SAN ANTONIO — They say all good things come to an end. For the San Antonio Commanders, it ends at four.

A win over the Arizona Hotshots on Sunday would not only have clinched a spot in The Alliance of American Football’s inaugural postseason, but also would have givev the Commanders home field in the Western Conference championship game. While a promising start on defense gave San Antonio some momentum, penalties pushed Arizona forward.

In the end, the Hotshots found a way to repay the Commanders for San Antonio’s Week 5 win at Sun Devil Stadium, defeating the Commanders inside the Alamodome 23-6.

The Commanders host the Memphis Express on Saturday, April 6, at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. local) in a game televised on CBS. For tickets to Commanders games, click here.

“We played a lot of good football defensively,” Commanders head coach Mike Riley said after the game. “We just gave up a lot of big plays and gave them something in big penalties.”

San Antonio’s defense came out strong, making the Hotshots go three-and-out to begin the game. But after that, penalties became the story.

With the Hotshots leading 9-0 midway through the second quarter, Arizona quarterback John Wolford scrambled out of bounds on third-and-11, coming nine yards short of a first down.

But a late hit by Darnell Leslie gave Arizona six yards, new life and a new set of downs. On the next play, running back Tim Cook scored a 6-yard touchdown run.

“Tim has a bulldozer type of approach that gives us something a little different,” Hotshots head coach Rick Neuheisel said after the game. “He has been terrific. He’s a wonderful young guy, does anything asked of him.

“When he lowers his shoulder, he’s tough to tackle.”

Cook finished with only three carries, but piled up 30 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Wolford once again shined for Arizona, going 17 of 23 for 216 yards and a touchdown.

With the Commanders hoping to ignite their offense, quarterback Logan Woodside struggled to find any rhythm against Arizona’s front seven, going just 4 of 9 for 32 yards and an interception. Following Cook’s 6-yard score, San Antonio turned to Marquise Williams behind center. And while Williams’ dual-threat ability was a factor, his inability to connect with his receivers early ended up being his downfall.

“We thought what we could to with Marquise was settle their front down a little bit,” Riley said. “He gives us that extra ability to be able to run on the edge. I think that part of it was right on.”

Williams finished 17 of 23 for 130 yards while collecting 36 more yards with his legs. On the ground, the Commanders found success with Trey Williams, David Cobb and Kenneth Farrow II combining for 124 yards.

Through the air, though, Arizona derailed any deep passes. Then with the Commanders driving into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, Hotshots linebacker Da’Sean Downey sacked Williams and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Arizona.

Following a 27-yard pass to Richard Mullaney, Cook broke free for 20 yards and his second score, placing the victory in Arizona’s lap.

“The difference in the last game where we won, and this game tonight is we got a few big plays early that resulted in points,” Riley said. “We didn’t get those tonight and then we turned the ball over.”

So the Commanders and Hotshots are now tied atop the Western Conference at 5-3, two games ahead of the 3-5 Fleet and Stallions. Saturday’s outing against the Express now has much more of a “must-win” feel to it. Ultimately the motto is the same for both co-leaders: win and you’re in.

But as the Alamo City absorbs just its third loss of the season, the Commanders know there can be a brighter tomorrow. With a chance to regroup and recover before Saturday, the Commanders will remember this loss and hold onto it for 24 hours.

Come Tuesday it’s back to work with a playoff spot on the line.

“This loss is going to make us a lot better going forward,” Commanders linebacker Jayrone Elliott said. “I just hope the community doesn’t give up on us. We have to play better and we feed off of them more than they know.”

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Cole Thompson covers the San Antonio Commanders for The Alliance of American Football. Follow him on Twitter @MrColeThompson.

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