HENDERSON, Nev. — What happened in Vegas is definitely not staying in Vegas.
The Arizona Rattlers are bringing their 7th World Championship back to the Valley of the Sun.
In one of the most dominant title game performances in recent memory, the Rattlers forced the Massachusetts Pirates to walk the plank Saturday with a dominant 53-16 victory in the Indoor Football League National Championship Game at Lee's Family Forum.
"This ranks right there at the top with me," a jubilant Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy said on the field after the game. "We've had a lot of great years here but we've never won a title in a year where we had so much adversity. We stayed together and worked our way out of it and now we are back where we belong."
Quarterback Dalton Sneed concurred with his head coach.
"This is exactly why I came to the Rattlers," said Sneed, a former Horizon High School standout who was surrounded by friends and family on the postgame arena floor. "This was a full team effort, start to finish."
Considering the game was played about 10 miles from the Vegas Strip, it didn't take long to realize the Rattlers were "all in" on securing another title.
Dawson Evitts kicked off and the Pirates could not get the sidewinding kick out of the end zone. Omari Alexander got credit for the tackle and the 1-point rouge. The Rattlers led 1-0 before any time had ticked off the game clock.
On the ensuing possession, the Rattlers defense forced a fourth down in the red zone.
Massachusetts (10-9) handed the ball to RB Jimmie Robinson who got the first down but was smacked by Alexander inside the 5. Robinson lost the ball and Arizona's Dillion Winfrey recovered.
"We got going early and we were relentless," Winfrey said.
The Rattlers took immediate advantage. Quarterback Sneed ducked a defender for a 31-yard scramble down the left side boards. Later, he hooked up with Jamal Miles for a 9-yard TD pass. Evitts added the PAT to give Arizona an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Arizona got another stop on the next drive as Pirates kicker Henry Nell was no good on a 33-yard field goal. The attempt glanced off the outside of the right upright and the Rattlers held an 8-point lead after one quarter.
RB Shannon Brooks then put Arizona up two scores, bulldozing his way in from 6 yards out. Evitts hit the PAT and the Ratters led 15-0 with 12:19 left before halftime.
The Rattlers' momentum continued with another stop, the third of the first half, on the Pirates' next series. On fourth and goal at the Arizona 7, QB Alejandro Bennifield's pass was dropped by Darren Carrington II along the right boards and the Rattlers took over still pitching a shutout.
Arizona's run game continued to prosper and Sneed eventually ran untouched for 10 yards and a touchdown. Evitts hit the PAT and the Rattlers led 22-0 with 3:02 left in the second quarter.
The domination continued with a Devontae Merriweather interception on third-and-long. It was the start of a huge day for the linebacker/defensive back.
Brooks then found the end zone from a yard out and the rout was on. Arizona led 29-0 at halftime as their large, appreciative crowd roared its approval.
"Teams started to try to attack us with empty backfield packages this year," Guy explained. "We schemed that up for today, put in some zone blitzes and it really paid off. This coaching staff and these players deserve a lot of credit for how hard they worked."
Nell attempted a deuce to start the second half but he was wide right. Arizona's first drive of the third quarter then stalled in the red zone but Evitts connected on a 23-yard field goal to push the lead to 32-0 with 9:16 left in the third.
The Pirates finally dented the scoreboard at the 7:58 mark of the third quarter as Robinson scored on a 3-yard run. Nell made a drop kick for 2 and Massachusetts trailed 32-8.
Arizona (14-5) easily drove the field next and Miles hauled in his second score of the day, a 2-yard strike from Sneed to make it 39-8.
"We just executed what we worked on in practice," Miles explained. "I found a way to get open and Dalton found a way to get me the ball. It feels great to score a couple in the title game."
Rattlers linebacker Connor Taylor got a fourth-down sack to extend the Mass misery and the party was already getting started with a full quarter to go.
The Pirates got their first stop all game early in the fourth quarter but Merriweather said "no way" as he picked Bennifield for the second time.
Brooks scored his third rushing TD of the title game and Rattler Nation could feel it with a 46-8 lead with eight minutes to go.
"Our offensive line was unbelievable today knocking them off the ball," Guy said. "Brooks was able to be physical and that takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback."
Merriweather capped the game of his life with a third INT and Garrett Kettle replaced Sneed at quarterback and immediately got in the scorebook with a 14-yard keeper for another touchdown.
"We knew we had to attack them to get this 'ship," said Merriweather, who was named the game's most valuable player with his 3 picks. "We thought that if we pressured the quarterback we could force him into some mistakes. The pressure got to him."
Massachusetts put one more on the board but it hardly mattered as Rattler players were celebrating on the sidelines with under 4 minutes to go.
The Rattlers took a final knee and Sneed celebrated a second-straight championship as he took home the hardware with Bay Area last season at the same venue.
"I kept saying the job was not finished," said Sneed. "Now it is. We did it."
It was quite fitting that the carpet from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale was hauled to Vegas and used for this title contest. For at least one afternoon, Lee's Family Forum felt totally like home for the Arizona Rattlers. Nearly the entire crowd of 1,967 was rooting for the Snakes and the players and coaches noticed.
"It was loud," said Winfrey, glancing up into the stands. "It's the best fan base in the IFL."
The head coach, whose Rattlers team set a new IFL title-game record for margin of victory, agreed.
"Our fans showed up and showed out," Guy said. "I'm really proud of them."
This season started off with a 1-3 mark through 4 games, a multitude of injuries and many questions to be answered. After coming so close in recent years only to fall just short in heartbreaking fashion, many Arizona players were emotional in the postgame.
One such player was Winfrey, who along with Miles and Lamar Mady won his second ring with the Rattlers with the first coming in 2017 vs. Sioux Falls.
"We worked hard for this," Winfrey said. "It's good to see that hard work pay off."
Sneed finshed 10-for-15 passing for 67 yards, 2 TDs and no turnovers. He added 61 yards rushing and one score. Brooks rushed the ball 13 times for 69 yards and three TDs. Brooks, Corey Reed Jr. and Miles each caught three passes with Miles hauling in a pair of touchdowns.
Besides Merriweather's defensive heroics, Taylor and Jarmaine Doubs each had five solo tackles. Taylor and Kevin Simes Jr. each had a half-sack.
Bennifield struggled mightily for the Pirates, completing just 11-of-30 for 127 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs.
After a 1-3 start, the Rattlers won 13 of 15 games en route to their 7th overall title between the Arena Football League (1994, 1997, 2012-14) and the IFL (2017, 2024). They outscored their last two opponents 101-39 to finish a championship season.
Guy has now won 5 titles as the Rattlers head coach (2012-14, 2017, 2024). He recently became the winningest head coach in arena/indoor football history but for him, it's all about team success.
"We had to bring some better character into our locker room and we did," Guy said. "Everyone bought in and this team got the job done."
Matt Loeschman
Editor | Daily Independent
mloeschman@iniusa.org
I have edited and written about almost everything in my 20-year journalism career, but I have a strong passion for sports since my father was a teacher and coach when I was young.
My job has allowed me to meet many influential people, including Hillary Clinton, Al Gore (I have a brief, on-camera part in his second movie), George Strait, Matthew McConaughey and several world-class athletes.
I have worked for Independent Newsmedia on two separate occasions – 2000-09 and 2018-present – after studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
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