MESA, Ariz. -- When the Arizona Rattlers won last weekend's AFL National Conference Final on a last-second touchdown pass, it was hard not to think back to their loss in last season's ArenaBowl. In that game, they were the ones on the losing end.
Despite the similarities, Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila didn't experience flashbacks after he connected with Maurice Purify with nine seconds left to give the Rattlers a 75-69 win over the Utah Blaze.
"It went by so dang fast so it was hard to kind of sit back and compare the two," Davila said.
By now, the Rattlers have had plenty of time to think back to last year's heart-wrenching 73-70 loss and are all the more determined to come away winners in ArenaBowl XXV against the Philadelphia Soul on Friday in New Orleans.
"That's what it was about this year," Rattlers coach Kevin Guy said. "A lot of the guys wanted to come back and try to finish this deal. We had a great opportunity last year to win it, and we just didn't get it done on the last play.
"But that was last year, it's over."
Fair enough. The Rattlers have moved on from the loss a year ago, but there's still no doubt it has motivated the returning players. Even players who weren't with the Rattlers when they lost to Jacksonville at US Airways Center are using last season to fuel their determination.
Purify, the Rattlers' top receiver in this his first season with the team, was stung by Jacksonville last year, too. The difference was he lost to Jacksonville in the American Conference title game as a member of the Omaha Nighthawks.
"It feels good getting over one hurdle -- a conference championship," Purify said. "Now I need to get over another and win an ArenaBowl."
So while some are more hesitant than others to admit it, the Rattlers are motivated at least somewhat by history. Still, Davila insisted the focus must remain on the present in a game like this. Davila would know, as he's been to three previous ArenaBowls.
Guy, too, brings a wealth of experience to the Rattlers preparation process, having been to one ArenaBowl as a player and two as a coach. With just a couple practices left before the championship game, Guy believes his team is ready.
"I think they're right where they need to be," Guy said. "They haven't been too high or too low. This group is just a group that comes out and works and gets mentally prepared. They're professionals so they don't let their emotions get the best of them. They've been pretty even keel."
Guy said he and his staff worked diligently to structure the team's schedule to eliminate any distractions that could come with playing the game in New Orleans. The game is being played at a neutral site -- the New Orleans Arena -- for the first time since 2008.
As the Rattlers look to capture their first title since 1997, they'll do so at nearly full strength. A rash of injuries had the offense sputtering a bit recently, but with Purify and fellow receiver Markee White back in the lineup, the offense is trending upward. Purify missed two games midseason, and White had missed four straight before returning last week and catching three touchdowns.
"I think with Nick he wasn't comfortable with guys moving in and out of the lineup every week," Guy said. "He did a great job last week of just settling down and playing. We got guys back in there he was comfortable with."
Davila finished last week's game with 331 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He hopes to build on that this week, while team as a whole looks to build on the stunning come-from-behind victory that got them to the season's final game.
"It gives us a lot of momentum," Purify said. "It feels good to come back, not give up, stay strong as a team (and) fight to win the game. We get a lot from that. We know there ain't a situation we can't overcome."
