GREAT 8! Rattlers ice Blizzard 62-51 to win IFL title
MVP Meylor accounts for 5 TDs in securing franchise's 8th overall championship
Arizona Rattlers Head Coach lifts the IFL Championship Trophy on Sunday in Tucson after a 62-51 win over the Green Bay Blizzard. The title was the Rattlers' 8th overall and Guy's 6th as the Arizona Head Coach. (Photo courtesy Josiah Lopez Photography/Indoor Football League)
Arizona RB Kymani Clarke (5) dives over the goal line for a touchdown in the Rattlers' 62-51 championship win on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Josiah Lopez Photography/Indoor Football League)
Green Bay's Demilon Brown races past Arizona's Don Willis on Sunday in Tucson. (Photo courtesy Josiah Lopez Photography/Indoor Football League)
Rattlers running back Ron Brown Jr. (30) is pursued by a host of Blizzard defenders during the IFL National Championship game on Sunday in Tucson. (Photo courtesy Josiah Lopez Photography/Indoor Football League)
Arizona QB Max Meylor celebrates after one of his five TDs in an MVP performance on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Josiah Lopez Photography/Indoor Football League)
TUCSON — A season ago, Arizona Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy stewed in his office until 3 a.m. wondering how an official's incorrect call could cost his team its season. Quarterback Max Meylor lamented how he fell just inches shy of winning an Indoor Football League championship on a scramble halted at the goal line.
What a difference a year makes.
The duo is now standing on the indoor football mountaintop — MVP Meylor accounted for five total touchdowns while his defense stepped up late as the Rattlers melted the Blizzard 62-51 on Sunday in the IFL National Championship Game at Tucson Arena.
“With that debacle we had to end last year, I said there would be consequences,” Guy explained after accepting his sixth title trophy as Rattlers head coach and the franchise's eighth overall. “They poked the bear ... and you don't poke the Arizona Rattlers. We had adversity this year but we kept learning how to overcome it. The players, coaches and staff all deserve a ton of credit. They took it to another level in the postseason.”
Meylor was beaming after winning his first title after coming so close in 2025.
“I feel for Green Bay — I spent three good years there,” the quarterback explained as gold confetti rained down from the ceiling. “But this is a new chapter. And it feels amazing to be a champion.”
After a dead-even first half, Rattlers kicker Matthew Cook nailed a deuce to start the third quarter. The Rattlers had their first lead of the game at 25-23.
“I knew I had to match (Green Bay kicker Andrew) Mevis and I’m happy with my performance,” Cook said. “Coach Guy has confidence in me and I appreciate that.”
The lead was short-lived as Blizzard QB Liam Thompson found WR Trevon Alexander wide open over the middle for a 15-yard TD strike, Mevis hit the PAT and added a deuce and the Blizzard took a 32-25 lead.
The back and forth continued with a huge touchdown catch by Rattlers rookie Jayden Horace. Much like he did against Vegas earlier in the playoffs, Horace came up big when his team needed him most. Meylor floated a pass to the left side that Horace snagged with one hand for a 9-yard score. The game was again tied 32-32 with seven minutes left in the third.
ONE-HANDED SNAG by Rattlers rookie WR Jayden Horace for a 9-yard TD.
The Arizona defense knew it was time to stand up and they did just that, forcing a turnover on downs, their first of the game, on the ensuing drive as the partisan crowd of 4,900 got into a lather.
“I’m always trying to get in the end zone,” explained Clarke, who similarly to Meylor came to Arizona from Green Bay in free agency. “We couldn’t quite get it done last season but this time we finished it the right way. I manifested this since last year.”
The dual-threat Thompson then showed off his speed again, going untouched on a 30-yard TD scranble to tie the game at 39-39.
“He’s an incredible player,” Guy said of Thompson. “There’s a reason he won league MVP this year.”
Putting his team on his back, last year’s league MVP Meylor responded with his own 11-yard touchdown scramble and the Rattlers again led 46-39 with 11:05 to go.
Then things got even crazier — Thompson found Demilon Brown with a 19-yard TD pass but the PAT snap sailed wildly past the holder. Several fumbles followed before Arizona lineman Josh Ellison scooped up the loose ball and rumbled into the opposite end zone for 2 points. The West #3 seed Rattlers led 48-45 with 9 minutes left in the game.
“That play made it seem like the tide was turning in our favor,” said Meylor, who then went into true beast mode.
First, he found WR Arland Bruce IV on a nifty 6-yard TD pass at the 4:36 mark. Green Bay scored to get back within four but after an unsuccessful onside kick attempt by the Blizzard, Meylor capped off a “tour de force” effort with a 2-yard TD plunge, his fifth score of the game.
GB scores but @MaxMeylor won’t be denied - his 2-yard TD plunge has Arizona celebrating.
Trailing 62-51, Green Bay (15-4) was out of time and out of answers and fittingly, the Rattlers defense put the icing on the cake. Thompson got loose again and appeared to be headed for the end zone but the Arizona defense converged, with Devontae Merriweather — brought back by the Rattlers at midseason — knocking the ball free inside the 5. Linebacker Don Willis pounced on the loose football, Thompson laid face down on the turf and the party was on for the 8-time champs.
Earlier, the game started on the wrong foot for Arizona as Mevis hit a deuce on the opening kickoff. The Blizzard led 2-0 before any time had ticked off the clock. With horns blaring in the crowd, the trouble continued as Meylor was sacked on third down. A long pass intended for Bruce IV was incomplete on fourth down and Arizona turned the ball over at their own 5.
Demilon Brown fumbled the option pitch on first down but was fortunate to recover his own fumble. Green Bay then found some early-game fortune as a pass from Thompson was tipped but somehow found WR Isaac Ross’ fingers before it hit the turf.
Game officials upheld the touchdown ruling after a short review. The PAT by Mevis gave Green Bay a quick 9-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
Desperately in need of a score, Meylor converted a crucial fourth down with a 5-yard scramble then RB Ron Brown Jr. paid it off with a 2-yard TD run to the left side. Cook added the extra point and Arizona trailed 9-7 after the first quarter.
Rattlers on the board with a 2-yard Ron Brown Jr. TD run. Matthew Cook PAT.
“Pretty amazing feeling to score in this game,” Brown Jr. admitted.
Green Bay then extended the lead to start the second stanza. Thompson faked a handoff and fired a bullet to Alexander who made a terrific catch with a defender draped all over him. Mevis added the PAT to put the Blizzard up 16-7 with 13 minutes left until halftime.
Still trailing by 9, it took some “Meylor Magic” to get the deficit back to 2. Facing a 4th-and-goal at the 2, the Rattlers gunslinger scrambled to his right. Sensing he could not score, Meylor flipped the ball to an open Bruce IV for a touchdown as the crowd roared its approval.
MEYLOR MAGIC: Rattlers QB @MaxMeylor finds @abruceiv at the very last instant for a 2-yard TD connection. Cook PAT good.
Cook hit the PAT then added a deuce to tie the game at 16-16 with 7:20 left in the second quarter.
The Rattlers defense, which has excelled during the past couple months playing talented rookies like Yahsyn McKee Sr. and Carl Decius, needed a stop. They were aided by a holding penalty but the speedy Thompson wiped that out quickly by eluding a sack and racing 15 yards up the middle. At the one-minute warning, Demilon Brown found a crease and scored from 7 yards out. Mevis’ PAT gave the Blizzard a 23-16 lead.
Meylor then came up clutch in the 1-minute offense, calmly guiding his team down the field. With 12 seconds left, the East top-seed Blizzard were called for defensive holding on third down. A play later, Clarke bulled his way around the right side for the TD. Cook’s kick made it 23-23 at the :04 mark.
Cook then pooched the ensuing kickoff, intending to run out the clock, but his kick sailed into the crowd as Guy appeared visibly frustrated across the field. The miscue allowed Mevis to try a 48-yard field goal, but his try hit the low speakers on the ceiling of the arena with one second left. By rule, the clock stopped at that point and Cook tried a 45-yarder of his own but it sailed wide left, setting the stage for a high-octane second half.
Meylor finished 12-for-18 passing for 103 yards, 3 TDs on no picks. His legs made a huge difference as he scrambled for another 90 yards on 18 attempts with two rushing scores. Clarke checked in with a pair of rushing TDs while Brown Jr. added another. Bruce IV caught just 3 balls but two of those went for touchdowns. Horace logged his second receiving TD of the postseason.
Thompson threw for four scores and ran for another. Alexander caught two TDs for the Blizzard.
After falling down 9-0 to start the game, the Rattlers finished on a 62-42 scoring run. Arizona completed another storybook season on a seven-game win streak.
“This team reminds me of 2017 when we had 17 rookies on the team but it also reminds me of 2024 when we got red hot the second half of the season,” Guy said. “We just got rolling and we were hard to stop. I’m just really happy for the players and coaches. They earned it.”
Matt Loeschman has had two separate stints at Independent Newsmedia. He began as a reporter covering Peoria and later Surprise from 2000-2009. In 2017, he returned to Arizona and INI as the news editor of the Daily News-Sun (now the Phoenix Independent). He previously covered the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League for more than a decade.
Community: During high school football season since 2017, he contributes live postgame radio reports to the AzPreps 365 Friday Night Football Wrapup Show. He supports organizations such as Phoenix Children’s, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley and the American Cancer Society.
Education: The University of Texas at Austin majoring in Journalism-News and Public Affairs.
Random Fact: He can sing and he has been fortunate to meet many famous people during his journalism career including First Lady Hillary Clinton, King of Country Music George Strait and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey. Attended all 4 home games of the 2001 World Series.
Hobbies: Watching and playing a wide variety of sports, including golf, tennis, pickleball and softball. Playing PlayStation 5, working out, shopping and reading.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here