What-ifs dog 5-5 Sugar Skulls as they head into bye week

Their record says 5-5, but the Tucson Sugar Skulls could very well be 8-2 — or even 9-1 — heading into this weekend’s bye.

Tucson frittered away fourth-quarter losses three times in the season’s opening months. And quarterback Daquan Neal missed a winnable game because he was trying out for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

The Skulls lost a 17-point lead to IFL bottom-dwellers in the San Diego Strike Force and lost 67-66 in April, then followed it up with a 57-52 loss to the Duke City Gladiators the following week. The most recent setback for the Sugar Skulls is a 34-32 loss to in-state rival Northern Arizona Wranglers last weekend at home. Neal threw for a season-low 124 yards and one touchdown on 8 for 15 passing; he also fumbled inside the red zone on fourth down late in the fourth quarter, which led to the Wranglers’ game-winning field goal.

“We just didn’t finish,” said Sugar Skulls running back Mike Jones, who leads the IFL with 22 rushing touchdowns, after the game. “That’s all I can say.”

Tucson coach and general manager Dixie Wooten he decided to attempt the fourth-down conversion rather than kick a field goal to make it a four-point game because of the Skulls’ kicking troubles. The team was a combined 2 for 6 on PATs and field goals.

“Two bad snaps and one blocked extra point. Our long snapper had trouble all game even with snaps on offense, so I didn’t want to take that opportunity to get it blocked and they pick it up and run it back,” Wooten said. “We wanted to go for the touchdown, and if we didn’t score the touchdown, our defense played lights out and we could’ve stopped them from kicking a long field goal. … You get past the wins, but you never been past the losses. It was tough, but at the end of the day, I have the best quarterback in the league. Hands down, we’re the best offense in the league with him in there.”

Wooten said he has a “bottle-is-half-full” attitude through the first 10 games. The good news: Tucson’s defense gave up a season-low 34 points to the Wranglers and had two interceptions in the first half, which doubled its season total; Tucson still ranks last in the league in picks with four.

“You look at it two ways,” Wooten said. “You can look at it the harsh way: We had control of this game the entire time, and we let it slip from our hands at the end. But then you also have to look at it like this: Our defense played lights out, and we know our offense won’t have another night like this again. With our defense stepping up the way it did, it made me even more excited to get out of this bye week.”

Added Wooten: “From Day 1 to now, we’ve gotten a lot better. The record shows 5-5, but we know our offense isn’t going to score 30 every game. Our defense has given other team looks and we know that we can stop teams from scoring 30 in a game, so at the end of the day, we’re a tough team to beat. If you ask any team in the league who they don’t want to see in the playoffs, I guarantee they will say us. … Our identity is that we’re a strong offense with our defense getting better. We always play a physical game, but now we’re starting to get in touch with who we are.”

The Sugar Skulls return to Tucson for back-to-back Saturday home games against the Bay Area Panthers and Vegas Knight Hawks.

Wooten ‘overreacted,’ Winslow remains with Skulls

Sugar Skulls defensive lineman Tony Winslow Jr. was flagged for roughing the passer on Northern Arizona’s final drive, advancing the Wranglers into Sugar Skulls territory.

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Winslow was dismissed from the team minutes after the game.

“That’s not acceptable, so we’re not going to allow any player to do that,” Wooten said after the game. “So, at the end of the day, you’re not going to see him on our team anymore.”

However, Wooten has since reevaluated Winslow’s penalty and decided to keep him on the team.

“He made a boneheaded play, but I overreacted because I was in an emotional state,” Wooten said. “I overreacted, and that’s a bad thing as a coach. He tried to make a play and hit (the quarterback) late. He knows he can’t do that again. Tony’s still on the team. I overreacted, but he’s back.

“He’s supposed to understand the moment. That’s what made me upset the most. If he doesn’t hit him late, now that long field goal is a 40-yard field goal. In warmups or even during the game, the kicker never kicked it that far. We wanted that on that possession, but (Winslow) ended up hitting (the quarterback) and it ended up being a 25-yard field goal.”

Winslow has made an impact this season as the Sugar Skulls’ top field-goal blocker. In Tucson’s 42-41 win over Duke City, Winslow blocked the Gladiators’ PAT, which was picked up by defensive back Jovon White and returned for two points to win the game.

Bye week plans

Wooten returned home to Houston during the bye week. He planned to spend time with his grandkids, go fishing and crabbing, and take his dogs to his local park.

“When I get home, this is a place where I can just be a normal person,” he said. “I’m just going to have fun with my family and make sure to go fishing a lot. … I’ve been crabbing since I was a little kid. Our great-grandfather used to take us crabbing, and now I’m taking my grandkids crabbing, and I hope they do the same thing with their grandkids.”

Wooten hopes his players get a chance to hit the reset button heading into the final stretch of the season.

“There’s nothing like family,” Wooten said. “When our guys come back, they have an energy like, ‘I went and saw who I do it for. Now I’m ready to go. I gotta show who I play for — while I’m out here — that I’m trying to get to the next level.’”