Preview: Rattlers vs. Empire, 6 p.m. Saturday, FOX Sports Arizona Plus
PHOENIX -- The Arizona Rattlers (4-3) will be at home for two consecutive games at Talking Stick Resort Arena, starting with a Saturday night game against the Spokane Empire (5-2) at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona Plus and FOX Sports GO.
Spokane is in first place in the Indoor Football League's Intense Conference, but the Rattlers can pull into a tie with a victory.
The Empire are coming off a 36-24 home-field victory over the Colorado Crush, while the Rattlers were 73-60 winners over the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles on the road.
Arizona's Darrell Monroe rushed for 80 yards and five touchdowns in last week's victory, Cody Sokol completed 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards and one TD and Jamal Miles returned the opening kickoff 56 yards for a score. Monroe leads the league in rushing with an average of 51.2 yards per game. The Rattlers have won two in a row and three of their last four.
The Rattlers rank second in the league with 107 rushing yards per game, but they'll be up against the league's second-ranked rushing defense. The Empire are limiting opponents to 46.6 rushing yards per game and lead the league with 18 sacks. They also have the IFL's second-ranked scoring defense -- giving up just 37.4 points per game.
Spokane quarterback Charles Dowdell is fourth in the IFL in total offense after completing 18 of 26 passes for 126 yards and two TDs and rushing for 54 yards and a third touchdown in last week's victory.
