JACKSONVILLE - Ridgeview High football grad Tyler Huff, a seasoned quarterback with three college teams on his resume, got his shot at the defending two-time Indoor Football League champion Arizona Rattlers as he strapped on his football pads as the new starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Sharks, who held off two comeback attempts the Rattles to win a 54-48 home game in Jacksonville's Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday.

Huff's collegiate career featured successful stints with Presbyterian, Furman and Jacksonville State University with conference titles and playoff games at Furman and Jacksonville State and a Cure Bowl berth last year.
"I got in mid-May (May 20) and had some game time in two games; one a road game in Massachusetts, and I knew this was going to be a good game," said Huff, now 24."My advantage, I think, was that I am so new to the game that I didn't have a lot of times to read about Arizona and get nervous."
Huff opened the Arizona game, a 54-48 topsy-turvy win, with a quick 16-yard scoring pass, then Jacksonville built a fast lead of 23-7 with a defensive pick-six interception and a six-yard rushing touchdown from running back Larry McCammon to blast Arizona quickly.
Huff, though, was wary of the quick start.

"Coach (Jason) Gibson was just telling me we weren't going to get too conservative because of the Arizona talent," said Huff. "We were just going to try to execute, not make mistakes and stay ahead of them. We knew they would make a comeback."
Arizona would indeed add scores to the game with the Rattlers pushing toa 28-27 gap on one point in the second quarter before Huff scored off a rush to finish the half at 37-27.
"We stopped them inside our 10 yard line in the second quarter, but I got hit with an interception to set them up," said Huff. "This is such a fast, compact game that any mistake is bigger than on a regular football field. It's one of the things about the indoor game that I've had to figure out."
Arizona again closed the Sharks led to 37-34 in to third, but Huff again answered with another rush score to 44-34 plus one more to end three quarters up 51-34.
"I think I'm one of the youngest guys on the team and the guys on the team are all veteran players so they know how to play under pressure," said Huff. "We had a lot of confidence on the field and in the huddle that we would be able to hold them off after our quick start."
The Sharks, now 7-3, have more top games in their very near future with a road game to Green Bay, also 7-3, then a home game on Juen 21 against the Quad City Steamrollers, who are 8-2.
"I think after this game, I won't be considered much of an unknown," said Huff, married for the three years to high school sweetheart Kathryn Huff. "We'll get some film on Green Bay but the game is so compact that there are not a lot of trick plays or misdirection that can be used. It's all a matter of solid execution and no mistakes."
Huff finished with three rush touchdowns on 72 yards on the ground and one touchdown pass.