Tucson Sugar Skulls 'playing to stay alive' for IFL playoffs in home finale

Billy Back didn’t sugarcoat the Tucson Sugar Skulls’ latest setback.

With the IFL playoffs on the horizon, the Sugar Skulls fell in a 61-55 shootout to the one-win Northern Arizona Wranglers last week in Prescott Valley.

Back, Tucson’s second-year head coach, said losing to the last-place Wranglers “was probably the most disappointing part of the season.”

“We came out hot, felt good, got a stop early in the game and went down to score,” Back said. “We also won the (pregame coin) toss, so we were up 1-0 after winning the toss. But after that, it seemed like our defense couldn’t get off the field. ... Guys didn’t make plays. ... It was disappointing, and you could see that we didn’t have an answer for them offensively.

“It was one of them games where we had a chance to win out and go to the playoffs. We played a team that we had beaten twice and had one win on the dang season. When you put up 55 points, you should win games.”

For Tucson to qualify for the postseason for the first time in two years, the Sugar Skulls (6-8) have to beat the top-seeded Bay Area Panthers (11-3) Saturday night at Tucson Arena, along with the regular-season finale against the the Vegas Knight Hawks (8-6) in Henderson, Nevada — and Vegas has to lose the final two games; the Knight Hawks face the Wranglers this week.

“We still have a chance, so we’re optimistic about that,” Back said.

After Saturday, the next IFL game played at Tucson Arena this season will be the IFL championship on Aug. 23.

Leading up to the Sugar Skulls’ do-or-die home finale, Back joined ESPN Tucson’s “Spears & Ali” to preview the game and discuss the current state of the Old Pueblo’s IFL franchise. Here’s what he discussed:

After a gut-punching loss to Northern Arizona, how do you keep the team locked in for a potential playoff berth?

A: “We’re playing to stay alive. We just lost to the worst team in the league, and now we get to play the best team in the league, so let’s see how good we really are. Bay Area has already clinched a playoff spot, but they’re trying to clinch (home-field advantage in the playoffs), so they’re going to put their best foot forward. ... We’ve got an opportunity to show what we got.

“Let’s get this win at home and hopefully Northern Arizona can knock off Vegas the way they knocked us off, so we can go into Vegas with a season-deciding game. We still got stuff to play for. You always want to beat Bay Area, and I don’t give a dang what your record is or if you’re in the playoffs or not. When Bay Area and that coaching staff comes in, you want to beat them.”

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What do you think has led to the inconsistencies this season?

A: “That’s a good question. I just know the league is better than what it was in the last six or seven years. The last two times Tucson was in the playoffs, the West was dumpster juice. Bay Area was garbage, Vegas wasn’t good, San Diego was terrible and Duke City was in the league. ... When the (Arizona) Rattlers are the third or fourth seed, that tells you about the parity — or someone is spending extra money.

“That’s what is going on. If you want to compete in the west, you can’t go in there, rub two nickels together and hope for the best. But at the same time, we’re doing what we can with the roster that we’ve got.

“We feel like our roster is the best we’ve had in a couple of years. ... Our adjustments haven’t been the best on the defensive side of the ball and we’ve gotta get better at that. We gotta make sure those things are in place this week and moving forward.”

Even if you miss the postseason, is it important to end the season strong to use it as a springboard for next season?

A: “It’s important to finish strong for this season. I don’t do this for a hobby, it’s my job. I’m 28 hours away from my family, so whenever we miss the playoffs, that’s a wasted season. I’m missing out on memories back home, being out here and coaching guys up, so if we don’t get the job done here, it’s a failed season. I don’t give a damn if we miss the next two and miss the playoffs, there’s no silver lining to me.

“In this game, with the way Bay Area and other teams poach players, it’s hard to retain players if you’re not offering what other teams are offering. ... Until we can do that, we’re going to have to do what we did this year and that’s go out and find a young guy who can play, coach them up, get them better. Until you can compete versus everybody else, then you’re just fighting for fourth, fifth or third place in this league.

“It’s the year of the NIL and transfer portal; you gotta have the quality of living outside of football to offer guys to stay. We have the best practice facility in the league, hands down. But at the same time, you gotta have something to draw them to the team and get them to stay. We’re doing what we can. I’d love to bring back 95% of the guys we’ve got. I feel like we have a great roster that needs to mesh and gel together.

“To me, winning the last two is important because we want to be .500 and have a shot at the playoffs. At the same time, it’s not going to make or break what we do next season. We’re going to re-sign a lot of guys and go after a few others and see what we can do after that.”