The Wranglers began this Western Conference battle on defense. On the first play of the game, the Wranglers defense surrendered a touchdown. The Panthers took an early 7-0 lead in a flash. On the ensuing possession, the Wranglers responded with a successful field goal from kicker Axel Perez. On the next drive, the Panthers scored another touchdown to extend their early lead. The Wranglers offense failed to respond, and quarterback Joshua Jones had his pass intercepted. The first quarter ended with the Panthers in possession of the football and a 14-3 lead over the Wranglers.

Bay Area extended their lead with another touchdown early in the game's second quarter. On the following drive, Northern Arizona ended their possession with a drop-kick field goal from Perez worth four points. This kick brought the game's score to 21-7, in favor of the Panthers. The next three drives consisted of each team trading touchdowns, with Bay Area scoring twice. Between the two Bay Area touchdown drives, Jones notched a rushing touchdown. The point after attempt was a successful drop-kick from Perez for two points. The Wranglers and Panthers each traded one missed field goal attempt per team on the final two drives just before the end of the first half.

Northern Arizona was down by a score of 34-15 at halftime.

Northern Arizona's offense came out to start the second half. The Wranglers failed to get points on this possession, and ended their opening drive of the half with a missed field goal attempt. The Panthers offense responded with a touchdown drive to extend their lead to 25 points early in the third quarter. The Wranglers had quite an uphill battle to claw back into this contest. An uphill battle of this magnitude requires movement one play at a time. The Wranglers faced a fourth down and nine from the Panthers 11 yard-line. Jones was able to locate wide receiver Tosin Oyekanmi, who reached across the goal line for the touchdown. The Wranglers cut their deficit back down to 17 points with this score. The third quarter ended with the Panthers in possession and in front of the Wranglers by a score of 40-23.

The Wranglers defense opened the game's final quarter with defensive back Shamar Moreland nabbing an interception. Northern Arizona's momentum was slowed down after turning the ball over on downs, failing to capitalize off the turnover. The Panthers scored a touchdown on the following possession, and extended their lead to 23 points with just nine minutes remaining in the game. The Wranglers continued to fight one play at a time, overcoming another fourth down play on offense. Jones connected with Oyekanmi for a second touchdown pass on fourth and one. Perez hit the drop-kick on the point after attempt, and the Wranglers were behind by a score of 46-31.

Northern Arizona was down by 15 points with just five minutes to play. Perez attempted an onside kick, which was successfully recovered by Wranglers defensive back Lummie Young IV. Jones capped off this drive for the Wranglers offense with a rushing touchdown right at the one-minute warning. Perez missed the drop-kick PAT, and the Wranglers were down by nine. On the following kickoff, Perez booted another onside which was again recovered by Northern Arizona. This time on the recovery was defensive back Shamar Moreland. The game was shifting rapidly, but the Wranglers needed to finish. The Wranglers offense ran the game clock as they went down the field. The Wranglers overcame a fourth and five from midfield to get inside the Panthers five. On the next play, Jones connected with wide receiver Gene Coleman II for the touchdown with just four seconds remaining in the game. Perez hit the drop kick to bring the Wranglers deficit to just one point.

On the following kickoff with just four seconds left in the game, Perez walked out on to the field with intense focus, as he rubbed his "Moran" towel on the back of his pants. Perez nailed the deuce right down the middle of the uprights for two points. This clutch kick put the Wranglers in front by one point in miraculous fashion. The air was seemingly sucked out of the SAP Center, with the exception of the Wranglers team, staff, and fans in the stands. A completely jaw-dropping comeback was completed after the Panthers offense could not make anything happen in four seconds. The Wranglers won by a score of 47-46, completing the incredible 25-point comeback. This win means so much more than any other win in franchise history. The Wranglers pulled off their biggest come from behind victory in franchise history less than one week after the tragic passing of defensive coordinator David Moran. This win was for Coach Moran, and this energy continued to lift the Wranglers to victory after starting the game off flat. Words cannot describe how much this win meant for the entire Wranglers organization.

The Wranglers improved their record to 9-5 on the season, and stay alive in the extremely tight Indoor Football League Western Conference Playoff race. Northern Arizona will return home next Saturday evening to take on the Vegas Knight Hawks in a huge game. The Wranglers are currently tied with the Knight Hawks for that final playoff spot. Keep an eye out on the Wranglers website and social media pages for the official playoff scenarios to come soon. 

The Northern Arizona Wranglers 2024 HOME games, with dates, matchups, and results are listed below. 

Saturday, March 16th, 6:05 P.M. vs Arizona Rattlers                    Loss 51-40

Saturday, March 30th, 6:05 P.M. vs Tucson Sugar Skulls          Win 54-48

Saturday, April 20th, 6:05 P.M. vs Duke City Gladiators            Win 39-23

Saturday, May 11th, 6:05 P.M. vs Bay Area Panthers                  Loss 39-36

Saturday, May 25th, 6:05 P.M. vs Tucson Sugar Skulls              Win 60-53

Sunday, June 23rd, 3:05 P.M. vs San Antonio Gunslingers      Win 74-68

Saturday, June 29th, 6:05 P.M. vs San Diego Strike Force       Loss, 57-43

Saturday, July 13th, 6:05 P.M. vs Vegas Knight Hawks 

Tickets for our final home game are on sale now! Visit the link below! 

https://www.ticketmaster.com/naz-wranglers-tickets/artist/2769030 

Season Tickets for the 2025 season are on sale now! Deposit through the link below and we will contact you to select your seats!

https://sparkpages.io/?i=_A1lb

 For any Season Ticket inquiries, call us at 928-379-5581 

You can also email ticketdirector@nazwranglers.com 

Written by: Tucker Welch 

Edited by: Ed Cole