The Tucson Sugar Skulls went blow for blow with the Bay Area Panthers in the first half, but eventually they were worn down in the third quarter in a 49-24 loss Saturday that ended their playoff hopes in their final home game of the 2025 season.
The Tucson home crowd was electric in the final game at the Tucson Convention Center, remaing loud and cheerful all the way to the final whistle.
The Sugar Skulls are 6-9 heading into their last game of the season next week at the Vegas Knight Hawks, who clinched a Western Conference playoff spot ahead of the Sugar Skulls with their 58-29 home victory over the Northern Arizona Wranglers on Saturday night.
“It was a great, great turnout tonight, and I just wish we could have gave them a better show tonight,” Tucson coach Billy Back said of the fans at TCC on Saturday night. “(We were) riddled with injuries. I’m proud of the way our guys played, battled.
“You know, going to this game, we knew we were short-handed, but to have opportunities in the first half, to have the lead going into halftime, you couldn’t ask more from our guys. I thought our defense played well. Then just as the dominoes just kept falling, it just kept going to their advantage.”
Tucson could have still been in the hunt for a playoff spot with a win over Bay Area (12-3) and a Vegas loss to Northern Arizona, but neither one came to fruition.
The Sugar Skulls were faced with tremendous adversity the entire season, with a laundry list of injuries that didn’t seem to stop. Regardless, Tucson continued to battle with opponents no matter its lineup.
“It’s been challenging, but I feel like it’s been a pretty good coaching year for us when it comes to coaching up young kids and getting new guys in and getting into the system and teaching them,” Back said.
Jamyest Williams was once again a key piece in an offense that needed someone to ignite a fire for Tucson.
Williams scored two touchdowns Saturday, his seventh game out of 10 with a touchdown, sixth with at least two.
“I’m hard on myself, so I feel like I played okay,” Williams said. “I wish I could have finished the game and helped our team get that victory, man. But I just feel like I played okay. I want to give credit to my O-line and Coach Back, just for calling, dialing it up.”
Wide receiver and former Sabino High School and Arizona standout Drew Dixon stepped up in a game in which Tucson was missing its No. 1 receiver, Larry “Tripp” Harrington. He scored a 40-yard touchdown, which seems fitting for him to do in the last home game as a former Wildcat.
“It just gives you that Tucson pride, “Dixon said on playing for the Sugar Skulls as a local talent. “So being able to play in front of Tucson, my home city, I take pride in it, for sure.”
Bay Area’s Joshua Tomos received the kickoff in the end zone and took it 50 yards to the house, making it 7-0 with 14:05 in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Jerome Buckner returned the next kickoff to the Sugar Skulls’ 21. Bradyn Oakley made a 19-yard reception to move the chains to the Panthers’ 10. One play later and Williams found pay dirt. The 10-yard carry tied the game at 7 apiece with 10:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The Panthers wasted no time on the next drive. On the first play, Tosin Oyekanmi caught a 40-yard reception for a touchdown, putting Bay Area back in the lead at 14-7 with 9 minutes remaining in the quarter.
Tucson’s drive initially stalled at their own 12, but it got a break with a penalty on Bay Area. The Sugar Skulls took full advantage as quarterback Jorge Reyna slung it to Dixon for a 42-yard touchdown, making it a 14-14 game midway through the first quarter.
“I had the over so we’ve been working in practice all day on how to run against the defense,” Dixon said. “Just stair-step in the middle and break it off. And he tried to undercut it, caught it, and score.”
An offside call on the kicking team gave Bay Area great field position at the Tucson 20. That did not matter as the Sugar Skulls defense stood tall and forced a four-and-out, giving them the ball back on their 18 for an opportunity to take their first lead of the game.
Tucson couldn’t get past midfield and had to punt.
Bay Area attempted a 3-point try and made it right down the middle. giving it a 17-14 lead in the second quarter.
Reyna scrambled 15 yards to the Panthers’ 9 on the next drive. A penalty on fourth down gave Tucson some extra life, but Oakley fumbled at the 3 to give Bay Area the ball back.
A methodical drive by Bay Area got it down to the Tucson 1, but a penalty on quarterback Josh Jones pushed it back to the 11, where the Panthers would opt for a field goal to put their lead at 20-14 with 34 seconds left in the half.
Williams returned the kickoff to the Tucson 24 for lofty field position. Wide receiver Jerome Buckner then caught Reyna’s pass at the Bay Area 3.
Tucson went into a hurry-up offense after that in hopes of catching the Panthers off guard with 8 seconds left, but after the next play, the Panthers challenged that one of Tucson’s wide receivers was offside.
Bay Area won the challenge, pushing Tucson back to the 6. Reyna’s pass after that was intercepted in the end zone for the second turnover of the half.
In the third quarter, Tucson marched to the Bay Area 20 before its drive stalled. Kicker Kevin Macias attempted the 3-point kick and hit it down the middle to cut the lead to 20-17 with 11:58 remaining in the quarter.
The Panthers made their way to the Tucson 3 before Jones carried the quarterback keeper past the end zone to put Tucson down 27-17 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Bay Area attempted a squib kick to avoid a long return by Tucson, but the ball fell right in running back Devonte Sapp-Lynch’s hands at the Panthers’ 14. In one play, the Sugar Skulls answered with a run across the end zone by Williams, putting Tucson back to within 27-24 with 5:57 remaining in the quarter.
Tucson had the Panthers frozen on the Sugar Skull 5, but a costly pass interference call put Bay Area at the 1. Jones kept the ball himself and crossed the end zone to make it a 34-24 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Tucson started the next drive at its own 5 after the ball hit the bottom of the crossbar, ruling it a dead ball and rewarding Bay Area a point according to IFL rules, increasing the lead to 35-24.
Bay Area scored two more unanswered touchdowns to end the game.
Tucson’s playoff hopes may have ended, but it still has a chance to end the season on a high note with a win over the Vegas Knight Hawks in Henderson, Nev., next Saturday.
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