MISSOULA — A new year, a new team, but the same outcome for Dalton Sneed.
After leading the Montana Grizzlies to the FCS quarterfinals in 2019, Sneed secured his second straight Indoor Football League national championship with the Arizona Rattlers, who dominated the Massachusetts Pirates 53-16 on Saturday in Henderson, Nevada.
In the championship match, Sneed completed 10 of 15 passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. He also contributed seven rushes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
For the season, Sneed ranked fourth in the IFL with 46 passing touchdowns (against nine interceptions), fifth with 2,261 passing yards, and ninth with a 64.5 completion rate. He placed 14th in rushing yards (422) and 15th in rushing touchdowns (15).
His standout performances included single-game highs of 258 passing yards, two instances of seven touchdown passes, 61 rushing yards, and two games with three rushing touchdowns each. He was named IFL offensive player of the week after completing 14 of 20 passes for 238 yards and seven touchdowns in a 62-41 win.
The Rattlers finished the season with a 14-5 record, winning 13 out of their last 15 games after an initial 1-3 start. This marked their first championship since 2017 and the seventh in team history since their inception in 1992.
Sneed is among several former Grizzlies currently playing professionally. In the NFL, wide receiver Samori Toure is with the Green Bay Packers, offensive lineman Dylan Cook is with the Pittsburgh Steelers, linebacker Pat O’Connell is with the Seattle Seahawks, and defensive lineman Alex Gubner plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Additionally, offensive lineman Moses Mallory, kicker Kevin Macias, and running back/wide receiver Travon Van also played in the IFL this season as part of the Vegas Knight Hawks, who suffered a narrow 39-38 loss to Sneed and the Rattlers in the first playoff round.
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