TUCSON — The Tucson Sugar Skulls defeated the Arizona Rattlers 35-28 Saturday night at Tucson Arena, rallying from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit in a fast-paced rivalry matchup that came down to the final moments.
The win extended Tucson's winning streak to 4 games and marked a sharp reversal from the teams' previous meeting: a 66-14 blowout loss in Phoenix that head coach Rayshaun Kizer called embarrassing.
University of Arizona football standouts Noah and Dash Fifita served as honorary captains for the game, adding to the energy of a packed Boneyard on Western Night, presented by the City of Tombstone.
Arizona received the opening kickoff and punched in an early touchdown despite a strong defensive effort from Tucson.
The Sugar Skulls struggled to find offensive rhythm against Arizona's defense and failed to score in the first quarter. The Rattlers capitalized on two Ja'Rome Johnson interceptions and added a second touchdown before the quarter ended, taking a 14-0 lead.
Tucson's defense tightened in the second quarter, shutting Arizona out and giving the offense room to work.
Kicker Ben Woodard connected on a field goal to put the Sugar Skulls on the board, cutting the deficit to 14-3. Tucson then recovered a fumble and converted it into a touchdown, hauled in by wide receiver Jaron Waters. The Sugar Skulls headed into halftime trailing 14-10, within striking distance.
The Boneyard transformed into the Wild West at halftime, with the Tombstone Vigilantes taking the floor for a special performance as part of the Western Night festivities. Fans also had the opportunity to customize their own cowboy hats at a Western Hat Bar experience presented by Tipsy Picasso, and a pregame Pilates on the Field experience presented by The MOVE Pilates before kickoff.
Tucson came out of the locker room with purpose. Running back Brandon Mackey scored a touchdown to open the third quarter, giving the Sugar Skulls their first lead of the game at 17-14. Arizona pushed back, but defensive back Aaron Jackson intercepted a pass, and Woodard converted the turnover into a field goal, pushing the lead to 20-14. Arizona answered with a touchdown of its own to reclaim a narrow 21-20 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was the most dramatic of the night. Mackey scored again to open the fourth, putting Tucson back in front 27-21. Arizona responded quickly with a touchdown to retake the lead 28-27. The Rattlers then intercepted a Skulls pass, threatening to put the game away, but defensive back Ahmad Lyons answered with an interception of his own to swing momentum back to Tucson.
Mackey found the end zone a third time to put the Sugar Skulls back on top, and Woodard added a 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 35-28. Arizona drove for a potential tying score in the final moments, but Jackson sealed the win with an interception, and Tucson walked off the Boneyard floor with the 35-28 victory.
The Sugar Skulls hit the road next to face the Northern Arizona Wranglers on June 28, with kickoff set for 1:00 PM MST.
