Rattlers clinch playoff berth with 48-20 win over Utah

Saturday July 17, 2010

Phoenix – On a night when the Rattlers honored legendary quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, it seemed fitting that current QB NICK DAVILA was handed the proverbial torch as he set or tied two of Bonner’s most valued team records in the Rattlers playoff-clinching 48-20 victory over division rival Utah.

There was no shortage of records falling tonight, as Davila and WR ROD WINDSOR combined to break or tie four AFL and two team records. The former Rattler great Bonner was on hand to witness his apparent heir as the Rattlers next great quarterback break the Rattlers’ single season passing yards record of 4,036 yards and tie the single season passing touchdowns record of 88, both previously held by Bonner,. Davila was not done however, cementing his status as one of the premier players in the league, breaking the AFL rookie record for touchdown passes and passing yards.

The current Rattlers’ quarterback could not have been more enthused to clinch a playoff berth for his team and honored to pass such a legend like Bonner.

“It feels great [to clinch a playoff berth]. That was our goal going into the season, to get into the playoffs.” A humbled Davila said shortly after the game, while praising the man he watched growing up. “I’m honored to be even mentioned with (Bonner) in the same sentence. He’s a great arena football quarterback and he was one of the first quarterbacks I got to watch growing up.”

Windsor put on quite the performance himself, breaking the all-time AFL receptions record on his first catch of the game and finishing the game with 174. Windsor also had 136 receiving yards and eclipsed the Rattlers’ franchise record of 1,982 yards previously set by Calvin Schexnayder. Windsor broke the record on a 47-yard bomb from a beautiful throw from Davila midway through the second quarter. Windsor now has 2,067 and needs only 63 more yards to break the league’s all-time single-season receiving yards total.

With tonight’s comfortable win over Utah (1-13) and Iowa’s (6-8) loss earlier in the night to Spokane, the Rattlers (9-5) clinch a playoff berth and a possible showdown with the West Division leading Shock or Midwest leader Chicago Rush.

The Utah offense had trouble all night thanks to a swarming defense that stopped Utah’s offense on six of the Blaze’s first seven drives. The defense was highlighted by DL ANTAJJ HAWTHORNE who forced and recovered a fumble in the end zone as time expired at the end of the first half for an unlikely touchdown. It was the second time this year that the Rattlers scored on a defensive touchdown against Utah as the first half expired.

DL ALEX GUERRERO contributed to a strong and effective pass rush all night with a sack and forced Blaze quarterback Brett Elliott into many bad throws. The secondary was lead by DB TERRENCE SANDERS who made an acrobatic interception in the second quarter leading to one of Windsor’s two touchdowns on the night. Sanders added a team-high nine tackles as well.

The victory snaps a two-game losing streak in front of a friendly and raucous 10,317 screaming fans in the snake pit at US Airways center.

Rattlers’ WR TRANDON HARVEY and WR JJ MCKELVEY stepped up big as well, contributing to an overall superior effort against a smaller and slower Utah secondary. Harvey finished with 30 yards and two touchdown catches, while McKelvey was just as impressive with two touchdown grabs on four catches.

Up next for the Rattlers is American Conference foe Tulsa before returning home to face Iowa in the last game of the season. The Rattlers beat the Tulsa 77-76 earlier in the season on a miraculous final play with no time on the clock as Davila found Windsor for a 27-yard score to earn an improbable win.

GAME NOTES

The Rattlers scored 34 points in the second quarter to time the team mark for most points scored in a quarter… The 20 points allowed is tied for the fewest by an opposing team since the Rattlers held Buffalo to 14 points in 2001… The offensive line hasn’t allowed a sack in seven straight games and has only allowed one sack in the past 10 games… The Rattlers forced Utah into three field goal attempts… WR TOD DEVOE played Jack linebacker for the first time this season and earned Spalding Highlight of the game with his vicious hit on special teams… K FABRIZIO SCACCIA went six-of-seven in extra points and now is 59-of-63 (93.4%) on the year.

 

GAME STATS

Passing
Arizona -  Nick Davila, 14-19, 199 yards, 5 TDs
Utah – Brett Elliott, 16-34, 145 yards, 2 TDs, INT       

Receiving
Arizona – Rod Windsor, 8 catches, 136 yards, 2 TDs
Utah – Aaron Boone, 8 catches, 48 yards, TD
                                 
Rushing
Arizona – Alex Guerrero, 3 rushes, 19 yards
Utah – Damian Walker, 4 rushes, 4 yards

Defense
Arizona – Terrance Sanders, 9 tackles, Int, Pass Breakup
Utah – Aaron LeSue, 7 tackles

Players of the Game
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game – Nick Davila (AZ)
JLS Ironman of the Game – Tod Devoe (AZ)
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game – Alex Guerrero (AZ)
Spalding Highlight of the Game – Tod Devoe’s monster hit on a kickoff
Nifty Playmaker of the Game – Rod Windsor (AZ)
Cutters Catch of the Game – JJ McKelvey’s leaping one-handed catch