Rattlers hang on to top Talons

Nick Davila found a rhythm after hitting a couple of speed bumps. Special teams, even without its regular kicker, flourished.

The Rattlers had to lean on their high-octane offense and special teams as the defense mostly struggled in a 69-59 victory over the San Antonio Talons on Saturday night before 8,567 fans at US Airways Center.

It's one thing to blow a big lead against one of the Arena Football League's elite teams, liked the the Rattlers did last week to the Pittsburgh Power, before pulling out a 73-69 victory.

But the Rattlers (6-0), who have won 10 in a row dating to last season, weren't able to put away one of the worst teams, the Talons (1-6), who screened and ran up and down the field.

Other than Arkeith Brown's two interceptions, coach Kevin Guy wasn't satisfied with the defense, which committed four straight penalties in San Antonio's last scoring drive that cut the score to 62-59 with 2:18 left.

"Offensively, I thought we played really good," he said. "Defensively, I have some concerns. ... We didn't tackle very well. I'll have to look at the tape."

Maurice Purify bounced back from two early drops to finish with nine catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

Davila finished with nine touchdown passes for a second straight game. He was 20 of 30 for 306 yards and threw only his fourth interception.

Brown had two second-half interceptions, including one in the end zone inside a minute to play. Shane Boyd, who was 19 of 28 for 272 yards and six touchdowns, threw deep on his last toss that Brown intercepted.

The Rattlers, 34-5 at home since the 2011 season, needed Kerry Reed to recover Garrett Lindholm's onside kick and run it in 8 yards for a 10-point cushion with 1:43 left.

Reed, who had two touchdown catches, started as the third receiver in place of Rod Windsor, who was held out with a minor injury.

Tysson Poots, who caught Davila's first pass of the game for 24-yard touchdown, didn't play in the second half because of an injury.

Home-grown Nick Miller, getting his first extensive playing time as an Arena football player, showed why he was able to catch on with an NFL team. He was electric on two returns for 68 yards and turned his only two catches into scores in the first half.

Miller, who grew up in Mesa and attended Red Mountain High, said he had about 30 tickets for family and friends.

"It doesn't matter if I'm playing a Pop Warner team or against the New York Giants, I still get nervous," Miller said. "I love it. I love playing in front of my family."

Guy had differences with kicker Craig Ratanamorn, who ended up being placed on an emergency one-game hold hours before kickoff. The Rattlers were able to get the University of North Carolina's career record-holder for field goals, Casey Barth, as an emergency replacement.

Barth, whose older brother Connor kicks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made all of his extra point tries but one.

Guy said Ratanamorn didn't do what was asked.

"For me, you're going to lose that battle every time," said Guy, who will evaluate what to do moving forward at kicker.