Game Preview: Arizona Rattlers (10-4) vs Cedar Rapids Titans (1-13)

Phoenix, Ariz. – The Arizona Rattlers will host the Cedar Rapids Titans this Sunday, June 11 at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Rattlers will look to keep their winning streak alive, and extend it to seven games.

Arizona is coming off of their biggest win of the season over the Spokane Empire (8-6).  With that win, the Rattlers have officially clinched the number one seed in the Intense Conference and will host the conference championship game on Saturday, June 24th. This makes Arizona the only team in the IFL to have clinched a playoff spot thus far. Spokane and the Nebraska Danger (8-6) will fight for second in the Intense Conference in the upcoming weeks, to see who will come to the Snake Pit and play the Rattlers.

The last time Arizona played the Titans, they got off to a slow start, and trailed 13-0 early. They would overcome that deficit and ended up coming away with a 34-32 victory. Cedar Rapids had a chance to tie the game with just 40 seconds left, but they could not convert the two point conversion. Running back Darrell Monroe rushed for 65 yards and found the end zone on three separate occasions in that game. Kicker Sawyer Petre also added to the score, as he was successful on two of his three field goal attempts.

The Rattlers have found much success on the ground this season with both of their two running backs ranking in the top 10 in rushing yards per game. Monroe leads the league in that category, along with having the most rushing yards in the league with 651. His fellow running back Ketrich Harmon is sixth in the league in yards per game, with 39.3 and he has totaled for 275 yards on the ground thus far.

Cedar Rapids has been successful on offense by slinging the ball through the air. They are ranked second in the league in passing yards with 2,533. Also, as a team the Titans have accumulated 53 touchdowns passing, which ranks second in the league. In their May 5th matchup against the Rattlers, quarterback Brion Carnes went 23-36 passing with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Arizona’s defense has been tough to score on during their six-game win streak. They have not allowed any team to score over 35 points in that span. The defense was especially dominant last week against the Empire, only allowing 16 points, and giving up only 14 yards on the ground. Linebacker Justin Shirk has been seemingly unstoppable as well. He has been all over opposing teams quarterbacks, having five and a half sacks and eight quarterback hits.

The Titans defense was able to record two turnovers last weekend against the Danger. They held Nebraska to only six points in the second quarter. In the last matchup, Cedar Rapids only gave up 67 yards through the air. They also held the Rattlers to only 34 points.

The Rattlers will face the Titans this Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PDT in downtown Phoenix. The game will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, streamed live on YouTube and the FOX Sports GO app, and simulcast on Money Radio 1510 and 105.3 FM.