Sugar Skulls set for final postseason tuneup in trip to San Jose

The Tucson Sugar Skulls have already established themselves as a playoff team with the IFL postseason beginning next week, but this week will determine which team they’ll face.

Tucson (8-7) wraps up regular-season play Saturday night against the Bay Area Panthers (1-14) in San Jose.

Currently, the Sugar Skulls are in possession of third place in the Western Conference standings, but if Tucson loses on Saturday and the Duke City Gladiators beat the Northern Arizona Wranglers, the Sugar Skulls will get dropped to the No. 4 seed and take on the top-seeded Arizona Rattlers in the opening round of the postseason.

If Tucson wins on Saturday, or if Duke City loses, the Sugar Skulls will battle the second-seeded Wranglers in Prescott Valley next week. Tucson had a chance last week to lock up the No. 3 seed at home, but fell to the Iowa Barnstormers 61-48 after an abysmal third quarter.

Sugar Skulls head coach and general manager Dixie Wooten joined the Star’s Justin Spears on ESPN Tucson this week to preview Saturday’s game, along with other pertinent talking points:

What happened last week in the third quarter that allowed Iowa to go on a run, take the lead and ultimately win the game?

A: “We came out of halftime slow, and it showed. Iowa came out and it seemed like they were the ones fighting for a playoff spot while we were already in. I told my guys, ‘We cannot be in this situation no matter if we’re in or not. We have to play hard.’ Even though we rested some guys and put them in position to see other guys, we have to play a better third quarter than that. That was a terrible third quarter for us.”

Considering the defense coughed up 60-plus points for the first time since May, do you feel like the defense reverted back to its old habits?

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A: “Absolutely. We gave up the run big time. I was mad about that, but it’s something that I knew that we have to fix. All practice this week, we’ve been working on our run defense. We’ve gotten 10 times better in the pass game, but we need to get better in the run game.”

Sugar Skulls returner Benjamin Jones returned four kicks for 96 yards last week, including the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and was named the IFL Special Teams Player of the Week. How essential has he been for Tucson?

A: “He’s big-time, man. That’s why our offense is so great this year, because we always have field position. Ben always puts us in the right situation and he can take it to the house for us as well. He’s a big-time player for our team and we need him in the playoffs, so we can continue to get that field position.”

Last week, the Sugar Skulls signed Phoenix native and former Arizona Wildcats linebacker Rashie Hodge. What’s his status with the team moving forward?

A: “For the first game, he played great. He was physical, fast and it’s a new game, so he got adjusted fast. You should see him in practice this week. He understands it. I’m glad we have him on our team and he’s a guy we want to bring back and make him one of our future guys. He’s a legit player and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

What’s the team’s mindset going into this week?

A: “How we performed last week, we’re letting these guys know that we have to play strong, physical and fast. We’re not looking at this game for tape, because (Bay Area) is 1-14. We’re getting ready for the playoffs. … We’re looking at this like a big-time matchup like we’re getting ready for the playoffs.”