The Indoor Football League acknowledged there was a judgment error by officials in the review process on the last play of the Rattlers’ 49-48 playoff loss to the San Diego Strike Force on Aug. 4 at Desert Diamond Arena.
But, in a statement, the league said it won’t set a precedent and reverse the outcome of the game. The defending IFL champion Rattlers’ season is over, knowing the league admitted the officials got the last call wrong.
The Rattlers filed a formal protest with the league after San Diego won on a Nate Davis touchdown pass to Arthur Jackson III on the last play of the game. Coach Kevin Guy was upset with game operators for not showing the replay on the big board above the field, and he wasn’t able to review the play until after he conducted the postgame interview with the media.
Rattlers head coach Kevin Guy talks with quarterback Dalton Sneed during a game against Strike Force at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on July 12, 2025.
After seeing the play, he felt a false start should have been called with a 10-second runoff, giving the Rattlers a 48-42 first-round win, because the offense wasn’t set before the snap.
“Following a comprehensive review of the facts and arguments presented in connection with Arizona’s formal protest of the August 4th game against the San Diego Strike Force, the Indoor Football League (IFL) has determined that game officials committed a judgment error during the review process,” the league statement read on the IFL website. “Specifically, a false start occurred, as three or more players were not set at the time of the snap.”
The statement goes on to say that the IFL’s current procedures do not provide a defined resolution for a claim involving a judgment call.
“In alignment with the practices of other professional sports leagues — and consistent with the NCAA, whose rules the IFL often mirrors — the league will acknowledge the error but will not overturn the outcome of the game,” it continued.
“The IFL will not set a precedent for reversing game results due to judgment errors. The integrity of competition requires that such matters be addressed through officiating evaluation and improvement, which will remain a priority moving forward.”
The Rattlers received an email from IFL commissioner Todd Tyron late Aug. 4 with this added to the statement.
“I recognize that multiple operational issues require attention, with officiating being a priority,” the email stated. “These matters will be addressed during the offseason. For the integrity of the league, our championship game and the future of the IFL, my hope is we can move forward and spend our time, energy and emotion on the weekend of the 23rd in Tucson.”
That is the date of the IFL championship game.
The Rattlers issued a statement on Aug. 6 on social media:
“The Arizona Rattlers, as an organization, accept the ruling by the IFL but stress that it will come with consequences for the error by the officials and the manner in which the matter has been handled.
“The Rattlers’ strong tradition of playoff success was cut short by an unfortunate — and avoidable — lapse in judgment. As a result, both the team and its fans were deprived of the chance to pursue a second straight championship.”
Because of an arena conflict in San Diego, the No. 3-seeded Strike Force (11-6) will have to travel to Henderson, Nevada, to play the No. 4 Vegas Knight Hawks on Aug. 8 in the Western Conference championship game.
The Rattlers finished at 10-7, losing two of three games to San Diego in the final month.
