Tucson Sugar Skulls ride second-half surge into playoff matchup with San Diego

Tucson had a 2-6 record at the halfway point and first-year Sugar Skulls head coach Rayshaun Kizer made a change at offensive coordinator and took over play-calling duties. 

The Sugar Skulls also made a trade for an IFL veteran quarterback in Ja'Rome Johnson, who was the league's offensive MVP in 2024. 

Competent quarterback play, coupled with the Sugar Skulls leading the IFL in defensive touchdowns, has contributed to the Sugar Skulls' second-half turnaround. After going 5-3 — 4-0 in Tucson — in the second half of the season, the fourth-seeded Sugar Skulls are going to the IFL playoffs for the first time since 2023.

No. 4 Tucson (7-9) faces the top-seeded San Diego Strike Force (13-3) at Frontwave Arena Sunday at 6 p.m. The winner of the Tucson-San Diego game will face the winner of the second-seeded Vegas Knight Hawks (12-4) and third-seeded Arizona Rattlers (11-5) in the Western Conference championship. 

The top teams in the Eastern Conference are the Green Bay Blizzard (13-3), Jacksonville Sharks (11-5), Tulsa Oilers (11-5), and Orlando Pirates (10-6).

"First off, we are excited to be one of the eight teams in the playoffs, so the guys are very excited for the opportunity," said Kizer. "The mindset is attention to details this week. I feel like we gotta do a better job of paying attention to the small stuff, especially the details. That's our focus this week, just locking in on the small stuff."

Tucson is two wins away from hosting an IFL championship at Tucson Arena on Aug. 16 — the second of the third year in the league's agreement to host the IFL title game in the Old Pueblo. If the Sugar Skulls win on Sunday, it'll be the franchise's first-ever postseason since opening in 2019. 

"It feels really good," said first-year co-owner and Sugar Skulls president Edmund Marquez. "We're fortunate. We kept saying during the season that we were building the plane while flying it, so there were a lot of lessons learned throughout the season. We finished (the regular season) with a 7-9 record, which is not ideal, but we snuck into the playoffs. We're very thankful for that.

"However, the mentality is shifting to 'Just win, baby, win.' During the entire season, our lessons have led us to this, and now we just need to go win our playoff game." 

Kizer joined ESPN Tucson's "Spears & Ali" this week to discuss the state of the Sugar Skulls entering the playoffs. Here's what he said: 

The Sugar Skulls are 0-3 against San Diego this season, but the first two matchups were without Johnson, while the game last week was played with mostly backups due to both teams being cautious for the playoffs. Do you think having everyone available this week puts you at an advantage?  

A: "Absolutely. Our first two games (against San Diego), we did not have Ja'Rome Johnson and during the last game, we played a lot of backups, so this team hasn't the seen the version of Ja'Rome Johnson on the offensive side; they've seen our defense. We know what we're going to get out of San Diego, both offensively and defensively, so we'll be ready going into this game." 

How much has the offense grown since signing Johnson?

A: "The playbook has expanded, because Ja'Rome is so good at leading the offense, commanding the offense and remembering the play calls. Smart football player, very confident, a competitor. He's just gotta do a better job of taking care of the football and making smart decisions.

"We've talked about that and that's a focus going into this game: let's not beat ourselves and make sure we make smart decisions with the football. Take care of the football, let the defense be great and let's win this game however we have to. Ja'Rome knows he's got a great opportunity ahead of him to lead this team to a championship. He's ready for the opportunity and chance." 

Who's been the unsung hero of the offense this season?

A: "(Running back) Brandon Mackey. I don't think he gets a lot of recognition. When Brandon Mackey is running well, it's very hard to stop our offense. You gotta also factor in (running back) TD Ayo-Durojaiye, who plays off Brandon Mackey and is a downhill and physical runner. He also opens up the receivers and gets man-to-man coverage. We've got a lot of weapons on offense that make us very dangerous." 

How is the team's confidence this week?

A: "We're 5-3 after the bye week. The three games we lost were at home, but we're 4-0 at home. We're a very good home team, but now we're on the road. We're going to bring the same energy from the home games to the road games. We're a tough team to beat and we know we deserve to be in the playoffs. I think we're going to shock a lot of people on Sunday." 

What does it say about the team to make the playoffs despite the sluggish start?

A: "It's great. Thankful for the opportunity. These guys worked hard all season. We dealt with a lot of adversity, made roster changes and stuff like that. To battle back and get into the playoffs, it shows what kind of players we have on this team. I've been here the last couple of seasons in Tucson and we haven't made it to the playoffs. To get into the playoffs this year, just blessed for the opportunity represent Tucson and we're going to make the best of it."