Post by Nevadanut on May 23, 2018 22:45:19 GMT -8
Nebraska Danger at Arizona Rattlers
What: The Danger make their second trip of the season to the dessert to face the Rattlers.
When: Sunday, May 27 at 3:05 p.m. pacific (5:05 p.m. central).
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena; Phoenix, Arizona.
Stream: Danger at Rattlers on IFL YouTube Channel.
2018 Head to Head: March 24 - Rattlers 62, Danger 49. May 27 - Danger at Rattlers.
Notes: The Danger are trying to hold on for a playoff berth. The Rattlers are trying to secure the number one seed in the playoffs.
HELPFUL LINKS
Indoor Football League Rules
Indoor Football League Schedule and Results - 2018 Season
Nebraska Danger 2018 Schedule
Nebraska Danger - Vital Statistics
Arizona Rattlers 2018 Schedule
Arizona Rattlers Vital Statistics
IFL Franchise Index
The Danger are 4-7 overall and 1-0 on the road. They are coming off a 31-20 home loss to the Green Bay Blizzard on May 18. They are averaging 39.6 points per game and are averaging 41.4 points per game.
The Rattlers are 9-2 overall and 6-1 at home. They are coming of a 69-68 overtime home loss to the Iowa Barnstormers on May 20. They are averaging 54.9 points per game and are allowing 42.1 points per game.
2018 REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN
Total Yards per Game - Danger 207.5; Rattlers 262.9
Pass Yards per Game - Danger 71.5; Rattlers 134.8
Rush Yards per Game - Danger 71.5; Rattlers 128.1
3rd Down Conversion - Danger 43%; Rattlers 52%
4th Down Conversion - Danger 46%; Rattlers 58%
Total Tackles - Danger 405; Rattlers 431
Total Sacks - Danger 15; Rattlers 19
Fumble Recoveries - Danger 7; Rattlers 8
Interceptions - Danger 4; Rattlers 12
Note: Both teams have played 11 games.
NEBRASKA DANGER
Danger K Brad Hatfield (photo courtesy Grand Island Independent)
ROSTER
# - name (pos)
2 - Najee Bright (DB)
4 - Eric Thomas (WR)
5 - Gregory Dent Jr. (WR)
6 - Angelo Pease (RB)
8 - Darion Monroe (DB)
9 - Kenzel Doe (WR)
10 - Gregory Hankerson Jr (QB)
11 - Darrin Peterson (WR)
15 - Jamaal Burgess (DB)
17 - Rahman Kamara (DB)
21 - Korey Ringer (RB)
22 - Brad Hatfield (K)
24 - Nakevion Leslie (LB)
43 - Davion Belk (DL)
44 - Myke Tavarres (LB)
55 - Phillip Lewis (DL)
56 - Darrien Howard (DL)
65 - Mason Butler (OL)
71 - Kyle Saxelid (OL)
72 - Devonte McClain (OL)
76 - Drake Miller (OL)
88 - Jarred Haggins (WR)
93 - Xzavie Jackson (DL)
N/A - Nathan Holley (DB)
N/A - Charles Walker (DL)
Short Term IR
1 - Nick Brassell (WR/DB)
N/A - Darrin Reaves (RB)
Season Ending IR
7 - Damien Fleming (QB)
N/A - Michael Thornton (RB)
Transfer
None
RTR
43 - Tavita Faaiu (DL)
71 - Palmer White (OL)
76 - Torian White (OL)
N/A - Rahsaan Vaughn (WR)
N/A - Jesse Somsel (OL)
Adam Shackleford - Interim Co-Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Pig Brown - Interim Co-Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach
Marshall Hart - Offensive Line/Special teams Coach
2018 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Yards - *Jesse Scroggins II 939
Passing TDs - *Jesse Scroggins 19
Passing Ints - *Jesse Scroggins 4
Rushing Yards - Angelo Pease 290
Rushing TDs - Angelo Pease 10
Receptions - Eric Thomas 52
Receiving Yards - Eric Thomas 623
Receiving TDs - Eric Thomas 15
Total Tackles - Darion Monroe 68.5
Sacks - Xzavie Jackson 4.5
Interceptions - four players with 1
KO Return Ave - Korey Ringer 20.6
KO Return TDs - Korey Ringer 1
*Has been released
Roster information is subject to change and is presented here as a basic guide for following the game. Rosters and team information is gathered from the IFL's 2018 Media Guide, as well as other sources, and will be updated as further roster information becomes available.
ARIZONA RATTLERS
Rattlers WR/KR Dezmon Epps (Photo via Rattlers on Facebook)
ROSTER
# - name (pos)
1 - Verlon Reed Jr. (QB)
2 - Jamal Miles (RB/WR)
4 - Nathan Lindsey (DB)
5 - Anthony Amos (WR)
8 - Davontae Merriweather (DB)
11 - Arkeith Brown (DB)
12 - Anthony Jones Jr. (WR)
13 - Jeff Ziemba (QB)
15 - Dillion Winfrey (WR)
16 - Jarrod Harrington (WR)
17 - Dezmon Epps (WR)
22 - Sawyer Petre (K)
24 - Keith Trumps (DB)
28 - Shadrach Thornton (RB)
31 - Chris McAllister (DL)
32 - Dylan Peebles (RB)
45 - Ryan Langford (LB)
50 - Chris Boles (OL)
55 - Lene Maiava (OL)
56 - Steven Gurrola (OL)
91 - Justin Martin (DL)
94 - Lamar Mady (OL)
95 - Joshua Gordon (DL)
97 - Terrence Surratt (DL)
N/A - Kevin Ashak (OL)
N/A - Yogi Hale (DB)
Short Term IR
14 - Darrell Monroe (RB)
49 - Edward Mosley (DL)
Season Ending IR
3 - Allen Chapman (DB)
30 - Justin Shirk (LB)
64 - Vernon Sainvil (OL)
N/A - Mark Munson (WR)
Transfer
None
RTR
6 - Sean Goldrich (QB)
N/A - Dante Cattaneo (OL)
N/A - Terrell Clinkscales (DL)
N/A - Leon Hill (OL)
Kevin Guy - Head Coach
Jeff Jarnigan - Defensive Line/Special Teams Coach
Kani Kauahi - Offensive Line Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Steve Axman - Offensive Coordinator
2018 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Yards - Jeff Ziemba 1,451
Passing TDs - Jeff Ziemba 34
Passing Ints - Jeff Ziemba 8
Rushing Yards - *Darrell Monroe 633
Rushing TDs - *Darrell Monroe 24
Receptions - Jamal Miles 46
Receiving Yards - Jamal Miles 396
Receiving TDs - Anthony Amos 16
Total Tackles - Arkeith Brown 48.5
Sacks - Justin Shirk 5.5
Interceptions - **Allen Chapman/Arkeith Brown 4
KO Return Ave - Dezmon Epps 26.6
KO Return TDs - Dezmon Epps 2
*Is on Short Term Injured Reserve
**Is on Season Ending Injured Reserve
Roster information is subject to change and is presented here as a basic guide for following the game. Rosters and team information is gathered from the IFL's 2018 Media Guide and other sources, and will be updated as further roster information becomes available.
ANALYSIS
The Rattlers and the Danger have met just twice in the regular season, with the Rattlers winning both games. The most recent was in week 5 of this season with the Rattlers coming away with a 62-49 win in Phoenix. The Rattlers won the first-ever meeting between the teams, 39-36, on April 7, 2017. Arizona also bested Nebraska in last season's Intense Conference Championship game by a 62-36 score. After dropping the past six games, the Danger have released head coach, Mark Stoute, and replaced him with interim co-head coaches Adam Schackleford and Cornelius "Pig" Brown. The two have thus far served as offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, respectively. The Rattlers are helmed by Kevin Guy, who is in his 16th season as head coach of the team.
Nebraska began the season with three straight wins. In fact, for a week, they were the league's only undefeated team. After the Week 5 loss to the Rattlers, the Danger recorded a 43-32 win over the Iowa Barnstormers. Since then, they've gone on the aforementioned six-game skid. There have been overhauls in the roster, as three weeks ago, Stoute released quarterbacks Jesse Scroggins II and Moses Skillon, and brought in Gregory Hankerson, Jr. Despite a tough 40-36 loss to the Sioux Falls Storm, the Danger's fortunes have not changed. The latest casualty was Stoute himself. He is replaced by former Tri-Cities Fever and Spokane Empire head coach Shackleford, and Pig Brown, who was recently announced as a 2018 inductee into the IFL Hall of Fame from his playing days as a defensive back (induction ceremonies are during United Bowl Weekend, July 6-8). The Danger, at 4-7, are in the driver's seat for the fourth and final playoff berth. It's entirely possible that they could face the Rattlers in the Semifinals in a rematch of last season's Intense Conference Championship Game.
Hankerson is completing just 41.7 of his passes for 155 yards (77.5 yards per game) with 4 touchdowns and an interception. He is an effective rusher out of the backfield, having already moved into second place on the team in rushing yards with 164. He's averaging 7.8 yards per carry and 82.0 yards per game on the ground. That could be a key for the Danger in this game, but a strong passing game would help to keep the Rattlers' defense honest. Angelo Pease is a talented rusher with a nose for the end zone, as evidenced by his 10 rushing touchdowns on the season. He averages 3.3 yards per carry on just over 8 rushes per contest. If the Danger are able to re-establish their passing game, the trio of Eric Thomas, Gregory Dent, Jr. and Kenzel Doe are a solid group of receivers. Thomas leads the IFL in receptions with 43 and in receiving yards with 623, and is second with 15 touchdown catches. Dent and Doe are averaging 10.3 and 10.4 receiving yards per game, respectively, as well as having caught 9 and 3 touchdown passes, respectively. Darion Monroe's 68.5 total tackles lead the team, and he has 4.5 tackles for loss and 5 pass break ups. Xzavie leads the team with 4.5 sacks and an impressive 12 tackles for loss. Myke Tavarres adds 8.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks to his 63 total tackles on the season. Brad Hatfield has hit just 11 of 40 field goals with 23 of those misses coming from 31 yards or beyond.
Arizona is vying for the top seed in the IFL playoffs. What stands between them are the Iowa Barnstormers, which the Rattlers have yet to defeat in nearly two complete seasons of IFL play. The Barnstormers have clinched the tiebreaker over the Rattlers having won the first two meetings of the season. The teams meet once more, next week in Des Moines. The Rattlers have a relatively easy schedule, facing this Danger team twice and Iowa once. The Barnstormers have four games left, this week against the Green Bay Blizzard and they close out the season at hiome against the Cedar Rapids Titans. In between, they face the Rattlers and the Sioux Falls Storm. It's conceivable that even with a win over the Rattlers to sweep the series, a loss to the Storm (in Sioux Falls), would not affect their chances to unseat the Rattlers as the number one seed. Time will tell. Arizona will look to plow forward. Winning out, including a week 15 win over the Barnstormers, would ensure the earning of the top seed. That would guarantee the Rattlers of home field advantage in the Semifinals and the United Bowl should they advance.
The Rattlers have been resilient all season. When opening day starting quarterback Verlon Reed, Jr., went down to injury early in week 1, Arizona turned to Jeff Ziemba. The rookie out of Shepard University is second in the IFL in passing attempts (212) and completions (135), as well as touchdown tosses (34). Ziemba has become more than just a game manager and the Rattlers are better off for it. Reed, the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year, is probably the league's best backup. While the Rattlers will be without IFL leading rusher Darrell Monroe for the second straight week while he is on Short Term Injured Reserve, the team has found a new gem in Dylan Peebles, who rushed for 43 yards and a pair of scores in the Rattlers 69-68 overtime loss to the Barnstormers last week. Shadrach Thornton is also back with the team. He had 34 rushes for 174 yards and 6 touchdowns in a two-game span in weeks 3 and 4. Jamal Miles, Anthony Amos and Dezmon Epps have each recorded at least 385 receiving yards this season. Amos leads the IFL in touchdown catches with 16. The trio combine for 124 receiving yards per game. Arkeith Brown adds 4 interceptions and 6 pass break ups to his team-leading 48.5 total tackles. Justin Shirk is second in the IFL with 5.5 sacks, and also has 8.5 tackles for loss. However, Shirk has been placed on Season Ending IR. Joshua Gordon adds 4 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Sawyer Petre, the week 13 Special Teams Player of the Week, has hit 8 of 18 field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards. Seven of his misses have come from 30 yards or further.
FEATURED SOCIAL MEDIA
OTHER IFL GAMES THIS WEEK
March 25 - Green Bay Blizzard at Iowa Barnstormers; 5:05 p.m. pacific (7:05 p.m. central)
Byes - Cedar Rapids Titans, Sioux Falls Storm
IFL STANDINGS
To share this post on social media, please go to the right side of the page (the top of the page on the mobile site) to the social media icons and choose which social media site(s) to share the thread. To comment on this thread and others on this forum, please login or register.
Graphic courtesy of David.
