Rattlers Use 30-0 Run to Rout Northern Arizona
By Hayley Brown | Rattlers Media
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Arizona Rattlers were back in the win column and got there impressively, defeating the Northern Arizona Wranglers, 56-32, on Saturday before a season-high crowd of 9,019 at Desert Diamond Arena.
Head coach Kevin Guy named quarterback Drew Powell his starter for the fourth straight game and Powell bounced back from a three-turnover performance in the championship of the IFL Cup on May 18.
"We were in New York for nine days, and we've played 10 games straight. We wanted to make sure we finished right," Head Coach Kevin Guy said after the game as his team looks a to a bye week.
The Rattlers received the opening kickoff and quickly cashed in with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ron Brown Jr., his ninth rushing touchdown of the season and 11th overall. Kicker Matthew Cook added a deuce making the score 9-0, giving the Rattlers a lead they never relinquished.
After holding the Wranglers to a field goal on their first possession, the Rattlers put the ball inside the 1-yard line with a 37-yard pass from Powell to wide receiver Arland Bruce IV. Running back Kymani Clarke found the end zone on the next play for a 16-3 lead.
The Rattlers extended their lead to 26-16 when they scored the first of two touchdowns that came on fourth down. Powell connected with wide receiver Trey Odoms-Dukes from 29 yards with 3:10 left in the first half.
The Wranglers responded with a nine-point possession on a touchdown and a deuce to get to within a point after the Rattlers attempted an onside kick as a strategy to get the ball back one more time before the half.
The strategy worked as Powell drove the Rattlers 45 yards to a touchdown in less than a minute, and Cook added another deuce for a 35-25 lead at the half. The drive included a 26-yard pass from Powell to Bruce that put the Rattlers inside the five. Powell and Bruce connected again on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
"That's Rattlers football," Powell said. "We look up, it's a close game, and then the next thing you know you look up again and it's not."
Defensive lineman Carson Taylor recorded his third interception in three games at the end the first half, giving Cook a shot at a field goal and another score before the half, but the kick was wide right.
The Rattlers defense took charge in the second half, holding Northern Arizona scoreless until three minutes were left in the game. It started when Yahsyn McKee Sr. picked off NAZ quarterback Anthony Garrett in the end zone. McKee returned the ball past midfield setting up the Rattlers offense inside Wranglers territory.
"One of the things we emphasized in the offseason was getting guys with ball skills, now our defense is leading the league in interceptions," Guy said, noting the Rattlers 18 interceptions on the season are double what they got in all of 2025.
Clarke scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Rattlers a 42-25 lead with 11:18 left in the third quarter. The Rattlers closed out the third quarter with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Powell to Odoms-Dukes for a 49-25 lead.
Powell ended his night completing 16 of 20 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
"Drew's been in this offense for years," Guy said. "He played really well today."
Quarterback Max Meylor took over for Powell in the fourth quarter, connecting with Bruce on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give the Rattlers a 56-25 lead to end a 30-0 scoring run.
As the Rattlers head to a bye week with a 7-3 overall record, 6-2 in the conference, Guy said his team needs the break but is also poised to head for a finish that includes a long playoff run.
"We've just got to keep trying to get the pieces of the puzzle together to get ready to make a run here," Guy said.
The Rattlers return to Desert Diamond Arena on June 14 to face Fishers Freight which battered Arizona 63-42 in the second game of the season. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on Yahoo! Sports. Tickets are available at www.azrattlers.com.