PHOENIX -- One of the best defenses in the Arena Football League was no match for the stellar offense of the Arizona Rattlers, who routed the San Antonio Talons 83-40 on Saturday night at US Airways Center.
Rattlers QB Nick Davila connected on 22 of 26 passes on the night for 278 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. Wide receiver Rod Windsor finished with 12 catches for 166 yards and five touchdowns.
Talons QB Nick Hill was just 20 for 40 on the night and was picked off twice. Jomo Wilson led the San Antonio receivers with 10 receptions for 164 yards and three TDs.
The Talons started strong, getting a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Wilson on the opening drive, but then struggled for the rest of the first quarter.
Davila registered three straight completions to Windsor on the Rattlers' opening drive, which culminated with a game-tying score. On the next possession, Davila went right back to Windsor for a 12-yard touchdown strike. Arizona's Jeremy Kellem then intercepted Hill in the end zone on a fourth-down play, the second Talons turnover of the quarter, and Davila took advantage with a 33-yard pass to Windsor for the third Rattlers touchdown of the first quarter, extending their lead to 21-7.
Hill recovered from a Cliff Dukes sack by throwing a 43-yard bomb to Wilson on the next play to start the second quarter with a touchdown. The Talons, still down by seven, then tried an onside kick, but the attempt failed when it was recovered by the Rattlers, who converted it into a touchdown by Jared Perry.
San Antonio then went four-and-out again, and this time Arizona converted the turnover into points, extending the margin to 35-14. Hill threw another interception on the Talons' next drive, but a roughing the passer penalty on Anttaj Hawthorne negated it. Hill capitalized, finding Wilson in the end zone for the third time in the half.
Davila went right back to work, though, connecting with Perry again for another Rattlers touchdown. The Talons stalled near their own goal line on the next possession, as the Rattlers' Tyre Glasper dropped Hill for a sack on third down. A delay of game penalty backed the Talons up further, and after a kick out of the end zone, the Rattlers brought it right back. Windsor scored his fourth touchdown of the first half with seven seconds left on the clock to make the score 48-20 at the break.
Davila and the Rattlers offense picked up right where they left off at the start of the third quarter. Davila used catches by Perry, Windsor and Reed to drive the field for a score at the start of the second half. San Antonio answered on its next possession when Hill hooked up with Dwayne Eley Jr. in the end zone to put the Talons on the scoreboard for the first time in the half, cutting the margin to 56-27, but it would get no closer.
With a substantial lead already in place, Jake Murrietta replaced Davila at quarterback for the fourth quarter. Like Davila, Murrietta had no problem producing points, as he connected with Reed for a touchdown on his first possession. Hill responded by running the ball into the end zone himself, but Rattlers fullback Odie Armstrong found the end zone for a rushing touchdown of his own, and that was followed by another rushing touchdown from Perry.
