Rattlers win on Dalton Sneed's TD with no time, will host San Diego for conference title

Time was running out, but there was no desperation in the Arizona Rattlers, who, a year ago, might have folded.

Quarterback Dalton Sneed saved the Rattlers' season with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone with no time left for a 39-38 victory over the Vegas Knight Hawks on Saturday night before a crowd of 4,063 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

It capped a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback — overcoming a 15-point deficit against a team it lost to twice in the regular season by a total of seven points.

It also moved the Rattlers (12-5) into the Indoor Football League Western Conference championship game next Monday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale at 7:05 p.m. against No. 4-seed San Diego, which stunned No. 1 Bay Area, 49-40, on Sunday.

The way Sneed came through in the final minute Saturday is why the Rattlers were ready to move off of quarterback Drew Powell after three consecutive playoff flameouts and bring in the local guy, Sneed. Sneed was the IFL championship MVP last year, when he led the Bay Area Panthers to the championship.

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Despite turning the ball over in the red zone with a fumble early in the game, despite having a pass that was dropped by a Vegas defender that could have been returned for a TD, Sneed showed resiliency, especially during a fourth-quarter comeback after the Rattlers got down 35-20.

"Complete team effort," said coach Kevin Guy, who is trying to bring an IFL championship back to the Valley for the first time since 2017. "It was sloppy at times, but our guys made the plays when we needed to and found a way."

With the win, Guy became the winningest Indoor/Arena football coach all time with 262 wins.

Sneed led the Rattlers on a 19-3 fourth-quarter run.

It began with Shannon Brooks scoring on a 1-yard TD run on the first play of the quarter.

The Rattlers' defense took over in the second half, finally solving speedy, flashy quarterback Ja'Rome Johnson, who was practically unstoppable in two- and five-point wins over the Rattlers this year. He completed all six of his first-half passes and had two passing TDs and two running TDs to lead the Knight Hawks to a 28-20 halftime lead Saturday.

But, in the second half, Johnson couldn't get loose with his legs and he was off the mark with his passes.

Jarmaine Doubs stepped in to intercept a deep pass early in the second half.

After linebacker Connor Taylor was knocked out of the game with an injury, Davontae Merriweather, who moved over from corner to linebacker, intercepted an ill-advised pass, as Johnson was backing up to throw.

That led to Sneed's 2-yard scoring run behind a big block by guard Lamar Mady. Sneed hit Brooks for the two-point conversion with 6:10 left to cut the score to 35-33.

With Johnson knocked out of the game with what appeared to be a knee injury, Vegas turned to Jorge Reyna to lead the offense late in the game.

Instead of keeping the ball on the ground, the Knight Hawks (11-6) decided to rely on the former Rattlers backup quarterback's arm. He was unable to connect with receivers in the final minute, keeping the Rattlers from having to use a timeout. The Knight Hawks settled for a field goal from former Arizona State kicker Kevin Macias with 48 seconds left to make it a 38-33 game.

The missed deuce attempt on the kickoff gave the Rattlers the ball at their 20,

After Sneed was sacked for a 10-yard loss, he bounced back. On third-and-9, he found Corey Reed, Jr., for a first down. Sneed hit Jamal Miles for nine yards for another first down. With no time outs left, Sneed connected with Brooks, who was stopped two yards short of the goal line.

Sneed quickly got to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball with two seconds left, setting up his season-saving score, moving left and diving into the end zone, setting off a wild celebration.

"I'm very proud of how our players played and our coaches coached," Guy said. "Winning starts at the top with our owner, Ron Shurts. Now we have to wait and see who and where we play next. I appreciate all of the Rattlers fans who came up to see us play this weekend."

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rattlers win on Dalton Sneed's TD with no time, will host San Diego for conference title