OCEANSIDE — When San Diego Strike Force head coach Taylor Genuser thinks back to the franchise’s inaugural 1-13 season in 2019, when he served as the team’s offensive coordinator, what he remembers most isn’t the losses.
It’s the empty seats.
“It’s just amazing thinking about playing in Pechanga Arena in front of about 75 people,” Genuser told The Coast News on Monday, his voice still raspy after the previous night’s celebration.
The contrast couldn’t have been more striking Sunday, when nearly 4,300 fans packed Frontwave Arena to watch the Strike Force earn the first home playoff victory in franchise history, a 54-47 win over the Tucson Sugar Skulls that sent San Diego to the Indoor Football League’s Western Conference Championship.
“It’s just amazing growth from the people that have helped us start it, the people that have been here along the way and the people that are here now,” Genuser said.
“When the whistle blew for the last part of the game, I looked around like, ‘We can do something really special here,’” Strike Force veteran kicker Ernesto Lacayo added. “You can just tell the fans really love what’s going on here, and it’s exciting to see what the future can hold.”
After a 3-13 campaign when the Indoor Football League returned from its two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the Strike Force reached the postseason for the first time in 2024, returned in 2025 and entered this year’s playoffs as the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.
Sunday’s victory also completed a four-game season sweep of the Sugar Skulls, following a 48-42 road win on April 11, a 48-25 victory at Frontwave Arena on April 26 and a 40-36 regular-season finale in Oceanside on July 26.
“I felt like we played a complete game on offense, defense and special teams,” Genuser said. “I think we definitely played complementary football and won all three phases last night.”
Genuser credited his defense with limiting Tucson quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson, the former IFL Most Valuable Player who completed 9 of 20 passes and threw an interception.
“We did a good job of containing their quarterback, who’s just an unbelievable athlete,” Genuser said. “He’s like a Lamar Jackson in our league, where if nothing’s open, he can make every single player in the building miss and go score. He did do that a few times last night, but we contained him very well. I felt like we shut down the run game and didn’t let them get comfortable there.”
Strike Force quarterback Nate Davis, an ageless 39, turned in another vintage performance, throwing five touchdown passes — all to receiver Jalen Sample — without committing a turnover. The veteran finished the regular season with 2,742 passing yards and 55 touchdowns, then picked up where he left off in San Diego’s postseason opener.
“I met Nate in 2015 when I was playing against him. If anyone knows how old he is, it’s me,” Genuser said. “Nate threw a lot of passes that maybe young quarterbacks wouldn’t even attempt. He was very, very surgical when it came to money downs.”
“I’ve always admired Nate’s work,” Lacayo added. “He has a commanding presence on the field and off the field. That’s why he’s lasted so long. I’ve said many times he’s our Dan Marino of arena football, but the difference is we’ve got to make sure he gets a championship.”
Next up, the Strike Force will host the Arizona Rattlers in the Western Conference Championship on Sunday at Frontwave Arena. The Rattlers, the Indoor Football League’s most successful franchise, defeated San Diego in both regular-season meetings this year and return to Oceanside for a rematch of last year’s controversial playoff matchup.
The Strike Force won that game 49-48, and the IFL later acknowledged officials missed a pre-snap penalty on the final play that would have ended the contest.
“It’s one of those games where every single snap is tactical,” Genuser said. “We have to use our challenges correctly. We can’t allow their quarterback to extend plays, we can’t turn the ball over and we can’t miss kicks. It’s going to be one of those games where whoever has the least amount of turnovers is going to win.”
