Arizona Digest: Rattlers hold off rival Tucson Sugar Skulls for 3rd straight win

With quarterback Dalton Sneed out with another injury, the Rattlers turned to Garrett Kettle, who led them to a 38-32 victory over the Sugar Skulls in Tucson on Saturday night.

But it was more the defense than the offense that fought through for a win that was much closer than it should have been with a defense making six stops.

Nonetheless, it was the third consecutive win for the Rattlers (4-3), who are over .500 for the first time since winning their season opener, when Sneed was knocked out of that game after a half due to a knee injury.

Sneed didn't return until two weeks ago, the Rattlers' first home win of the season over Jacksonville, totaling four touchdowns. With the off week, the Rattlers returned to practice last week, but Sneed suffered an injury and became a game-time decision.

"I’ve never had to work so hard to get a first down," coach Kevin Guy said in a text. "A lot of that is because we don’t know who’s in the lineup from week to week. There’s no consistency. If I could borrow a healthy player from my son’s Powderpuff team that he coaches at his high school I would at this point.

"OrthoArizona has to be happy with their partnership with the Rattlers. We send half our team in there every Monday to see the doc."

The Rattlers relied on a defense that had six stops to win this one by a touchdown.

"That’s unheard of," Guy said. "Normally you would win by 28 points in that situation. The good news is, we found a way to get back in the race. We have to get better in a hurry if we will have a chance to beat Bay Area."

Kettle hit Jamal Miles from 4 yards out with a little more than three minutes to play to extend the Rattlers' lead to 38-25. The play was reviewed by officials after the Skulls twice challenged the touchdown. They felt Miles had trapped the ball, and they thought there was a false start. Both challenges failed.

The touchdown stood. But the Sugar Skulls came back with a touchdown, then tried an onside kick that Davontae Merriweather recovered for the Rattlers. With Tucson (1-6) out of timeouts, Kettle was able to take a knee to run out the clock.

Miles had two TDs, along with running back Shannon Brooks. Kettle hit Glenn Gibbons Jr., for a 33-yard score in the game.

The Rattlers return home Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena to take on the Bay Area Panthers (6-1), who won the IFL championship last season behind Sneed.

— Richard Obert

Rattlers travel down I-10 for rivalry game

After both teams had a week off, Indoor Football League rivals Arizona Rattlers and Tucson Sugar Skulls will play each other in Tucson on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

Before the bye week, the Rattlers (3-3) beat Jacksonville to win their second straight game to get to .500, as quarterback Dalton Sneed returned after being out since injuring his knee in the season opener.

Sneed passed for two TDs and ran for two more in the 55-35 win over then-winless Jacksonville. The Rattlers' other wins came against Iowa, which has won one game, and Northern Arizona in the opener. Tucson is 1-5 on the season, but the Sugar Skulls beat the Rattlers last year in April.

The Rattlers have been slowed by early-season injuries, but since running back Shannon Brooks returned two games ago, and now with Sneed back at quarterback, there is more stability on offense. The Rattlers have been without All-IFL safety Dillion Winfrey, but Jarmaine Doubs, played well in that spot in the Jacksonville game.

After Saturday, the Rattlers play their next two games at home at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale against defending IFL champion Bay Area Panthers (May 18) and the Duke City Gladiators (May 25).

Rising FC starts 2-game road trip

Phoenix Rising FC starts a two-game Eastern road trip with Wednesday's match against North Carolina FC in Cary, N.C., a Round of 32 game in the U.S. Open Cup, the more-than-century-old tournament for the American club championship.

The match is set for 4 p.m. Phoenix time at WakeMed Soccer Park. It will be streamed live on ussoccer.com, and the audio broadcast will be available on Rising FC's 'X' (formerly Twitter) feed simultaneously.

Rising FC is coming off a 1-1 draw with Sacramento Republic FC at home last weekend, while North Carolina drew Rhode Island, 0-0, at home.

"If we play like we did in the second half (Saturday) ... we start winning games. That was a tough team to break down. (Sacramento) is a defensively resolute team," Phoenix head coach Danny Stone said via the club's website.

Rising FC is allowing just a goal per game and at 3-2-4 sits in sixth place in the USL Championship Western Conference. North Carolina is 1-4-4 and is tied for last place in the East.

It's Rising FC's second trip to the Eastern time zone this season. The club defeated Rhode Island 3-1 last month. The last time Rising FC traveled to the Carolinas, it won the USL Championship final on November 12, 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina for its first league title.

A win Wednesday would put Phoenix in the final 16 teams playing to win the U.S. Open Cup, which would be the farthest the team has ever advanced in the tournament if it happens. Rising will visit Detroit City FC on Saturday at 2 p.m. Phoenix time.

-Jose M. Romero

Mercury heads to Seattle for preseason opener

After spending most of the training camp in San Diego, the Phoenix Mercury will hit the road once again to face the Seattle Storm on Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena at 7 p.m., for the preseason opener. The game will not be televised.

It will also mark the first game against former Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith since she signed with the Storm in free agency. The Mercury will begin the Nate Tibbetts era along with a revamped roster that includes just four returners from last season. The returning core of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and Sophie Cunningham highlights the group of eleven veterans, five in their second or third years each, and six rookies.  The team also added 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper from the Chicago Sky.

The Mercury will have one more preseason game on Friday at Footprint Center against the Los Angeles Sparks before starting the season on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

-Jenna Ortiz

Casa Grande's Ramos wins on TKO in Vegas

Super welterweight Jesús Alejandro Ramos of Casa Grande improved his pro record to 21-1 with a ninth-round technical knockout of Venezuela native Johan Gonzalez Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ramos' fight was part of the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia event. Cinco de Mayo weekend is a traditional major fight night in Las Vegas.

Gonzalez (34-3) had never lost a fight in which it was stopped before going the distance. Ramos had said he needed an impressive win to get back into the top contender ranks for a shot at a championship. He'd lost his previous fight, which was his first loss as a pro.

-Jose Romero

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Digest: Rattlers hold off Sugar Skulls for 3rd straight win