At the halfway point of the IFL season, the Tucson Sugar Skullsβ 1-6 record wasnβt what most were expecting considering the roster of all-league veterans and notable rookies that head coach Dixie Wooten assembled in the spring.
With seven games remaining before the postseason, the Sugar Skulls are in the cellar of the IFL standings, and Wooten is in uncharted territory as a head coach. But his positivity and drive to fulfill the βchampionship-or-bustβ expectations hasnβt wavered.
βItβs not how you start, itβs how you finish,β Wooten said. βThis is my first time going through this type of adversity, but I look at it like a challenge. Why not me? Why not step to the challenge and show my guys that Iβm not gonna hang my head because weβre losing right now.
βWe can always step up harder and win games. β¦ Losing a game makes me mad and frustrates me at times, but when I think about the big picture of life, it makes me come back and come to the drawing board and get ready for the next week.β
Tucson looks to snap a five-game losing skid at 6:05 p.m. Saturday when it hosts the Duke City Gladiators β the only team the Sugar Skulls have defeated this season β at Tucson Arena. Coming off the franchiseβs sixth consecutive loss to in-state rival Arizona Rattlers, Wootenβs experience and growing wisdom has allowed him to stay calm in these tense circumstances.
βWhen I was young after a loss, I was ready to throw a brick through the wall. Now, I understand that I have to get back to work,β said Wooten. βWe lost the game Saturday, I was back to work Saturday night trying to break down the film and get ready for Sunday. Itβs a process β a long process β and if weβre still losing, we gotta find ways to rewrite the script.β
So, the Sugar Skullsβ season will go down one of two ways: Tucson can go on a run and still qualify for the postseason, or lose at least three games and put the final nail in the coffin of a disappointing year for a franchise hopeful to make a splash in its second official season.
βIf we run the table, weβre in the playoffs,β Wooten said. βCanβt lose three games, because thatβll definitely put us away. Weβre one game at a time. So, weβre calling this the second season of the year and weβre starting Game 1 again.β
If there was a to-do list for the Sugar Skullsβ βsecond season,β limiting turnovers in critical moments of games is at the top and underlined five times, one for every loss during this streak. Tucson has led in every contest of this losing skid, including three times in the fourth quarter, but βkey mistakes killed us at certain times and made us lose games,β Wooten said.
Most of Tucsonβs turnovers this season have been at the hands of quarterback Demry Croft, who is second in the IFL in passing yards (1,256) and third in rushing (383), but goal-line fumbles and and second-half interceptions have plagued the Sugar Skulls from either taking two-possession leads or cutting into a deficit.
Despite the miscues from the IFL rookie, Wooten isnβt ready to hand the keys to the offense over to a new quarterback and said, βhis potential is through the roof, but I just have to put him in position to not turn the ball over.β
βIf we bring a guy in now, heβs probably not in the best shape, heβs not better than what you have on the roster, because the guys you have on the roster have been working out all year and have been in the system all year,β Wooten said. βYou bring in somebody what we call βoff the street,β they come in and practice and are open for injury. β¦ Weβre going to stick with the guys and go over film and practice and do whatever it takes to be successful.β
The roster is set for the Sugar Skulls, so how do they shake their losing ways? With a game of kickball, of course. The first practice after the loss to the Rattlers, Wooten ended the special teams meeting and directed his team to the practice fields at Kino Stadium, divided up the players and watched them play kickball.
βThereβs always a message through everything,β Wooten said. βSo, I sat back and heard everything I told them: βBe coachable, talk, communicate.β I told them: βEverything you brought to kickball, bring it to football, and bring the fun with it, too.β I think with this group, we get over this hump and weβre gonna make a run.β
The players were receptive to Wootenβs team-bonding tactic.
βAny time you have a team-bonding situation like that, thereβs always a lot of positives you can take from it,β said Sugar Skulls safety Matt Elam, a former first-round NFL draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2013. βWe learned to rally our guys β and trust our guys. β¦ I feel like itβs going to help us in the long run.β
A recharged Sugar Skulls team desperate for a win will get their answer if kickball worked, when they face Duke City with a new mindset.
βWeβre approaching it like itβs the playoffs,β Wooten said.
βThis is a must-win game for us. We gotta have this one and go out there and win this one game. β¦ All we gotta do is jump over the hump in the fourth quarter.β
Extra points
The Sugar Skulls will wear yellow jerseys, yellow pants and black helmets against Duke City on Saturday.
Saturdayβs home is βTeacher Appreciation Night.β The first 1,000 fans will receive a Sugar Skulls foam finger.
Tucson looks to win its first home game of the 2021 season on Saturday. The last time the Sugar Skulls won at Tucson Arena was on June 15, 2019 against the Quad City Steamwheelers.
