Tucson Sugar Skulls end home skid ahead of rematch with San Diego

Tucson went over 300 days without a victory in its home arena, but the skid ended with a 33-26 win over the New Mexico Chupacabras on Sunday.

The Sugar Skulls' triumph also marked the first home win for Tucson head coach Rayshaun Kizer and the new ownership group led by Edmund Marquez and Ali Farhang.

"It feels great to get our home win," Kizer said. "Being a part of this community and this city for the last couple of seasons, I know how important it is to put a winning product on the field here in Tucson. It feels great. I was happy for our owner Edmund Marquez. He put a lot of time and effort into making sure we have everything we need. All in return, he just wants to win. It was good to get a win for him in his hometown." 

Tucson (2-2) will now face the San Diego Strike Force (3-1) at Frontwave Arena in San Diego on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The Sugar Skulls lost to San Diego, 48-42, on April 11 in Tucson despite rallying back from a 20-point deficit. 

Kizer joined "Spears & Ali" on ESPN Tucson this week to discuss Tucson's win over New Mexico, the competition at quarterback, a rising defense and potentially avenging the Sugar Skulls' loss to San Diego. 

Considering your latest win was a one-touchdown victory, and Tucson kicker Kevin Macias made four field goals, how much did he influence the game?

A: "Kevin Macias, I'm going to stand firm on this, he's the best kicker in the IFL. Any time he goes out on the football field and kicks a field goal, it's automatic. He went 4 for 5 and only missed one, but he accounted for 12 points. He's the reason we won the game. If he missed a couple of those kicks, it's a different ball game and a different outcome. We're lucky to have Kevin."

How important is it to have a reliable kicker, especially as the offense continues to find its footing in the first half of the season? 

A: "It's critical. One thing I preach to the offense is we have to get points on every possession, whether that's three points or seven. If we're getting points on every possession, that's a step forward for us. We just gotta convert those three points into touchdowns, so that's the next step. We're taking baby steps. We know the offense is a little behind right now, but we'll get it up to speed. The goal is to make sure we're there at the end of the season when it's playoff time." 

You made a change at quarterback and started Kacey Otto, who has indoor football experience, over previous starter Draylen Ellis, who struggled in the last game against San Diego. What prompted that move, and how do you think it's going to help Ellis improve?

A: "I think it's going to push Draylen. We just wanted to make a quick switch at the quarterback position in this game, just to see what Kacey can do. We were having a quarterback battle this past week, and Kacey nudged Draylen a little bit. We still have all the faith in the world in Draylen, all the confidence.

"It's going to be the same thing this week with an open competition at quarterback this week. We're going to go with the quarterback that we feel is going to give us the best chance to win on Sunday. ... I've seen flashes that Kacey can be really good in this league. He doesn't have that college pedigree as a quarterback.

"Kacey is very smart, very smart with the football and makes good decisions. He's not afraid to run the football and he's a competitor. Kacey is a hidden gem and you have to watch out for him, but he's going to be really good the more experience he gets." 

After holding the highest-scoring offense in the IFL to 26 points this past weekend, what's your assessment of the defense?

A: "Defense, we just continue to get better. We always talk about attention to detail on the defensive side. I make sure we watch countless film and put those guys in position to make plays. I tell them on game day, 'You just gotta be playmakers. I'm going to put y'all in position, but I can't make the plays for you.'

"They've done a good job of accepting the coaching and executing the game plan. They're starting to see the results and believe more and more each week. It's fun to see those guys perform at a high level and help our team win games. We've been playing really good defensively the last three games. They're only getting better." 

What lessons did your team learn from the loss to San Diego two weeks ago, and how do you apply it to this game?

A: "Man, that game crushed me, I'm not going to lie to you. It crushed me because in arena football, you couldn't have asked for a better situation to close the game. San Diego made the mistake of scoring too fast, and they gave us the ball with a minute left. ... We were in position to go down, score (a touchdown), kick a field goal and win the game.

"It was upsetting for me that we didn't close out that game how we were supposed to. We can fight and win every game. San Diego is one of the top teams in the league this season, and we were neck-and-neck with them. We made so many mistakes, so for us to fight back into that game, it shows what kind of players we have in the locker room.

"We have a good group. We just gotta keep coaching them up and we'll be there at the end of the season."