Every time I get my hands on the ball I’m thinking touchdown. I kept my promise from last week — I got tripped up against Duke City but this time I was determined to score.”

Jarrod Harrington, Rattlers WR/kick returner on his 56-yard TD return of a missed field goal

By Matt Loeschman
Twitter: @MattLoeschman

PHOENIX — The Arizona Rattlers appear locked and loaded for the upcoming Indoor Football League playoffs. That’s bad news for the rest of the IFL.

Looking to maintain the top seed for the postseason, the Rattlers’ defense registered a big bounceback performance in Arizona’s 55-28 thrashing of the Tucson Sugar Skulls on Sunday at the Footprint Center.

“Quarterback play and secondary play has got to be there for you to compete for a championship,” Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy said after the game. “I thought we came back this week and took a step in the right direction.”

Arizona’s Dillion Winfrey was the defensive star of the show, registering three interceptions including one returned for a score. Considering the way the secondary performed a week earlier, it was a sight Guy was happy to see.

“Dillion attacked the ball tonight — we’ve talked about that — and he had a great overall game,” Guy said. “All of those guys in the defensive backfield stepped up this week.”

The win was the 10th of the season for the Rattlers, who have remarkably now won 10 or more games in 11 straight seasons, all under Guy’s leadership. They swept the three-game homestand (Sioux Falls, Duke City and Tucson) and maintained their slim advantage at the top of the league standings.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Arizona is 10-2 with the Frisco Fighters (9-2) and Massachusetts Pirates (9-3) trailing closely behind.

“We are just focused on us,” Guy admitted. “We can’t worry about what other teams are doing. Tomorrow we are going back to work to get ready for Spokane.”

The Sugar Skulls’ 9th-ranked offense opened the scoring, converting a pair of third downs on their way to a 5-yard scoring rush by Mike Jones. Jimmy Camacho added the PAT to give Tucson a 7-0 lead.

Arizona responded with a 9-yard TD strike from quarterback Drew Powell to receiver Jarrod Harrington. Ernesto Lacayo hit the PAT to tie the game early at 7-7.

Tucson (4-8) continued to slow the pace as the second quarter began. On fourth and 1 at their own 19, the Sugar Skulls’ Jones rushed for a first down but was injured and stayed down on the turf for a couple minutes. He eventually left under his own power.

Chaos broke loose on Tucson’s next possession.

Arizona’s Dillion Winfrey picked off Tucson QB Cory Murphy at the goal line. Winfrey was dragged down near the 15-yard-line but continued to run toward the end zone. Officials ruled the play a TD but Tucson Head Coach Dixie Wooten challenged and the score was overturned. In the confusion, Skulls DB Michael Minter was ejected for back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

With the benefit of 30 yards in penalties walked off, Powell calmly found running back Darrell Monroe with a 9-yard looping touchdown pass. Lacayo made the PAT and the Rattlers led 14-7 at the 10:41 mark of the second quarter.

Things then went south for the team from the south. With Denny Croft replacing an injured Murphy at quarterback, a bad snap left Tucson with a 4th-and-37 dilemma at their own 5. Camacho tried a 60-yard field goal but it was short.

Harrington caught the live ball and returned it a full 56 yards for a touchdown as the crowd of 4,155 went wild.

“Every time I get my hands on the ball I’m thinking touchdown,” said Harrington. “I kept my promise from last week — I got tripped up against Duke City but this time I was determined to score.”

A 2-point conversion run by Harrington failed but Arizona still led 20-7 with 5:49 to go before halftime.

At the one-minute warning, Croft took to the air and flew into the end zone from 4 yards away. Camacho made the PAT to bring the Sugar Skulls within 20-14.

The Rattlers’ top-ranked offense was determined to go into the break up by two scores. After a huge Harrington kickoff return, Powell darted to the right and pitched to Monroe on an option play. The veteran running back easily danced into the end zone from five yards away and Lacayo’s kick made it 27-14 with :26 left.

Arizona’s third-ranked defense held strong and Camacho missed a 44-yard field goal wide left at the buzzer, giving the Rattlers a 13-point lead at halftime.

Powell put the Rattlers up three scores to begin the second half. Moving easily down the field, he flipped a ball to Jeremiah Harris for a four-yard TD pass. His third aerial strike of the day and Lacayo’s PAT made it 34-14 Arizona five minutes into the third quarter.

Croft countered with a 10-yard TD scramble to bring the Skulls within 34-21 at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter.

Without a rushing TD all game, Powell cashed in from 29 yards out for his league-leading 30th rushing touchdown this season, Lacayo added the point and Arizona led 41-21 with 3:12 left in the third.

“We came ready to play today,” Powell said after the game. “Tucson likes to slow the game down so we knew we had to score pretty much every time we had the ball. We were locked in to do that.”

As the fourth quarter began, Croft found Ryan Balentine on a 1-yard TD pass to bring Tucson within 41-28 with 13:54 left in the game.

That was countered by a 7-yard jet sweep TD by Harrington. Arizona led 48-28 at the 12-minute mark.

The Rattlers’ D put the icing on the cake as Winfrey nabbed his second pick of the game and took it to the house for a defensive TD. Lacayo’s PAT made it 55-28 at the 2:01 mark.

The Sugar Skulls last attempt to score was thwarted by Winfrey’s third interception of the game at the goal line.

“That’s my first hat trick of interceptions,” Winfrey said. “It hasn’t hit me yet. Maybe tomorrow I’ll wake up and be like, ‘wow, three.’”

Powell was 9-for-11 for 73 yards through the air for 3 scores and no picks. He added 59 yards on the ground and another TD. Harrington (160 all-purpose yards) had the trifecta — one TD receiving, one TD rushing and one TD on the missed field goal return. Monroe and Harris added one TD each.

Croft led Tucson with three total touchdowns (1 passing, 2 rushing).

The Rattlers have a short week of practice before a crucial Friday, Aug. 13 game at the Spokane Shock (6-5). Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on YouTube.

“We have a quick turnaround. Spokane is a quality team,” Guy said.

Rattlers’ players concurred.

“Starting with practice, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” Winfrey said. “In reality, the playoffs start now.”

Matt Loeschman
Editor | Daily Independent
@MattLoeschman

mloeschman@iniusa.org

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.