Rattlers end Sioux Falls' 6-year IFL reign to capture United Bowl

Richard Obert | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Rattlers roll into United Bowl Rattlers dominate the Nebraska Danger 62-36 for the IFL Intense Conference champiinship

The Rattlers played near-perfect in the first half, gave up 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, and reasserted themselves just enough in the final quarter to end the Sioux Falls Storm's six-year Indoor Football League reign on Saturday.

Holding the Storm to a total of five offensive yards in the first half and taking a 34-7 lead, the Rattlers, relying on three Sawyer Petre field goals in the final nine minutes, held on for a 50-41 victory to capture the United Bowl in their first year in the IFL.

Arkeith Brown, part of three consecutive ArenaBowl championships with the Rattlers, sealed it with an interception in the final seconds.

Sioux Falls (15-3), going for its 11th title, saw its six-year championship streak end, losing for the second time this season at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

"They all mean something," coach Kevin Guy said of his four titles with the Rattlers, his first in the IFL. "But this one was very special. We had to start over with a new roster. There were new rules. We started 0-2, and here we are.

"It says something about the people in the organization. It's ownership (led by Ron Shurts). It's our culture. It's our environment."

The Rattlers (14-4), who won five ArenaBowl titles in their 24-year AFL history, finished their first IFL season on a 10-game winning streak, going from a team looking like they were rebuilding to one that turned it on in the second half of the season with a relentless defense and powerful run game.

Cody Sokol was 7-of-8 passing with two touchdowns in the first half, when the Rattlers didn't give up a defensive score and scored themselves on defense.

Josh Gordon picked up a fumble and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown and a 27-7 lead after middle linebacker Justin Shirk blitzed and stripped the ball loose from Storm quarterback Lorenzo Brown with 2:29 left in the first half.

Shirk, who wasn't with the Rattlers in the February opener, was named the United Bowl Most Valuable Player.

"It's a heck of an honor, but it's a team award," said Shirk, who had 1 1/2 sacks. "It's not only one on defense. We had other guys up there who had their arms on the quarterback."

Brown was sacked for the third time in the half, and a 57-yard field-goal try was short and returned 45 yards by Jamal Miles to the 5-yard line. That led to Sokol's five-yard scoring pass to Anthony Amos and a 34-7 lead with 14 seconds left in the half.

Sioux Falls missed three field goals in the half, but dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Rattlers 21-0, capitalizing on a Sokol fumble and interception to cut it to 34-28.

"We knew they were going to come back," Shirk said. "They were not going to lay down like that. The Super Bowl between the Falcons and the Patriots, I had that in the back of my mind. We had that bend-but-don't-break in the second half.

"There were a couple of mistakes. We just kind of let up. We had some mental lapses. We knew in the fourth quarter we would finish it."

The Storm failed to get a first down on fourth-and-six deep in their territory, and the Rattlers capitalized with Darrell Monroe rushing for his third TD from two yards out, making it a two-touchdown game.

The Rattlers reached the Storm 1-yard line but were held to a field goal by Petre to make it 44-28, before the Storm came back on a 47-yard drive for a touchdown with 5:13 left.

Sioux Falls' defense held again, making the Rattlers settle for a 21-yard field goal, keeping it a two-possession game with 2:36 left.

Mike Tatum's 40-yard scoring catch on the first play of Sioux Falls' next series cut it to 47-41.

The Rattlers had the ball at the Sioux Falls 11-yard line with a minute left, needing to advance the ball to keep the clock running. But on second down, Sokol was stopped behind the line, stopping the clock with 54 seconds to play.

Monroe also didn't gain any yardage, stopping the clock with 50 seconds to play, making it fourth down.

Petre's 26-yard field goal with 47 seconds to play gave the Rattlers their final nine-point cushion.

"I had to stay calm and composed," Petre said. "I have never won anything before this. This is unbelievable. I'm so stoked for the players, for the coaches, for the fans."

United Bowl preview

July 7

They’re in their 25th season. But now they’re the new kids trying to end Sioux Falls’ dominance in the Indoor Football League.

It doesn’t matter that the Rattlers left the Arena Football League on the best run in their history, reaching the championship game five times in the last six years, winning three ArenaBowls in a row from 2012-14 and accumulating an 82-23 record, including a 14-3 playoff record, since 2011.

They come into Saturday’s United Bowl the underdog at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

Sioux Falls (15-2) doesn’t lose championships, and the Storm have only lost at home once in their last 70 games in South Dakota. And the Storm already beat the Rattlers 40-29 in Sioux Falls to open this season.

The Storm are in the United Bowl for an eighth consecutive season. They’ve won the past six titles under coach Kurtiss Riggs, who, like Rattlers coach Kevin Guy, has been able to quickly turn around his rosters to keep the dynasty intact.

Riggs has led the storied Sioux Falls franchise since 2003, winning more than 200 games. His playoff record is 30-3. They’ve had nine players’ numbers retired.

Most of his franchise’s 68-game home winning streak that ended this season came at the old Sioux Falls Arena, known as the Storm Shelter, before moving into what is known as “The Denny” in 2015.

“We get a tremendous fan base,” Riggs said. “At our old place, where we had the long winning streak, the fans were right on top of the field. We had really small end zones, and that was a distinct advantage. Our place now has bigger end zones, is more luxurious. We get a great crowd.”

The Rattlers (13-4), who take a nine-game winning streak into the final, know how to win on the road. Their only road loss was to Sioux Falls, a game in which the Rattlers had control but were unable to close it out in the fourth quarter.

This will be quarterback Cody Sokol’s first game in Sioux Falls. The Rattlers began the season with Darron Thomas at quarterback for the first four games. Since then, Sokol has been the starter.

“I think when we went up there the first time, we were an inexperienced football team,” Guy said. “We’ve gotten a lot better since that first week.”

The biggest difference has been on defense with the Rattlers holding teams to only 30 points a game in the second half of the season – a 15-point swing from the season’s first half – behind the play of defensive end Chris McAllister, linebacker Justin Shirk and defensive back Allen “Bubba” Chapman.

Neither coach sees this game as the best from the AFL clashing against the best in the IFL, an indoor version of the first Super Bowl in 1966 when the American Football League merged with the National Football League.

“Here’s the deal,” Guy said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with what league we came from. What it has to do with is how great both organizations are. If they moved into the (Arena Football League), they would be successful, too.”

Riggs agrees that success starts at the top with ownership and the ability to adjust and adapt each year with personnel changes and new teams coming in.

“We made quite a few changes,” Riggs said of his 2017 roster. “We fit our personnel around our system. We had a quarterback where we threw the ball. He left. We had to reshape our offense, then utilize the run.”

Last year, Spokane, which left the AFL for the IFL, reached the United Bowl, only to see how far it still needed to come to take down the Sioux Falls dynasty, falling 55-34 in Sioux Falls.

It’s the Rattlers’ turn to try.

“I really don’t look at it that way,” Riggs said about this being a statement game against which indoor league is better. “Coach Guy would probably say the same thing, that he’s probably had much better teams in the Arena days, more skilled. We’ve probably had better teams in the past, too.

“You have two great organizations meeting in the championship game.”

Saturday's game

Rattlers at Sioux Falls

What: United Bowl.

When: 3 p.m.

Where: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Watch: YouTube.com

Rattlers advantages: Coach Guy has them believing they can win anywhere. They’ve made major strides since the February loss in Sioux Falls, their only loss away from Phoenix. The Rattlers don’t need QB Cody Sokol to be perfect with Darrell Monroe and Ketrich Harmon maybe the best one-two rushing duo in the league. The defense has been the strength the back half of the season with a greater pass rush and better coverage. Special teams might be the best in Guy’s Rattlers tenure with Sawyer Petre as close to automatic as any kicker Guy has ever had, and Jamal Miles delivering a big boost in the return game (he returned two kicks for touchdowns in the conference title game against Nebraska two weeks ago).

Storm advantages: Coach Kurtiss Riggs’ ability to deliver in big games is unmatched with six consecutive United Bowl titles. This will be jam-packed loud crowd. Their run game is as great as the Rattlers with QB Lorenzo Brown and Robbie Rouse combining for 39 rushing TDs in the regular season. Brown is as good a dual threat QB in the league with 34 passing TDs in the regular season. The Storm had 27 interceptions, compared to its opponents’ eight against them. They recovered eight fumbles and only lost five fumbles all season.

Prediction: Rattlers 38, Storm 35

Rattlers confident in preparation

July 5, 2017

The Sioux Falls Storm have won six straight United Bowl titles, but that isn't changing the way the Arizona Rattlers are preparing for their first appearance in the Indoor Football League championship on Saturday.

"Practice is a little more emotional, everyone understands what we are playing for," Rattlers coach Kevin Guy said. "We just have to stay mentally focused and keep the focus on ourselves. I think that I like our chances. We're a young football team."

The Rattlers (13-4) advanced to the United Bowl after knocking off Nebraska 62-36 on June 24. The Storm are 15-2 and will host the title game at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The live-stream of the game can be viewed on the Indoor Football League's YouTube page.

"We're excited for this opportunity, we've worked all year long," Rattlers quarterback Cody Sokol said. "It's all paying off and we have a chance to go get a ring. I think everyone's really excited, but we're still dialed in and ready to go."

The Rattlers, who are in their first season in the IFL after switching from the Arena Football League, have reached league championship games in six of the last seven years, including last season where the team lost after turning the ball over five times.

This time around, they understand how important the turnover battle will be.

"This kind of game is going to be about the two T's, turnovers and tackling," Guy said. "We have to be able to do both. We have to not turn the ball over on offense, and create turnovers and tackle on defense. If we do that we should be in the ballgame and have a chance to win it."

The Rattlers played the Storm back in February in the first game of the season. A young Rattlers team squandered its fourth quarter lead and lost 40-29 on the road. This time around, both players and coaches expect it to be a different game, as the Rattlers, who are a team loaded with rookies, are much more acclimated to the league.

"I think the biggest change since then is the maturity of our team," Sokol said. "We've just grown a whole lot. We've come together, I think our morale is up. Our team chemistry and knowing each other and our abilities and what we do well. None of us are rookies anymore."

The Storm have the top ranked defense in the league and consistently force turnovers. That's something Sokol says he's focused on preventing.

"We've game planned each and every single game, but really when it comes to it, it's just us executing our stuff," Sokol said. "We've done a great job the whole year of keeping it 50-50 throwing and running the ball, and I think if we're able to execute both phases then we'll go out and do a good job offensively."

The Rattlers defense has improved since the start of the season as well, and defensive end Chris McAllister says it has a lot to do with mindset.

"We're playing with a lot more confidence now," McAllister said. "When you're confident, you play faster, you play more physical, you have a swagger about yourself and you just overall play better."

He leads the team with 10 sacks, good for third in the league.

If the Rattlers win, Guy will be the first coach to win a championship in both the AFL and IFL. He is currently 3-2 in AFL title games.

"We love Coach Guy and everything he's done for us," Sokol said. "He's been great at pushing us each and every single day. He said he was going to coach us until the last game and really be hard on us because he's a champion, too."

Rattlers roll into United Bowl in their first Indoor Football League season

June 25, 2017

A season that began at six-time defending champion Sioux Falls will end there for the Rattlers.

They punched their ticket to the July 8 Indoor Football League United Bowl with a 62-36 rout of the Nebraska Danger for the Intense Conference championship Saturday before a crowd of 15,038 at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

"I love it," coach Kevin Guy said about returning to Sioux Falls. "We've got to finish what we started.

"They're a great team. Coach (Kurtiss) Riggs does a great job with that program. We've got our work cut out for us. We're going to enjoy the bye week and we're going to get after it."

The United Bowl will be played at 3:05 Arizona time at the place where the Rattlers opened a new indoor era on Feb. 17 with a 40-29 loss, getting outscored 19-0 in the final 20 minutes. The Storm (15-2) assured another title game with a 66-32 rout of the Iowa Barnstormers earlier Saturday for the United Conference championship.

Since breaking off from the fledgling Arena Football League, the Rattlers (13-4), in their 25th year, started this new indoor era 1-3. But they picked up defensive help from linebacker Justin Shirk, got big boosts from a couple of home-grown offensive players, and found their swagger en route to winning their last nine games.

They return to Sioux Falls a much different team without that sense of uncertainty they had the last time, when they were playing with a rebuilt roster in a new kind of indoor game that has no nets and different rules.

"We feel much better," said former Peoria High and Arizona State standout Jamal Miles, who returned a kickoff and missed field-goal try for touchdowns in the first half Saturday. "We're a whole different team from the first time we faced them. We're jelling together now. We're ready to go back and see what we can do."

The Rattlers won five ArenaBowls, but it wasn’t until their third season in 1994 that they captured their first.

They’ll go for their first IFL title in their first year in the league with a roster that was mostly new, but with a coach who knows how to quickly reload and win titles. He led the Rattlers to three consecutive AFL titles from 2012-14, winning all of those away from home.

They seized control of history early Saturday when they didn’t allow a first down until 11:27 left in the second quarter and held the Danger (9-8) to negative-2 yards and two long field-goal tries that weren’t close in their first two series, as the Rattlers built a 14-0 lead.

After the Danger closed to 20-14, taking advantage of a Cody Sokol interception, the Rattlers rattled off 21 unanswered points in the final three minutes of the first half.

Miles ended the half taking back a short 49-yard field-goal try 52 yards for a touchdown and a 41-14 lead. Miles also caught a TD pass in the half.

Sokol, a former Phoenix Desert Vista High and Scottsdale Community College quarterback, was 10 of 12 for 89 yards and three TDs in the first half. Despite having an interception returned for a touchdown in the second half, Sokol showed that he is ready to lead this team into Sioux Falls.

He didn't start until the fifth week of the season. Sokol finished Saturday's conference final with four TD passes and leaped into the end zone for another score that put away the Danger with 10 minutes left.

Guy credited "Rattler Nation" for generating so much noise he couldn't hear himself giving plays to Sokol.

"Starting a roster all over again, putting in new systems on offense, defense and special teams, and then here we are today, just unbelievable," Guy said. "I think it speaks for the people we have in our organization. We're committed to winning here.

"Our fans spend their hard-earned money to come watch us. Our sponsors spend money with us. We want to make sure their investment is protected."

This was the third time the Rattlers beat Nebraska, but the Danger felt better about their chances with Drew Powell at quarterback. Powell had 81 rushing yards in the last meeting with the Rattlers coming off the bench. But he was held to just eight yards on seven carries was intercepted twice.

"We played this team twice in the regular season, but this is the playoffs, and you've got to take it to the next notch," said Shirk, who had 1 1/2 sacks. "The defense was prepared today, made big plays, shut their running game down, shut the quarterback down."

The Rattlers could have offensive lineman Michael Huey for the final. Huey signed this week, but he didn’t suit up Saturday. He was a key cog on the Rattlers’ three straight title teams in his only three years on the team. Since 2015, Huey has been bouncing around in the NFL.

Rattlers add Huey

June 22

The Rattlers added former All-Arena Football League offensive lineman Michael Huey this week in preparations for their Intense Conference championship game Saturday against the Nebraska Danger.

Coach Kevin Guy said he didn't know whether Huey would be ready to play in the 6 p.m. playoff game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Huey, 6-foot-4, 317 pounds, made All-Arena each of his three seasons with the Rattlers (2012-14) when they won the ArenaBowl each year. He left the Rattlers in 2015 when he was signed by the NFL's San Diego Chargers.

He joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 but was waived late in training camp.

If the Rattlers win, they would play at either Sioux Falls or Iowa on July 8 for the United Bowl championship.

Guy used practices this week to give quarterbacks Cody Sokol and Darren Thomas equal repetitions before deciding on who would start against a 9-7 Danger team that appears considerably better than the one the Rattlers beat twice in the regular season.

In the 43-33 loss at Arizona last month, Drew Powell came off the bench and threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and a score.

Guy wouldn't indicate which quarterback he was leaning toward starting.

Sokol started the last 12 games for the Rattlers but struggled at times late in the season. Thomas, who started the first four games, played the second half last week in Colorado and ran for two scores and fumbled twice.

Sokol fumbled twice in the first half. Still, the Rattlers rallied with a 47-44 overtime win without a passing touchdown to give them an eight-game winning streak entering the conference title game.

"I'm willing to play both quarterbacks, whatever we've got to do to win the football game," Guy said.

Last year, the Rattlers' season ended at home, but it didn't feel like home. They had the ArenaBowl moved from Phoenix to Glendale because of a scheduling conflict at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Things got ugly quickly in the loss to the Philadelphia Soul.

Guy is past that with a new team that has scored more touchdowns rushing (53) than passing (48).

"It's over," Guy said. "It's yesterday's news. Nothing I can do to bring that back. You learn from that and try to get better the next season. The first thing I do in a situation like that is evaluate myself. What could I do to get better as the head coach and general manager, and it's on to the next game."

Defensive end Chris McAllister and defensive backs Allen Chapman and Arkeith Brown have playoff experience in the AFL with the Rattlers.

McAllister hasn't forgotten what it felt like to lose the last game last year.

"A lot of the guys weren't here last year, but we try to let everybody know what it was like," he said. "We do remember that game. We want to finish right this year."

Saturday's game

Who: Arizona Rattlers vs. Nebraska Danger

What: Intense Conference championship game

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena.

TV: FSAZ Rattlers

Rattlers end regular season with OT win

June 16, 2017

Ketrich Harmon rushed for a touchdown from two yards out, lifting the Rattlers to a 47-44 overtime victory over the host Colorado Crush on Friday night.

Sawyer Petre forced overtime with a 33-yard field goal with 12 seconds left.

The Rattlers close their first regular season in the Indoor Football league with a 12-4 record and will host the Nebraska Danger in the playoffs on Saturday. Kick off is 6 p.m.

The Iowa Barnstormers face the Sioux Falls Storm in the United Conference Championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The winners of those games will meet July 8 in the United Bowl.

With the final three playoff spots locked up this past weekend, the bracket is set!

🏆 #StrikeAsOne pic.twitter.com/oh09h2L50n — Arizona Rattlers (@ArizonaRattlers) June 20, 2017

Up next

Who: Arizona Rattlers vs. Nebraska Danger

What: Intense Conference Championship game

When: Saturday at 6 p.m.

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix

QB Thomas to return to action for the Rattlers

June 15, 2017

There is no quarterback controversy a week before the playoffs.

But coach Kevin Guy, with home field clinched for next week's Intense Conference championship game, wants to give Darron Thomas some reps on Friday night at 6 when the Rattlers (11-4) play at the Colorado Crush (3-12) in the regular-season finale.

The game can be seen on YouTube.

Thomas, 27, the former Oregon standout who left college a year early to turn pro, has not played since the fourth game of the season.

Guy auditioned both Thomas and Cody Sokol the first half of the season before settling on Sokol, who started games five through eight after Thomas led the offense the first four games.

A lingering hamstring injury kept Thomas on injured reserve before he was activated this week.

"Our expectations haven't changed," Guy said. "We plan to go up there and play a four-quarter game and try to win the game. But we are going to give some guys opportunities this week. We plan on playing two quarterbacks, as well, giving Darron Thomas some reps, at the same time giving Cody Sokol some reps.

"We want to make sure we're in the best position possible next week when the playoffs start."

The Rattlers went 2-2 behind both Thomas and Sokol in the season's first half. They've won their past seven games, mainly because of the defensive development, behind the play of linebacker Justin Shirk, and a strong run game, led by Darrell Monroe.

Sokol has a 104.28 QB rating. He has completed 60 percent of his throws for 35 TDs and seven interceptions. Thomas' QB rating in his four games was 100.68 with 56 percent completion and 13 TDs and four interceptions.

Thomas averaged 4.9 yards in 26 carries. Sokol averages 2.8 yards on 56 carries.

"It's about production, and it's about going out there and being efficient," Guy said. "We're going to evaluate it every week. Sokol is our quarterback right now. But we're getting Darron Thomas ready to play in case anything happens. You've got to be ready to play."

Thomas said he isn't looking at this game as any kind of competition. John Wolf has been used as the backup quarterback all season. Wolf's versatility as a receiver and a special teams player keeps him on the active roster every week.

"It's strength in numbers," Thomas said. "It's some other guy they have to worry about. I know I'm a great quarterback.

"I think we're trying to be the strongest going into the playoffs. We've got three great quarterbacks. ... It's just strength in numbers."

The Rattlers will play host to either Spokane or Nebraska for the Intense Conference championship and the right to play in the United Bowl on June 24 at 6 p.m.

Up next

Friday, June 16

Who: Rattlers at Colorado Crush

Where: Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo.

When: 5 p.m.

Rattlers 56, Titans 25

June 11, 2017

Even after turning over almost all of his roster and adapting to a new kind of indoor football game, coach and General Manager Kevin Guy never looked at this as rebuilding.

"We make a promise every year to our players, we're going to put you in position to win a championship," Guy said.

The Rattlers have backed that up in the second half of their first Indoor Football League season, winning their seventh game in a row with a dominating 56-25 effort against the Cedar Rapids Titans before 13,251 fans Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

RELATED: IFL playoff format for 2017

They are allowing just 29 points a game in the season's second half (seven consecutive wins).

The next time the Rattlers (11-4) are at home, it will be June 24 for the Intense Conference playoff championship and the right to play in the United Bowl against either Iowa, Sioux Falls or Wichita Falls. All three of those teams still are in the mix to make the two playoff spots from the other conference.

The Rattlers, who finish the regular season next week at Colorado, will wait and see if they will face Spokane or Nebraska in the conference championship game.

"The first eight games of the season, we made a conscious decision that we were going to experiment, as long as we could hang around in the standings," Guy said. "New league, new rules, look at different games. After eight games, we were going to start dialing in on how we were going to play Rattler football. We've been on a seven-game win streak ever since. Our guys are playing tough. I'm really proud of them, because of the youth that we have and putting themselves in position to compete for a championship."

The Rattlers abandoned the pass Sunday after a sluggish first series, then pounded the ball against the hapless Titans (1-14), who played two different quarterbacks to no avail.

Allen "Bubba" Chapman, one of the few holdovers from the Arena Football League Rattlers, had two first-half interceptions that set up scores.

On offense, Ketrich Harmon showed he is nearly all the way back from an injury that kept him out six weeks. In his third game back, Harmon ran for 73 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.

While Harmon was out, Darrell Monroe seized control of the rushing lead in the IFL. He added 38 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Receiver Jamal Miles also ran for two touchdowns.

"We're real competitive," Harmon said about himself and Monroe. "We love this rotation we've got. If he makes a big play, I've got to beat it. We encourage each other. We let each other know what we're seeing. But that was the hardest part about being out, just watching and not being able to compete with him."

Rattlers can't host IFL championship game

The Rattlers (10-4) will have to travel for the Indoor Football League championship game, known as the United Bowl, if they win the Intense Conference playoff game that they will host in a couple of weeks.

Sioux Falls (12-2) and Iowa (12-2), the top two teams in the United Conference, both hold tie-breakers over the Rattlers and the team with the best overall record is the host team in title game.

That's fine with coach Kevin Guy, whose team has lost only one road game and has been rolling with six consecutive wins since starting 4-4 in this new era of inside football.

Guy has better control of his players when they're on the road, making it more regimented with meetings and curfews.

"I'd love to be able to play it in front of our fans, but we've only lost one road game and that was the first game of the season," Guy said.

That loss came at six-time defending league champion Sioux Falls, which had its 68-game home winning streak end in late May in a 36-21 loss to Wichita Falls.

The Rattlers are back at home Sunday at 3 p.m. to play Cedar Rapids (1-14), a team the Rattlers edged 34-32 on May 5 at Cedar Rapids. The game will be shown live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus.

The Rattlers struggled scoring in Cedar Rapids, where the end zones are only 5 yards deep.

Still, the Rattlers' struggles on offense have only been masked the last six games by an opportunistic, shut-down defense that has been keyed by the emergence of linebacker Justin Shirk.

On Thursday, Guy shut down practice early, walking off the field in disgust without a team breakdown because of the way they were working. He felt maybe clinching the top seed in the conference last week with two games to play might have impacted that.

"When your leaders are getting beat on the field, it's hard to lead if they're not doing their own job," Guy said. "Everything is a concern for me right now. Who have we beaten? We beat Spokane twice and Nebraska. We haven't beaten anybody from the other side (the United Conference) who is worth a damn.

"Right now we're getting average results because we've got an average mindset."

The Rattlers' best offense has been its run game, led by tailback Darrell Monroe.

Quarterback Cody Sokol has had his struggles lately. He has fumbled the ball in each of the past two games. He had an interception last week.

Guy didn't rule out Darren Thomas seeing some action at quarterback before the playoffs begin. Thomas was the starter the first four games.

After Sokol had four games to start, Guy decided to go with him as starting quarterback.

"He's had a pretty good week of practice," Guy said of Thomas. "In fairness, we're playing better as a team now than when he was leading us."

Up next

Who: Rattlers vs. Cedar Rapids Titans

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix

When: Sunday at 3 p.m.

TV: FSAZ Plus

With 16 rookies, Rattlers learning to finish games Coach Kevin Guy is not discouraged after going 4-4 in first half of season. Arizona plays at Green Bay on Saturday. Video: Richard Obert/azcentral sports

Rattlers 33, Empire 16

June 4, 2017

The Rattlers (10-4) clinched the Intense Conference title on Saturday with a 33-16 road win over the Spokane Empire. With the victory, the Rattlers secured home-field advantage in the first round of the Indoor Football League playoffs.

They hold the tie-breaker over both Spokane (8-6) and Nebraska (8-6).

The Rattlers were 4-4 at the season's midpoint, before going on a six-game winning streak, with defense making the difference. They held the Empire (8-6) scoreless in the second and third quarters, beating Spokane on the road for the second time in a month.

Justin Shirk and Edward Mosley teamed up to sack Aaron Wilmer for a safety and defensive back Arkeith Brown and Allen "Bubba" Chapman each had interceptions for the Rattlers, who play their final regular-season home game next Sunday at 3 p.m. against Cedar Rapids.

Running back Darrell Monroe returned to action after missing last week's game with an injury. Monroe shed tacklers on his way to a 41-yard touchdown catch. Receiver Jamal Miles, a former Arizona State and Peoria High standout, ran for a score. Sawyer Petre made his 13th field goal in his first pro season, and Cody Sokol overcame a fumble and an interception with three scoring passes.

Conference championship preview

June 2, 2017

For a roster that was overhauled and rebuilt after breaking away from Arena Football League, the Rattlers are on the brink of clinching the Intense Conference title in their first year in the Indoor Football League.

All they have to do is beat the Empire (8-5) in Spokane on Saturday. The game is at 7 p.m. and will be on YouTube.

"They played for a championship last year (in the IFL)," coach Kevin Guy said about Spokane. "It's that time of year we have to change things up."

The Rattlers (9-4) and the Empire have split two games so far this season. Last week, they beat the Nebraska Danger (7-6) for the second time. A win over Spokane gives the Rattlers the tie-breaker over both teams in the Intense Conference.

There are only two games left after Saturday. The Rattlers end the regular season on June 16, but can clinch home field in the first round with a win Saturday.

The Rattlers won their meeting in Spokane, 49-35, on May 12. This time, Spokane has a different quarterback. Aaron Wilmer led the Empire to a 48-43 victory over Colorado last week, passing for 119 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 62 yards and two TDs.

Guy said that running back Darrell Monroe was "day to day" after missing last week's game. Monroe leads the league in rushing, but Guy has confidence in his run game with Ketrich Harmon, who missed four games with an injury before returning last week. Harmon was held to under 40 yards by Nebraska.

"I feel like we can get our running game on track," Harmon said. "The Nebraska D-line is really good and you've got to give them credit. But going back watching film, we didn't do a lot of things well."

The Rattlers have been a different team since midway through the season. They've won five in a row with the greatest improvement on defense, behind the play of linebacker Justin Shirk.

"This time of year, it's about execution and match-ups," Guy said.

Rattlers 43, Danger 33

Coach Kevin Guy called the win "ugly," but his Rattlers came through with three second-half big plays to set them up for a conference-clinching showdown in Spokane next Saturday.

Jamal Miles returned a missed field goal 58 yards for a touchdown, Justin Shirk bolted through for a 12-yard sack and Dillion Winfrey went over the wall to intercept a pass and seal a 43-33 victory over the Nebraska Danger in front of 11,384 at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday.

The Rattlers (9-4) can clinch the IFL Intense Conference title with a win over the Spokane Empire. With three games left, they hold a two-game lead over Nebraska (7-6) and a one-game lead over Spokane (8-5).

The Rattlers would own the tiebreaker over Spokane by winning on Saturday. They split with each other in two earlier meetings.

Arizona Rattlers rely on three big plays to put away Nebraska Danger The Arizona Rattlers win their fifth-straight game on Sunday against Nebraska Danger, May 28, 2017. Richard Obert/azcentral sports

Enough big plays were made to offset not having the league's top rusher, Darrell Monroe, who was out with an injury.

Deitrick Harmon returned from an injury and ran for 36 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Then again, the Rattlers were facing what Guy felt was the best defensive line in the league. He felt the Danger owned the line on the defensive side, but a few play-action passes resulted in touchdowns from Cody Sokol, who was 10 of 19 for 156 yards and three touchdowns.

"We're never going to undermine a win," Guy said. "It was an ugly win. Our last two days of practice weren't very good. A lot of mental mistakes and I thought it carried into the game."

But the defensive game plan worked, forcing the Danger to attempt six field goals.

Josh Gable connected on two of those, but one of his long attempts was short. That allowed former Arizona State standout Miles to catch it at the end-zone wall and return it for a touchdown that gave the Rattlers a 43-33 lead that they held for the remaining 9:56.

"I thought it was going to go over the wall, but I just put my hands up and the ball landed in my hands," Miles said. "After that, I just had to make a play."

The next big plays came on defense.

Shirk, a linebacker who had 4 1/2 sacks in his previous two games, sacked Drew Powell on third down for a 12-yard loss, putting the ball on the Rattlers' 16. Gable's field-goal try was wide, giving the Rattlers possession with 3:33 left.

Nebraska got the ball back with 1:15 to play. Powell, who ran for 84 yards on eight carries, moved the Danger to the Rattlers' 11 with 39 seconds.

Winfrey then made the catch of the game, timing the ball as it was going out of bounds in the end zone and intercepting it as he hit the wall, tumbling over.

He was able to hang on, after hitting concrete on the other side.

"All concrete," Winfrey said. "I felt every bit of it."

Winfrey said this was the first game his mom came to see him play, so it was good to close it with what might have been the game's top highlight.

"It looked higher when I jumped," he said. "But when my hand touched it, I knew for a fact I was going to come down with it."

Road warrior making impact

Justin Shirk was settling into a post-football life as a personal trainer in Pennsylvania, moving up the ranks, in charge of a gym's personal training department.

Then, Rattlers coach and GM Kevin Guy called.

It was the third week of the Indoor Football League season, and the 6-foot, 240-pounder, who looks like a cross between Vin Diesel and Bruce Willis, felt he was ready to play football again.

Not only ready to play, but ready to drive cross country.

"It was a nice 35-hour drive out here," Shirk said. "I left Friday night, and got here Sunday afternoon.

"I made a couple of pit stops."

That desire to get somewhere is showing off on the field in the last two weeks.

The middle linebacker, who played his last college football season at NCAA Division II Bloomsburg in Pennsylvania in 2014 when he had 120 tackles and 11 sacks, has had 4 1/2 sacks in the last two games for the Rattlers.

"Whatever his story is, it is, but we're glad he's here," Guy said. "He's gotten better as the season went on. He's starting to peak. He just needs to continue to buy in and learn the game plan and execute it. He's doing a great job for us."

Shirk played indoor football last year for the Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks, who are part of the National Arena League, which the Jacksonville Sharks joined this year after breaking away from the Arena Football League.

He said that league was more similar to the pass-heavy rules of the AFL.

He likes the IFL, which has more of an outdoor feel to it with defenders not so restricted and there is more of an emphasis on the run game.

"The defense here gives you more freedom," Shirk said.

The Rattlers (8-4) replaced most of their roster from last year. Strong safety Adam Sauder also is new to the Rattlers this year. He leads the team with 69 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Sauder, a 6-3, 225-pound strong safety from Taylor University with a long mane of hair, took part in NFL rookie camps in Cincinnati and Carolina after leaving college.

"I didn't get signed up after that," Sauder said. "I was in limbo and looking for something to do. My agent sent film out here to Coach Guy. He liked it and signed me."

It's took a while for these Rattlers to come together in a new league, but they've won their past four and have a one-game lead in the Intense Conference over their next opponent, the Nebraska Danger (7-5), who come to Phoenix to play the Rattlers on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Arizona Plus.

"It's new to a lot of us," Sauder said. "We're a young team, but we can't keep making that excuse over and over again. I think it's experience, seeing teams a couple of times. The coaches are figuring out what works, what doesn't work."

Sauder credits Shirk's emergence for the defense now forcing turnovers and getting sacks. He calls him a bowling ball on the 50-yard field, knocking players down.

"He's been explosive, able to get at the quarterback," Sauder said.

Sunday's game

Who: Rattlers vs. Nebraska Danger

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix.

When: 3 p.m.

TV: FSAZ Plus

Biggest crowd since 2004

The Rattlers held the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles scoreless in the third quarter and rolled to a 63-33 win, their fourth consecutive, Saturday night before 15,478 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

In their first season in the Indoor Football League, without establishing any rivalries yet, the Rattlers (8-4) had their largest crowd since hosting the 2004 ArenaBowl, when 17,391 came out to see them against the rival San Jose SaberCats. This was their biggest regular-season crowd since a 2002 game against the SaberCats with 17,034 on hand.

"I appreciate our fan base tonight," coach Kevin Guy said. "Rattler Nation was strong. I appreciate them sticking with us through the change. The Arizona Rattlers are committed to putting a great product on the field. It starts with our owner, Ron Shurts. He gives us everything we need to be successful."

Saturday was the Rattlers' second consecutive home win and improved their home record to 3-3.

They are 4-0 in the second half of the season, showing big improvements in every area since a 60-51 home loss to Spokane on April 22.

Most of the improvement has come on defense with the sudden emergence of linebacker Justin Shirk, a 6-foot, 245-pounder from a little college called Bloomsburg. He was was working as a personal trainer, before joining the Rattlers this year.

Shirk had 3 1/2 sacks Saturday night, after recording three sacks in last week's win at Spokane.

"This is how I know how to play football," Shirk said. "I struggled when I got here, catching onto the IFL rules and buying into what the coaches had to say. That's the whole defense. We're buying in, locking down on coverage with the front four finally putting pressure on the quarterback. We're really selling out."

The Screaming Eagles (3-9), who utilize fan interaction to call offensive plays, were outscored 21-0 in the third quarter, as Rattlers quarterback Cody Sokol threw two touchdown passes and Anthony Amos ran for a 3-yard score.

Rattlers running back Darrell Monroe, the IFL's leading rusher, had 92 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run, on nine carries through three quarters.

Sokol only had to throw 13 passes, but four of his eight completions went for touchdowns. He also ran for two scores.

The Rattlers scored on every possession.

"I think we're 7-0 now when we run more than we throw," Guy said. "Teams are really trying to come up and stop the run, which is opening up the passing game. I thought Cody had a pretty good night.

"If they're going to come up and play the run, we're going to have to hit the home runs. This is why I love this league. I love the strategy. It's a chess match out there."

The Rattlers' biggest home game of the second half of the season comes next Sunday when they take on the Nebraska Danger (7-5), which is vying for a playoff spot from the Intense Conference. The Rattlers have a one-game lead in the conference with four game to go.

Monroe, Gordon emerging leaders

Tailback Darrell Monroe, who played college football only at Arizona Western College, is increasingly becoming the face of the Rattlers offense in the IFL.

He leads the 10-team league in average rushing yards at 60.7. He has 546 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games played.

Monroe said coach and General Manager Kevin Guy found him through Monroe's girlfriend.

"Basically, this was a blessing that he got a hold of me," Monroe said.

Monroe has made the most of the opportunities.

RELATED: Indoor Football League standings

"I like that the offense runs through me because it opens up plays for others," Monroe said. "If I can do anything to help out my teammates, I'll do it to help the team out."

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Josh Gordon is becoming the face of the Rattlers' defense in his first season in the league. He has 11.5 tackles for losses and five sacks.

Gordon played his last season at Division II Minnesota State in 2015, when he had 22.5 tackles for losses and 14 sacks and was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year.

"I'm seeing things a lot faster," Gordon said. "Reacting more than thinking, which I was doing earlier in the year."

RB Monroe, DL Gordon becoming faces of Rattlers RB Darrell Monroe and DL Josh Gordon have had the greatest impacts in the Rattlers' move to the IFL this season. Richard Obert/azcentral sports

Now in sole possession of first place in the Intense Conference, the Rattlers (7-4) still need to show they can take care of home field.

They'll get that chance Saturday at 6 p.m. when they take on the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles (3-8) and their fans, who call the plays. The game will be shown live on YouTube.

The Rattlers have yet to draw fewer than 10,000 fans for any of their home games since joining the Indoor Football League this year. But they are 2-3 at home.

During the second half of the season, the Rattlers are 3-0, winning their last two on the road, including last week's 49-35 at Spokane.

Spokane lost to Colorado on Thursday to drop to 7-5.

Arizona and Spokane have split with each other. The rubber match, possibly for the conference title and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, is June 3 in Spokane.

"We control our own destiny," Guy said. "We need to keep the focus on us. And keep trying to get better as a football team, and good things are going to happen.

"We can't worry about anybody else. Our focus is on Salt Lake City right now. Their stock is rising. They've won the last two. They had a chance to beat Spokane three weeks ago. They're an improving football team. They gave us all we wanted when we were in Salt Lake City. We're not overlooking anybody."

Rattlers 49, Empire 35

The Rattlers moved into a tie for first place in the Intense Conference with Spokane, as Darrel Monroe ran for 74 yards and three touchdowns in Spokane on Friday night. The Empire and the Rattlers are both 7-4 with five games to play. This was the third straight win by the Rattlers since losing at home to Spokane 60-51.

They meet one more time in Spokane on June 3 for what could end up being for the conference title and home field to open the playoffs.

Arizona plays at home the next two weeks, before closing out on the road for the final three games.

The Rattlers had a season-high six sacks against Spokane quarterback Charles Dowdell, and Sawyer Petre kicked two field goals.

Cody Sokol threw two of his three touchdown passes to Anthony Amos.

Biggest road game of the season

The Rattlers go from what coach Kevin Guy called "a matchbox" to one of the most difficult road environments his Arena Football League teams ever had to play in.

Friday night's Indoor Football League game in Spokane against the Empire is the biggest road game of the season for the Rattlers (6-4), who can move into a first-place tie with the Empire (7-3) in the Intense Conference with a victory.

Even when the Rattlers rolled up three consecutive AFL titles from 2012-14, Spokane Arena was maybe the most difficult venue for the Rattlers to play in.

It earned the nickname "Deaf Valley" during its AFL days.

The game can be seen live on YouTube starting at 7.

The Rattlers had to adjust to the tiny end zones at Cedar Rapids' arena, which was mostly empty, during their 34-32 win last week, rallying from a 20-10 deficit. Now they'll have to adjust to what might be the loudest road crowd they've faced since joining the IFL this year.

"We're playing to get better, week to week," Guy said. "We can't blink. We don't have time for mental mistakes. We have to be more physical than the other team. That's where we're at as a football team right now."

Penalties stacked up in their last road game with 11 called on the Rattlers and 13 called on Cedar Rapids.

Rattlers find firm footing in Indoor Football League How is the first season in the Indoor Football League going for the Arizona Rattlers? Richard Obert takes a look. Video: azcentral sports

Quarterback Cody Sokol struggled, throwing two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. But running back Darrell Monroe had another big game, rushing for 65 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.

"I think we're fine on offense," Guy said. "We played in a matchbox last week. The end zones are five yards long. I don't even know how that's regulation. It is what it is. We'll see them later at our place when we have a bigger arena.

"That's two games in the last three weeks that we had referees that didn't know the rules. We can't play two teams. We can't play the team we're playing. And we can't play the referees. Everybody's got a job to do and they've got to do their job."

Guy said his team has to address their penalties to get better, especially against the Empire, which beat the Rattlers in Phoenix 60-51 three weeks ago.

"We need to be a more disciplined team," Guy said.

Rattlers 34, Cedar Rapids 32

Darrell Monroe rushed for three touchdowns to lead the Rattlers (6-4) to a 34-32 win over the host Cedar Rapids Titans on Friday night in Iowa. Arizona quarterback Cody Sokol struggled, throwing two interceptions. Allen Chapman and Arkeith Brown each had an interception to even things out for the Rattlers.

Finding footing

More than halfway into a new era of indoor football, the Rattlers lead the league in attendance, and majority owner Ron Shurts doesn't have to worry about footing the bill for floundering teams.

The only down side of being in the Indoor Football League so far is not dominating like they did in their final six seasons in the Arena Football League, reaching the championship game five times and winning it three times.

Coach and general manager Kevin Guy says this season reminds him of his first in Arizona, in 2008, when he tore up the Rattlers roster and began a rebuilding process. That team went 8-8 before losing to Grand Rapids in a wild-card playoff game.

The IFL Rattlers are 5-4, and only picked up their second home win in five tries in last week's 64-29 rout of the Green Bay Blizzard.

Guy's worst record since 2010 was 13-5 and that 2012 team was the first of a string of three ArenaBowl championships.

Last year, the IFL put in a rule restricting rosters. Teams can only have seven players with three or more years of IFL and AFL experience. The lack of restrictions on what defenses can do in the IFL also has been a neutralizer.

"The difference to me when you look at it is the rules," Guy said. "The rules put us in a situation where we've got more parity. In the Arena League, everybody built their teams the same way. The plays are very similar, the restrictions on defense.

"So it really came down to, you've got to win at recruiting. You'd think you'd win the recruiting, but the rules in this league allows the parity.

"I love the strategy. ... It's challenge for me. It's a challenge for our players. We haven't really been tested in several years anyway. You've got to embrace challenge when you get it."

Shurts has no doubt the Rattlers will take off in the season's second half under Guy.

He felt he had no choice but to break off from the AFL, which is now down to five teams - all in the East - with two of those expansion teams in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., both of which are run by Ted Leonis' Monumental Sports & Entertainment that operates the NHL Washington Capitals and NBA Washington Wizards.

After the AFL came out of bankruptcy in 2010 to reboot the league, the economic model was restructured.

Owners buy a franchise, which is part of the AFL, giving each team a 20 percent stake in the league. Teams pay weekly dues to cover costs of the league's expenses and players' salaries. Meanwhile, teams pay rent for the arena, they pays their coaches and staff.

When a team's dues aren't met, other team owners have to pick up the slack for that team.

Since the 2010 AFL reboot, 21 teams have either suspended operations, folded or moved to another league.

The San Jose SaberCats folded after winning the AFL championship in 2015.

The only teams still in the AFL that had teams last year are the Tampa Bay Storm, Cleveland Gladiators and the Philadelphia Soul.

Each team in the IFL is independently owned and operated, meaning Shurts doesn't have to worry about financially helping out with dues when another franchise can't make payments.

"You take financial liability out of the equation," said Shurts, who led the Rattlers' ownership since partway through the 2011 season. "When partners are a corporation, the corporation can't pay its bills, so it has the partners pay.

"Now you're independent. You pay a small fee to be part of the league. That structure is different.

"That's definitely part of the reason why we moved for sure. It gets a little monotonous (having to pick up the financial slack from other teams)."

IFL Commissioner Mike Allshouse keeps costs confidential.

"We try our best to facilitate a realistic economic model that sets our teams up for success," he said.

Even with the move into a league that at one time was considered a minor league next to the AFL, attendance has been as strong as any time during the Rattlers' last six years. They're averaging more than 12,000 fans in five home games. And this league started a month earlier than the AFL.

Their only home game with fewer than 12,000 fans came on the night they were competing against the Final Four in Glendale, when a respectable 10,879 fans showed up to Talking Stick Resort Arena.

This is the biggest sports market among the 10 IFL teams. Tickets range from $8 to more than $100 for prime seats.

"I think we've done well," Rattlers president Chris Presson said. "Four games into the home season, it's what we thought it would be, good and healthy. It seems to me the fans have accepted it."

Season-ticket holders Bill Skaug and Gary Royall were initially skeptical about the Rattlers' move to the IFL, where there are no nets, two players are allowed to move in forward motion before the ball is snapped, running the ball is part of the game plan, and defenses aren't limited by rules.

"I figured I would give it a season and see how it goes," Royall said. "So far, I actually like it better than the AFL. I like that there are two guys in motion and more running plays. The game seems faster to me than the AFL. It took a little getting use to all the new players."

One drawback: A lot of the marquee names are gone.

But Guy in the last five games has relied on local quarterback Cody Sokol to lead the offense. Sokol might be the team's most popular player. He played at Phoenix Desert Vista High and Scottsdale Community College.

"I myself actually like the new IFL game as well or better than the AFL game," Skaug said. "I thought I would miss the nets and high energy style of the AFL with all the passing. But in truth I really like the running and real football that the Rattlers have put together."

Allshouse's goal is to keep finding quality ownerships and grow the league with bigger markets such as the Rattlers coming on board. The IFL began in 2008 when the Intense and United indoor football leagues merged. The league also has had its share of attrition. It had as many as 25 team in 2010. There are 10 teams this year.

Shurts hopes to see the IFL stay on solid footing.

With close to 15,000 fans for successive home games in February and March, Shurts doesn't see the Rattlers going anywhere.

"No question, the community loves the Rattlers," Shurts said. "One of the minor struggles is all the players are new. But that's OK. These guys will step up and be here for a while."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.

Rattlers rout Green Bay

Nine games into their first season in the IFL, the Rattlers looked like the Arena Football League Rattlers from the past six years – dominating in every facet of the 50-yard game.

Quarterback Cody Sokol threw five touchdown passes, Darrell Monroe ran for 138 yards and the defense had two sacks and two interceptions in a 64-29 rout of the Green Bay Blizzard on Saturday night before 13,006 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Kicker Sawyer Petre connected on every extra point. And backup quarterback Jon Wolf got a chance to show off his dynamic abilities. A holder on extra points, he ran in a 2-point conversion and was explosive in mop-up duty, completing his only pass for 20 yards and scoring on a 3-yard run.

"You always got to win at least two phases," said Sokol, who was 11 of 18 for 113 yards and didn't throw an interception, while completing passes into some tight windows. "That's what happens when you win all three."

The Rattlers (5-4) are back on the road for the next two games, but coach Kevin Guy feels good about the progress after losing three of their first home games.

He said he mixed in more zone on defense than any time since the team broke off from the AFL. Aside from giving up two one-play scoring drives, Guy was happy with the defense.

"I quit being too hard-headed and started calling some zone and mixing it up a little bit," Guy said. "I've got too much Alabama in me. I want to rush the passer and play man. But overall I'm pleased with the guys. We have to build on it."

Arkeith Brown and Allen Chapman, part of the Rattlers' AFL glory years, both had interceptions in the fourth quarter when the Rattlers kept pressuring the 2-8 Blizzard.

"That was the past," Brown said of the Rattlers' run of five championship appearances in the last six years in the AFL. "We've got to live in the future. We have to come together with the new team, with the new guys and just build."

Rattlers will stay with Sokol as season's 2nd half begins

Coach Kevin Guy said he has decided to stick with quarterback Cody Sokol as the Rattlers (4-4) begin the second half of the season at home on Saturday at 6 p.m. against the Green Bay Blizzard.

The game will be televised on FSAZ Plus.

Guy gave Darron Thomas the first four games and Sokol the second four games to determine who would be his quarterback in the post-Nick Davila era.

Thomas' last game came at Green Bay, a 30-29 Rattlers victory. Thomas was 8 of 16 for 85 yards and a TD and an interception.

Since then, the Rattlers have gone 2-2 with Sokol running the offense. Sokol is 60 of 102 passing for 743 yards and 15 TDs with three interceptions. He has a 103.19 rating. Thomas' QB rating was 100.68. He threw for 500 yards and 13 TDs with four interceptions. Thomas ran for 128 yards on 26 carries; Sokol 58 on 17 carries.

The Blizzard (2-7) has lost five games in a row, starting with the loss to the Rattlers.

Empire 60, Rattlers 51

It’s the midway point in the Rattlers’ first season in the Indoor Football League, and more flaws than strengths were on display in a 60-51 loss to the Spokane Empire in front of 12,725 on Saturday night that dropped them to 1-3 at home.

The Rattlers didn’t lose inside Talking Stick Resort Arena last year in their final season playing in the Arena Football League. Their only loss in the Valley was in the ArenaBowl to the Philadelphia Soul, but that game was moved to Glendale because the Mercury needed the Phoenix arena for a WNBA game.

“We’re one and three at home,” coach Kevin Guy said. “I didn’t think the Rattlers would ever be in that situation. We also have played some of the best teams at home. But there’s no excuse for it. We’ve got to win at home.”

The Rattlers (4-4), for the most part, owned Spokane at home in their history. But that was when the team was called the Shock and was playing in the AFL.

Now the Empire (6-2), Spokane had a one-year head start into the net-less IFL, while the Rattlers (4-4) basically overhauled their roster after their 24th season in the AFL with new quarterbacks, running backs, linemen and mostly new receivers.

But defensive backs Arkeith Brown and Allen “Bubba” Chapman are veterans of the AFL game with the Rattlers, and they weren’t able to make plays against Charles Dowdell, who threw six touchdown passes, two each to Bryan Pray and Devonn Brown, on Saturday.

“We could not make a play on a ball to save our life,” Guy said. “We’ve got to get mentally tougher. I’m sure when I look at the film, it’s going to be technique. We went in with a game plan, felt good about it. If you look at first couple of drives, we were stopping them. You’ve to give Coach Shak (Adam Shackleford) credit. He had his team ready to play.”

After making a stop to start the game, the Rattlers were penalized on their first pass, a big play that was returned and put them at their 3. Quarterback Cody Sokol, making his fourth straight start, was stopped in the end zone for a safety on a read-option run. That turned into a nine-point turnaround after the Empire then scored a touchdown on their next possession.

That put the Rattlers into catch-up mode the rest of the game. Sokol threw a career-high six touchdown passes and gave Arizona the lead a couple of times before the Empire went from man-coverage to zone. The Rattlers only made one stop in the second half, and that came when the Empire were trying to run out the clock in the final minute with a nine-point lead.

Sokol, who was 22 of 34 for 252 yards, misfired on his last eight throws, his last one intercepted.

“There are plays you wish you could get back,” Sokol said. “Every game, you wish you could get back a couple of plays. But you can’t whine about it. You’ve got to keep fighting.”

Guy has a decision to make now. Does he stick with Sokol or go back to Darron Thomas at quarterback?

He gave both quarterbacks four games to see who the right guy is to replace Nick Davila, who set numerous Rattlers passing records and led them to three consecutive ArenaBowl titles, before retiring and becoming a Rattlers assistant once the team made the move into the IFL.

Halfway point: Three things to know

The season hits the halfway point on Saturday when the Rattlers (4-3) play host to the Spokane Empire (5-2) at 6 p.m., at Talking Stick Resort Arena with first place in the Intense Conference at stake.

The game is being televised by FSAZ Plus.

Here are three things about the Rattlers this week:

Who runs the offense?

Will it be Cody Sokol or Darren Thomas?

Thomas, the mobile quarterback who became a big name in college leading Oregon, started the first four games. Sokol, the local guy who played at Phoenix Desert Vista High and Scottsdale Community College, will be making his fourth start Saturday.

Coach Kevin Guy said he wanted to give each quarterback four starts before settling on one for the rest of the season.

Is there a need for a jumbo receiver?

Guy's three-year championship run was marked with tall, strong receivers, guys like Maurice Purify, Rod Windsor, Tysson Poots and Kerry Reed.

This is a smaller group of receivers than what the Rattlers rolled out the last seven years with Anthony Amos now the main target.

Part of the reason Guy hasn't had to rely on that big receiver to take over, making big plays after catches, is because of the success of the run game. The Rattlers average 107 yards rushing per game, second only to six-time defending IFL champion Sioux Falls Storm (118.3). The Rattlers' 116 carries are second in the league to Sioux Falls and their 21 rushing TDs are also second.

Sokol only threw 10 passes, completing six, one for a TD, last week when the Rattlers scored 73 points against Salt Lake City, with Darrell Monroe and receiver Jamal Miles combining for eight rushing scores.

When does Borel return?

The Rattlers quickly figured out this is no longer a 99 percent passing league. It's almost 50-50 pass-run, and the Rattlers still are adjusting to stopping the run. They rank eighth out of 10 teams on rush defense, giving up 86.6 yards a game. They're seventh in sacks with just eight, and eighth in turnover margin at minus-2.

Guy always takes pride in being more physical and winning the turnover battle. But that may not get turned around until defensive end Damien Borel is medically cleared to play. Borel was the Rattlers' best pass rusher last year before a knee injury took him out early in last year's ArenaBowl loss to Philadelphia. Borel is a game-changer, possibly the one guy who takes the Rattlers over the edge and gives them hope of ending Sioux Falls' IFL dynasty.

The Rattlers need him to return.

Rattlers 73, Screaming Eagles 60

Darrell Monroe ran for five touchdowns, Jamal Miles added three more rushing scores, and the Rattlers (4-3) secured to a 73-60 win over the host Salt Lake Screaming Eagles on Friday night. Rattlers quarterback Cody Sokol was 6-of-10 passing for 102 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Arkeith Brown and Allen Chapman each had an interception to help Arizona hold on to the win.

Harmon and Monroe

Rattlers coach Kevin Guy likes to call them "Thunder" and "Lightning."

Ketrich Harmon, the bigger of the two backs, has a better name:

"Thunder Storm," he says.

Harmon and fellow running back Darrell Monroe have been a wrecking crew in the first six games of the Rattlers' first foray into the run-friendly Indoor Football League, where quarterbacks often have to be ready to run and running backs are looked at as the same way they are in the outdoor game. They're not just there as the last means of protection for the quarterback in this 50-yard game.

"We're fighting for that No.1 rushing spot," Harmon said. "We're in the top four in the league right now."

Harmon leads the IFL in average rushing yards a game with 50 in the four games he has played. He has 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 45 carries. Monroe is fourth in the league with an average of 44 yards in his four games played. He has rushed for 176 yards and two TDs on 36 carries.

Last week, in a 39-36 win at Nebraska, Guy, for the first time, rotated both backs. Monroe ran for 39 yards on nine carries, Harmon for 34 yards on nine carries.

"We're going to do a little Thunder and Lightning action there," Guy said. "We have two good backs. We want to give them opportunities to play. That's an adjustment I'm going through. ... They're both weapons. They're both going to see plenty of playing time."

The Rattlers (3-3) return to the road to play the Salt Lake City Screaming Eagles (1-4) on Friday night at 6 p.m., at the Maverik Center. The Screaming Eagles receive play-calling input from fans. They're coached by former Arena Football League coach Matt Sauk, who had a stint as a quarterback in Guy's first season with the Rattlers in 2008. The game is streamed live on YouTube.

Rattlers 39, Danger 36

Sawyer Petre made a 20-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to lift the Rattlers to a 39-36 win over the Nebraska Danger in Grand Island, Neb.

Arizona quarterback Cody Sokol completed 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Rattlers.

Up next: Rattlers (3-3) at Salt Lake Screaming Eagles (1-5), Friday, 6 p.m. | Season schedule

Stick with Sokol

The Rattlers (2-3) will stick with Cody Sokol at quarterback as they try to get to .500 in Nebraska on Friday night against the Danger (4-2) in an Intense Conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on YouTube

Sokol, who hadn't started a football game since leading Louisiana Tech to a 2014 bowl win over Illinois, improved during his debut last week in a 60-53 home loss to Wichita Falls. He threw four touchdown passes, bouncing back after getting intercepted early in the game.

"Now I know how to really prepare going into the game," said Sokol, who played at Phoenix Desert Vista High and Scottsdale Community College. "I'm excited to get back out there."

The Danger are coming off a 42-36 win over the Spokane Empire, another former Arena Football League team. Patrick McCain completed 12 of 17 passes for 52 yards and three TDs and ran for 27 yards and a score on 13 carries.

Wichita Falls 60, Rattlers 53

Cody Sokol hadn’t played a full football game since he led Louisiana Tech to a bowl victory in 2014.

Sokol needed a half to get used to the quicker Indoor Football League pace Saturday, and by the time he found himself in a groove, he had the Rattlers leading one of the top teams by eight points in the final quarter.

But Wichita Falls quarterback Charles McCullum continued to shred a flat defense and maneuvered the Nighthawks to a late touchdown and a 60-53 victory before 10,879 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The loss spoiled a franchise-record rushing effort by Ketrich Harmon, who ran for 123 yards on 20 carries. He had two scoring runs and had a 39-yard scoring run called back by a penalty.

After quarterback Darron Thomas struggled in last week’s 30-29 win in Green Bay, coach Kevin Guy decided this week to go with the local kid, Sokol, who starred at Phoenix Desert Vista High and Scottsdale Community College.

Sokol bounced around in the Arena Football League, getting very little playing time, before catching on this year with the Rattlers.

He showed rust, especially early when the 25-second play clock wound down and the Rattlers were hit with a delay penalty and had to burn a timeout.

“I think the pace definitely is a lot quicker,” said Sokol, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in his Rattlers debut. “When you’re sitting there watching it, you don’t realize how fast it is going. A lot of it has to do with that 25-second play clock. I had to get my feet wet and bounce back.”

Guy said he will have to look at the tape first to determine whether Sokol is the quarterback he goes with moving forward.

But the Rattlers are sitting at 2-3 and now head to Nebraska for a game next week.

Wichita Falls (5-1) bounced back from its first loss to six-time defending IFL champion Sioux Falls, showing off the offense that made it the highest-scoring team in the league before being held to fewer than 30 points to the Storm.

McCullum, the top-rated quarterback in the league, was 20 of 27 for 256 yards and seven TDs. He also had 18 yards on two runs.

Guy blamed this loss more on the defense that didn’t make a stop in the second half.

“I’m very disappointed with how we played defensively,” Guy said. “We’ve played better defense here. For whatever reasons, we weren’t getting it done. We’ll look at the tape. But the bottom line, it just looked like we struggled covering their receivers. Their receivers were better than our coverage.”

Nobody caught more than six passes, but McCullum spread it out among Jolly Jordan (three TD catches), Phillip Barnett, Tyron Laughinghouse and Angelo Pease for TDs.

After the Nighthawks sacked Sokol and forced the Rattlers to try a long field goal that was wide, they went 45 yards, using up 1 minute, 30 seconds, before McCullum found Jolly for his third TD from 6 yards out with three second left to break a 53-53 tie.

Jamal Miles returned the kickoff to midfield before he was stopped as time ran out.

Guy said he wanted to evaluate Sokol at this point in the season. Thomas ended up not dressing out.

"We needed to see what he brings to the table," Guy said. "We missed some passes last game in Green Bay. I felt we should have been two or three touchdowns out in front of them. He's got to go through his growing pains. He'll have to see the tape and get better. I thought he was a competitor tonight and he did some good things. At the same time, we're going to have to settle him down a little bit and see the field better."

Rattlers 30, Blizzard 29

The Rattlers (2-2) won their first road IFL game 30-29 over the Green Bay Blizzard at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis., on Sunday, March 26.

Rattlers running back Ketrich Harmon rushed 13 times for 50 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Darron Thomas threw for 85 yards and a touchdown, to go along with a rushing touchdown.

The Rattlers defense held the Blizzard to minus-8 yards rushing and recorded five tackles for loss, including two sacks, one by Chris McAllister and the other by Justin Martin and Josh Gordon. Arkeith Brown also intercepted Green Bay QB Matt Behrendt.

Rattlers 71, Crush 27

Darrell Monroe rushed for 93 yards, quarterback Darron Thomas threw three touchdowns and the Rattlers (1-2) rolled to their first win in the Indoor Football League, burying the Colorado Crush 71-27 on Saturday, March 11, at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Adam Sauder led Arizona with 15 total tackles and recovered a fumble, while Chris McCallister racked up two sacks and five tackles for loss.

The Rattlers now enter a bye week before returning to action March 26th against the Green Bay Blizzard.

Interactive football taking IFL by storm

The Rattlers host the Colorado Crush on Saturday, one of two Indoor Football League teams that have fans involved in the play-calling.

Project FANchise ownership group acquired the Crush in October. It also owns the Salt Lake City Screaming Eagles, which had a storm-the-field moment in the season opener after the team's first touchdown called by the fans, who pay a $9.99/month premium fee to be involved in in-game decisions.

Fans hopped the sideline boards and celebrated as if their team had just won the championship, even though the team was trailing by a touchdown even after the score. They were doing selfies with players, before order was restored and the game resumed.

Through an Eagles app, fans go to their iPad or iPhone and download the play in which they want run. It's not just Salt Lake City fans. Fans from 99 countries can sign up for it. Fans even voted on the team's colors, uniforms, logo.

This is ground-breaking stuff.

But can it work?

William McCarthy lasted just two games with the Screaming Eagles, before he was let go after a 42-41 win over Colorado. He has since been replaced by former Arena Football League coach Matt Sauk this week.

In a Screaming Eagles release on the IFL website, team President Thom Carter said, "philosophical differences pertaining to the management of the team have led us to the decision to part ways with Coach McCarthy."

Rattlers coach and general manager Kevin Guy said he didn't know too much about the virtual coach concept those teams are doing.

"I don't know how it works, to be honest with you," Guy said.

Last month, Project FANchise and the IFL launched Virtual Front Office in a partnership with all 10 IFL teams. Fans can sign up for the premium package for Virtual Coach, Virtual GM, or Virtual Scouting. It allows them have inside access to the team they choose.

"It's steps to get more fans involved," IFL Commissioner Mike Allshouse said. "Every team is going to have its own comfortability level. Each team in the league goes at its own pace. See what's working. It's a business model. There is nothing wrong with more input and involvement with the teams. It pays great dividends."

Asked about it, Guy said, "I have no idea."

"If it doesn't make sense to me, I don't deal with it," he added.

Rattlers receiver Demarius Washington, who played for Colorado last season when he was the IFL Offensive Player of the Year when he had 1,223 receiving yards, said it would be difficult to run plays called by fans.

"To come in, if you were the coach, you want to call the plays to be successful," Washington said. "To have the fans call the plays, I think that can be a little bit intriguing."

Allshouse said it's too early "to put a feather in our cap" about it, but "the early results are very encouraging."

"The sample size is not big enough," he said. "The league as a whole has followed the lead (of the Crush and the Screaming Eagles). We were behind the technology. I think you're seeing the league and other member teams get more interactive with video or social media."

So far the biggest hit with the fans, Allshouse said, has been the YouTube live streaming of all games at no cost.

Barnstormers 51, Rattlers 47

Two weeks into a new Rattlers era, coach Kevin Guy said he’ll have a lot of evaluating to do following a 51-47 loss to the Iowa Barnstormers, Sunday, Feb. 26.

The Rattlers, among the elite for much of their 24 years in the Arena Football League where they won five championships, are now 0-2 in what many had considered a lesser league, the Indoor Football League.

A respectable crowd of 11,438 showed up for the Rattlers’ home opener at Talking Stick Resort Arena, where it seemed the Rattlers would take apart the team they beat 20 years ago at home in the ArenaBowl.

Even newly inducted Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, who was on the losing end as the Barnstormers quarterback in that 1997 ArenaBowl, came out to be part of the pregame coin flip.

But after taking a 14-6 first-quarter lead on two Darron Thomas touchdown passes, the Rattlers were held scoreless until five seconds remained in the third quarter when Thomas found Anthony Amos for a 7-yard scoring pass.

By then, the Rattlers were scrambling back to try to catch the Barnstormers (1-1).

“We have to execute better,” said Thomas, who ran for 61 yards on seven carries. “It just comes with hard work.”

Amos is one of the only two holdovers from last year’s AFL Rattlers that reached the title game, and he served as a complementary piece.

“We’ve got all new players,” Guy said. “It’s not necessarily the rules and the game. You’ve got all new players and you’re learning what they can and can’t do. We’ve only had a few weeks with them. We’re trying to figure out who can do what.

“Right now we need some leaders. We need some guys to step up. Right now I feel like we’ve got too many individuals. It’s too quiet. Not enough energy on the sidelines, and guys stepping up like we’ve had in the past. That’s part of development. We’ve got to develop that right now as a team.”

After Guy felt good about his defense in the 40-29 loss at six-time defending IFL champion Sioux Falls in the opener, he now has to reevaluate that part of the team after the way the Barnstormers ran on his team Sunday.

Quarterback Travis Partridge completed 15 of 19 for 153 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran seven times for 25 yards and a score. Ryan Balentine, a wide receiver, ran nine times for 19 yards and two scores.

Guy didn’t want to see 36 passes thrown, but that is what Thomas did, completing 20 for 189 yards and six touchdowns. But he had two passes intercepted with the last one coming with 24 seconds left.

Thomas showed flashes of what made him such a standout college player at Oregon with his legs. He took off for a 20-yard score, then found running back Ketrich Harmon for a 21-yard score in the final quarter when the Rattlers executed two onside kicks to overcome a two-touchdown deficit and regain the lead 47-44 with 5:51 left.

But a long kick return led to a 9-yard scoring pass from Partridge to Brady Roland with 3:53 left for Iowa’s winning score.

Harmon, starting at running back for the first time, fumbled two handoffs from Thomas. The Rattlers lost one of those fumbles.

“We need to look at our defenses and see if we’re putting them in the right positions,” Guy said. “The first thing I’m going to do is look at myself, critique myself, then we’ll move to the players. At the end of the day, it falls at my desk and I’ve got to get it corrected.”

Storm 40, Rattlers 29

At Sioux Falls, SD on Friday, Feb. 17

Rattlers on offense: Quarterback Darron Thomas was 14-of 28 passing for 156 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, which was returned 50 yards for a Sioux Falls touchdown that turned the game in the second half and led to the Storm's 63rd consecutive home win. Anthony Amos had five receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Darnell Monroe lost a fumble.

Rattlers on defense: Allen Chapman led Arizona with nine tackles, including one for a loss. Storm quarterback Lorenzo Brown was held to 59 yards passing with one touchdown.