Post by Monika on May 20, 2023 19:53:31 GMT -8
Rattlers 60, Wranglers 34
5/20/23 --
PHOENIX, AZ - Sometimes everything just clicks.
That could certainly be said for the Arizona Rattlers tonight as they dominated the first half en route to a 60-34 win over the Northern Arizona Wranglers tonight at Footprint Center.
The Rattlers improve to 4-4 on the season and keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race. The Wranglers fall to 5-3 and back into a tie with the Bay Area Panthers in the standings. The Panthers dealt the Frisco Fighters their first loss of the season tonight, 62-55, and hold the tiebreaker over the Wranglers by virtue of a better conference win percentage.
This was the first of a trio of meetings between the teams this season. They meet up in Prescott Valley on June 3, and then are back in Phoenix for the regular season finale on July 15. The Rattlers are now 4-2 overall over the Wranglers, including a 3-1 mark at home. Their lone home loss in the series came in last year's Western Conference Championship Game when the Wranglers topped the Rattlers 52-51 to advance to the IFL National Championship Game.
Arizona scored on its opening drive; a four-yard touchdown pass from Drew Powell to Braxton Haley in the left corner of the end zone. The Wranglers were forced to attempt a 50-yard from Brandon Fischer, but the kick was blocked by the Rattlers, giving Arizona a short field from NAZ three-yard line. Powell rushed in from those three yards to put the Rattlers up by two scores with just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Jacob Moss returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to put Northern Arizona on the board. Powell's seven-yard draw up the middle and into the end zone put the Rattlers up again by a pair of scores. The Rattlers held a 20-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
With the Wranglers driving, Garrett Kettle threw deep for Ryan Wisniewski, but was intercepted by the Rattlers' Javon Jackson. Powell rushed for a four-yard touchdown up the middle early in the second quarter and the Rattlers were up by 19 with 10 minutes left. Arizona got the ball back when Dillon Winfrey intercepted Kettle, giving the Rattlers the ball back with 9:22 left in the second. Shane McInerny's 19-yard field goal try went wide left and the Wranglers' offense was back in business. That didn't last long, however, as backup quarterback Nick Watson was intercepted by the Rattlers' Jarmaine Doubs, who had been signed just earlier in the week. Powell's three-yard rush added to their lead, but his rush for the two-point conversion fell short. After a long field goal try, the Rattlers had the ball back with 29 seconds left. Powell found Morian Walker, Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown with just 16 seconds remaining in the opening half. Arizona led 19-7 at intermission.
Glen Gibbons, Jr.'s provided the Wranglers' first offensive touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run around the left side. The two-point conversion try was foiled when Winfrey took down Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman short of the goal line. Powell found Haley in the back of the end zone to extend the Rattlers lead to 46-13 at the 5:13 mark of the third. Northern Arizona responded immediately when Kettle found Chiaokhiao-Bowman open down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. Arizona responded with Powell's 15-yard touchdown strike to Jamal Miles as time expired in the third quarter. Arizona led 53-19 heading into the fourth. The Wranglers scored again on a five-yard touchdown toss from Kettle to Chiaokhiao-Bowman.
Jorge Reyna, coming in as cleanup for Powell, rushed for a three-yard touchdown in his first series to extend Arizona's lead to 60-25 with 11:29 left in the game. The Wranglers' Tramond Lofton sacked Reyna in the end zone for a safety, and Kettle hit Chiaokhiao-Bowman for a 34-yard touchdown.
Powell went 17 of 21 for 169 yards with four touchdowns, and added four rushing scores. Haley was a one-man wrecking machine with his 11 catches for 119 yards with two touchdowns. Davontae Merriweather led the Rattlers with six tackles, while Winfrey had a pair of interceptions. Doubs and Jackson also had picks.
Kettle finished 11 of 19 for 138 yards with three touchdowns and three picks. All three of those scores went to Chiaokhiao-Bowman, who caught five balls for 89 yards. Travion Banks paced the Wranglers' defense with six tackles and Lofton had a sack.
Arizona accumulated 256 total yards with a 38-yard advantage in the receiving game and a 57-yard edge in the running game. The Rattlers were penalized six times for 41 yards, while the Wranglers were flagged five times for 35 yards.
The Wranglers will visit the Duke City Gladiators on May 27 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. The Rattlers will host the Vegas Knight Hawks on May 27 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. All times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
5/20/23 --
PHOENIX, AZ - Sometimes everything just clicks.
That could certainly be said for the Arizona Rattlers tonight as they dominated the first half en route to a 60-34 win over the Northern Arizona Wranglers tonight at Footprint Center.
The Rattlers improve to 4-4 on the season and keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race. The Wranglers fall to 5-3 and back into a tie with the Bay Area Panthers in the standings. The Panthers dealt the Frisco Fighters their first loss of the season tonight, 62-55, and hold the tiebreaker over the Wranglers by virtue of a better conference win percentage.
This was the first of a trio of meetings between the teams this season. They meet up in Prescott Valley on June 3, and then are back in Phoenix for the regular season finale on July 15. The Rattlers are now 4-2 overall over the Wranglers, including a 3-1 mark at home. Their lone home loss in the series came in last year's Western Conference Championship Game when the Wranglers topped the Rattlers 52-51 to advance to the IFL National Championship Game.
Arizona scored on its opening drive; a four-yard touchdown pass from Drew Powell to Braxton Haley in the left corner of the end zone. The Wranglers were forced to attempt a 50-yard from Brandon Fischer, but the kick was blocked by the Rattlers, giving Arizona a short field from NAZ three-yard line. Powell rushed in from those three yards to put the Rattlers up by two scores with just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Jacob Moss returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to put Northern Arizona on the board. Powell's seven-yard draw up the middle and into the end zone put the Rattlers up again by a pair of scores. The Rattlers held a 20-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
With the Wranglers driving, Garrett Kettle threw deep for Ryan Wisniewski, but was intercepted by the Rattlers' Javon Jackson. Powell rushed for a four-yard touchdown up the middle early in the second quarter and the Rattlers were up by 19 with 10 minutes left. Arizona got the ball back when Dillon Winfrey intercepted Kettle, giving the Rattlers the ball back with 9:22 left in the second. Shane McInerny's 19-yard field goal try went wide left and the Wranglers' offense was back in business. That didn't last long, however, as backup quarterback Nick Watson was intercepted by the Rattlers' Jarmaine Doubs, who had been signed just earlier in the week. Powell's three-yard rush added to their lead, but his rush for the two-point conversion fell short. After a long field goal try, the Rattlers had the ball back with 29 seconds left. Powell found Morian Walker, Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown with just 16 seconds remaining in the opening half. Arizona led 19-7 at intermission.
Glen Gibbons, Jr.'s provided the Wranglers' first offensive touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run around the left side. The two-point conversion try was foiled when Winfrey took down Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman short of the goal line. Powell found Haley in the back of the end zone to extend the Rattlers lead to 46-13 at the 5:13 mark of the third. Northern Arizona responded immediately when Kettle found Chiaokhiao-Bowman open down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. Arizona responded with Powell's 15-yard touchdown strike to Jamal Miles as time expired in the third quarter. Arizona led 53-19 heading into the fourth. The Wranglers scored again on a five-yard touchdown toss from Kettle to Chiaokhiao-Bowman.
Jorge Reyna, coming in as cleanup for Powell, rushed for a three-yard touchdown in his first series to extend Arizona's lead to 60-25 with 11:29 left in the game. The Wranglers' Tramond Lofton sacked Reyna in the end zone for a safety, and Kettle hit Chiaokhiao-Bowman for a 34-yard touchdown.
Powell went 17 of 21 for 169 yards with four touchdowns, and added four rushing scores. Haley was a one-man wrecking machine with his 11 catches for 119 yards with two touchdowns. Davontae Merriweather led the Rattlers with six tackles, while Winfrey had a pair of interceptions. Doubs and Jackson also had picks.
Kettle finished 11 of 19 for 138 yards with three touchdowns and three picks. All three of those scores went to Chiaokhiao-Bowman, who caught five balls for 89 yards. Travion Banks paced the Wranglers' defense with six tackles and Lofton had a sack.
Arizona accumulated 256 total yards with a 38-yard advantage in the receiving game and a 57-yard edge in the running game. The Rattlers were penalized six times for 41 yards, while the Wranglers were flagged five times for 35 yards.
The Wranglers will visit the Duke City Gladiators on May 27 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. The Rattlers will host the Vegas Knight Hawks on May 27 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. All times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL's Official YouTube Channel. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game.
- MMM
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