Rattlers Begin Second-Half Push Against Fishers Freight

By Gage Gastley ꟾ Rattlers Media

As the Arizona Rattlers' season enters its final stretch, the math gets simple.

There are only six games left, and every game matters more than the last. It starts Sunday with the Rattlers fighting for a home playoff berth and a bit of revenge against Fishers Freight at Desert Diamond Arena. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Yahoo! Sports.

The game includes a celebration of America's 250th birthday presented by the U.S. Army and will include a swearing-in ceremony for enlisting soldiers.

For the Rattlers, 7-3 overall, 6-2 in the Western Conference, what was a humbling loss in the second game of the season seemed to become motivation to come back stronger. After the 63-42 loss to Fishers, the Rattlers went on a three-game winning streak. They are 6-2 since then, while the Freight have lost five in a row coming into Sunday's rematch and are 5-6 overall.

The Rattlers don't see the Freight's record as any reason to underestimate them. 

"If you look at those losses, probably three of them have come down to the last play of the game. They've been in the games," said Coach Kevin Guy.  "When we played them, I thought they were going to have a chance to make a run at a championship. I think they still can."

Guy said he expects a physical game against the Freight who have the league's leading rushing attack behind bruising running back Dominic Roberto, 5-11 and 232 pounds. Roberto leads the league in rushing with 535 yards. He has 20 touchdowns.

"Their sense of urgency is gonna be strong coming into our building," Guy said, pointing out that the Freight are still in the hunt for a playoff berth.

The Rattlers counter with arguably the league's best offense and a quarterback in Drew Powell who is finding his stride since earning the starting job four games ago.

Powell is coming off a team season-high of 218 yards passing against Northern Arizona in a 56-32 victory before heading into a bye week. He has 628 passing yards and eight touchdowns in his four starts. The Rattlers' offense leads the league with 270.7 total yards per game. The running back tandem of Ron Brown Jr. and Kimo Clarke has 19 rushing touchdowns and combined for 371 yards on the ground.

Guy knows the Rattlers will have their hands full on defense just as they did when the Freight put up 63 points when they met April 5. However, the Rattlers have made it tough on opposing quarterbacks with a league-leading 18 interceptions, doubling last year's total. Carl Decius leads the team with five interceptions, putting him second in the IFL.

In addition to the opportunity to strike back at team that beat them handily, the Rattlers understand the stakes with each game.

Currently sitting in third place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the San Diego Strike Force, the Rattlers need to work their way up at least one spot in the standings to secure a home playoff game. The Rattlers defeated the Strike Force in the season opener but must travel to San Diego for a Monday night game on July 6.

"In this part of the year I really start to push the team to where we've got to be to compete for a championship," Guy said.