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He blasted everything from game operations to the referees in the Indoor Football League playoff loss, feeling that Nate Davis’ miraculous 3-yard touchdown pass to Arthur Jackson III with no time remaining shouldn’t have counted.

A flag was thrown on the play. Guy felt that it was because the Strike Force’s offense, rushing to get the play off with no timeouts, was never set. He went back to watch the replay after conducting his postgame with the media, and then really went off.

He told The Arizona Republic that he was filing a protest with the league, believing the left guard and running back were moving, that the offense wasn’t set for a second before the wide receivers went in motion.

“Should have been three guys in motion and a 10-second runoff. Game over,” Guy posted on X.

League commissioner Todd Tryon told The Republic on Tuesday, Aug. 5, that he received the formal protest from the Rattlers and that it is under review.

“Due to the sensitivity of the situation, a decision will be rendered by the end of today,” Tryon said in an email sent Aug. 5.

Guy, who is also a co-owner of the Tucson Sugar Skulls, was upset that the refs picked up the flag, then spent nearly 15 minutes reviewing the last play. Meanwhile, no replay was shown on the big screen at Desert Diamond Arena. That made Guy irate.

“Our operations was (expletive),” Guy said. “The clock guy. The replay guy. They’re fired. They’re never going to work for me again. I’ve got to have that information so we can make a decision. They were out of challenges. So they did an officials review. Just the whole thing was a cluster (expletive).

“It just seems like we always get screwed at home at the end. I don’t really give a (expletive) if the league fines me or not. I don’t care. I’m so tired of the referees being a part of the game. I’m so freaking tired. He threw a flag for a false start, then they go and pick it up. We thought the clock ran out.”

After the review, the referees said the play stood and that the Rattlers were being called for an illegal defense on the play.

Ernesto Lacayo, a former Rattlers kicker, then came on to win it with his point-after kick that broke the tie at 48. Some Rattlers fell to the ground in disbelief, frustrated, after taking a 48-42 lead with 38 seconds left on Dalton Sneed’s touchdown pass to Isaiah Huston.

After a 15-yard penalty was called on Huston on the two-point try, the Rattlers went for two again from 18 yards out. Sneed scrambled around until he found Huston in the end zone for two points.

Out of timeouts, starting at his 14-yard line, Davis, the most efficient passer in the league, drove the Strike Force to the 3 with 10 seconds left. They didn’t get out of bounds, and the clock kept going.

Davis was near his coach before he realized there were only four seconds left. He rushed over before the ball was snapped with a second left. Then, he got off the play of the year, dropping it into a tight space in the end zone to Jackson.

The Rattlers, who won the IFL title last year, have a long history of last-play, playoff heartbreak at home, starting with the 2011 ArenaBowl loss to Jacksonville that came down to an Aaron Garcia touchdown pass with no time remaining.

This was the third game against the Strike Force in the last four weeks for the Rattlers (10-7), who won the first meeting at home in dramatic fashion. Last week, the Rattlers lost 46-26 in San Diego but did not show everything to save it for the playoffs.

Sneed, who was 6-0 in playoff games as a starter, including his championship season two years ago with the Bay Area Panthers, was sensational, trying to keep the Rattlers’ season alive, running and throwing for TDs.

No. 3 San Diego and the No. 4 Vegas Knight Hawks now meet in the Western Conference championship game to determine who gets to Tucson for the title.

Afterward, Sneed said he needed time to figure out his future, but, at the moment, he said he felt this would probably be the last time putting on shoulder pads.

“There’s a few question marks,” Sneed said about the game’s ending. “But, at the end of the day, you can’t leave the game in the refs’ hands. That’s sports. That’s the way it goes.

“I can sit here and tell you how mad and disappointed and sad I am. But, at the end of the day, you have to take it on the chin.”