Richard Obert

azcentral sports

The Rattlers-San Jose rivalry is the second-oldest in the Arena Football League.

Omarr Smith left the Rattlers to take the defensive coordinator job for San Jose.

Michael Huey scored his first touchdown in his AFL career last week.

The Rattlers hit the road for the first time Saturday when they play the San Jose SaberCats.

There will be cow bells clanging and fans in the Rattlers' faces.

It is one the most intense rivalries in the Arena Football League and the second-longest, next to the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators rivalry.

"When we show up, we have to make it our atmosphere," coach Kevin Guy said. "We have to create the atmosphere. We have to be mentally dialed in. They're going to have the cow bells going. At the end of the day, it's all clutter. All we can do is focus on the moment, focus on the things we can do. And that's going out and executing the game plan."

San Jose (2-2) has lost its past two games — on the road to the Pittsburgh Power (48-47) and at home to the Spokane Shock (73-62).

The Rattlers beat the Shock 68-49.

They also have a common opponent in the Philadelphia Soul. The Rattlers beat the Soul in overtime 62-55 in the first week; the SaberCats blew out the Soul 70-33 the following week.

"It's not the longest-running rivalry, but I think it's the most intense rivarly in Arena football," Guy said.

Adding to the intensity this year is Omarr Smith returning to San Jose to be offensive coordinator. He was the defensive coordinator with the Rattlers during their three-year run of ArenaBowls (including the past two titles).

Smith was a top AFL defensive back, winning a couple of rings as a player with the SaberCats. Smith knows the Rattlers' receivers, and surely will have a plan against Maurice Purify, Tysson Poots and Rod Windsor.

Highlight reel

Michael Huey plays guard, which also can be called a tight end in the eight-man Arena game. He showed off his tight end skills Saturday when he hauled in a 21-yard touchdown from Nick Davila to open the game in a 63-38 rout of the Jacksonville Sharks.

It wasn't the first time Huey scored a touchdown in an Arena game. Last year, against the Shock, he pounced on a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

"This is the first one on purpose," said Huey, who has three career receptions. "Last year, I played a little tight end.

"It was a typical tight end touchdown. You wait for that linebacker to disappear. Once you see that, you can't let that butterfly in your stomach get to you, because you know it's coming to you. I caught it and saw the DB coming for my legs. I gave a little hurdle move. It's my first touchdown on purpose, but I'm not going to let it get to me by any means."

Kick start

Craig Ratanamorn, who has lived in Surprise since 2010, waited patiently for his turn to kick for the Rattlers. He was in camp last year, but was beaten out by Garrett Lindholm, who ended up being chosen AFL Kicker of the Year. After Lindholm decided to sign with San Antonio to be closer to home, the Rattlers brought back Ratanamorn, who has been practically perfect in three games.

He has converted 25 of 27 points after touchdowns, with one of those misses coming because of a high snap he had to fall on.

More importantly, his kickoffs have improved each week. Last week, two of his kickoffs bounced wildly for a Rattler to recover.

"The goal is to hit the slack net," he said. "The bar takes up about 10 percent of the space. If you're good at hitting the slack net, your chances of hitting the bar is greater."