The best season in San Diego Strike Force history came to an end Sunday night at Oceanside’s Frontwave Arena.
The visiting Arizona Rattlers caught fire early in the second half and held on to beat the top-seeded Strike Force 43-37 in the Indoor Football League’s Western Conference final. The Rattlers advance to the IFL National Championship, where they’ll play the Green Bay Blizzard at a neutral-site game in Tucson, Ariz.
San Diego led the Rattlers 17-16 midway through the third quarter when the visiting offense went to work. Arizona’s Max Meylor found Trey Odoms-Dukes for a 28-yard touchdown and Ron Brown Jr. for a 29-yard score to put the Rattlers up by 13. Meylor punched in a four-yard rushing score with 5:19 remaining in the game to put the Rattlers up by 20 points, icing the game.
San Diego was led by Nate Davis, who threw for 255 yards and four touchdowns but had one interception returned for a touchdown. Shane Hooks caught three touchdown passes and Dallas Daniels added a score to go with his 112-yard night.
Sunday marked the end of a breakthrough season for San Diego’s seven-year-old indoor football franchise.
Taylor Genuser was named the IFL Coach of the Year after leading San Diego to a franchise-record 13-3 regular-season record and the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Center Jalen Booth and defensive lineman Adam Anderson were named first-team All-IFL.