. The loss dropped the Freight behind Green Bay in the East, but Fishers remains near the top of the conference standings. Orlando comes in at 3-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

Both teams have recently felt the strength of Green Bay. The Pirates lost a 71-68 shootout at Green Bay, while the Freight fell by five points at home one week later. Orlando’s offense has shown it can score in bunches, led by quarterback Paxton DeLaurent, listed by the IFL among the league leaders in completion percentage at 72.8 percent.

The Pirates also feature one of the league’s most dangerous return men in Pooka Williams, who was named IFL Special Teams Player of the Week after a big performance against Green Bay. Williams scored three times and totaled 169 all-purpose yards in that game.

For Fishers, the question will be how the Freight respond after a game they nearly pulled out against Green Bay. Quarterback Felix Harper connected with CJ Windham for a late touchdown last week, but Green Bay recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the win. Running back Josiah King returned from injury and rushed for 90 yards before leaving the game early.

Saturday’s game is another important Eastern Conference test for the Freight, who return home May 16 to face the Jacksonville Sharks at the Fishers Event Center.