Box Score TUCSON - The Tucson Sugar Skulls dropped a tough one at the Boneyard on Saturday night against the Northern Arizona Wranglers.
This loss puts them a full three games back from the top seeded Arizona Rattlers and Northern Arizona Wranglers out west. They also lost the tiebreaker with NAZ due to this being the third and deciding game between the teams.
Sugar Skulls head coach Dixie Wooten said: "We just gotta execute. We fumbled on the goal line, and then we don't score on the last drive. We just gotta execute, simple as that."
First Half
The Sugar Skulls came out strong in the first half of action, jumping out to a 26-15 lead led by some strong play from their defense. They recorded two interceptions (
Mike Minter, Robert Rolle) and got two crucial stops on 4th down.
Overall, this was one of the better defensive performances from the Sugar Skulls this season. They played with physicality and got key stops when they needed them, but the offense just didn't show up like it typically has all season long.
4th Quarter Meltdown
Tucson's 11-point advantage at the half was also the lead they had entering the 4th quarter. They were outscored by the Wranglers 13-0 in the final quarter and lost the game by 2 points after being in control for the majority of the evening. A last-second field goal attempt from deep into their own endzone was off as the time expired.
Mike Jones
The majority of the Sugar Skulls offense was carried on the shoulders of Skulls' star running back
Mike Jones.
Daquan Neal had
He had three touchdowns in the first 21 minutes of action, including a ferocious 15-yard run for a score. Northern Arizona did a decent job of taking him out of the equation in the second half and forcing Tucson's offense to stall.
Skull Smash
The productivity from the newcomer
Roosevelt Lawrence was apparent, as he made an immediate impact recording a team-best 8.5 tackles on the evening.
Line of the night
Mike Jones- 10 rushes for 34 yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 1 reception, 24 receiving yards
Up next? Tucson has a bye week before hosting the Bay Area Panthers on June 11th.
