Arizona Rattlers make huge statement in rout of first-place NAZ Wranglers

Coach Kevin Guy said he still liked his team after falling to 3-4 last week, believing it was simply time to get back to playing Rattler football.

The Rattlers unleashed their fury from a frustrating first seven games, holding Northern Arizona to just 15 yards and no TDs of offense in a first half that might have been the most dominant since the team in black and copper joined the Indoor Football League in 2017.

They built a 39-7 halftime lead on their way to a 60-34 rout before 7,734 Saturday night at Footprint Center, making the first-place Wranglers (5-3) look more like their 2021 expansion team that won one game than the team that rallied to beat the Rattlers 52-51 in last year's Western Conference championship game in Phoenix, before rolling to the IFL title.

"I think we took a step in the right direction," Guy said. "This is Rattler football. This is what we're capable of doing when we're locked in. We're not making mental mistakes. I always believed in the talent. I liked where this team could go. But we're going to have to bring it every week. We kind of put oursself in the corner. Now we have to fight ourselves out of the corner."

Injuries piled up in the first half of the season. But, little by little, key players are getting healthy. And young players and newcomers are finding a groove.

It helps to have the dynamic passing duo of quarterback Drew Powell and wide receiver Braxton Haley to be back to looking like they were last year when they were the two best at their position in the IFL. Both were playing their second game since coming off of injuries, missing significant time.

Haley caught 11 passes for 119 yards and two TDs.

Powell looked more like the quarterback who was the IFL Most Valuable Player the last two seasons, scoring four rushing touchdowns in the first half and completing 11 of 13 passes for 118 yards and two TDs to put the Wranglers away by halftime.

This was Powell's first game at the Footprint Center since last season ended in agony, a 52-51 loss to NAZ in the Western Conference championship game, a game that the Rattlers let slip away in the final minute.

The Wranglers led the league in scoring defense, allowing 30 points a game. The Rattlers doubled that up on them.

"I think playing in front of this crowd and playing inspired football, the whole team just fed off of each other," Powell said. "I wasn't trying to go out there and do anything different or prove something. The early stops helped."

NAZ tried two quarterbacks, but it was the same result in the half with starter Garrett Kettle completing just 2 of 6 passes and having two intercepted and Nick Watson coming in for a series, only to throw an interception.

The Rattlers also blocked a field-goal try that led to a touchdown.

The Rattlers intercepted four passes, two by safety Dillion Winfrey, who was beating himself up over blown coverages much of the first half of the season.

"We all had to look in the mirror," Winfrey said. "I've been playing terrible. Nine times out of 10, I'm going to get the most targets. So when I'm playing terrible, it's always on me. I look in the mirror, man, even if you have great games, you can always be better. Some of the young guys will come in and say, 'You got three picks,' and I'll say, 'I also gave up three touchdowns.' I go back to film and try to figure out what I need to do to keep them from catching the ball. That's how it's got to be."

The only imperfection by the Rattlers came on special teams, but that was kind of expected after kicker Craig Peterson was unable to kick Saturday. The Rattlers signed an emergency kicker, a kicker the Las Vegas coach last week had recommended to Guy.

But Shane McInerney missed two points-after touchdowns after making his first two, then missed a short field goal try. A short, flat kickoff helped Jacob Moss return it 50 yards for the Wranglers' only touchdown in the first half.

"He came in at halftime and told the team he wasn't going to miss in the second half," Guy said. "He was right. He locked in. That's what we saw when we signed him (Friday) as an emergency kicker."

The Wranglers scored their first offensive TD to start the second half. But even though the defense let up, Powell was just warming up.

By the end of the third quarter, the Rattlers had a 53-19 lead and Powell had accounted for eight touchdowns, four rushing and four passing.

He spent the final quarter watching backup Jorge Reyna mop up.

"We knew we needed to play better, but we knew we needed to get healthy," Guy said. "We added some pieces. (Defensive lineman) Harold Love came in and gave us some love up the middle. When you get those middle pieces, and get that middle pressure, it helps. This was (linebacker) Cecil Cherry's second game. Jarmaine Doubs came in on the back side and played excellent for us. We had great pressure.

"Offensively, I thought we were clicking. I thought our offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Receivers were getting open."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rattlers make huge statement against 1st-place NAZ with dominant win