Season ends with 69-68 OT playoff loss to Storm

By Matt Loeschman

PHOENIX — It’s hard to beat a good team three times in one season. The Arizona Rattlers learned that lesson the hard way on Saturday night.

Plagued by numerous defensive breakdowns and nightmarish kicking woes, the Rattlers fell 69-68 in overtime to the Sioux Falls Storm in the Intense Conference championship game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Rattlers’ kicker Sawyer Petre missed a potential game-winning 24-yard field goal, missed an earlier extra point then had another PAT blocked in overtime in possibly his last performance in an Arizona uniform.

“The kicking game killed us tonight,” Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy admitted. “Sawyer has been pretty close to automatic from that distance this year but it’s something we will have to evaluate. Tonight was not his night. It’s a shame because our guys competed their butts off for more than 60 minutes.”

The difficult defeat concluded Arizona’s season at 11-4 with the team’s four losses coming by a combined total of 15 points. Sioux Falls (12-3), who had lost to Arizona twice previously this season, moves on to face Iowa (12-3) in the United Bowl in Des Moines on July 7. The Storm will be looking for their seventh title in the past eight years, their streak only interrupted when the Rattlers won the Indoor Football League title in 2017 at Sioux Falls.

In a thrilling, seesaw game, the Rattlers appeared to be in the driver’s seat with a minute left, possession of the ball at the Storm 10 and the score tied 62-62.

But instead of going for the touchdown, Guy gambled and opted to make the Storm burn all their timeouts as the Rattlers set up for the short field goal. With a raucous crowd ready to roar, Petre faded the kick wide right with 4 seconds left as the Snake Pit fell silent. Guy had lost the gamble and about 10 minutes later, the game.

“I thought we played the clock correctly down there at the end. I would do it the same again if I had the chance,” Guy explained. “I’m not going to second-guess it. At the end of the day, the players have to execute on the field — we were inside the 10 so that’s basically like an extra point.”

Buoyed by new life, the Storm clearly had stolen the momentum as overtime began. The Rattlers momentarily took it back as QB Verlon Reed fired a fourth-down touchdown to receiver Dezmon Epps but Petre’s extra point was easily blocked by the Storm’s Dezmin Reed, who bull-rushed up the middle.

Leading 68-62, the Rattlers’ defense could not seal the deal. Storm QB Lorenzo Brown tossed a looping ball that was corralled by Damien Ford for a 20-yard touchdown. Storm kicker Miles Bergner put the final nail in the coffin, calmly making the PAT to win the game 69-68. Storm players ran around the field in celebration while many Rattlers hit the turf in frustration.

“Give the Storm credit,” Guy said. “They were mentally tougher than we were at the end.”

The partisan crowd was stunned and it was eerily similar to the May 20 home game won by Iowa — also in overtime by the exact same 69-68 score.

“We just weren’t mentally tough enough to finish the game off,” the Rattlers’ head coach said. “We scored 68 points but we weren’t good enough on defense or in our kicking game.”

Defense was optional for both teams to start the game. With Reed starting at quarterback for Arizona instead of the concussed Jeff Ziemba, the Rattlers briskly moved down the gridiron and cashed in with a 3-yard Jamal Miles rushing score on an end-around. Petre made the extra point to make it 7-0 about six minutes into the game.

Brown responded with a 5-yard touchdown on a scramble and Bergner kicked the PAT to tie the game.

Back and forth football continued with Reed calmly hanging in the pocket and finding a wide open Epps on the Rattlers’ next possession. The 41-yard strike gave Arizona a 14-7 advantage following Petre’s successful kick with 5:02 left in the first quarter.

League leading rusher Darrell Monroe was hurt on the series as an option play went awry. A Sioux Falls defender chopped at Monroe’s lower leg area and after getting up, Monroe hopped off the field under his own power but never returned. He was seen on crutches about an hour after the game.

The Arizona lead was short lived as Brown hooked up with Lyle McCombs on a 31-yard touchdown pass moments later. Bergner was good on the kick to tie the semifinal at 14-14 with 3:33 left in the first.

Reed threw his second TD pass of the first stanza — this time to Anthony Amos from 21 yards out. As a harbinger of things to come, Petre pushed the extra point wide right and the Rattlers led 20-14 near the end of the first quarter.

Arizona's Anthony Amos (5) hauls in a 21-yard touchdown on Saturday night. [Matt Hinshaw/Arizona Rattlers][/caption]Before the quarter ended, Sioux Falls tacked on another score as Brown connected with Damond Powell on a 33-yard touchdown play. The Rattlers' third-ranked defense looked lost as Brown dropped in a perfect spiral to his receiver. Bergner stayed perfect and the Storm took a 21-20 lead into the second quarter.

Reed continued to look spectacular in his second start of the season (he started the season opener but was hurt on the first series). He found Amos on a crossing pattern from 8 yards out for a touchdown and Petre’s PAT gave Arizona the lead back at 27-21.

Just after the celebratory music had turned off, Powell silenced the announced crowd of 16,479 with a 49-yard kickoff return for another Sioux Falls score. Bergner added the kick and Sioux Falls grabbed a 28-27 lead.

Miles capped the next series with a 5-yard end around TD but Powell caught another strike from Brown for Powell’s third TD of the first half. Sioux Falls led 35-34 with 6:19 left before halftime.

The Rattlers’ offense then faced its first fourth down of the night. Reed stayed poised in the pocket and found Miles for a nifty 11-yard touchdown pass and Arizona led 41-35.

Seeking the game’s first stop, the Rattlers’ defense responded. After solid kick coverage forced the Storm to start inside their own 5, Brown tossed a pass over the middle that was snagged by Arizona’s Nathan Lindsey who returned it 14 yards the other way for a “Pick 6.” Guy sprinted down the field — reminiscent of a similar play with Kerry Reed in a past Arena Bowl at Cleveland — as Lindsey made his way to the end zone.

With the crowd at a fever pitch, Petre made the PAT to put Arizona up 48-35 at the one-minute warning.

Sioux Falls tacked on a 41-yard Bergner field goal at the gun as the Rattlers held a 48-38 halftime lead.

After the break, Brown knifed into the end zone from a yard out for his 26th rushing TD of the season. The PAT quickly brought the Storm within three at 48-45.

The Rattlers’ offense bogged down on the next series and Petre was forced to attempt a 56-yard field goal. He had the distance but missed it wide left and Sioux Falls had its first stop of the contest.

Storm quarterback Lorenzo Brown (8) accounted for seven touchdowns in Sioux Falls' 69-68 overtime playoff win over Arizona on Saturday night. [Matt Hinshaw/Arizona Rattlers][/caption]Brown was again the man for the Storm, taking a third-down keeper untouched for 28 yards to lift Sioux Falls to the lead once again at 52-48.

In danger of being shut out in the third quarter, Epps made sure that didn’t happen. The diminutive receiver took a pitch to the right side and eluded several potential tacklers on his way to a 15-yard score. Petre kicked the point after and Arizona led 55-52 after three quarters.

The seesaw affair continued as McCombs found paydirt five minutes into the fourth. Sioux Falls led 59-55 following Bergner’s eighth perfect extra point of the game with 9:55 left. Arizona calmly moved downfield and Reed accounted for his fifth TD of the game with a 2-yard easy stroll into the end zone. The kick made it 62-59 with 6:33 left in the game.

Bergner then continued his perfect night by nailing a 30-yard field goal, tying the game at 62-62 and setting up the wild ending.

Brown threw for 167 yards, ran for 72 more and accounted for seven touchdowns in the semifinal playoff win. Powell caught two TDs while McCombs and Ford had one each.

Arizona’s Reed was 15 of 18 for 158 yards, 5 TDs and no INTs. He added one rushing score and 33 yards on the ground. Miles ran for two scores. Epps and Amos each hauled in a pair of TDs.

No Rattlers players spoke to the media after the tough loss but Guy indicated some personnel turnover is imminent.

“We will let guys know where they are with this organization on Monday and Tuesday. It’s the nature of the beast — there’s going to be changes.

“There’s no excuses tonight,” Guy continued. “We were just good enough to get beat."