Rattlers hit the road for the first time this season

By Nickolas Montei | Rattlers Media

GLENDALE, Ariz. – When you've been part of the indoor football game as long as Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy, you can't help but run into familiar faces wherever you go.

That will be the case this Sunday when the Rattlers hit the road for the first time this season, taking on Fishers Freight at the Fishers Event Center in Indianapolis, Ind. Kickoff in the league's Sunday night spotlight game is scheduled for 4:30 P.M. MST. The game will be broadcast on Yahoo Sports.

Calling the shots on the other sideline will be Head Coach Dixie Wooten, who spent two years as the head coach of the Tucson Sugar Skulls, working for Guy and his wife, Cathy, as owners. After leaving Tucson, Wooten did a stint with the Bay Area Panthers where he won his second title as a head coach in the IFL, adding to his championship with the Iowa Barnstormers.

Guy expects nothing less than a hard-fought game against his former employee.

"Dixie has done an outstanding job of coaching wherever he's been," Guy said. "You know he's going to build a big, physical team. Their ownership group has done an outstanding job of creating an atmosphere to play in there."

The Freight are coming off a 51-42 loss against the Green Bay Blizzard, a game played in Green Bay without fans due to, coincidentally, a blizzard. The Fishers opened the season March 14 with a 45-27 victory over the Quad City Steamwheelers.

The Rattlers enter Sunday's matchup following a redemption victory over the San Diego Strike Force, which eliminated Arizona from the playoffs last season. The dominating, 49-27 victory launched the Rattlers five spots up in the weekly IFL coaches' poll, where they are now ranked second behind the Blizzard. 

Rattlers Quarterback Max Meylor, who came to Arizona from the Blizzard last offseason, led the way with 196 yards and three touchdowns through the air, adding another 37 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. 

The offense scored on every offensive possession but one last week. Meylor's performance earned him the IFL's offensive player of the week award.

"It's pretty cool, but at the end of the day, it was an offensive award," Meylor said. "Offensive line did their job, receivers did their job, the running backs and coaching did good. That doesn't matter anymore; it's on to the next chapter.

"Fishers is a good team," Meylor said. "I know it's going to be a hostile crowd out there, and we've just got to go out and play and do what we do."

The Fishers' offense runs through quarterback Felix Harper, who has recorded seven touchdowns through his first two games. Harper spent time in the Cleveland Browns organization and was a finalist for the HBCU Player of the Year award in 2019. 

Five of his touchdowns have been through the air, although he has led the Freight's offense in rushing attempts in each of their two games.

Guy compared the Freight's defense to his own, developing a very young defense as the season goes along.

For the Rattlers, the defense impressed Guy, forcing two turnovers in what was their first time playing between the walls, as they had spent the entirety of training camp outside in the hot Arizona sun.

Looking ahead, Guy acknowledges that neither this game nor their victory over San Diego last week defines what the team will end up as. 

"It's personal for me this year," Guy said. "I like building silence. We're going to continue to build in silence. Right now, I'm just trying to get my team to the level they need to be. You don't win the championship in Week 1.

"It's about developing players in this league. Every game is a lesson to learn, whether you win or lose."