Rattlers After Third Straight Win Against Oilers
By Colin Hogan | Rattlers Media
GLENDALE, Ariz – Once is luck, twice is a habit, but three times is the truth.
The Arizona Rattlers will look to prove they are the truth with a third straight win as the Tulsa Oilers travel to the "Snakepit" Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. at Desert Diamond Arena and the game will be broadcast on Yahoo! Sports.
Following back-to-back double-digit victories propelled by its rushing attack, Arizona will look to continue its dominance on the ground. Entering Week 7 of the IFL season, the Rattlers have recorded a league-leading 15 rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Max Meylor has led the charge on the ground with eight rushing touchdowns, which leads the league, and running back Kymani Clarke has run in at least one score in every game he has appeared in.
"The guys up front have been doing really well," Meylor said. "That helps me, Ron (Brown Jr.) and Kimo all find our holes. When we get the ground game working, it makes everything easier."
The door will be open for the Rattlers to roll on the ground as the Oilers have allowed 91.7 rushing yards per game, the second most in the league. However, Meylor said the offense cannot take that statistic for granted.
"We still have to clean up the little mistakes," Meylor said. "We are starting to click a little on offense, but every play and every drive we just have to keep moving forward."
Tulsa travels west following back-to-back one-score losses where their offense averaged 50.5 points per game. In those matchups, Oilers quarterback TJ Edwards scored 12 total touchdowns.
"We are going to have our work cut out for us this week," Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy said. "They've got some great players, and they are led by TJ Edwards who started his career here with the Rattlers. Jerminic Smith is a receiver you have to keep an eye on. He makes a lot of big plays for those guys, and they just have a lot of talent."
The experienced duo of Edwards and Smith, who leads the Oilers with six touchdown receptions, will look to challenge the Rattlers' young defense that has started to gel. Over the past two weeks, the unit has allowed just 31.5 points per game while forcing four turnovers.
Defensive back Yahsyn McKee Sr. has emerged as one of the best playmakers in the league, and the Miami, Ohio alumnus is just a rookie in the IFL. McKee came up with a late interception in last week's victory over Northern Arizona, that set up the game-sealing score.
At just 25 years old, McKee is the eldest of the defensive backs on the roster.
"We are all young, but we are growing," McKee said. "We are starting to build that chemistry together. We're getting more comfortable in believing in each other's abilities, and everything is starting to string together. I expect the defense to be even better this week."
The defense will also have the help of the "Ninth Man" inside Desert Diamond Arena. The Rattlers are 2-0 at home and have won by an average score of 17.5 points while the defense has allowed just 29 points per game at home.
"Our fan base is everything," McKee said. "We cannot let anybody come in here and take over our house. We have to stand strong, be physical and keep playing our ball. We've got to play Rattler ball."