GLENDALE — The Arizona Rattlers (5-2) dominated Sunday’s intrastate matchup with the Tucson Sugar Skulls (2-5), taking out the team from down south 66-14 at Desert Diamond Arena.
Rattlers QB Drew Powell started the game in place of the benched Max Meylor, who had started each of Arizona’s six previous games.
“We needed to be more efficient,” Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy said. “We felt like throughout the season, we’ve left some drives on the field. It’s not a reflection of Max at all. We still believe in him and we might go back to him at some point.”
Guy looked like a genius early after Powell broke free for a 27-yard rushing touchdown to give Arizona a 7-0 lead. Rattlers RB Ron Brown Jr. later extended the advantage to 14-0 with a rushing touchdown of his own.
Powell, a three-time MVP, found out he was starting on Thursday. He said he was excited to be back out on the field after dealing with injuries for the past couple of seasons.
“To be in this building feels good,” he said. “I’ve had ups and downs, a lot of behind the scenes just grinding. I feel like everybody forgot about me. Even a couple coaches told me that they forgot about me. It just feels good to be the same guy I’ve always been.”
Sugar Skulls WR Jalen Jordan put his team on the board with a 20-yard touchdown reception. However, this was their only score of the first half.
In the second quarter, Tucson quarterbacks threw two interceptions. The first was arguably the play of the game.
Rattlers DB Carlvainsky Decius reached back with his right hand to snag the ball out of the air, pinning it to his helmet before crashing into the wall in the end zone.
Later in the frame, DB Yahsyn McKee Sr. intercepted Draylen Ellis in the end zone to prevent a scoring opportunity. This was McKee’s first of two picks on the night.
Rattlers receiver Arland Bruce hauled in two touchdowns in the second quarter. Both were easy pitch-and-catch touchdowns as the defense seemingly lost track of Bruce on the field. There wasn’t a defender within eight yards of him for the second touchdown.
Arizona kicker Matthew Cook contributed more than just extra points. He converted four deuces in the game, two of which came in the second quarter. If the kicking team can boot the ball through the goal posts 50 yards down the field on a kickoff, they receive two points,.
“If you can hit it like that, we will,” Guy said on the team going for deuces moving forward. “When he’s on, then we’ll do it. And if he’s not on, then we’re going to have to kick off and go cover and play defense.”
Cook said in his postgame press conference that he once hit from 68 yards while in college.
“This week in practice, [Guy] was asking me just to work on it,” Cook said. “He’d be standing there watching, gaining some confidence in that kick … I was really happy to get an opportunity and him have the confidence in me, so that was great.”
The Rattlers led 32-7 at the halftime break.
It looked as if Tucson could get something going in the second half when WR Tamorrion Terry caught a touchdown pass while sandwiched between two Rattlers defenders, but this momentum was short-lived.
On the ensuing possession, Powell read the defense to perfection, calling his own number on a read option. Cook’s deuce gave the Rattlers a 41-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Toward the end of the game, Powell ran it in for his fourth rushing touchdown of the evening. He had 82 rushing yards, 171 passing yards and added two touchdowns through the air.
The Rattlers next game comes in the IFL Cup against the New Mexico Chupacabras at 9 a.m. Monday, May 18, in the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game can be streamed on Overnght and the Yahoo! Sports Network.
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