The Tucson Sugar Skulls’ offense couldn’t be stopped in the second half, but costly turnovers and an early deficit were too much to overcome as they dropped their third straight game in the loss to the San Diego Strike Force 58-42 at the Tucson Convention Center on Saturday night.
Starting the game slow has continued to be an issue for the Sugar Skulls, as they have been outscored in the first quarter 47-14 by their last three opponents.
“We just need to execute earlier, wide receiver Larry ‘Tripp’ Harrington said on the slow starts. “You know, just calm down. Just run the plays how they’re supposed to be running.”
Despite the loss, Tucson (3-6) showed more fight in the second outing against San Diego (7-3), which beat the Sugar Skulls 45-22 in a Week 4 matchup.
‘Harrington and Jorge Reyna have been a significant combination since they signed. In Saturday’s game, the duo connected for four touchdowns.
“I mean, he should have five or six,” Tucson coach Billy Back said on the presence of Harrington. “Reality of it is we start slow. Guys should have six or seven touchdowns in the game, but we don’t get any stops on defense, you know. And we don’t score the first possession, fourth and two. We got guys, three guys going the wrong direction, you know. Just, it’s just mental prep. So it’s on us as coaches.”
Harrington had plenty of matchups that went his way. He credited his skill to proper game preparation.
“You know, all the DBs are good in this league,” Harrington said. “I just, you know, make sure to film study and, you know, working my craft throughout the week, you know. just to get open and watching film and stuff like that.”
With seven games remaining in the season, Tucson must get on a winning streak in order to make a push for the playoffs. The Sugar Skulls are at fifth place in the Indoor Football League Western Conference standings.
“We’ve got to play with an attitude,” Back said on what has to change. “You know, we don’t have an attitude out there. We got a bunch of guys going through the motions. You know, we got a great team, but it’s just our attitude and our mindset.”
Tucson kicked the ball off to start the game, tackling the San Diego returner on the Strikeforce 5. Just under 5 minutes was all it took for San Diego to get on the board first.
Nate Davis connected with John Maldonado on a 22-yard passing touchdown to go up 7-0 with 10:35 remaining in the first quarter.
Tucson got the ball back at its own 20 and began a long drive from there. The Sugar Skulls got as close as the 3, but its drive stalled right there, giving the Strike Force the ball back and plenty of field to tread through.
The Strike Force took advantage of a turnover on downs and drove the ball 47 yards in four plays. The drive was capped off with a 5-yard running touchdown by Edward Vander, making it 14-0 with 9 minutes left in the first quarter.
Tucson answered the 14-0 run with a four-play drive that took the remaining time off of the first quarter.
The Sugar Skulls went 30 yards down the field and capped it off with a touchdown run by Jamyest Williams, making it a 14-7 game.
Williams has scored at least one touchdown in the last three games for the Sugar Skulls. He has become an excellent pairing alongside Devonte Sapp-Lynch.
Both teams exchanged drives that ended in no points scored. Tucson got the ball back on its own 10 and Reyna was intercepted on the 22 by Tareke Lewis.
The pick was taken back for a touchdown, extending San Diego’s lead to 21-7 with 3:53 left in the half.
Tucson answered back in three plays on its next drive. Reyna found Jerome Buckner for a 39-yard completion, putting the Sugar Skulls at the San Diego 1.
After a run play by Sapp-Lynch, Reyna found Harrington in the end zone, putting Tucson back to a one-touchdown game at 21-14 with 53 seconds left in the half.
The Strike Force took just two plays to go back up by two touchdowns. Davis completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Sample, making it a 28-14 game with 15 seconds left in the half.
Tucson attempted a 45-yard field goal after the first two plays went for no yards. Kevin Macias missed the the 3-point attempt wide to the left.
San Diego got the all back with two seconds left and missed its attempt for three points as well. Ernesto Lacayo missed his kick wide to the right to end the half.
Tucson received the ball to start the third quarter, and its drive began at its own 20. It took four plays for the Sugar Skulls to get to the San Diego 3 before the drive was capped off with a touchdown by Harrington, making it 28-20 after the extra-point attempt was missed.
San Diego scored on the next drive to make it 35-20. Tucson then fumbled the ball on the kickoff return and it was called as a safety after the ball was recovered in the end zone, expanding the Strike Force lead to 37-20 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter..
Harrington, who excelled in the second half, had a 22-yard receiving touchdown, cutting San Diego’s lead to 37-28 following a successful 2-point conversion run by Sapp-Lynch.
Davis found Dallas Daniels on the next drive in the corner of the end zone to increase San Diego’s lead to 44-28 with 1:56 left in the third quarter.
Tucson drove to the San Diego 14 before Alphonso Taylor fumbled the ball, giving the Strike Force possession at their own 5 following a touchback.
“It’s just mental prep,” Back said on what the turnover does to the team. “Ball security is most important thing. Assignments. We got guys doing the wrong thing on the side. It’s just, it’s just their mental prep.”
The Strike Force took just two plays to turn that turnover into a touchdown. On the second play, Edward Vander ran 30 yards to the end zone, making it 51-28 with 12:46 left in the game.
Tucson went from its own 14 to the San Diego 3, where the drive was finished with a receiving touchdown by former Sabino High School and Arizona player Drew Dixon.
The touchdown made it a 51-36 game with 7:19 remaining after Harrington received a 2-point touchdown pass.
San Diego struck back in two plays, this time with a 43-yard touchdown pass by Davis, putting Tucson’s deficit at 58-36 with 5:15 left.
Tucson took three plays to answer with its last touchdown of the game. Harrington was spotted in the end zone from 8 yards, cutting the deficit to 58-42 after a failed 2-point conversion.
The Strike Force ran out the remaining four minutes to solidify their win.
Reyna completed 23 for 31 pass attempts with five touchdowns and one interception. Harrington had 10 receptions to go with his four touchdowns.
Buckner caught six passes for 80 yards. Dixon had three receptions for 27 yards and one touchdown.
Sapp-Lynch led the backfield with six carries and 22 yards. Williams had a single carry for seven yards and a touchdown.
The Tucson Sugar Skulls go back on the road to face the Arizona Rattlers in Glendale on June 14.
The last time these two teams met, Tucson upset the then-unbeaten Rattlers 42-35 at home.
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