Announcers: Roy Philpott, Eric Mac Lain, Dawn Davenport, Tiffany Blackmon
The DC Defenders and Seattle Sea Dragons faced off for the second time this season. The last time they met DC won 22-18 to open the season in one of the most entertaining games of XFL Week 1. Fast forward to Week 8 and these two teams are battling for the top spot in the XFL Northern Division.
The DC Defenders took the kickoff and Smith returned the ball to the DC 18-yard line. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu started for the Defenders passing to Lucky Jackson for 4-yards, and then to Hammond for 6-yards and a first down. Ta’amu could go no further, and the Defenders punted.
Seattle Sea Dragons quarterback Ben Dinucci began a drive on the Seattle 18. However, he went three and out and the Sea Dragons punted back to the Defenders.
From his own 36, Ta’amu passed to Chris Blair for a 10-yard gain, and then passed again to Blair, this time for 52-yards all the way down to the Seattle 2-yard line. From there, Abram Smith ran 2-yards for the Defenders major. The 2-point conversion pass to Jackson was good, making the score 8-0 for DC.
Matt McCrane kicked off and McKnight received the ball and returned it 21 yards to the Seattle 26. DC kept Seattle at bay and did not allow DiNucci a first down. Seattle had to punt.
Ta’amu started on his own 35 and passed 12-yards to Blair on 3rd down. Ta’amu handed to Armstead for two 4-yard gains, and then rushed the ball himself for 6-yards, which moved the sticks. Ta’amu was sacked hard for a 7-yard loss, which brought in backup quarterback D’Eriq King. King rushed for 7-yards but could not complete passes to Lucky Jackson or Brandon Smith. DC turned over the ball on downs.
DiNucci started on the Seattle 39. After a short pass to Jahcour Pearson a defensive pass interference call moved the sticks to the DC 40-yard line. A 6-yard pass to Willis and a 7-yard Lindsay rush gave the Sea Dragons a fresh set of downs on the DC 27.
At the end of the first quarter the DC Defenders led 8-0.
Ben DiNucci kept the drive alive by handing to Hammonds for another 7-yards, and then rushing for 5-yards himself on 4th and 2. The Sea Dragons kept the ball on the ground with rushes by Lindsay and DiNucci until a 2-yard rush by Lindsay put it in the end zone. The 3-point conversion failed, making the score 8-6 for DC.
Seattle’s Eberle kicked off and DC’s Brandon Smith returned the ball 37 yards to the DC 41. Ta’amu passed to Ethan Wolf for a 10-yard gain, and then to Hammond for 6-yards to the Seattle 43-yard line. Ta’amu was sacked for a 4-yard loss and could not make another first down, forcing DC to punt.
DiNucci started a drive on the Seattle 16 and went three and out. The Sea Dragons punted back to the Defenders.
Jordan Ta’amu started on his own 40. He handed to Abram Smith for a 19-yard run. On 3rd and 14 he passed downfield, which drew a 27-yard pass interference penalty which took the Defenders to the Sea Dragons’ 18. Another Seattle penalty extended the drive once more for DC, and then Ta’amu passed to Armstead for an 11-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was good on a Lucky Jackson rush, making the score 16-6 for DC.
McCrane kicked off for DC and McKnight returned the ball 26-yards to the Seattle 31. With 1:13 remaining in the half, Ben DiNucci passed 10-yards to Jackson to the Seattle 41. DinUcci could do no more and the Sea Dragons punted.
DC kept the ball on the ground and ran out the remainder of the second quarter.
At half time the score was DC Defenders 16, Seattle Sea Dragons 6.
Seattle took the kickoff and started a drive on their own 31. DiNucci went three and out and the Sea Dragons punted.
Ta’amu started on the DC 29 and passed short to Chris Blair for a 4-yard gain before he threw long downfield which drew a 40-yard defensive pass interference penalty. Then, he passed 18-yards to Abram Smith on the Seattle 16. Ta’amu then handed to Smith for a 7-yard run. Ta’amu was pressured by Seattle and fumbled the ball, but he was lucky and recovered his own fumble. In the next play he passed to Ellis for a 14-yard touchdown, making the score 22-6 for DC.
On the 2-point conversion attempt, Ta’amu attempted to rush the ball but fumbled. The ball was recovered by Seattle’s Adams and returned all the way back to the house giving Seattle the 2-points. The score was now 22-8 for DC.
McKnight returned the McCrane kickoff 19 yards to the Seattle 25. DiNucci got busy with a 9-yard pass to Juwan Green, and then ran it himself to tack on 10-yards. DiNucci passed again to Green for 10-yards more, just across midfield, and then Green caught a 46-yard pass for a Seattle touchdown. The 1-point conversion pass to Jackson was good making the score 22-15 for DC.
From his own 25, Ta’amu handed to Abram Smith for a 9-yard gain. D’Eriq King was brought in to convert for the first down and he fumbled, which was recovered by Seattle’s Faoliu on the DC 34.
Ben DiNucci manufactured a first down through running plays, and then his pass was intercepted by Wallace and downed on the DC 4-yard line.
Jordan Ta’amu worked the ball out to the 15 before DC was forced to punt.
DiNucci started on his own 45 with a 28-yard pass to Josh Gordon down to the DC 27.
At the end of the third quarter the score was 22-15 for DC.
DiNucci passed to Pearson 9-yards to the DC 13, and then Lindsey rushed for 2-yards. After that the DC defense stood strong and forced Seattle to kick a 29-yard Eberle field goal which made the score 22-18 for DC.
Ta’amu started from his own 27 and started a 13 play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard pass to Brandon Smith in the end zone. The 2-point conversion failed, and the Defenders increased their lead to 28-18.
The kickoff was returned to the Seattle 21. With 5:03 remaining, Ben DiNucci passed to Hammonds for 8-yards, and then to Jackson for 15-yards. Finally, DiNucci passed to Juwan Green for a 56-yard touchdown. The 3-point conversion pass to Blake Jackson was good, making the score 28-27.
Jordan Ta’amu started on his own 28. A handoff to Abram Smith was fumbled, but recovered by DC’S Fornadel. Seattle’s defense seemed to be thwarting the rush, so Ta’amu threw short to Chris Blair and he ran it all the way for a 70-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass to Blair was incomplete, making the score 34-27 for DC.
With 1:51 remaining DiNucci passed to Gordon for 5-yards, and then to Green for 7-yards on the Seattle 42. DiNucci kept working the ball past midfield until he connected with Blake Jackson for a 24-yard gain on the DC 14. From there he passed to Pearson in the end zone for the Sea Dragons touchdown, making the score 34-33 for DC with 0:31 remaining.
Seattle went for a 2-point conversion and Ben DiNucci was pressured by Santos Ramirez and dropped.
Instead of an onside kick, the Sea Dragons opted for 4th and 15 from their own 25-yard line. DiNucci passed incomplete to Josh Gordon and DC took over on downs. With 0:20 left, the Defenders ran out the clock.
Final score was DC Defenders 34, Seattle Sea Dragons 33.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
DC 8 8 6 12 34
SEA 0 6 9 18 33
------ DC DEFENDERS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Jordan Ta'amu 17/26 247 9.5 4 0 70 2 - 11
Deriq King 0/2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 17/28 247 0.0 4 0 70 2 - 11
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Abram Smith 17 66 3.9 1 19
Jordan Ta'amu 8 13 1.6 0 8
Ryquell Armstead 7 9 1.3 0 4
Deriq King 3 -1 -0.3 0 7
TEAM TOTAL 35 87 0.0 1 19
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Chris Blair 5 148 29.6 1 70 7
Lucky Jackson 3 23 7.7 0 13 5
Abram Smith 1 18 18.0 0 18 1
Alex Ellis 1 14 14.0 1 14 1
Brandon Smith 2 13 6.5 1 8 4
Josh Hammond 2 12 6.0 0 6 5
Ryquell Armstead 1 11 11.0 1 11 1
Ethan Wolf 1 10 10.0 0 10 2
Briley Moore-Mckinney 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Jordan Ta'amu 1 -2 -2.0 0 -2 1
TEAM TOTAL 17 247 0.0 4 70 28
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Jordan Ta'amu 2 1 1
Abram Smith 1 0 1
Deriq King 1 1 0
TEAM TOTAL 4 2 2
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Anthony Hines 2 4 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Francis Bernard 3 3 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Michael Joseph 4 2 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Dejuan Neal 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Santos Ramirez 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Nydair Rouse 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Joseph Wallace 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Ferrod Gardner 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
D.J. Swearinger 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kentrell Brice 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jacub Panasiuk 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Travon Fuller 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jamal Brooks 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Fadol Brown 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jarrell Owens 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 24 24 48.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 1 0 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Joseph Wallace 1 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Pooka Williams 2 8 4.0 5 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Brandon Smith 5 114 22.8 37 0
Kicking
FGM FGA FG% LNG
0 0 0.0% 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Daniel Whelan 3 138 46.0 0 2 56
------ SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Ben DiNucci 28/42 301 7.2 3 1 56 0 - 0
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Ben DiNucci 4 23 5.8 0 10
Phillip Lindsay 8 23 2.9 1 8
T.J. Hammonds 1 7 7.0 0 7
TEAM TOTAL 13 53 0.0 1 10
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Juwan Green 7 142 20.3 2 56 10
Blake Jackson 4 53 13.3 0 24 4
Josh Gordon 4 39 9.8 0 28 8
Jahcour Pearson 5 34 6.8 1 14 8
Damion Willis 3 12 4.0 0 6 5
T.J. Hammonds 2 9 4.5 0 8 2
Charlie Taumoepeau 1 6 6.0 0 6 1
Phillip Lindsay 2 6 3.0 0 8 2
TEAM TOTAL 28 301 0.0 3 56 40
Fumbles
FUM LOST REC
0 0 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Qwynnterrio Cole 5 3 8.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 1 0
Tre Walker 4 4 8.0 0.5 - 2.0 0.0 0 0 0
Niko Lalos 1 4 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 1 0
Linden Stephens 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Bryce Thompson 1 4 5.0 0.5 - 2.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tyrell Adams 1 4 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 1
Antwuan Jackson 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Antoine Brooks 4 0 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 0 0
Alijah Holder 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Clarence Hicks 1 2 3.0 1.0 - 7.0 1.0 0 0 0
Chris Payton-Jones 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tuzar Skipper 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Chris Smith 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Shareef Miller 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Austin Faoliu 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 30 30 60.0 2.0 - 11.0 9.0 0 2 2
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 3 17 5.7 6 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 6 135 22.5 27 0
Kicking
PLAYER FGM FGA FG% LNG
Dominik Eberle 1 1 100.0% 29
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Cameron Nizialek 5 211 42.2 0 1 52
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS DC SEA
TOTAL PLAYS 65 55
TOTAL YARDS 323 354
YARDS PER PLAY 5.0 6.4
FIRST DOWNS 21 18
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 12 11
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 5 6
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 4 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 66.7% 30.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0.0% 50.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS 236 301
PASS COMPLETIONS 17 28
PASS ATTEMPTS 28 42
INTERCEPTIONS THROWN 0 1
YARDS PER PASS 8.4 7.2
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 4 3
SACKS ALLOWED 2 0
SACK YARDS LOST 11 0
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS 87 53
RUSH ATTEMPTS 35 13
YARDS PER RUSH 2.5 4.1
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 1
PENALTIES 7 8
TURNOVERS 2 1
FUMBLES 2 0
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 34:07 25:53
