'We don't hit panic buttons': Rattlers finish strong to put away Jacksonville for first home win
Dalton Sneed's best pass might have come after he scored on a 9-yard run that gave the Rattlers their first two-possession lead with less than 13 minutes to play.
After the touchdown, the Arizona quarterback launched a pass deep into the Desert Diamond Arena crowd, letting out five weeks worth of bottled-up emotion, in the Rattlers' 55-35 victory over the winless Jacksonville Sharks on Sunday before 9,178.
It was the first time the Rattlers have won in their new Glendale digs this season after losing their first two here. It also got the Rattlers to 3-3 before a bye week. It was the first time they won at Desert Diamond since June 2019, when a conflict at Footprint Center forced the Rattlers to move their playoff site.
"Getting in the end zone again, it's been a while," said Sneed, a Valley native who starred about 20 minutes away at Scottsdale Horizon High. "I had a buddy I played with at Montana who was here, and said, 'You better get me the ball if you score. Give me a shake and bake action.' So that's where that was from."
Sneed returned at quarterback to lead the Rattlers for the first time since the first half of the season opener after suffering a knee injury. It took most of the first half to get into a rhythm with three of his passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage by former Rattlers nose tackle, 6-foot-7 Ulric Jones.
He completed only one pass in the first quarter. That came on the last play of the period after all five of the Rattlers' first-quarter points came on the foot of Dawson Evitts, who made a 35-yard field goal, then converted a deuce by splitting the uprights on the ensuing kickoff.
Dalton's first TD pass came with 1:49 left in the half on fourth down when he found Jamal Miles in the corner of the end zone from 16 yards for a 19-14 lead.
"I'd say that was our most explosive play on offense," Sneed said. "That play swings the game."
He showed more big throws after the Sharks quickly scored, moving the Rattlers down for a 1-yard scoring run as the half expired to give the Rattlers back the lead at 26-21. In the end, Sneed was 18 of 26 for 176 yards and two TDs with an interception that came with eight minutes left.
That turnovers was converted into a Boom Williams 5-yard touchdown run that enabled the Sharks to cut the deficit to 39-35 with six minutes to play.
"I can't turn the ball over in the fourth quarter," Sneed said. "That's going to get fixed. That's going to get drilled in practice. I'm going to throw about 300 dig routes this week."
The return of running back Shannon Brooks has been a major impact return for the Rattlers, as well. After he came back from an arm injury last week to score four touchdowns, including the game clincher in the final quarter breaking tackles at the line of scrimmage for a 46-yards score in the two-point win at Iowa, he had three rushing TDs on Sunday. His touchdowns came from 1, 1 and 4 yards.
"I feel like our whole offense, we smell money really when we get past the 25 (yard line)," Brooks said. "One of the things we had to work on was scoring in the red zone. We're definitely getting better at that."
The defense played much better with key stops in the second half that included an Omari Alexander interception and a sack in the end zone for a safety that gave the Rattlers a 48-35 lead late.
Jacksonville's only offensive TD in the second half came from Williams. The Sharks took back the second-half kickoff for a score with D.J. Stubbs going 54 yards that gave them a 28-26 lead. Defense pretty much dictated the half after that as coach Kevin Guy moved Rashie Hodge Jr., in at corner nickel and Jermaine Doubs Jr., at safety to go with Alexander.
"I thought our performance was very good in the second half," Guy said. "I thought at the beginning of the (first) half, there was some timing issues. There was some miscommunication on defense. At halftime, I made a switch at safety. We cleaned up the communication. We got five stops in the second half. I thought Doubs came in and did a great job at safety. We moved Alexander to the back side and put Rashie Hodge at field corner, and we matched up with them pretty well."
Guy liked how his team finished to blow the game open.
After Sneed hit Miles on fourth down for a first down at the 1 with under a minute to play, the Rattlers could have taken a knee. But Sneed found the end zone again, and heaved another pass into the crowd as an exclamation point.
"One we got that first down, they still had a time out," Guy said. "We were at the 1. All I'm worried about is getting our team ready to play and start competing for the playoffs and the championship. I can only coach one team. I can't worry about the other team. I can't worry about their feelings. It's about us and trying to get our team ready to play.
"You know what, if you can beat us by a hundred, then you better damn well do it, because if we get a chance to push the button, we're going to."
Guy knew it was too early in the season to panic, after his team fell to 1-3 following the home loss to San Diego.
The Rattlers have won two in a row, even if they've come against winless teams, at Iowa and against the Sharks (0-5). But injured players are starting to come back. Brooks' return last week was huge, scoring four TDs. Sneed's return Sunday was another big step.
Then, starting receiver Kobe Smith suffered a game-ending injury early in Sunday's game. But Corey Reed Jr., came in and led the Rattlers with 60 yards receiving on five catches. Miles had five catches for 58 yards and two TDs. And Glen Gibbons Jr., who had a fumble in the red zone in the first half, caught seven passes for 49 yards.
"We did what we needed to do at 1-3," Guy said. "At the start of the season, I circled the second bye week. Give guys opportunities at that point. Then, come out of the second bye week, we're going to get this roster in position to make a run.
"That was the plan. I know a lot of people were hitting panic buttons. There were fans who weren't happy and lighting us up on social media. I'll be honest with you, I don't give a damn about any of that,'' Guy said. "I care about the guys in the room, what we're trying to accomplish. There is a plan in place. There isn't anything in here to prove. We know what we're doing. Some things are out of our control and we try to address it when it comes up. But we have great leadership on this team. We've got great character on this team. It's a player-led team. It's the first time in many years we had a player-led team.
"The last few years we kind of chose some dynamic players over character and that's certainly on me. This year we put a lot of emphasis on character, making sure we have the right guys in who can hold it together."
Guy realizes it's been tough winning at Desert Diamond and that it would take some adjustment for the fans to go from Footprint to Desert Diamond, a move the Rattlers made in the offseason with the City of Glendale and Desert Diamond Arena embracing the Indoor Football League team.
When the Rattlers lost at home to San Diego 55-45 at Desert Diamond on April 14 to fall to 1-3, Guy said he it was the first time there were some Rattlers fans that he felt turned on the players.
"They were coming hanging over our bench, screaming, saying all kinds of stuff to them," Guy said. "We didn't play well. We didn't finish that San Diego game. What they didn't know was we had three players get hurt. We had a backup quarterback playing receiver. It was a crazy night. You just have to weather the storm. We don't hit panic buttons around here. We got guys stepping up.
"It was an ugly game the last time here. I told the guys today, 'Let's get out here and compete hard in front of our fan base, let's get them back.' Even though we've sold over a thousand new season tickets since the move, there was a small percentage of fans who were sour about the move. But it's business and we have to keep moving forward. You're either for us or you're against us. I thought we had a great crowd today. It had great energy in the building. Today it felt like we were back to playing Rattler football. The environment. Everything was popping today. I felt the energy in the house."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Rattlers broke through with their first home win of season
