
Duke City Wins First Game of the Season, Defeating Tucson 21-20
June 3, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Tucson Sugar Skulls News Release
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Sugar Skulls could not overcome a sluggish second half as they were beaten by the Gladiators 21-20.
This one 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.
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 the Skulls were sleep-walking for most of the second half.
Despite all the setbacks, the Skulls were only a 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 quarterback Mylik Mitchell. However, Mitchell's pass intended for running back Mike Jones into the endzone was intercepted by Duke City which was all she wrote.
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 of 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.
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 a sight to behold. Believe it or not, 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.
Tucson will square off with the 8-1 Bay Area Panthers next Saturday, June 8, with kickoff scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CT.
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Indoor Football League Stories from June 3, 2024
- Wranglers Win Third Straight After Upsetting Knight Hawks 58-52 - Northern Arizona Wranglers
- Duke City Wins First Game of the Season, Defeating Tucson 21-20 - Tucson Sugar Skulls
- Green Bay Keeps Winning Streak Alive, Defeating Quad City 64-36 - Green Bay Blizzard
- Arizona Sinks Sharks for Second Time this Season with 62-41 Victory - Arizona Rattlers
- Crucial Eastern Conference Battle at the Tsongas Center this Saturday - Massachusetts Pirates
- Fighters Down Massachusetts, 52-48, in Edwards' Return - Frisco Fighters
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