(Phoenix, AZ) The Snakes began their 2022 season against the Duke City Gladiators. Duke City has never beaten the Rattlers in three tries, including a playoff game last year.
Both teams came in with prolific offenses and this game initially looked like 100 points combined was not going to be a probelm.
Dante Jackson scored from from a yard out as the Gladiators took the opening kickoff to open up the scoring. The point after was blocked.
Duke City tried a hard onside kick by it was fielded cleanly by the Snakes Devontae Merriweather who scored as he trotted twelve yards into the end zone. Arizona 7 Duke City 6.
These teams didn’t let you catch your breath as Duke City scored again on the first play from scrimmage after the Snakes TD to go back up 14-7 after a two point conversion.
Arizona’s Brandon Ezell picked off a Nate Davis pass and took it to the house to pull them even at 14-14 with 4:02 left in the opining quarter.
Duke City with their up and down offense scored on a pass play from Davis to wideout Greg Dent to regain the lead 21-14 and that’s how the quarter ended.
Arizona didn’t have a single yard passing from 2021 MVP Drew Powell in the first quarter and the Gladiators racked up 119 total yards in the quarter.
The Snakes scored again about a minute and a half into the second quarter but missed the point after. 21-20 Duke City.
Quarterback Powell took the team down in a hurry and threw a swing pass to running back Malik Williams but the extra point missed again. Arizona led 26-21.
Other than Arizona’s interception, both offenses have moved the ball with ease.
Wideout Davis caught a short pass and stretched out as his knee hit and was ruled just short. From the half yard line, Duke City scored on the next play to once again lead 28-26 with a couple of minutes left till halftime.
With the help of two penalties, Arizona found themselves with a first down just outside the ten yard line, but Powell threw an interception to the front corner of the end zone to Charles Reid of the Gladiators.
Duke City couldn’t gain a first down and on fourth down their pass fell incomplete as Davis got rocked by the Snakes linebacker Treyvon Williams.
Arizona kicked a 23 yard field goal on the last play of the half to hit the locker room up by a point 29-28.
Rattlers won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Powell used his legs along with two key runs by Williams to score first in the third quarter and led 36-28.
With a defensive penalty against Duke City it was marked off after the kickoff and they began the drive at their own two yard line.
Another big Gladiator penalty kept pushing them back but a dump off pass got Duke City to the Rattlers eleven yard line.
The Gladiators scored from the seventeen but a opposite field offensive pass interference nullified the score for the moment.
With the ball at the Arizona two the sweep to the right was sniffed out by the Snake’s defense. On fourth down Davis threw an incomplete pass and Arizona took over on downs.
At that point of the game, that defensive stop was huge to end the third quarter.
Powell being Powell took the Snakes down the field with his legs to set up the offense with a first and goal.
After a string of three penalties, Powell found Todd Athey in the end zone from eight yards out. With 8:46 left in the game, the Snakes led 43-28.
Feeling the sense of urgency down fifteen points, Duke City in hurry up mode had it first and ten from the fourteen yard line, Three plays later they were still on the fourteen now facing a fourth and ten.
Snakes held strong as the Gladiators pass fell incomplete and Arizona took the ball back on downs again with 3: 20 left.
All Arizona had to do was keep control of the rock and the game would have been a wrap, but not Powell. He hit Athey in the back corner of the end one to put the icing on the cake and the Rattlers
The biggest takeaway was the stellar defense that Arizona displayed in the second half. Rarely doesn’t a team shut out an opponent in an IFL game.
What was thought to be an up and down track meet between these two high scoring offenses was just that in the first half but a totally different story in the final thirty minutes.
So, the Rattlers get off on the right foot to start the 2022 season in their quest to get back to the United Bowl and win the championship that eluded them last year.
Final Score: Arizona 50 Duke City 28. Tonight’s attendance was 7,582.
William’s, who left the game with a leg injury in the third quarter and didn’t return will be evaluated to determine the extent and how much time he will miss.
Arizona’s next game is March 28th when they travel across the Colorado River to San Diego to face the Strike Force on a rare Monday night game.
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