Photo: 25 David Elder returns the kickoff 58 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half
Coming off their first win of the season, and with many new faces including starting quarterback Ramone Atkins, the Northern Arizona Wranglers were poised for an upset of the top team in the IFL, but it was not to be.
The Arizona Rattlers scored a touchdown in the final seconds to pull out a 54-47 win over the Wranglers at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.
Photo: Darius Johnson takes down Isaiah Huston into the sideline
The Wranglers came out ready to play and took a 7-0 lead on a 3 yard run on the left side by Atkins. Stefan Speno, in his second game with Northern Arizona, added the extra point. The Rattlers quarterback Dalton Sneed responded with an 11 yard run followed by a Dawson Evitts kick to tie the game at seven.
Photo: Marlon Cook finishes the catch as he goes into the sideline
Atkins completed his first of four touchdown passes in the game, this one to Marlon Cook Jr. for a 13-7 lead after one quarter.
The Rattlers would score three straight touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 27-13 lead. Ron Brown Jr. scored all three rushing the ball, two from one yard out, and a third from two yards away. A turnover on downs and the fumble by Northern Arizona took some of the energy away from the home crowd as Arizona capitalized, but the Wranglers were about to get a big lift heading to the locker room. David Elder came up with a huge play as he returned the kickoff with just three ticks left on the clock to pull the Wranglers to within seven at 27-20 at the half.
The momentum switch on that play carried into the second half. The Rattlers took the kickoff and turned the ball over on their second play from scrimmage when defensive lineman Mason Newton fell on the fumble by the Arizona running back.
Photo: Kobe Smith gets past Autjoe Soe on his way for a 16 yard touchdown reception from Ramone Atkins
Atkins hit Arland Bruce on a 16 yard TD pass, but a missed extra point attempt left the Wranglers down one at 27-26. Arizona turned the ball over on downs and the Wranglers took the lead on a pass from Atkins to Kobe Smith, who fought his way past a defender to get into the end zone, giving NAZ a 32-27 lead.
The Rattlers responded with a touchdown pass from Sneed to Isaiah Huston to reclaim the lead 33-32 to close out the third quarter.
Nolan Susel caught Atkins’ third touchdown pass of the game on a 20 yard strike, following that up with a two point conversion run for a 40-33 lead.
Photo: 52 Mason Newton puts pressure on Dalton Sneed
The Rattlers took some big hits once again on their next possession, but Sneed was able to scramble and score on a 4 yard run to tie the game at 40 with nine minutes remaining.
Susel scored his second touchdown with six minutes left on an 8 yard run, and the Wranglers led 47-40 as the offense continued to click.
Arizona does not have the best record in the league by accident and the way they handled crunch time proved it. Despite the intense pressure the Wranglers defense produced, a combination of runs and passes that got the Rattlers the equalizer on a 7 yard TD pass to Jamal Miles from Sneed with under four minutes remaining.
Arizona’s defense turned up the heat and forced four incomplete passes and a turnover on downs by the Wranglers, setting the table for the Rattlers offense.
The Wranglers defense battled and appeared to have held Arizona to a field goal attempt with 23 ticks remaining. After lining up for the potential winning kick, Rattlers Coach Kevin Guy decided to take a timeout. When play resumed, the offense was back on the field facing a fourth down and two at the NAZ 4 yard line. Sneed faked the handoff and drifted back patiently waiting for Isaiah Huston to get opened in the back of the end zone for the touchdown with just 18 seconds to play.
Still with plenty of time in the arena football world, the Wranglers did have a chance to get the score and send the game to overtime, but four straight passes by Atkins fell incomplete as the game came to an end.
The two opposing quarterbacks each threw for 193 yards in the game. Atkins completed 16-26, while Sneed was 17-22. Atkins threw four TD passes and Sneed three. Both played a clean game with neither throwing an interception. Atkins also led the ground game with 61 yards and a touchdown, while Ron Brown Jr. led Arizona with 74 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Wranglers will visit the San Diego Strike Force on Saturday at 6:05 pm, before returning home to face the Vegas Knight Hawks on June 7 at 6:05 pm.
ARIZONA RATTLERS 54, NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS 47
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Arizona 7 20 6 21 – 54
Northern Arizona 13 7 12 15 – 47
Scoring Summary
NAZ-Atkins 3 yd run (Speno kick)
A-Sneed 11 yd run (Evitts kick)
NAZ-Cook Jr. 13 yd pass from Atkins (Kick failed)
A-Brown Jr. 1 yd run (Bad snap)
A-Brown Jr. 1 yd run (Evitts kick)
A-Brown Jr. 2 yd run (Evitts kick)
NAZ-Elder 58 yd kickoff return (Speno kick)
NAZ-Smith 16 yd pass from Atkins (Kick blocked)
NAZ-Bruce 15 yd pass from Atkins (Kick failed)
A-Huston 25 yd pass from Sneed (Run failed)
NAZ-Susel 20 yd pass from Atkins (Susel run)
A-Sneed 4 yd run (Evitts kick)
NAZ-Susel 8 yd run (Kick failed)
A-Miles 7 yd pass from Sneed (Evitts kick)
A-Huston 7 yd pass from Sneed (Evitts kick)
IFL STANDINGS
Western Conference W-L Overall W-L
Arizona 6-1 7-1
Bay Area 5-2 6-2
Vegas 4-3 4-4
San Diego 4-4 4-4
Tucson 2-3 3-4
San Antonio 2-4 2-6
NORTHERN ARIZONA 0-6 1-7
Eastern Conference W-L Overall W-L
Quad City 6-2 6-2
Green Bay 5-2 5-3
Jacksonville 4-2 6-2
Tulsa 4-2 6-2
Massachusetts 2-3 2-5
Fishers Freight 1-5 2-6
Iowa 1-7 1-7
SCOREBOARD
Arizona 54, WRANGLERS 47
Bay Area 68, Tucson 57
Jacksonville 46, Fishers Freight 40
Tulsa 56, Iowa 51
