Post by DiamondThief on Jun 16, 2018 19:41:36 GMT -8
FINAL - Rattlers 59, Danger 23
6/16/18 --
GRAND ISLAND, NE - The Arizona Rattlers secured the second seed and a first-round bye in the Indoor Football League playoffs tonight with a 59-23 thrashing of the Nebraska Danger at Eihusen Arena.
The win was the fourth in four all-time regular season meetings against the Danger. The Rattlers, 11-3, will host the 11-3 Sioux Falls Storm on June 23 in the Semifinals at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. pacific time (8:05 p.m. central).
The Iowa Barnstormers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a regular season finale win over in-state rival, the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Barnstormers' convincing 54-23 win at Wells Fargo Arena, coupled with the Rattlers win over the Danger, clinched the number one seed for Iowa, which is in its fourth season in the Indoor Football League since moving over from the Arena Football League following the 2014 season.
The Rattlers, Storm and Barnstormers entered week 17 atop the IFL standings with identical 10-3 records. The Barnstormers needed to win, as well as the Rattlers to win, to earn the first seed. Iowa holds the tree-way tiebreaker. Had the Rattlers lost and the Storm had won, the Barnstormers would have found themselves as the second seed, as they lost the season series against the Storm with which they would have been tied with 11-3 records. The Storm, who defeated the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday night in a thrilling triple-overtime decision (69-61). The trio of teams ended the night with 11-3 records, resulting in the aforementioned three-way tie.
Iowa will host the fourth seed Danger on June 22 at 5:05 pacific (7:05 central) in Des Moines.
The Rattlers opened up with a 13-0 early first quarter lead, courtesy of three-and five-yard runs from Darrell Monroe. The Danger got on the board when Davion Belk recovered Jeff Ziemba's fumble in the end zone. The Rattlers led 13-7 at the end of the opening quarter.
Sawyer Petre extended Arizona's lead to 16-7 on a 19-yard field goal with 10:41 left in the second quarter. The Rattlers went up 23-7 midway through the quarter when Jamal Miles returned Brad Hatfield's missed field goal 58 yards for the touchdown. It counts as the longest field goal return in the IFL this season. Hatfield hit an 18-yard field goal before backup quarterback Verlon Reed, Jr. exploded on a 25-yard run. On the ensuing kickoff, Rattlers defensive back Nathan Lindsey ensured a rouge. Arizona led 31-10 at the half.
Monroe rushed for his third touchdown of the game a bit more than five minutes into the third quarter, a three-yarder. The Rattlers then recorded a safety. Reed followed up the safety with a 10-yard run and Arizona's rout was full fold. The Danger cut into the lead to make the score 45-17 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.
Reed scored on a pair of seven-yard runs in the fourth quarter to put the Rattlers up 59-17 with 7:42 to go in the game. Scroggins hit Donta Armstrong for a 19-yard touchdown for Nebraska, but Arizona's damage was done.
Reed and Scroggins served as teammates last season with the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles. As backups in this game, they out-performed their starters on the state sheet. Reed was the opening day starter for the Rattlers, but was injured in the first quarter of that game (against the Storm), Jeff Ziemba stepped in and has been the starter ever since. Scroggins stepped in for the Danger in week 3 when starter Damien Fleming went down with a season-ending injury. Scroggins led the Danger to a 2-6 record as a starter before being released five weeks ago. He was re-signed on June 14.
The Rattlers outgained the Danger in total offense, 225 yards to 156, including a 196 yards to 156 on the ground. The Danger had an advantage of 98 yards to 29 in the passing game. The Danger were penalized five times for 43 yards, while the Rattlers were penalized once for 10 yards.
Ziemba started, but it was Reed who enabled the Rattlers to take control of the game. Last season's Offensive Rookie of the Year completed 2 of 3 of his passes for 32 yards, but rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a quartet of touchdowns. Darrell Monroe rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries with 3 touchdowns. Anthony Jones, Jr. rushed 3 times for 23 yards, and caught a pass for 19 yards. Joshua Gordon led the Rattlers defense with 6 total tackles and two sacks. Nathan Lindsey forced and recoved a fumble, and Davontae Merriweather intercepted 2 passes.
Scroggins went 10 of 17 passed for 11 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. He rushed 4 times for 34 yards. It's very likely that he will get the start in next Friday's playoff game at Iowa. Korey Ringer led the Danger with 4 catches for 61 yards, and Armstrong had 3 receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown. Myke Tavares tallied 10 total tackles for the Danger defense. Davion Belk and Darrien Howard registered sacks.
The win was the fourth in four all-time regular season meetings against the Danger. The Rattlers, 11-3, will host the 11-3 Sioux Falls Storm on June 23 in the Semifinals at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. pacific time (8:05 p.m. central).
The Iowa Barnstormers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a regular season finale win over in-state rival, the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Barnstormers' convincing 54-23 win at Wells Fargo Arena, coupled with the Rattlers win over the Danger, clinched the number one seed for Iowa, which is in its fourth season in the Indoor Football League since moving over from the Arena Football League following the 2014 season.
The Rattlers, Storm and Barnstormers entered week 17 atop the IFL standings with identical 10-3 records. The Barnstormers needed to win, as well as the Rattlers to win, to earn the first seed. Iowa holds the tree-way tiebreaker. Had the Rattlers lost and the Storm had won, the Barnstormers would have found themselves as the second seed, as they lost the season series against the Storm with which they would have been tied with 11-3 records. The Storm, who defeated the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday night in a thrilling triple-overtime decision (69-61). The trio of teams ended the night with 11-3 records, resulting in the aforementioned three-way tie.
Iowa will host the fourth seed Danger on June 22 at 5:05 pacific (7:05 central) in Des Moines.
The Rattlers opened up with a 13-0 early first quarter lead, courtesy of three-and five-yard runs from Darrell Monroe. The Danger got on the board when Davion Belk recovered Jeff Ziemba's fumble in the end zone. The Rattlers led 13-7 at the end of the opening quarter.
Sawyer Petre extended Arizona's lead to 16-7 on a 19-yard field goal with 10:41 left in the second quarter. The Rattlers went up 23-7 midway through the quarter when Jamal Miles returned Brad Hatfield's missed field goal 58 yards for the touchdown. It counts as the longest field goal return in the IFL this season. Hatfield hit an 18-yard field goal before backup quarterback Verlon Reed, Jr. exploded on a 25-yard run. On the ensuing kickoff, Rattlers defensive back Nathan Lindsey ensured a rouge. Arizona led 31-10 at the half.
Monroe rushed for his third touchdown of the game a bit more than five minutes into the third quarter, a three-yarder. The Rattlers then recorded a safety. Reed followed up the safety with a 10-yard run and Arizona's rout was full fold. The Danger cut into the lead to make the score 45-17 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.
Reed scored on a pair of seven-yard runs in the fourth quarter to put the Rattlers up 59-17 with 7:42 to go in the game. Scroggins hit Donta Armstrong for a 19-yard touchdown for Nebraska, but Arizona's damage was done.
Reed and Scroggins served as teammates last season with the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles. As backups in this game, they out-performed their starters on the state sheet. Reed was the opening day starter for the Rattlers, but was injured in the first quarter of that game (against the Storm), Jeff Ziemba stepped in and has been the starter ever since. Scroggins stepped in for the Danger in week 3 when starter Damien Fleming went down with a season-ending injury. Scroggins led the Danger to a 2-6 record as a starter before being released five weeks ago. He was re-signed on June 14.
The Rattlers outgained the Danger in total offense, 225 yards to 156, including a 196 yards to 156 on the ground. The Danger had an advantage of 98 yards to 29 in the passing game. The Danger were penalized five times for 43 yards, while the Rattlers were penalized once for 10 yards.
Ziemba started, but it was Reed who enabled the Rattlers to take control of the game. Last season's Offensive Rookie of the Year completed 2 of 3 of his passes for 32 yards, but rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a quartet of touchdowns. Darrell Monroe rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries with 3 touchdowns. Anthony Jones, Jr. rushed 3 times for 23 yards, and caught a pass for 19 yards. Joshua Gordon led the Rattlers defense with 6 total tackles and two sacks. Nathan Lindsey forced and recoved a fumble, and Davontae Merriweather intercepted 2 passes.
Scroggins went 10 of 17 passed for 11 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. He rushed 4 times for 34 yards. It's very likely that he will get the start in next Friday's playoff game at Iowa. Korey Ringer led the Danger with 4 catches for 61 yards, and Armstrong had 3 receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown. Myke Tavares tallied 10 total tackles for the Danger defense. Davion Belk and Darrien Howard registered sacks.
- ANM
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