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Clear forecast: Rattlers rout Storm 69-42, advance to IFL semifinals

Top-seeded Arizona hosts Duke City next weekend

Posted 8/29/21

PHOENIX — Showers were forecast for the Valley on Sunday, but it was the Arizona Rattlers who easily raced past the Storm.

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Clear forecast: Rattlers rout Storm 69-42, advance to IFL semifinals

Top-seeded Arizona hosts Duke City next weekend

Posted

PHOENIX — Showers were forecast for the Valley on Sunday, but it was the Arizona Rattlers who easily raced past the Storm.

Seeking revenge against a Sioux Falls Storm squad that had eliminated them from the last two postseasons in excruciating fashion, the Rattlers dominated on both sides of the football to capture a satisfying 69-42 victory in an Indoor Football League quarterfinal playoff at the Footprint Center.

“We are in a dominant mindset,” Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy said after the game. “I thought our offense and defense had tremendous energy tonight and they executed our game plan. We wanted this game first — after what happened in 2018 and 2019 — to get this one out of the way and move on.”

The win propelled top-seeded Arizona to 13-2 this season while 8-seed Sioux Falls concludes its 2021 campaign at 6-8 overall.

The Rattlers have won six straight games and will welcome the Duke City Gladiators (8-7) to the Snake Pit for the IFL semifinals this Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

The Storm has had the Rattlers’ playoff number lately, but it became quickly clear that 2021 would be quite different.

“We’ve sort of had that monkey on our back,” Arizona quarterback Drew Powell said in the postgame. “Now it’s gone.”

The Rattlers defense started strong, with ballhawk Dillion Winfrey picking off Lorenzo Brown on the first series. Winfrey’s 8th INT in the last four games led to a 12-yard TD pass from Powell to Jarrod Harrington. Ernesto Lacayo missed the PAT off the left upright but Arizona still led 6-0 four minutes into the game.

“We have always had great defensive backs here and Dillion is having a tremendous year, getting hot at the right time,” Guy said. “He’s a total pro and a great leader. That pick tonight started a nice run for us.”

Winfrey explained what he saw.

“I stayed disciplined on that play. I had no run responsibility so I was able to focus on my guy and getting to the ball,” he said. “Sioux Falls has broken my heart in ‘18 and ‘19. I wanted this game.”

Brown, who beat Arizona in the 2018 and 2019 playoffs, immediately responded with a key fourth-down conversion.

Brown found Alonzo Moore behind the Arizona secondary for a 26-yard TD pass to tie the game. It remained 6-6 as kicker Parker Douglass shanked the PAT wide left at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.

Powell did what he does best on the next possession, eluding tacklers for a 6-yard rushing score — his 35th ground score this season. Lacayo’s PAT gave Arizona a 13-6 lead with two minutes left in the first.

The Rattlers’ D toughened up and nabbed a fourth-down stop as Brown threw wildly into the crowd along the right sideboards.

Powell immediately cashed in, lofting a perfect 25-yard rainbow TD pass to Troy Pelletier along the right sideline. Lacayo’s successful kick made it 20-6 Arizona early in the second quarter.

“We are starting to peak at the right time,” Powell admitted.

Sioux Falls made a change at quarterback with Tommy Armstrong stepping in for Brown. The Rattlers’ D took advantage, with Winfrey knocking down a third-down pass and forcing a field goal attempt on fourth-and-10. Douglass again pulled the ball wide left and Arizona held its 14-point lead.

That stop meant more points for Arizona. Powell hit Harrington with a long pass to the Sioux Falls’ 2 yard line. A few plays later following a Rattlers penalty, Powell slipped a nifty pass to running back Nick LaSane for a 6-yard TD. The PAT made it 27-6 as the crowd of 5,802 celebrated a three-score lead.

Sioux Falls showed signs of life as Nate Chavious took a handoff 33 yards down the right sideboards for a touchdown. Douglass’ PAT brought the Storm within 27-13 at the one-minute warning.

Douglass attempted a “deuce” on the ensuing kickoff, trying to kick the ball between the far goalposts from his own end line — 58 yards away — off a one-inch tee. The ball sailed high and far but clanked off the left upright and Arizona took over at midfield.

Arizona’s offense would take advantage of the prime field position with Powell hitting Braxton Haley with a 9-yard TD in the left corner of the end zone at the :15 mark.

Douglass ended the half with a 47-yard field goal but Sioux Falls still trailed 34-16 at the break.

The scorefest continued into the third quarter as the Rattlers took the opening kickoff, drove the field and added on with a 2-yard jet sweep TD by Jamal Miles. The Lacayo PAT extended the advantage to 41-16 five minutes into the second half.

Arizona’s defense forced Sioux Falls into a 4th-and-14 at their own 5. Douglass tried a 61-yard field goal but it had no chance.

The rout was on as Powell tossed an 11-yard touchdown to LaSane. The Rattlers led 48-16 late in the third.

Chavious found the promised land from 11 yards away — with Armstrong running in for 2 points — to bring Sioux Falls within 48-24 at the end of three.

After a failed Storm onside kick, Powell hauled a bevy of Storm tacklers into the end zone from 7 yards away. Lacayo’s PAT gave Arizona its biggest lead at 55-24.

Alonzo Moore wrestled the football away from Tyrell Pearson on the next drive for a touchdown but the two-point pass failed and Arizona still held a 25-point lead with 9:43 left.

“We still have some things we need to fix,” Guy said.

Rattlers backup quarterback TJ Edwards subbed in for Powell. He immediately made an impact, scrambling 10 yards past the Storm D and finishing with a “Superman leap” into the end zone as the crowd exploded. Lacayo made the kick to give Arizona a 62-30 lead with 7:43 left in the game.

Chavious scored his third TD on the ground to bring Sioux Falls within 62-36 but Edwards counted that with a 1-yard score with under four minutes to go.

Armstong tossed a final TD to Brandon Sheperd but it was too little, too late as the Rattlers ran out the clock in anticipation of their semifinal next weekend.

Powell paced the Rattlers, going 13-for-17 through the air for 170 yards, 5 TDs and no INTs. He added two more scores on the ground for seven total touchdowns. Making his case for MVP of the league, Powell has tallied 72 total touchdowns (37 rushing, 35 passing) in 15 games.

“Drew is a weapon,” Guy said. “Teams know that and he is still able to put up incredible numbers.”

LaSane caught two TDs and added 32 yards rushing. Harrington, Haley and Pelletier caught one TD each.

Chavious had 3 rushing scores for the Storm while Moore grabbed two receiving TDs.

Arizona handled Duke City twice in the regular season — 51-36 in June in New Mexico and 60-48 at home in late July — but this is the playoffs and anything can happen.

“They are the top scoring offense in the league,” Guy explained. “The last game we didn’t play great defense was here against them. We’ve improved since then and our players are excited that the playoffs have to come through the desert so we will be ready.”

An hour after the game, Winfrey was ready to take the field again.

“We’ve got eight more quarters to go,” he said. “And we won’t overlook Duke City.”