The Indoor Football League season reaches the halfway make when the Panthers hit the road to face the Arizona Rattlers for the second time.
Bay Area heads to Glendale at 6-1 after a 39-36 win at Northern Arizona. In a low-possession game, the Panthers forced field goal attempts on four possessions and closed the curtain on
Shane Simpson's fourth touchdown of the game. The 24-yard run accounted for the final Panthers' points with 1:20 left to push the margin to two scores.
The Rattlers started the year ranked second in the coaches poll and will take the field ranked eighth. Racked by injuries, the Rattlers started the season 1-3 before peeling off three straight wins. Last Saturday, the Rattlers took a second quarter lead in Tucson and would not trail the rest of the way in a 38-32 win over the Sugar Skulls. The defense came up with 3.5 stops in a second straight solid effort to offset an offense still finding its way.
Arizona ranks second in yards and dominated time of possession against Tucson, holding the ball for 34 minutes. Shannon Brooks did the heavy lifting with 14 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He did not play in the first meeting with the Panthers at the SAP Center.
Also missing the first match up was quarterback
Dalton Sneed, who suffered a knee injury in the season opener. Veteran Lorenzo Brown played against the Panthers and Garrett Kettle has since taken the reps as Sneed recovers.
The Panthers have also moved their pieces because of injuries and suspensions, yet continue to win. On defense against NAZ, only three of the defensive players who started the opener were on the field (
Tevaughn Grant,
Datona Jackson and
Tyler Watson).
On March 31, the Panthers escaped with a 47-41 win over the Rattlers with
JT Stokes scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with :03 left in the fourth. The 7-play, 45 yard drive was made possible after
Tyrone Cromwell III forced a Jamal Miles' fumble that was recovered by
Joe Foucha with just over two minutes left. The turnover marked the only time the Rattlers were stopped on offense the entire game.
Daquan Neal passed for three touchdowns and ran for another in his Bay Area debut.
Saturday's game in Glendale marks a great opportunity for Bay Area who is chasing Vegas for the top record in the Western Conference. The Panthers can push the Rattlers (4-3) farther back and will get the next three games at home against San Antonio, Tucson and San Diego.
Kickoff is set for 6:05 PM PST on Saturday.
