Fourth of July is less than two months away, but the fireworks may come early in the desert.
In the form of touchdowns.
When the Tucson Sugar Skulls (3-3) host in-state rival Arizona Rattlers (6-0) Saturday evening at Tucson Arena, not only will the IFL’s top two offenses square off, it’ll also be the first-ever meeting between Rattlers quarterback Drew Powell and Sugar Skulls quarterback Daquan Neal, who leads the league in passing yards (1,059) and touchdowns (24).
Powell, who was the 2018 IFL MVP and led the Iowa Barnstormers to a United Bowl when Sugar Skulls head coach and general manager Dixie Wooten was the head coach, is just behind Neal with 23 passing touchdowns and 835 yards.
“That’s what makes this game special. We’ve got two quarterbacks who’ve won the MVP, won a lot of games in this league and are going against each other this Saturday,” Wooten said. “You’ve got two of the best quarterbacks in this league going at it, so it’s going to be crazy in itself.”
The Rattlers are averaging 53.8 points this season; Tucson is posting 52.3 points per game. So, in a potentially high-scoring affair, how can the Sugar Skulls, riding a two-game winning streak, overcome the undefeated Rattlers —and beat their rival for the first time in franchise history?
“Man, by just going out and hitting them in the mouth,” Wooten said. “We have the No. 2 offense in the league, and we can score with anybody. We just saw this past week, our defense is stepping up big-time now. … They’re 6-0, so now it’s the perfect time to knock them off.”
Arizona is fresh off a 49-35 victory over the Frisco Fighters, where it won despite committing five turnovers.
Tucson's Javon White returns the two-point conversion for the game-winning points in last week's win over Duke City.
“We’re not playing our best ball, but I look forward to Arizona and Tucson playing each other for the conference championship to go to the championship game this year,” said Rattlers head coach and Sugar Skulls co-owner Kevin Guy. “When I look around the league, Tucson has a team that can do it this year.”
Added Guy: “Tucson could be 5-1. They lost two really close games that they were up in — on the last plays of the game. They could easily be 5-1, but they have a fast-strike offense. … Tucson can score points, there’s no doubt about that, which is exciting for the fans.”
After starting the season 1-3, fumbling fourth-quarter leads in back-to-back games against the San Diego Strike Force and the Duke City Gladiators, Tucson outlasted the Northern Arizona Wranglers 72-62 and most recently avenged their loss to Duke City, 42-41, last Saturday.
Trailing the Gladiators 41-40 with five seconds left after coughing up another late lead, Sugar Skulls defensive lineman Tony Winslow Jr. bulldozed his way through the middle to block the PAT, and the ball was scooped up by defensive back Jovon White who evaded a few tackles to return it for two points to win the game.
“It was a great feeling, man,” Wooten said “In any other situation, any team would come out for the extra point, you’re just going through the motions basically just because you’re feeling bad. T.J. Winslow, a three-year guy, came in and saw an opportunity and got a block. When we saw the ball on the ground, all my guys saw was an opportunity. We picked it up and ran it back, and it was a great feeling that we were able to win that type of game.”
Winslow had also blocked a Duke City field goal earlier in the game. Winslow and White were named IFL Special Teams Co-Players of the Week.
“After the game, I told (Winslow), ‘If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have won this game.’ … If Tony didn’t make those spectacular plays, we’d be talking about something else totally different right now,” Wooten said.
The Rattlers are 7-0 all time against the Sugar Skulls.
“It’s just football. Either you got it or you don’t. I mean, they get dressed the same way I get dressed,” said Tucson running back Mike Jones. “We’re just going to go out there and play football.”
If anyone on Tucson’s roster knows anything about losing to the Rattlers, it’s Jones, who’s been with the team since the inaugural season in 2019 and was on the losing end of those seven games.
“I’ve never beaten them yet, so it would be pretty good to get a win,” he said. “On our previous team, they always hyped up playing the Rattlers. At the end of the day, they’re the big brothers and we’re the little brothers. People were scared in my eyes, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case this year.”
Prior to taking over as head coach and general manager of the Sugar Skulls, Wooten was 4-0 against the Rattlers and never lost to Guy. Losing all three games to Arizona “was like a slap in the face” for Wooten.
“It didn’t feel good at all, because when you have so much success against a person, then all of a sudden you lose three times to that same team? It leaves a sour taste,” Wooten said. “There are some days where I’ll stay up 19 hours just to figure it out.
“That’s what this game means to me. … This game is super important to us. We look at this game like a big-time playoff game.”
Extra points
Tickets for the Sugar Skulls-Rattlers game are marked down to $15 for any seat at Tucson Arena as part of a Mother’s Day special.
Tucson will wear white helmets, red jerseys and white helmets. The Sugar Skulls debuted their alternate red uniforms in 2021.
Arizona’s average margin of victory over Tucson in seven games is 16.8 points. The only one-possession game in the rivalry was a 50-49 shootout in Phoenix in 2019.
