Wild final minute sees Rattlers escape
Strike Force 47-46
Arizona Rattlers QB Dalton Sneed throws a pass against the San Diego Strike Force on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena. Arizona won 47-46. (Indoor Football League/Arizona Rattlers)
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Arizona Rattlers are back in playoff position by the narrowest of margins.
Rattlers QB Dalton Sneed threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah Huston with :16 left then watched the San Diego Strike Force miss a 30-yard field goal wide right at the final gun as the Rattlers left Pechanga Arena with a thrilling 47-46 victory on Saturday night.
The victory moved the Rattlers (7-4) back into playoff position — fourth place in the West — with five regular-season games remaining. The Rattlers have won 6 of 7 overall. They are half a game back of the Northern Arizona Wranglers (7-3) and Vegas Knight Hawks (7-3) for second place in the Western Conference — NAZ and Vegas are Arizona’s next two opponents.
Things looked bleak with 2 minutes left as the Strike Force had a chance to ice the game but Connor Mangan pulled a 28-yard field goal attempt wide left to keep the score 46-40.
Sneed then calmly took the reins on offense to lead the Rattlers to victory. He narrowly avoided a safety at the beginning of the drive then later converted a must-have fourth down as the clock ticked down.
Finally, he connected with Huston on a 7-yard touchdown pass on the left boards with just 16 seconds left in the game. Rattlers kicker Dawson Evitts coolly nailed the point after to give Arizona a 47-46 lead before a stunned home crowd.
The Sneed to Huston connection with Arizona’s lone touchdown of the second half.
San Diego moved the ball quickly into Arizona territory but Mangan saw his potential game winner fade a foot or two wide right as the final buzzer sounded and the Rattlers celebrated the road win.
The much-maligned Rattlers defense earlier came up huge, scoring a pair of first-half touchdowns in the game. Early in the second quarter, Kevin Simes Jr. batted a Nate Davis pass into the air and then into his own hands for a remarkable pick 6. Simes made the catch, which was reviewed and upheld, in the end zone and simply had to roll over to realize he had scored a touchdown.
On the last play of the half, Jarmaine Doubs made the play of the game. Doubs grabbed an overthrown Davis pass in his own end zone as time ran out and raced down the left sideline 55 yards for a game-changing Pick 6 and a 34-21 Rattlers lead at the break. It was San Diego’s third turnover of the first half as Arizona scored 27 second-quarter points and set the stage for a wild ending.
Sneed ended the game 15 of 34 for 147 yards, 3 TDs and 3 INTs. He entered the game with just one interception all season. Huston, Jamal Miles and Corey Reed Jr. each caught a TD pass while CJ Odom added another score on the ground.
Besides Simes and Doubs, Dillion Winfrey also had an INT for Arizona.
San Diego’s Davis threw for 147 yards, 4 TDs and 3 picks. Arthur Jackson III led the Strike Force with a pair of receiving touchdowns. Kishawn Walker added a pair of INTs on defense for San Diego.
The Rattlers return to the Snake Pit in Glendale on Saturday, June 15 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff against the Northern Arizona Wranglers.
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