Photo: 11 John Maldonado battles 21 Khalil Finley for the ball in the first half
When you have two mascots that represent western heritage it was no surprise that there was going to be a shootout in a Wild West affair at the Findley Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. The Northern Arizona Wranglers needed one defensive stop at the end of the game to hold on to a 74-68 win over the San Antonio Gunslingers.
Wrangler quarterback Josh Jones played error free football completing 19 passes for 222 yards and six touchdowns. Jones also scored two more on the ground while rushing for 98 yards, with his final score being the game winner.
John Maldonado continues to be sure handed pulling in eight passes for 112 yards and four touchdowns. Kobay White scored twice with five receptions for 47 yards. David Elder kept a pair of drives alive with five receptions for 63 yards.
The game was a tug of war match as each team took turns with the lead in the first half. A last second Gunslinger field goal attempt in the second quarter was blocked by Tramond Lofton leaving San Antonio with a 37-36 lead at the half.
The Gunslingers held a 53-52 after Maldonado caught his third touchdown pass to pull the Wranglers back within one point. San Antonio quarterback Sam Castronova made his one mistake of the game when he was picked off by Shama Moreland who bolted 29 yards for the pick-six and an NAZ 60-53 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Castronova, who was 14-25-1 for 201 yards and two touchdowns, redeemed himself with a five yard run to tie the game at sixty with eight minutes to play.
Maldonado scored his fourth touchdown fighting his way through defenders into the end zone. Perez followed with his seventh drop-kick, and the Wranglers now held a 68-60 lead with just over three minutes on the clock.
The Gunslingers came right back again when Castronova launched a pass under pressure that Kali Rashad came up with to pull within two at the one minute warning. Going for two, Castronova ran the ball, and with some help from his friends got across the goal line to tie the game at 68.
What turned out to be the winning score came when Jones weaved his way 23 yards to the end zone as 6’4’’, 315 pound Chris Simon assisted with a push the final seven yards to just get the ball across the goal line. The drop-kick missed, but the Wranglers led 74-68 with thirty-seven seconds remaining.
A chess match ensued during the final seconds as San Antonio and Northern Arizona each took timeouts to try and get one up on the other. It all came down to a fourth and three play at the eighteen yard line with eighteen seconds left.
Castronova’s pass was on target but the receiver did not get his hands up for the ball as it sailed into the stands, sealing the deal in this good old western shootout.
Maldonado said, “This was a big win for us and we need to take care of business at home. This was definitely a team effort. We all pick each other up and the pick-six was huge. It turned things around and back in our favor.”
The win keeps the Wranglers in the playoff hunt with an (8-4) record. San Antonio drops to (6-6). The San Diego Strike Force come to Prescott Valley on Saturday. Kickoff is at 6:05 pm.
NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS 74, SAN ANTONIO GUNSLINGERS 68
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
San Antonio 16 21 16 15 – 68
Northern Arizona 14 22 8 30 – 74
Scoring Summary
NAZ-McCorker 1 yard run (Kick failed)
SA-Harper 2 yard run (Stevens kick)
SA-Stevens rouge
NAZ-White 14 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Harper 8 yard run (Stevens kick)
SA-Castronova 5 yard run (Kick blocked)
NAZ-Jones 7 yard run (Kick failed)
SA-Myers 21 yard pass from Castronova (Kick failed)
NAZ-Maldonado 25 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Harper 5 yard run (Stevens kick)
SA-Stevens rouge
NAZ-Maldonado 16 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Castronova 4 yard run (Stevens kick)
NAZ-White 10 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Harper 22 yard run (Stevens kick)
SA-Stevens rouge
NAZ-Maldonado 14 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
NAZ-Moreland 29 yard pass interception (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Castronova 5 yard run (Stevens kick)
NAZ-Maldonado 14 yard pass from Jones (Perez drop-kick)
SA-Rashaad 35 yard pass from Castronova (Castronova run)
NAZ-Jones 23 yard run (Kick failed)
ATT:2,700
IFL STANDINGS
Western Conference W-L
Bay Area 10-2
Vegas 9-3
WRANGLERS 8-4
Arizona 8-5
San Diego 8-5
San Antonio 6-6
Tucson 2-10
Duke City 1-11
Eastern Conference W-L
Green Bay 10-3
Frisco 10-3
Massachusetts 7-6
Quad City 6-6
Tulsa 5-8
Iowa 4-8
Sioux Falls 3-9
Jacksonville 2-10
SCOREBOARD
Northern Arizona 74, San Antonio 68
Vegas 55, Arizona 51
San Diego 41, Tucson 40
Bay Area 34, Duke City 32
Frisco 55, Sioux Falls 40
Tulsa 54, Iowa 48
Quad City 37, Green Bay 27
Massachusetts 44, Jacksonville 30
