GLENDALE — All the momentum generated by the Arizona Rattlers during the past month went up in smoke over three forgettable hours on Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena.
The Bay Area Panthers flexed their collective muscles Saturday, playing a physical brand of football and pushing around the Rattlers 68-52 to abruptly halt Arizona’s three-game winning streak.
“Zero defensive stops tonight is pathetic,” said Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy. “We are eight games into the season, sitting at 4-4 and we haven’t beaten anyone good. They were more physical tonight, pure and simple — they ran the football right down our throat and we just aren’t playing good defense against the better teams.”
Having won their last three games to get over .500, Arizona looked for a fast start. And although didn’t take long for Arizona to get on the scoreboard, but it was only by 3. The Rattlers had first and goal at the Panthers 2, but moved backward on the next three plays and had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Dawson Evitts that made it 3-0 three minutes into the contest.
“You have to be able to score a touchdown there,” Guy explained. “We should be able to punch that in. You have to set the tone.”
Rattlers quarterback Dalton Sneed agreed.
“Field goals aren’t going to win you games against great teams,” he admitted.
Panthers quarterback Daquan Neal responded quickly, calmly converting on fourth down before finding receiver JT Stokes with a short TD pass. Stevie Artigue added the PAT to give Bay Area a 7-3 lead.
Arizona countered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sneed to WR Glen Gibbons Jr. Gibbons broke a tackle but appeared to lose the ball before crossing the goal line. Bay Area Head Coach Rob Keefe challenged the TD call on the field but the decision was upheld after video review.
The Rattlers led 10-7 after one quarter.
“I had to shake off some rust,” Sneed explained. “No excuses, though. We have to be better.”
The back-and-forth continued with Neal connecting with a wide-open Stokes for a 12-yard score. The PAT put Bay Area up 14-10 early in the second quarter. Sneed then used his legs to retake the lead. The nimble QB found a crease up the middle and turned on the jets for a 21-yard TD scramble. Evitts’ kick made it 17-14 Arizona with 10:38 left before halftime.
The defenses continued to struggle as Bay Area easily moved down field and scored on a 1-yard rush by Shane Simpson. Artigue added the PAT to make it 21-17 Bay Area.
“We just weren’t disciplined tonight,” said Rattlers defensive back Dillion Winfrey. “We got no stops on defense and I can’t remember the last time that happened. When you are not disciplined on defense, you’re probably going to lose.”
Sneed then hit on his best pass of the half, throwing a gorgeous 33-yard bomb to WR Nih-Jer Jackson for a score. Jackson managed to outbattle the defensive back and secure the catch while crashing into the back wall. The PAT gave Arizona a 24-21 lead with three minutes left in the second.
Arizona (4-4) tried to steal some momentum with an onside kick but Evitts’ squib kick only dribbled 7 yards instead of the required 10. The Rattlers challenged that Bay Area touched the ball first but it was unsuccessful.
“We felt like their player touched it first,” Guy explained after the game. “I don’t think the refs had a good angle on it.”
Neal then scored on a 7-yard scramble on the next play. Bay Area led 28-24 at the 2 minute mark.
The Panthers then tried their own onside kick and the Rattlers touched it before it was recovered on the side boards by Bay Area.
Simpson walked in untouched on a 4-yard TD and Evitts then missed a 43-yard field goal attempt at the gun.
Bay Area (7-1) held all the momentum and a 34-24 lead at the break.
“We were in the ballgame at halftime,” Guy said. “We just needed a stop or two and we could never get it.”
Neal picked up where he left off as the second half began, carving up the Arizona defense and finally scoring on a 7-yard run. The PAT was no good off the upright but Bay Area still led 40-24.
Sneed was stopped short on fourth down on the ensuing possession. Neal then went right for the jugular, connecting with Stokes on a perfect 35-yard TD pass. Artigue’s PAT put Bay Area up 47-24 and saw some of the crowd of 8,214 start to hit the exits.
Sneed scored his second rushing TD of the game from 9 yards away, diving into the end zone to bring the Rattlers within 47-31 late in the third quarter.
Looking for a spark, Evitts tried another onside kick but it was easily snagged by the Panthers’ BJ Taufalele near the sideline. Taufalele scored to put Bay Area up 54-31 after three quarters.
The teams traded scores in the fourth as Neal and Simpson tallied for Bay Area and RB Shannon Brooks got in the end zone twice for the Rattlers.
Sneed capped the scoring with a short TD run with :12 left in the game. He finished 19-of-25 passing for 198 yards and 3 TDs. Sneed added 60 yards on the ground and three more rushing scores.
Brooks had 2 TDs in the game while Jackson and Gibbons added one each.
Bay Area was led by Neal and his six total TDs (three rushing, three passing). Stokes caught 3 TDs while Simpson rushed for 74 yards and three ground scores.
The Rattlers return to the Snake Pit in Glendale on Saturday, May 25 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff with the winless Duke City Gladiators. That game can be seen live on the IFL’s YouTube channel.
At the halfway point of the season, the Rattlers find themselves with a break even record and sitting right on the playoff qualification line in the IFL’s Western Conference.
“I’d give us like a C- at the midway point. Some guys stepped up when others were injured so it could be much worse,” Guy said. “But we have to play better and right now defense is the main issue. We have some things to address and we must address them quickly.”
I have edited and written about almost everything in my 20-year journalism career, but I have a strong passion for sports since my father was a teacher and coach when I was young.
My job has allowed me to meet many influential people, including Hillary Clinton, Al Gore (I have a brief, on-camera part in his second movie), George Strait, Matthew McConaughey and several world-class athletes.
I have worked for Independent Newsmedia on two separate occasions – 2000-09 and 2018-present – after studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
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