Top 10 Arizona sports stories of the year, as selected by FOX Sports Arizona staff.
It took 15 years, but the Rattlers finally got their third ArenaBowl title. After a 13-5 regular season, the Rattlers pulled out a 51-48 win over the San Jose Sabercats in the National Conference semifinals and a 75-69 win over the Utah Blaze to advance to the ArenaBowl, then routed the Philadelphia Soul 72-54 on Aug. 11 for their first Arena Football League championship since 1997.
The Soul had finished with the league's best record at 15-3 and were coached by former Rattlers assistant coach and announcer Doug Plank, but instead it was the Rattlers coach Kevin Guy earning his first championship ring just a year after the Rattlers lost a 73-70 heartbreaker to the Jacksonville Sharks in the title game.
The Rattlers were led all year by the passing-game combo of quarterback Nick Davila and receiver Maurice Purify, with Davila finishing the season with 1,776 yards and 122 touchdowns and Purify catching 62 of those scoring passes. Each also put up huge numbers in the ArenaBowl, as Purify set a game record with seven touchdown catches and Davila tied one with nine TD passes.
It was the Rattlers' eighth all-time appearance in the championship game; their first league title came in 1994.
