Rattlers Seek to Rebound from Frustrating Loss

By Nickolas Montei ꟾ Rattlers Media

When the Arizona Rattlers play their second of three games they will play against the Tucson Sugar Skulls on Saturday, Head Coach Kevin Guy does not expect to see the same team the Rattlers throttled earlier this season.

The Rattlers will take the two-hour trek down Interstate 10 on Saturday for a 7 p.m. MST kickoff at Tucson Arena. The game will be broadcast on the Overnght streaming service.

In the first meeting May 10, the Rattlers set a series-record in points scored and point differential, dominating the Sugar Skulls, 66-14, at Desert Diamond Arena. The Rattlers lead the all-time series 13-3 and have won five of the last six meetings.

As the two teams prepare to meet again, the Rattlers are 7-4 and coming off a frustrating loss to Fishers Freight at home, while the Sugar Skulls are on a three-game winning streak after a 2-6 start. Last week, the Sugar Skulls took down the reigning IFL Champions, the Vegas Knight Hawks, a team that has handed the Rattlers two of their four losses this season.

The difference? The Sugar Skulls traded with the Knight Hawks for former IFL MVP quarterback Ja'Rome Johnson. In his three games in Tucson, Johnson has thrown for 427 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for another 152 yards and four touchdowns.

Guy said that type of acquisition happens frequently in the IFL and can take a team a long way.

"They picked up a quarterback and then all of a sudden they've won a couple of games in a row," Guy said on the Rattlers Uncoiled podcast last week. "They've always done pretty decent on defense, so you know they're going to be a team that could get hot and get on a roll."

Sitting in third place in the Western Conference behind Vegas and San Diego, Guy said each week, even this late into the season, is an opportunity to evaluate his team and do the best he can to put it into a position to make a playoff run.

"We will do some self-scouting," he said. "Are we dominant enough at certain positions that we've got to be to win in the playoffs? We brought some players in after the bye week, and we'll see how that goes. It's all about competition and playing our best ball, and we want to be playing our best ball going into the playoffs.

"Regular season is just really getting 16 tests before you get to the playoffs to work out all the kinks and put yourself in a position to try and make a run."