Near-perfect first half propels Arizona Rattlers to win over L.A. KISS
Apr 26, 2015, 6:12 PM | Updated: 6:12 pm
Nick Davila completed 19-of-22 passes for 192 yards and threw six touchdowns to four different receivers in the first half, and the Arizona Rattlers cruised to an easy 68-30 win over the L.A. KISS at Honda Center in Anaheim Saturday night.
The Rattlers (4-1) scored on their first possession of the night when Davila hit Kerry Reed on a 19-yard touchdown strike. Reed would finish the evening with three scores.
Arizona scored touchdowns on all six of its first-half possessions while the defense got stopped L.A. three times before halftime.
The Rattlers did bog down on offense in the second half, allowing the KISS to creep back to within 18 points after three quarters. However, Arizona outscored L.A. 20-0 in the final quarter to win going away.
It wasn’t all good news for head coach Kevin Guy and Co., though. Davila was sacked by Dominique Pittman early in the fourth quarter and suffered a left foot injury. Rookie B.J. Coleman relieved Davila and threw two touchdown passes.
“We’ll let him get back and see our doctor in Arizona, I don’t know if I trust L.A. doctors,” Guy said with a smile during a postgame interview with CBS Sports Network’s Randy Gatewood. “If (Davila) can’t go, he can’t go. We’ve got a lot of confidence in B.J. It’s a team game, so we’ve got to rally around the guy and get ready to go.”
The Kicking saga continues…
Fabrizio Scaccia became the third kicker used in Arizona’s first five games, and although he wasn’t perfect, he was better than both Jeremy Shelley and Alex Zendejas.
Scaccia connected on 8-of-10 extra points, missing one and having one blocked. The depth on his kickoffs was decent — in fact, the Rattlers recovered a kickoff off the nets in the fourth quarter and turned it into a touchdown.
He did strike the scoreboard on one kickoff in the second quarter, giving L.A. the ball on the 20-yard line to start a possession.
He Said It
“It ain’t a rivalry until they beat us.” — Guy to Gatewood during a second-quarter sideline exchange.
The Rattlers improved to 3-0 all-time against the KISS, winning by an average of 39.7 points.
The teams will meet two more times this season — June 27 in Anaheim and July 26 at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
Up Next
The Rattlers return to the Snake Pit to host the undefeated San Jose SaberCats next Saturday night.
San Jose (5-0) is coming off a 64-45 win over the Portland Thunder Saturday night. The Rattlers beat the SaberCats three times in four meetings last season, including a 72-56 win in the National Conference title game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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