Cumbie strong-arms Avengers past Arizona

If the Avengers are going to make a serious run at their first ArenaBowl championship this season, they will need quarterback Sonny Cumbie to make plays and a defense to hit like it did against Arizona on Friday night.

Cumbie passed for five touchdowns and the Avengers’ defense, led by lineman Silas Demary, linebacker Joss Jeffries and cornerback Arnold Parker, made big plays all game in a 64-45 victory over the Arizona Rattlers at Staples Center.

“We came into this week looking to rebound,” receiver Lenzie Jackson said about the Avengers, who gave up 42 first-half points and had five turnovers in a 66-31 loss at Chicago last week.

“We know that it is a sign of maturity when you can bounce back from a loss like that. Last week, we had a lot of turnovers and that’s the one thing we harped on this week.”

The Avengers, who had only one turnover on Friday, jumped out to a 13-0 lead before Arizona rallied behind veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, who finished with five touchdown passes.

With Bonner keeping alive drives with accurate throws despite constant pressure from the Avengers, the Rattlers took their first lead of the game at 24-23 early in the third quarter.

But the Avengers responded strong with two touchdown runs by former USC standout Lonnie Ford, two scoring throws by Cumbie and a fumble recovery touchdown by Jackson that gave them a commanding 57-38 midway into the fourth quarter.

Kevin Ingram, who returned a late onside kick by Arizona for a touchdown, finished with 12 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns for the Avengers, who improved to 3-2 to remain in second place in the Western Division behind 4-2 Utah.

Arizona, which had lost four games by a combined 11 points this season, dropped to 1-5.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com