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PHOENIX — It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish — and what a memorable finish it was.
With memories of past Arizona Rattlers’ home playoff heartbreakers lingering in the shadows, the football gods this time smiled on Arizona as Duke City’s Kevin Goessling shanked a 26-yard field goal wide left at the buzzer to lift the Rattlers to a 58-55 victory over the Gladiators in a wild Indoor Football League semifinal Sunday at the Footprint Center.
“We wanted our defense to play better than what it did,” said Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy, who admitted to some postgame dancing in the locker room. “But we figured out a way to win. We wanted to host that United Bowl here and now we have that opportunity — we’ve had a bad taste in our mouth for two years.”
The win propels top-seeded Arizona (14-2) to the 2021 United Bowl where they will host the #2 Massachusetts Pirates (13-3) next weekend.
Massachusetts was the last team to beat Arizona back on July 18 and neither team has lost since. Arizona enters the title game on a seven-game win streak while the Pirates have won 10 in a row.
Sunday’s contest literally came down to the final play of the game. Prior to that, Arizona running back Darrell Monroe found the promised land with 18 seconds left to put Arizona back in the lead in a seesaw second half.
Ernesto Lacayo kicked off to Dello Davis, who darted up the field but was stripped by the Rattlers’ Braxton Haley. The ball rolled quickly toward the goal line as many hearts starting beating faster both on the field and in the stands. It was ruled that Duke City recovered the ball at the Arizona 2 yard line with 8 seconds left.
Duke City literally had the chance to steal the victory and nearly did — quarterback Nate Davis threw a touchdown over the middle but Arizona’s Tyrell Pearson was clearly picked on the play and the Glads were whistled for offensive pass interference.
“That was about the only call that went our way all night,” Guy said.
Since only 3 seconds remained, Duke City Head Coach Robert Kent sent Goessling out to possibly send the game to overtime.
Instead, Goessling pulled the kick wide left as a crowd of 4,538 went into euphoria.
“I could barely watch,” said Rattlers quarterback Drew Powell. “I just let the crowd let me know what happened.”
Arizona took its first lead of the game on the first possession of the second half. Powell plunged in from one yard away for the score and Lacayo’s PAT made it 30-27 at the 11:07 mark of the third quarter.
Duke City (8-8) immediately responded with a Nate Davis to Dello Davis 34-yard hookup. Goessling made the PAT to put Duke City up 34-30.
The seesaw battle continued with Arizona RB Darrell Monroe scoring on a 4-yard rush. Lacayo’s kick put Arizona up 37-34.
Lacayo then tried an onside kick but it failed, leading to a 3-yard TD pass from Nate Davis to Taylor at the 3:35 mark of the third.
Trailing by four, the Rattlers used a roughing the passer penalty on Duke City to keep their drive alive. Monroe cashed in with a 5-yard rushing TD. When Lacayo booted the PAT, Arizona led 44-41 with 14:13 left in game.
Nate Davis, who threw nearly 80 TDs in the regular season, tossed another to Dello Davis from 8 yards on third-and-goal on the next series. The PAT gave Duke City a 48-44 lead with under 10 minutes left.
Neither defense had an answer as Powell found Jamal Miles on the perfect 33-yard TD strike on the next series. Lacayo put Arizona up 51-48 with 6:59 left in the game.
The Gladiators didn’t flinch as Nate Davis calmly tossed another TD pass to Dello Davis — this time from 19 yards away. Goessling made the kick to put Duke City up 55-51 with 2:29 left, setting the stage for the wild ending.
“Our team has poise,” Powell said. “No one panicked in the final couple minutes.”
Early on, Duke City’s top-ranked offense easily moved down the field to start the game.
On third and goal, Nate Davis found Dello Davis on a 1-yard TD pass to the left sideboards. Goessling kicked the PAT and the Gladiators held a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game.
It didn’t take long for Arizona to respond as first-team All-IFL selection Jarrod Harrington returned the ensuing kickoff up the middle untouched for a 54-yard touchdown. Lacayo tied the game at 7-7 with the PAT at the 8:59 mark of the first.
Arizona’s defense was struggling to get in a groove as Duke City quickly scored again,, this time on a 1-yard run by Raymond Taylor. Goessling’s PAT gave the visitors at 14-7 lead.
On the next series, Powell threw a bullet over the middle that was tipped and intercepted by Dexter Reese. That led to Nate Davis finding Jared Elmore with a 10-yard TD pass — Duke City led 21-7 after one and the crowd of 4,538 was stunned.
“It’s the second game in a row against them we got down early and had to play catch-up,” Guy said. “It’s obviously not what we scripted.”
Things got worse when Harrington went down injured on the next series and hobbled off the field. He did not return and his status for the United Bowl is unknown. Powell then scored on a 5-yard run and Lacayo hit the PAT to bring Arizona within 21-14.
Needing a defensive stop, Arizona got it on a timely interception by Pearson. Nate Davis’ pass bounced off his receiver’s hands and Pearson nabbed the floating ball over his shoulder as the crowd roared for the turnover.
They got louder when Powell bowled over the Glads’ D for a 2-yard score to the right side. Lacayo’s PAT tied the game at 21-21 with 2:19 to go before halftime.
Arizona (14-2) tried an onside kick but Duke City recovered. They nearly got another stop but the Rattlers were flagged for pass interference on fourth down and Nate Davis scrambled one yard for a TD on the next play.
The PAT was blocked by an onrushing Josh Gordon. The ball bounced backward and right into the hands of Pearson who made a beeline for the end zone and two points for Arizona.
“It was a big play by Gordon. It was a big swing in the game,” said Guy.
To make up for those lost points, Goessling tried for the “deuce” on the kickoff but missed wide right.
The Rattlers looked to take the lead before halftime but made a mess of the clock management with Powell getting tackled near the goal line as the half expired.
Guy left the field visibly angry as his team trailed Duke City 27-23 at the break.
“Bad clock management,” Guy admitted.
Powell ended the game with 98 yards rushing and three scores on the ground to go with one passing TD and one INT. Monroe added 70 rushing yards and three more ground scores.
“I just wanted to do whatever I could to help my team win,” Monroe said after the game.
Miles led Arizona with 5 catches for 52 yards and a score.
Nate Davis threw for 258 yards and 6 TDs with one pick. Dello Davis caught 10 passes for 147 yards and four TDs.
The Rattlers are 1-4 overall in title games played in the Valley (1-2 in title games played at the Footprint Center) — they beat Iowa in 1997 downtown before falling to San Jose in 2004 and Jacksonville in 2011. They’ve also lost two championship contests in Glendale in 2016 and 2019 when the regular venue wasn’t available.
The 2021 United Bowl is set for 3:05 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12. It is bound to be an intense affair between two teams that have no love lost for each other.
“I like this matchup because I believe these are the two best teams in the IFL,” Powell said. “But now they have to come to our house and that’s going to make a big difference.”
Matt Loeschman Editor | Daily Independent @MattLoeschman
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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