(Tucson, AZ) The resumption of the in-state rivalry came to Tucson tonight. This is the second game of the rivalry with the Rattlers doubling up Tucson 56-28 in Glendale on March 30th.
Tucson’s strength is their defense, while the Rattlers boasted the highest scoring offense in the IFL at just under 60 points per game.
Arizona was undefeated at 4-0 and the defending Champions. The Sugar Skulls were still trying to find their offensive firepower in order to keep up with the Snakes.
Tucson won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
First Quarter
Arizona ran back the opening kickoff near midfield. On the first play, Rattler quarterback Dalton Sneed threw a 27 yard crossing pattern to Isiah Huston for the touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead before the seats got warm.
Tucson got great field position on their first possession at the Rattler 23 yard line. Arizona’s defense forced a fourth down and their field goal attempt was well short and brought back out by Jamal Miles to the Sugar Skulls 18 yard line.
The Snakes wanted to put a couple of scores on the board early, but the Tucson defense forced a fourth down and held on an incomplete pass to get the ball back.
On the Skulls drive, a completed pass was knocked loose near the goal line and recovered by Arizona.
Early in the game, both defenses were locked in after the initial score by the Rattlers.
Sneed found Huston again on a fly pattern down to the 3 yard line. On the next play, Shannon Brookes took it in to score on a delayed handoff. Arizona led 14-0.
Second Quarter
It was the big play that hurt the Sugar Skulls defense as they were having success otherwise.
Tucson showed their own big play potential as Alphonso Taylor hauled in a 30 yard pass in the back of the end zone that got the Sugar Skulls on the board training 14-7 early in the quarter.
Tucson once again forced a turnover on downs as their defense stopped the high powered Rattler offense.
Reyna went for it all on the first play and Arizona was called for a pass interference penalty to give the Skulls the ball at the 21 yard line in enemy territory.
The Rattlers defense came to life forcing a 25 yard field goal which cut their lead to 14-10 just over five minutes left in the half.
Again, the Sugar Skulls defense forced another fourth down from the Tucson 17 yard line and Sneed’s pass was batted down to give Tucson the ball back with 1:33 left til halftime.
Things didn’t go well as the Rattlers defense forced a 43 yard field goal attempt that was short again with Arizona returning it Sugar Skulls 19 yard line. A quick under route got 16 yards to the 3 yard line. Two plays later Trey Dixon was wide open in the middle of the end zone for the score. Arizona up 21-10 but with still :02 on the clock after the ensuing kickoff, Kevin Macias booted a 45 yard field goal to steal point as the quarter expired.
Halftime
Both defenses played well for the most part, with Tucson giving up two big plays for Rattler touchdowns on long passes.
Arizona’s offense sputtered at times but still took advantage of secondary lapses to lead at halftime.
Third Quarter
With the momentum after the last second field goal to end the first half, Tucson’s got the ball first.
The Rattlers defense forced a 3rd and 22, but a pass interference call gave the Skulls an automatic first down and new life.
Reyna with no one open, scooted up the middle to the Arizona 9 yard line. On a third and goal, Reyna found Tripp Harrington for the score and now just down by one point 21-20.
The Rattlers first chance on offense started off on the ground to the Tucson 17 yard line. Sneed with a lot of time finally found Brooks on a dump off pass to Corey Reed Jr. for a quick score that made the score 28-20 with just under 6 minutes to go in the quarter.
The Rattlers kickoff ricochetted off one of the Sugar Skulls up man and was recovered by Tucson. On a 4th and goal, Reyna’s pass was incomplete and another turnover on downs by the Sugar Skulls.
In the shadow of their own goal line, Sneed worked out of it with a short pass and inside run. With room to operate, Sneed found Huston for a 32 yard touchdown pass up the far sidelines to extend the lead to 35-20 to end the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Tucson with a fourth and ten, Reyna once again found Harrington wide open for a 30 yard touchdown pass to keep the Sugar Skulls in the game 35-27 and still 11:18 to play.
The Rattlers haven’t had a lot of close games with Tucson leading the all time series 11-2 and on an eight game winning streak.
Tucson’s defense forcing a fourth and four saw the Rattlers go for broke but the pass was overthrown in the back of the end zone, giving the ball back to the Sugar Skulls and still plenty of time remaining.
This was the best chance the Skulls had all game, but faced a fourth and four yards to go. Reyna ran for his life and threw a prayer into the end zone which was answered by a pass interference call on Arizona.
On a short crossing pattern from the 3 yard line, Harrington found pay dirt to score. Looking for the tie, Coach Billy Back called a quick sweep that the Rattler defense closed on quickly to deny the two point conversion.
With 3:54 left, the Snakes led 35-33.
The clock on their side, Coach Kevin Guy kept the ball on the ground. Sneed threw a pick in the end zone that Tucson returned to the 10 yard line at the one minute warning and one timeout remaining.
The drive started off well with a 19 yard completion to Taylor, Reyna then used his legs to get the ball down to thge 12 yard line. All Tucson needed was a field goal with 17 seconds left.
On second down from the 11 yard line, Reyna took a shot into the end zone which was incomplete.
With 4 seconds left, Kevin Macias booted a 26 yard field goal to go ahead 36-35 but one second still remained.
The only hope for the Rattlers, was to attempt a Cal Bear multi lateral kick return. After a series of laterals, one was tipped in the air by Tucson’s Huff who then fumbled and was grabbed by Jamyist Williams to score a touchdown that put the frosting on the cake for a birthday gift for Sugar Skulls Coach Billy Back.
Final Score Tucson 42-35 over Arizona, breaking the losing streak to the team up north. The attendance was 2,050.
Wrap Up
The Rattlers outgained Tucson in total offense 210-186 yds and 5.7 to 3.8 average yards per play. One thing that stood out was not converting fourth downs going 0-4.
Tucson had 15 receptions with Harrington hauling in eight receptions. On the other side of the ball the duo of Nyles Gaddy and Jacques Jackson each recorded 5 tackles and often times came at a crucial point in the game.
The Sugar Skulls keep hanging around, not letting the game get out of reach until they capitalized on their opportunities to come away with an improbable but exciting win that can turn things around for the season.
Up Next
Arizona will return home to Desert Diamond Arena on May 10th hosting the Bay Area Panthers.
The Sugar Skulls stay home to take on the Massachusetts Pirates Saturday in the Boneyard.
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