Post by alecs on Mar 30, 2024 20:23:52 GMT -8
Wranglers 54 - Sugar Skulls 48
3/30/24 --
PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ - Folks, this wasn't your older brother's Wranglers/Sugar Skulls game. Saturday night's "Indoor War" at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley turned out to be an offense-driven back and forth affair, with the visiting Sugar Skulls making their season premiere. In the end, the Wranglers rode stalwart performances from quarterback Josh Jones and wide receiver RZ McCorker to get Northern Arizona in the win column, taking this game by a final score of 54 to 48. Tonight's game marks the first of the 2024 IFL season to crack the 100-point total mark.
Tucson drove their opening possession inside the Wrangler 15-yard line, but were stuffed on fourth down by the Wrangler defense, keeping them off the scoreboard. It took just two plays for the Wranglers to make them pay, with Josh Jones finding Justin Manyweather for a big 29-yard receiving touchdown. Axel Perez would miss the PAT, however. Tucson's second drive ultimately found paydirt, with Mike Jones rumbling in a two-yard touchdown run. After a successful extra point by Demitri Fotinos, the Sugar Skulls would take a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Once the second quarter started, the game reached breakneck pace, with both sides trading touchdowns all the way through to the end of the half. A Josh Jones pass to McCorker for five yards (PAT miss) was met by a three-yard touchdown rush by Skulls quarterback Mylik Mitchell. McCorker would make another house call with a 16-yard rush on the next drive, and that was followed with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Demario McCall. And a five-yard rush by Josh Jones was followed up by an 11-yard touchdown run by Mitchell. The flurry of scoring took the game deep into the one-minute warning, with Tucson up 28-26. And with just four ticks on the clock, the Wranglers scored once more, with Josh Jones connecting with John Maldonado on a two-yard pass to send the Wranglers into halftime with the 32-28 advantage, and first possession of the second half.
The Wranglers and Sugar Skulls would trade missed field goal attempts to begin the second half. Northern Arizona would eventually bump its lead to 11 points with McCorker's third touchdown of the game, a 32-yard reception from the arm of Josh Jones. The Skulls had a quick response, with Mitchell rushing for a six-yard score to cut the lead to six. And after the Sugar Skulls made a fourth down stop on the ensuing Wranglers possession, Tucson got the ball back to end the third quarter, with the score 39-34 Wranglers.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mitchell drove down the field and scored on a one-yard rush to award the lead back to the Sugar Skulls. Midway through the quarter, the Wranglers would reclaim the advantage on Maldonado's second receiving touchdown of the game from 14 yards out. With three minutes to go, the Skulls rode Mike Jones on a two-yard rumble. That play gave the Skulls the lead, but by just two points after a missed PAT from Fotinos. Aided by a series of big plays and key conversions on third and fourth downs, the Wranglers set themselves up with a handful of seconds left with a chance at the winning score. They got it thanks to a David Elder rush from one yard, and Perez would knock through a successful drop kick to extend the lead to six points with about 11 seconds on the clock. Mitchell would get the Skulls to the NAZ 20-yard line, but the final prayer for the Skulls came up short, with Mitchell's pass intercepted at the goal line by Malik Sonnier as time expired, sealing the win for the home side.
For the winning Wranglers, Josh Jones completed 19 of 27 passes for 212 yards, to go with five touchdowns and no interceptions, while gaining 31 yards and a touchdown on seven carries as a rusher. RZ McCorker had another impressive game, leading the team in receiving (6/65/2) to go along with 25 yards on two rushing attempts. John Maldonado (5/44/2) also played a pivotal role for Northern Arizona. Travion Banks led the Wrangler defense with eight total tackles and two pass breakups, while Malik Sonnier recorded the interception which stood as the game-winner.
Mylik Mitchell was electric for the Sugar Skulls despite the loss, recording nine completions on 17 pass attempts for 128 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He logged 98 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, while his running mate Mike Jones also had two rushing touchdowns on 12 carries for 33 yards. Mike Carrington led Skulls receivers in catches (four) and yards (58) on the evening. James Jackson and Darius Hatch co-led the Skulls with seven tackles apiece.
Northern Arizona possessed a total yards advantage of 281 to 241. The Wranglers were flagged five times for 40 yards, whereas the Skulls got penalized three times for 25 yards.
The Wranglers now lead the all-time series with Tucson six games to four (including postseason). The Arizona-based rivals are slated to meet twice more in the regular season, once on April 27 at Tucson, and a second meeting in Prescott Valley scheduled for May 25.
The Wranglers (1-1) will visit the San Antonio Gunslingers on Saturday April 6 for a 4:05 p.m. kickoff. The Sugar Skulls (0-1) will make the trip to New Mexico to face the Duke City Gladiators on Saturday April 6 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
3/30/24 --
PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ - Folks, this wasn't your older brother's Wranglers/Sugar Skulls game. Saturday night's "Indoor War" at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley turned out to be an offense-driven back and forth affair, with the visiting Sugar Skulls making their season premiere. In the end, the Wranglers rode stalwart performances from quarterback Josh Jones and wide receiver RZ McCorker to get Northern Arizona in the win column, taking this game by a final score of 54 to 48. Tonight's game marks the first of the 2024 IFL season to crack the 100-point total mark.
Tucson drove their opening possession inside the Wrangler 15-yard line, but were stuffed on fourth down by the Wrangler defense, keeping them off the scoreboard. It took just two plays for the Wranglers to make them pay, with Josh Jones finding Justin Manyweather for a big 29-yard receiving touchdown. Axel Perez would miss the PAT, however. Tucson's second drive ultimately found paydirt, with Mike Jones rumbling in a two-yard touchdown run. After a successful extra point by Demitri Fotinos, the Sugar Skulls would take a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Once the second quarter started, the game reached breakneck pace, with both sides trading touchdowns all the way through to the end of the half. A Josh Jones pass to McCorker for five yards (PAT miss) was met by a three-yard touchdown rush by Skulls quarterback Mylik Mitchell. McCorker would make another house call with a 16-yard rush on the next drive, and that was followed with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Demario McCall. And a five-yard rush by Josh Jones was followed up by an 11-yard touchdown run by Mitchell. The flurry of scoring took the game deep into the one-minute warning, with Tucson up 28-26. And with just four ticks on the clock, the Wranglers scored once more, with Josh Jones connecting with John Maldonado on a two-yard pass to send the Wranglers into halftime with the 32-28 advantage, and first possession of the second half.
The Wranglers and Sugar Skulls would trade missed field goal attempts to begin the second half. Northern Arizona would eventually bump its lead to 11 points with McCorker's third touchdown of the game, a 32-yard reception from the arm of Josh Jones. The Skulls had a quick response, with Mitchell rushing for a six-yard score to cut the lead to six. And after the Sugar Skulls made a fourth down stop on the ensuing Wranglers possession, Tucson got the ball back to end the third quarter, with the score 39-34 Wranglers.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mitchell drove down the field and scored on a one-yard rush to award the lead back to the Sugar Skulls. Midway through the quarter, the Wranglers would reclaim the advantage on Maldonado's second receiving touchdown of the game from 14 yards out. With three minutes to go, the Skulls rode Mike Jones on a two-yard rumble. That play gave the Skulls the lead, but by just two points after a missed PAT from Fotinos. Aided by a series of big plays and key conversions on third and fourth downs, the Wranglers set themselves up with a handful of seconds left with a chance at the winning score. They got it thanks to a David Elder rush from one yard, and Perez would knock through a successful drop kick to extend the lead to six points with about 11 seconds on the clock. Mitchell would get the Skulls to the NAZ 20-yard line, but the final prayer for the Skulls came up short, with Mitchell's pass intercepted at the goal line by Malik Sonnier as time expired, sealing the win for the home side.
For the winning Wranglers, Josh Jones completed 19 of 27 passes for 212 yards, to go with five touchdowns and no interceptions, while gaining 31 yards and a touchdown on seven carries as a rusher. RZ McCorker had another impressive game, leading the team in receiving (6/65/2) to go along with 25 yards on two rushing attempts. John Maldonado (5/44/2) also played a pivotal role for Northern Arizona. Travion Banks led the Wrangler defense with eight total tackles and two pass breakups, while Malik Sonnier recorded the interception which stood as the game-winner.
Mylik Mitchell was electric for the Sugar Skulls despite the loss, recording nine completions on 17 pass attempts for 128 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He logged 98 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, while his running mate Mike Jones also had two rushing touchdowns on 12 carries for 33 yards. Mike Carrington led Skulls receivers in catches (four) and yards (58) on the evening. James Jackson and Darius Hatch co-led the Skulls with seven tackles apiece.
Northern Arizona possessed a total yards advantage of 281 to 241. The Wranglers were flagged five times for 40 yards, whereas the Skulls got penalized three times for 25 yards.
The Wranglers now lead the all-time series with Tucson six games to four (including postseason). The Arizona-based rivals are slated to meet twice more in the regular season, once on April 27 at Tucson, and a second meeting in Prescott Valley scheduled for May 25.
The Wranglers (1-1) will visit the San Antonio Gunslingers on Saturday April 6 for a 4:05 p.m. kickoff. The Sugar Skulls (0-1) will make the trip to New Mexico to face the Duke City Gladiators on Saturday April 6 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-AS
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