By Johnny Fogel
For most of the night, the Arizona Rattlers looked like the team everyone expected at the beginning of the season: explosive, efficient and in complete control. They led by 25 points early in the third quarter, the home crowd at Desert Diamond Arena was in full throat and the defense looked dominant.
Then it all fell apart, again, for the third straight week.
In one of the most stunning collapses in recent Indoor Football League history, the defending champion Rattlers lost 50-47 to the Tucson Sugar Skulls in triple overtime Saturday. It was Arizona’s second loss of the season to Tucson and the second time a double-digit lead slipped away. Together, the collapses have helped blur the line between contender and contradiction.
“We’ve got some character issues,” Rattlers coach Kevin Guy said. “We make excuses, we lose our poise and we turn the damn ball over. Guys we hang our hats on just aren’t making plays.”
The Rattlers entered the night averaging 49.4 points per game, second-best in the Indoor Football League, in addition to a league-high 76 touchdowns and leading the league with the most offensive plays this season at 528. The Rattlers check every box of an elite offensive. Moreover, on defense, they’ve allowed the fourth-fewest yards per game and the seventh-fewest total yards overall.
But none of that has mattered lately. Arizona has now surrendered 52, 54, and 50 points in its last three games, all losses, despite facing fewer defensive snaps than all but two teams in the league.
A man with a headband and eye black, speaking in front of a backdrop with Arizona Rattlers and BetRivers Sportsbook logos.
“It’s just unacceptable,” Sneed said. “You’re looking at the problem right here. Championship teams don’t turn the football over. That starts with me.”
Arizona, now 7-4, started like a bullet-train. Running back Ron Brown Jr. scored four touchdowns, three before halftime, and quarterback Dalton Sneed found wide receiver Corey Reed Jr. early in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 34-9.
Then, the Sugar Skulls woke up.
Sneed threw three interceptions, including one in the third overtime. Veteran-wide-receiver Isaiah Huston fumbled two kickoffs and lost both. A defense that looked unbreakable for two quarters suddenly looked confused and skittish.
Tucson (5-6) wasted no time to take full advantage of the mistakes. With the defending champions on their heels, wide receiver Larry “Tripp” Harrington led the charge with eight catches and scored three touchdowns, including the game-tying reception late in the fourth quarter and a crucial grab at the 1-yard line to set up a go-ahead drive.
“Brotherhood. Team resilience,” Harrington said. “We never gave up, never stopped believing. And then it’s just practice. That’s where the focus comes from.”
The Sugar Skulls briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter, but thanks to clutch kicking, Arizona forced overtime with a last-second field goal.
Both teams missed game-winning field goals in the first overtime. In the second, Sugar Skulls captain Davonte Sapp-Lynch rushed for a touchdown to make it 47-40. Sneed answered with another touchdown pass to Reed to tie the game.
A football player in a black uniform catches the ball while another player in a white uniform attempts to tackle him near the end zone.
The third overtime introduced a new set of rules, adding another twist. Per the IFL rules, when third overtime begins teams are required to attempt two-point conversions after each touchdown. Sneed was intercepted on Arizona’s opening play. Tucson drove to the 7-yard line and kicker Kevin Macias connected on the game-winning field goal.
The home crowd was stunned. Sapp-Lynch however, was jubilant.
“Just believing, you know?” Sapp-Lynch said. “Putting the trust into each other and not giving up, that took us to the end. That’s the beauty about football.”
Sneed finished 9 of 22 for 148 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Huston totaled 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns but lost two fumbles. Brown Jr., who sparked the offense early, felt invisible with limited touches in the second half.
In the postgame locker room, the silence said everything. Guy didn’t rule out personnel changes either.
“We’re married to production, not players,” he said. “If you’re not producing, you’re not staying. Simple as that.”
Both teams will play the same opponent next. Arizona will travel Saturday to play the Bay Area Panthers, whereas the Sugar Skulls will host the Bay Area Panthers this Thursday.