Photo: 8 Glen Gibbons Jr. rushed for two touchdowns in the loss
The Northern Arizona Wranglers dropped their second straight contest on the road with a 47-40 loss to the Duke City Gladiators. The Wranglers were looking to avenge a season opening home loss to Duke City, but the Gladiators came to play.
Duke City went up on an Ernesto Lacayo field goal for a 3-0. A lead they would never relinquish. Northern Arizona’s first possession ended when Garrett Kettle was picked off in the end zone on a fourth down play.
The Wranglers defense came up with a stop, but an illegal defense was called, giving Duke City another set of downs. Quarterback Charles McCullum would walk in from two yards out for a 10-zip lead after one quarter.
Kettle ran the ball in on the first play of the second quarter to get the Wranglers on the board. Brandon Fischer added the extra point trimming the Gladiator lead to 10-7. Duke City kept the offense moving, going up 17-7 on a 13 yard pass from McCollum to Gary Brown. The Wranglers responded with Kettle hitting Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman on a 22 yard strike to make the score 17-14.
On third and three, Duke City increased their lead to 24-14 when Brown scored his second touchdown on a tight curl route, sticking the ball out over the goal line as he went down.
The Wranglers used the final four minutes of the half, overcoming a third and twelve, when Coach Les Moss challenged the play for illegal contact. After the successful challenge, the Duke City coach challenged, but his effort was denied. Play finally resumed and Kettle connected with Glen Gibbons Jr. who went across the field to score, but the officials’ eyes must have blinked, and they missed it, ruling him down at the one yard line. The horrible call did not matter, because on the next play Kettle kept the ball, stretching it over the goal line to barely get it in. The kick failed leaving the deficit at 24-20 with six seconds left. The Gladiators missed a last second field goal attempt to end the half.
The Wranglers received the second half kickoff with a chance to take the lead for the first time, but the Gladiator defense dominated the series, nearly picking up a safety, after Kettle was hit hard, losing the ball. Offensive lineman Justus Smith hustled all the way back into the end zone, picking up the loose ball and running it out to the three yard line. Duke City scored after each team picked up a pair of penalties. Backup QB Demry Croft replaced McCollum briefly after the Duke City quarterback had taken a hard hit. Croft split the defense, running the ball in from six yards out. The PAT hit the left upright keeping the score 30-20 midway through the third quarter.
Dexter Reece earned himself a pick-six when Kettle’s pass went off Wisniewski’s hands. Reece caught the ball at his own four and weaved his way past six Wranglers to increase the Gladiator lead to 37-20.
An unsportsmanlike penalty placed the ball at the Duke City 16 to start the next drive. Kettle hit Chiaokhiao-Bowman on fourth and eight for a 14 yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 37-27.
Duke City started with a second and goal at the Wrangler two. A holding penalty, followed by a quarterback sack by Justin Whisenhunt put the ball back at the 17. McCollum hit Brown who was wide open in the middle of the field, catching the ball at the one, and turned around diving into the end zone. The Wranglers challenged on whether McCollum crossed the line of scrimmage while throwing the pass. The officials announced the play is not a reviewable play, charging the visitors with their second time out. This was the third time in this game that the teams were charged a time out without having a play reviewed. The touchdown gave Duke City a 44-27 lead with 12:10 remaining.
The Wranglers scored on a Gibbons Jr. run, but the pass for two failed, making the score 44-33. A failed onside kick set the Gladiators up at the Northern Arizona nine yard line. A bad snap went off the fingertips of McCollum, but was still recovered by him back at the 17. A false start penalty moved it back to the 22. After a completed pass, Lacayo drilled a 31 yard field goal for a 47-33 lead.
Kettle hit Wisniewski in stride, taking the ball all the way down to the one yard line. Gibbons Jr. took the pitch and ran it in. Fischer added the kick to close the gap to 47-40 with just under four minutes remaining.
Things got more interesting as Dorian Walker came up big recovering the onside kick. The momentum would flip quickly because on the first offensive play, Kettle’s pass right to Chiakho-Bowman was taken away by Roderick Chapman with the “thank you very much” interception, putting an end to the Wranglers hopes. Northern Arizona, with no timeouts remaining, watched as Duke City burned the valuable final minutes for the win.
Kettle completed 19 of 26 for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions, the last of which was not his fault. Receiving was led by Gibbons Jr. with 10 receptions for 43 yards. Chiaokhi-Bowman’s two receptions went for touchdowns. Duke City was led by Charles McCullum who completed 12-16, 128 yards and three TDs. The Gladiators protected the ball with zero turnovers, a big key to the victory. Gary Brown had all three receiving touchdowns, with six receptions for 85 yards.
The Wranglers will try to get back on the winning track when they host the Arizona Rattlers on Saturday night at 6:05 pm.
DUKE CITY GLADIATORS 47, NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS 40
Score by Quarters – 1 2 3 4 – T
Northern Arizona 0 20 7 13 – 40
Duke City 10 14 13 10 – 47
Scoring Summary
DC-Lacayo 20 yard Field Goal
DC-McCullum 2 yard run (Lacayo kick)
NAZ-Kettle 10 yard run (Fischer kick)
DC-Brown 13 yard pass from McCullum (Lacayo kick)
NAZ-Chiaokhiao-Bowman 14 yard pass from Kettle (Fischer kick)
DC-Brown 10 yard pass from McCullum (Lacayo kick)
NAZ-Kettle 1 yard run (Kick failed)
DC-Croft 6 yard run (Kick failed)
DC-Reece 46 yard interception return (Lacayo kick)
NAZ-Chiaokhiao-Bowman 14 yard pass from Kettle (Fischer kick)
DC-Brown 18 yard pass from McCullum (Lacayo kick)
NAZ-Gibbons Jr. 3 yard run (Pass failed)
DC-Lacayo 29 yard Field Goal
NAZ-Gibbons Jr. 1 yard run (Fischer kick)
IFL STANDINGS
Western Conference W-L Eastern Conference W-L
Bay Area 6-3 Frisco 8-1
Wranglers 5-4 Quad City 7-3
Arizona 5-4 Massachusetts 6-3
Tucson 4-4 Sioux Falls 5-4
Vegas 4-5 Green Bay 4-5
Duke City 4-5 Tulsa 1-8
San Diego 3-6 Iowa 1-8
SCOREBOARD
Duke City 47, WRANGLERS 40
Bay Area 44, Tucson 42
Arizona 63, Vegas 39
Quad City 63, Green Bay 56
Sioux Falls 77, Iowa 26
Massachusetts 54, Tulsa 48
Frisco 70, San Diego 56
WEEK 12 SCHEDULE- Arizona Time
Arizona at WRANGLERS, Saturday, 6:05 pm
Tulsa at San Diego, Saturday, 3:05 pm
Green Bay at Iowa, Saturday, 5:05 pm
Sioux Falls at Iowa, Saturday, 5:05 pm
Duke City at Bay Area, Saturday, 6:05 pm
Vegas at Arizona, Saturday, 6:05 pm
