Spokane Empire prevail late over Rattlers

The Spokane Empire outscored the Arizona 25-14 in the final quarter and edged the Rattlers 60-51 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.
Spokane handed the Rattlers (4-4, 3-1) their first Intense Conference loss of the season.
The Empire (6-2, 5-1) claimed what would be the final lead of the game on Samuel Charles 32-yard touchdown catch with 6:16 left.
Spokane’s defense then forced a turnover on downs, and bolstered their lead with Craig Peterson’s 21-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining.
It was a back-and-forth game in the second half, with the teams trading leads eight times.
Spokane established a 15-3 early in the second quarter, but Arizona roared back to cut the lead to 28-23 at halftime. Anthony Amos’ 2-yard touchdown run with 12:20 to play in the third quarter provided the Rattlers their first lead.
Spokane running back Trevor Kennedy scored three touchdowns in three different ways. He scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, caught a 16-yard pass from Empire quarterback Charles Dowdell in the second and returned a kickoff 54 yards for a score in the fourth.
Dowdell finished 13 of 24 for 204 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Empire defense recorded their first safety of the year, as Rattlers’ quarterback Cody Sokol was taken down in the endzone by Spokane lineback Andrew Jackson on their first drive of the game.
Wide reciever Devonn Brown collected five catches for 104 yards and scored twice. Bryan Pray led the team in catches with six and recorded 54 yards.
Anthony Amos scored four times (three recieving, one rushing) and cuaght five passes for 77 yards in the Rattlers’ losing effort. Jamal Miles
Spokane next takes on the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles next Sunday at the Spokane Arena. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.