LA KISS Suffer First Loss of the Season to the Arizona Rattlers

Los Angeles, CA— The LA KISS (1-1) were unable to overcome a plethora of penalties and fell to the Arizona Rattlers (2-0) by a score of 69 to 28 in front of 6,427 fans at the Honda Center on Saturday night.

“We’ve got to understand our process,” said Head Coach Omarr Smith. “This is a new situation for this whole team and we need to learn how to deal with adversity, that’s something we’ve talked about since day one. I have to do a better job preparing my team, having them ready to execute against a high level team and that didn’t get done today. But come tomorrow morning the sun will rise and we’re going to get right back at it and we’re going to work to get better.”

LA KISS quarterback Nathan Stanley completed 21 of 44 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. The J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game Donovan Morgan led the LA KISS receiving core with six receptions for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Morgan also added a rushing touchdown. Brandon Collins tallied eight receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown, while DJ Stephens caught six passes for 79 yards.

Arizona Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila completed 20 of 26 passes for 193 yards, while throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Davila was named Under Armour Player of the Game. Rod Windsor led the Rattlers offense with 13 receptions for 151 yards and four touchdowns. Chase Deadder caught four passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. Mykel Benson scored three rushing touchdowns on nine attempts.

Fredrick Obi led the LA KISS defense with seven tackles. Rayshaun Kizer and Josh Victorian both recorded four tackles. Riddell Defensive Player of the Game Allen Chapman led the Rattlers defense with 8.5 total tackles, two interceptions and three pass break ups.

After the LA KISS won the Todd Zeile coin toss and deferred to the second half, the Rattlers got on the board first when Davila tossed a four-yard touchdown to Rod Windsor. The Alex Zendejas kick was good and the score was 7-0 with 14:11 left in the quarter. After the LA KISS turned the ball over on downs, Benson scored a three-yard rushing touchdown making the score 14-0. On the ensuing LA KISS possession, Stanley connected with Stephens for a 37-yard pass and found Morgan on the next play for an eight-yard touchdown. Andre Heidari connected on the point after, making the score 14-7 with 5:25 left in the quarter. As time expired in the first quarter, Davila connected with Reed for a one-yard touchdown pass. The score was 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The LA KISS scored the first points of the second quarter when Morgan made the Cutters Catch of the Game, a 28-yard touchdown pass from Stanley. Heidari’s point after was good and the score was 21-14 with 11:41 on the clock. The Rattlers countered with a 15-yard Deadder touchdown reception. The successful Zendejas kick extended Arizona’s lead to 28-14. On the next possession, Morgan scored on a five-yard rush. After a successful point after, the score was 28-21. Windsor caught a six-yard touchdown from Davila extending the Rattlers’ lead to 14 points. The score at the half was 35-21.

The LA KISS’ first drive of the second half ended when Arkeith Brown intercepted Stanley’s pass in the end zone. Arizona capitalized on the LA KISS turnover and scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Davila to Windsor. Rodney Fritz blocked the point after attempt and the Rattlers led 41-21. Stanley found Collins in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown. After a successful point after, the score was 41-28 with 4:47 left in the quarter. Anthony Amos returned the ensuing kickoff 53-yards for a touchdown making the score 48-28 with 3:14 remaining in the quarter. Amos was awarded with the AFL Highlight of the Game for his kick return touchdown. After another LA KISS turnover on downs, Benson scored a three-yard rushing touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The Rattlers extended their lead to 27. The score at the end of the third quarter was Arizona Rattlers 55, LA KISS 28.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Allen Chapman picked off Stanley’s pass attempt. Benson scored on a one-yard rush making the score 62-28. Shane Boyd connected with Windsor for a 45-yard touchdown. The final scoreboard had the Arizona Rattlers beating the LA KISS by a score of 69 to 28.

Next week, the LA KISS will travel to Cleveland to take on the Gladiators on April 16^th at the Quicken Loans Arena for the CBS Sports Game of the Week. Kickoff will be at 4:30 pm PT.

Postgame Awards:

Under Armour Player of the Game: Nick Davila, QB ARI

Riddell Defensive Player of the Game: Allen Chapman, DB ARI

Lewis Small Player of the Game: Donovan Morgan, WR LAK

Cutters Catch of the Game: Donovan Morgan 28-yard touchdown reception with 11:52 left in the second quarter.

AFL Highlight of the Game: Anthony Amos 54-yard kickoff return touchdown.

(Photo by  Jevone Moore/Full Image 360)

(Photo by  Jevone Moore/Full Image 360)