(Tucson, AZ) The rematch of the in-state rivalry between the Sugar Skulls and the Northern Arizona Wranglers from Prescott Valley was held in the Boneyard.
Tucson (3-7) had won two of the last three games after a slow start to the season. With new quarterback Cory Murphy, they look to finish strong going into the IFL Playoffs.
The Wranglers only win this season so far has been a Week 6 48-44 victory over the Skulls.
Northern Arizona took the opening kickoff down to the Skulls fifteen yard line but turned it over on downs after a fourth down pass was short of the marker.
On the Sugar Skulls first play, quarterback Cory Murphy nearly took it to the house on a keeper around the left end and was tacked at the Wranglers five yard line. Two plays later, Mike Jones went off tackle into the end zone for the first score of the game. Skulls 7-0 midway through the opening quarter.
Northern Arizona’s drive was aided by a key third down conversion and a face mask penalty that put the ball on the seven yard line, at the end of the first quarter.
Disaster struck for the Wranglers when Skulls cornerback Delondo Boyd jumped the route at the goal line and took it the length of the field to the house for Tucson’s second touchdown to make it 13-0 Sugar Skulls. The point after attempt was no good when the snap was fumbled.
Wranglers took the ball to the Tucson one yard line by way of another clutch third down conversion. Skylor Clinton took it in for the touchdown on the next play to cut the lead to 13-7 with 9:36 left in the half.
Tucson avenged Northern Arizona’s TD with Murphy connecting to JuJu Augustine from ten yards out. Skulls up 20-7, with just under seven minutes left in the second quarter.
Tucson forced a fourth down field goal to keep the Wranglers out of the end zone and cut the lead in half 20-10 at the 1:23 mark in the first half.
The Skulls fell asleep and allowed the Northern Arizona to score from the Tucson fifteen. The Wranglers sent everyone deep and dropped a short pass over the middle with the entire secondary way out of position.
Mental errors like that let the Wranglers right back in the contest and the teams went into the half, Skulls clinging to a slim 20-17 lead.
The halftime stats were misleading with the Wranglers leading in total yards 152-80 and tine of possession 22:59 to 7:01 yet down by three.
Tucson came out of the locker room and drove the ball down the field, but an ill timed penalty ultimately gave the ball back to the Wranglers on downs.
Northern Arizona wasted no time and rammed it down the Skulls throats quickly scoring and taking the lead 24-20 at the midway point of the third quarter.
Tucson added a thirty three yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-23 as the muffed extra point in the first quarter kept the Skulls from tying the score.
Another costly penalty at the end of the third quarter saw the Skull’s secondary flagged for pass interception putting the ball at the two yard line. Two plays later Northern Arizona scored on a short two yard dump pass to Todd Athey to extend their lead to 31-23 with 13:35 to go in the game.
Tucson continued to shoot themselves in the foot as Lions kickoff return was nullified by another penalty and then Murphy was sacked at the half yard line on a play that the Wranglers coaching staff challenged wanting the safety called, but after review the play stranded as called.
The Skulls overcame the penalty and a near safety to march down the field and score on a two yard Mike Jones run. He doubled it up scoring on the two point conversion to knot the score at 31-31 with 6:02 left in the game.
The ensuing kickoff saw the Wranglers muff it in the back of the end zone and IFL rules dictate the ball must be brought out. Tucson’s kick coverage was stellar as they upended the returner at the three yard line.
Northern Arizona overcame the poor field position and took the ball to the Skull’s nine yard line at the one minute warning.
After three consecutive stops by the Sugar Skulls defense which included Byron Evans Jr shooting the gap to tackle the running back for a loss, the Wranglers settled for a sixteen yard field goal to take the lead 34-31 with 31 seconds left.
Tucson ran the kickoff back to the Wrangler’s nineteen yard line with a chance to score to tie or win the game.
After an illegal defense penalty, the ball was placed at the twelve yard line and the next play saw a pass interference penalty in the end zone.
With eight seconds left and a second and goal Murphy’s pass fell at the feet of Jones. A Kelvin Goessling’s chip shot tied the game 34-34 as time expired.
The overtime rules in the IFL are the same as the NCAA.
Tucson scored quickly with a pass from Murphy to Jazeric Peterson on a crossing route, but the extra point was missed. Another key mistake by the Skull’s special teams, 40-34.
Northern Arizona on their first shot in overtime scored on a third down on a catch to the back of the end zone by Terrance Bynum.
All the Wranglers needed was the extra point and they would walk away with the win.
The Sugar Skulls came up with a huge blocking of the extra point to maintain the tie and force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, the Wranglers got the ball first. Tucson’s defense stood tough on three consecutive downs.
On fourth down, Wrangler’s kicker Brandon Fischer missed a short field goal attempt, and Tucson had the ball with a chance to win.
The Skulls couldn’t move the ball and were also forced to try a field goal from the twenty two yard line which was also blocked.
Back and forth we went as the Wranglers had their second field goal blocked and the third consecutive blocked field goal by both teams.
Skulls back on offense as Murphy went for broke and hit Peterson in stride on a fly pattern to score. Since it was the third overtime, Tucson had to attempt a two point conversion. Peterson paid dividends again with a catch to convert the two points. Skulls 48-40.
Northern Arizona now with their back to the wall had to score a touchdown and convert the two point conversion to tie the game.
Tucson committed a double penalty with an illegal defense and pass interference. The ball was placed at the five yard. Two plays later from the half yard line the Wranglers scored on a dive.
On the conversion, the snap was low and Walters had to fall on it to end the game.
Final Score with 3 OT Tucson 48-46. Attendance was 2,361.
The Skulls have won three of the last four games to up their record to 4-7 on the season.
Coach Dixie Wooten said, “if the team can win the remaining games they will clinch a playoff spot. If they win three of four games they have a ninety percent chance of getting in the post season.”
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