PHOENIX-Ev Blansett was responsible for six touchdowns, four passing and two rushing as his Iowa Barnstormers throttled the Arizona Rattlers 55-13 in a Week 2 AFL game.
The first quarter saw both teams more or less feeling each other out early on. Late in the quarter, the Barnstormers got rolling with a 6-play, 48-yard drive. Blansett connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Huggins for a touchdown and a 7-0 Barnstomer lead with 2:51 remaining in the first.
Early in the second, Blansett would be picked off by Arizona's Noland Delta at the Arizona 24. But on the very next play, Rattler QB Don Fawcett was sacked by Seth Waltrip and the ensuing fumble was recovered by Merrill Bliss at the Rattlers' 16. After four plays, SB Rhoads would kick a 25-yard field goal with 11:38 left in the second quarter to put Iowa up 10-0. Hack McDonald returned the ensuing kickoff to the Iowa 32-yard line, but two plays later, Fawcett was intercepted by Shelton St. Johns. From there, the Barnstormers would bust the game wide open. Blansett would punctuate the 10-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard scramble to make it 17-0 with 6:28 left in the half. McDonald returned the ensuing kickoff to the Iowa 45, and the Rattlers would drive 24 yards on 6 plays. Pancho Barrow kicked a 38-yard field goal with 3:01 remaining in the second quarter to close the gap to 17-3. But the Barnstormers drove 81 yards on 9 plays, ending with a 50-yard bomb from Blansett to Davlin Coggins with 47 seconds remaining in the half to go into halftime up 24-3.
Early in the third quarter, a Blansett pass was intercepted by Whitey Teel and returned it to the Barnstormers' 27-yard line. Four plays later, Barrow kicked a 22-yard field goal with 10:01 to go in the third to get the Rattlers within 18, 24-6. The Barnstormers would then drive 68 yards on 6 plays, culminating with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Blansett to Burke Fraser with 7:05 left in the third to go up 31-6. Arizona punted, and Iowa moved the ball again, going 88 yards on 7 plays. Blansett finished off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Chesley Starnes with 3 minutes to go in the third to make it 38-6. Grant Douglass intercepted a Fawcett pass and returned it to the Rattlers' 29-yard line. Five plays later, Blansett took it in on a 4-yard keeper and the score was 45-6 with 14:53 left in the game.
Arizona would be forced to punt, and Coggins returned the punt 68 yards for a touchdown with 12:16 left, and the Barnstormers were up 52-6. St. Johns intercepted Fawcett's pass at the Iowa 41. Ten plays later, Rhoads kicked a 35-yard field goal with 5:31 left to go ahead 55-6. Mercifully, that was the Barnstormers' final score of the game. Fawcett would add a meaningless touchdown pass of 11 yards to Boris Garrison with 1:27 remaining, and the final score was Barnstormers 55, Rattlers 13.
Iowa (1-1) gained 517 yards of total offense. The Barnstormers gained gained 138 yards rushing on 38 carries, mostly in the second half. Powell Ramos led the team with 74 yards on 18 carries. Blansett was 26-for-43 passing with 391 yards with 4 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked once, losing 9 yards. He ran 5 times for 14 yards and 2 TD. Isaiah O'Connell led Barnstormers receivers with 7 catches for 87 yards. Coggins made 5 catches for 89 yards and a TD. Fraser caught 3 passes for 58 yards and a TD. Starnes caught 3 passes for 57 yards and a TD. Huggins made 2 catches for 39 yards and a TD. Next week, the Barnstormers open their home slate against the Los Angeles Avengers.
Arizona (0-2) was held to 110 yards of total offense. The Rattlers gained a mere 16 yards on 10 carries, after abandoning the running game in the second half. Melvin Jones led the Rattlers with 8 yards on 6 carries. Fawcett was 17-for-36 passing with 127 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT. He was sacked four times, losing 33 yards. Will Meads was the leading receiver, with 5 catches for 46 yards. The Rattlers will go to Chicago next week against the Rush.
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