Tucson, AZ- The Sugar Skulls could not overcome a sluggish second-half as they were beaten by the Gladiators 21-20. 

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

This is one that is going to sting for quite some time. It is hard to put into words what 2,300 screaming Sugar Skulls fans witnessed at Tucson Arena on Saturday night. At the intermission, Tucson was in full-control with a 20-0 halftime lead. However, the lead wasn't maintainable as Duke City rattled off 21 unanswered second-half points. What in the world just happened?

Throughout parts of the first-half, it was the Sugar Skulls that may have played some of their best ball of the entire season. On paper, Tucson battered and bruised Duke City in terms of a ferocious running game that seemed to show no signs of slowing down. Before anyone had a chance to blink, the Skulls amassed 158 rushing yards total on a healthy 4.8 yards per carry clip. Thanks In large part to Tucson dominating the line of scrimmage and a trio of key turnovers forced by Tucson's defense, a triumphant victory was clearly on the horizon. 

Unfortunately, the Skulls were cursed by some woeful special teams and back-breaking penalties. After kicker Dimitri Fotinos missed field goals of 37 and 39 yards on the night, the Skulls also didn't do themselves any favors by committing a pair of holding penalties on the final drive of the game. To make matters worse, it seemed that the Skulls were sleep-walking for most of the second half. 

Despite all of the setbacks, the Skulls were only a mere few yards away from scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the final seconds. Instead of opting to kick a game-clinching  field goal with 12 seconds remaining, head coach Billy Back decided to put the football in the hands of QB Mylik Mitchell. However, Mitchell's pass intended for RB Mike Jones into the endzone was intercepted by Duke City which was all she wrote. 

The Sun Will Rise Again 

As sour as this one tastes, the only choice Tucson has is to pick themselves up off the ground and continue moving forward. Once again, the Skulls showed plenty of life in glimpses of this contest, but heartache only followed in another late-game nail-biter. Without sugarcoating it, Tucson faces an uphill battle in their pursuit to playoff contention. Regardless, the Sugar Skulls will need to take it one game at a time as there will most definitely be brighter days ahead. 

Silver Linings

Oftentimes, it is agonizingly painful to find ways to look at the bright side of things following a defeat of this proportion, but there are still positive takeaways that the team can hold onto moving forward.

Encouragingly enough, the angry and violent running style of running back Devonte Sapp-Lynch was certainly a sight to behold. Believe it or not, but Sapp-Lynch does happen to be the younger brother of "Beast Mode" himself in former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch. Simply put, Sapp-Lynch no doubt made his brother proud after amassing 77 rushing yards on 13 carries. Without a doubt, the former New Mexico Highlands product will be fun to watch in the coming weeks. 

Up Next

Tucson will square off with the 8-1 Bay Area Panthers next Saturday, June 8th with kickoff scheduled for 6:05 PM.