Photo: 10 Benji Omayebu works to break through the Gunslinger defense
Glen Gibbons Jr. who was a part of the 2022 IFL championship team returned to Prescott Valley and scored three touchdowns to lead the San Antonio Gunslingers to a 30-29 win over the Northern Arizona Wranglers. In their first meeting two weeks ago the Gunslingers beat NAZ 32-14 on what turned out to be quarterback Ramone Atkins last game as a Wrangler.
Photo: 9 Anthony Garrett with the pass as 8 Kendre Gant closes in
Moving into the starting role at QB was Anthony Garrett who made a positive impression early as he led the team to two touchdowns on runs of 10 and 3 yards to go on top 14-6 early in the second quarter.
For the remainder of the first half it was all Gunslingers as they went up on back-to-back touchdowns passes from Fred Payton Jr. to Gibbons Jr. to lead 20-14.
After a stalled drive in the final seconds of the half, the Gunslingers Huettel added a 40 yard field goal with no time on the clock after an offside penalty gave San Antonio another chance to add three to go into halftime on top 23-14.
Benji Omayebu provided an energizing lift as he returned the second half kickoff 50 yards for the touchdown, and after the Higuera PAT, and a deuce the game was tied at 23 less than a minute into the second half.
Gibbons Jr. scored his third touchdown on a post pattern to the far corner of the end zone just beating the defender for the score and a 30-23 San Antonio lead.
Photo: 99 Zachary Vincenti gets after San Antonio quarterback Fred Payton Jr.
Northern Arizona came right back and scored as Omayebu would not be denied as he dragged some defenders on his way for a 9 yard score. What turned out to be the difference was the extra point missed just left of the upright. A deuce attempt also just missed but there was still plenty of time left, or so one would think.
The fourth quarter turned out to be quite unusual for IFL standards as neither team would score any points but both teams had their chances.
The Wranglers missed out on a golden opportunity to go on top as they still trailed by one with just under eight minutes to play. Three plays with the ball at or inside the one yard line of the Gunslingers, Northern Arizona came up short as the San Antonio defensive unit held strong.
The Gunslingers took over on downs and were able to slowly move the ball effectively keeping the Wrangler offense on the bench. The game was chippy and peaked as the clock ticked down to about two minutes, an altercation resulted in the ejection of lineman David Connor as play continued after the whistle. Two Wranglers had to sit out a play but returned. The Northern Arizona defense failed on two fourth down plays to stop San Antonio and get the ball back. Their coach Jonathan Baine rolled the dice twice and it paid off as they chose to run a play rather than attempt a field goal and go up by four. The second came at the one minute warning when Payton Jr. completed a pass on fourth and ten to Deion McShane. Credit the Gunslingers again as Kelvin “KJ” Smith had a sure touchdown on the next play but slid down just short of the goal line to keep the clock running. Out of timeouts, all the Wranglers could do is watch the clock run out.
It was another tough pill to swallow for Northern Arizona who played well but once again hiccupped in some key situations that ultimately cost them the game.
Photo: Glen Gibbons Jr.
Gibbons Jr. said, “It came down to knowing the situations and making the right choices. I have to give it up for the O line. Those guys did what they had to do and gave us the time we needed to get the ball down the field. Also what the defense was able to do and keep them out of the end zone was a tremendous effort and accomplishment.” About the halftime talk from his coach Gibbons Jr. said, “He said we need to stay poised and focus on what each of us needed to do.”
As for the numbers, the quarterback comparison shaped up with Payton Jr. 12-19-0 for 95 yards and 3 touchdowns. Garrett had a big ground game with 85 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, but was only 4-14-1 for 46 yards through the air. KJ Smith rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown while Payton Jr had 43 for San Antonio. Their two receivers, Gibbons Jr. 4-42, 3 TDs and McShane 4-25. Ka’Ron Ashley led the Wranglers with 2 catches for 33 yards.
Defensively, Kendre Gant led the Gunslingers with 8 tackles while Dayvia Gbor led NAZ also with 8.
San Antonio evened up their record to (3-3) while Northern Arizona fell to (0-6). The Wranglers will look for their first win as they host the Iowa Barnstormers on Sunday at 4:30pm.
SAN ANTONIO GUNSLINGERS 30, NORTHERN ARIZONA WRANGLERS 29
Score by Quarters – 1 2 3 4 – T
San Antonio 6 17 7 0 – 30
Northern Arizona 7 7 15 0 – 29
Scoring Summary
SA-Smith 5 yard run (Kick failed)
NAZ-Garrett 10 yard run (Higuera kick)
NAZ-Garrett 3 yard run (Higuera kick)
SA-Gibbons Jr. 2 yard pass from Payton Jr. (Huettel kick)
SA-Gibbons Jr. 3 yard pass from Payton Jr. (Huettel kick)
SA-Huettel 32 yard Field Goal
NAZ-Omayebu 50 yard kickoff return (Higuera kick)
NAZ-Higuera deuce
SA-Gibbons Jr. 27 yard pass from Payton Jr. (Huettel kick)
NAZ-Omayebu 9 yard run (Kick failed)
ATT:N/A
IFL STANDINGS
Western Conference W-L
Vegas 5-1
Arizona 4-2
San Diego 4-2
San Antonio 3-3
Tucson 2-4
New Mexico 1-5
Northern Arizona 0-6
Eastern Conference W-L
Green Bay 7-1
Jacksonville 5-1
Orlando 4-2
Fishers Freight 5-3
Tulsa 2-4
Quad City 2-6
Iowa 1-5
SCOREBOARD
San Antonio 30, NAZ Wranglers 29
Orlando 60, Fishers Freight 57
Green Bay 65, Quad City 40
Jacksonville 41, Tulsa 34
1 thought on “Wranglers Miss Out In One Point Loss”
come on wranglers! at least they showed improvement
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