Ajene Harris #5 of the Arlington Renegades breaks up a pass intended for Vinny Papale #13 of the Memphis Showboats in the second quarter at Choctaw Stadium on May 11, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Memphis Showboats (1-5) at Arlington Renegades (0-6)
The Memphis Showboats and Arlington Renegades are both looking to stop losing streaks in this meeting at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. Memphis has lost five in a row since an opening-day victory over Houston, while Arlington is still searching for its first victory this season. This game is the first and only matchup between Arlington and Memphis this season.
Arlington currently sits in last place in the XFL Conference, while Memphis has the same record as the Houston Roughnecks; at 1-5, they are tied for last place in the USFL Conference. The Showboats need a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
The Matt Coughlin kickoff went 65 yards and Arlington’s Juwan Manigo had a good return to the Arlington 46-yard line. Arlington quarterback Luis Perez handed to De’Veon Smith for a 2-yard gain, and then went back to Smith for another 6 yards. Backup quarterback Lyndsey Scott came in and handed to Smith who ran 2 yards for the first down.
Perez passed to Deontay Burnett for a gain of 7, and then handed to Smith who made an 8-yard run and moved the markers to the Memphis 39. Perez passed deep to J.P. Payton in the end zone, but the ball was batted away as Payton made the catch. Perez completed a pass to Sal Cannella for a gain of 13 yards, and then went back to Cannella for a 6-yard gain to the Memphis 10-yard line. Lyndsey Scott came in and tossed to Manigo for 4 yards and a first down.
From the Memphis 6-yard line, Perez tossed to Smith for a loss of 3 yards, and then Lyndsey Scott came in and passed to Cannella for a 9-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was ruled good on a catch by Tyler Vaughns at the back of the end zone. After review the conversion was deemed to be caught out of bounds and the decision was reversed. The score was now 6-0 for Arlington.
The Jonathan Garibay kickoff went 72 yards and was returned by Titus Swen to the Memphis 33. Showboats quarterback Troy Williams passed to Daewood Davis for an 8-yard gain, and then handed to Darius Victor for no gain. On third down, Williams passed to Davis to move the markers.
A handoff to Victor gained 5 yards and then a pass to Vinny Papale gained 5 more yards. On third and 1, Williams kept the ball and rushed 2 yards for a first down on the Arlington 42. Williams handed to Victor for a gain of 7 yards, and then handed again to Victor who gained about 1 yard. On third down, a high snap caused Williams to bobble the ball and he was tackled for a 3-yard loss. The Showboats were forced to attempt a Matt Coughlin 54-yard field goal which was good, to make the score 6-3 for Arlington.
Manigo returned the Coughlin kickoff to the Arlington 37. Perez passed incomplete intended for Vaughns, and then handed to Leddie Brown for a 2-yard gain. On third and 8, Perez passed 22 yards to Deontay Burnett for a first down. Then, Perez passed 12 yards to Payton on the sideline and moved the markers to the Memphis 27. A handoff to Smith gained another 6 yards as the first quarter ended.
Lindsey Scott kept the ball and was dropped for a 3-yard loss. On third and 7, Luiz Perez was pressured and flushed out of the pocket, but managed to throw a 24-yard touchdown to Payton in the end zone. The two-point conversion was good on a 5-yard pass to Cannella, to make the score 14-3 for Arlington.
Swen returned the Garibay kickoff to the Memphis 30-yard line. Troy Williams passed to Darius Victor for an 8-yard gain, and then handed to Victor who gained 3 yards for a first down. Williams threw deep to Papale who deflected the ball and had it intercepted by Tenny Adewusi, who returned the ball to the Memphis 24.
Perez passed to Caleb Vander Esch for a 23-yard gain to the Memphis 1-yard line. Then, Perez handed to De’Veon Smith for a 1-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion succeeded on a 5-yard catch by Vander Esch to make the score 22-3 for Arlington.
Swen returned the Garibay kickoff to the Memphis 34. Williams handed to Swen for a 1-yard loss, and then Williams took off and ran 9 yards to the Memphis 43. On third and 2, Williams passed to Papale, but the ball was dropped. Memphis was forced to punt.
Matt White punted and Manigo received the ball, but fumbled. Memphis’s Wes Saxon recovered the fumble at the Arlington 22-yard line.
Troy Williams handed to Victor for no gain, and then passed to Davis in the end zone, but the ball was not caught. On third and 10, Williams was pressured and had to escape tackle, before managing to pass complete to Adams for a first down at the Arlington 7.
Williams was pressured and sacked, but an offensive holding call took the ball back 10 yards. Williams kept the ball and gained 3 yards, and then he passed over the middle to Daewood Davis for a 14-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 22-9 for Arlington.
Joe Powell returned the Coughlin kickoff 41 yards, all the way to the Memphis 45-yard line. Perez passed to Cannella for a short 4-yard gain, and then handed to Devin Darrington who made 2 yards. A pass to Canella was completed, but offensive pass interference negated the play. On third and 15, Perez’s pass was underthrown and fell incomplete. Arlington’s Marquette King punted and the ball went into the end zone for a touchback.
Starting on his own 25-yard line, Williams passed deep for Davis. The ball was not caught, but a defensive pass interference call gave Memphis the ball on the their own 40-yard line. Williams handed to Victor for no gain, and then Williams passed deep to Dee Anderson but the ball could not be caught. On 3rd and 10, Memphis took a delay of game penalty to back them up 5 yards, and then Williams passed 27 yards to Daewood Davis to move the chains to the Arlington 38. Then, Troy Williams scrambled for 2 yards as the two-minute warning was announced.
Williams passed to Dee Anderson for a 5-yard gain, and then attempted a pass to Jonathan Adams, but it was over his head. On 4th and 3, Williams could not complete a pass to Anderson, turning the ball over on downs.
Perez passed incomplete to Payton, but the ball was nearly picked off. Then, Perez passed 3 yards to Burnett, and then threw a complete pass to Vaughns to move the markers to the Arlington 44. A pass to Cannella was good for 6 yards, and then Perez was pressured, but managed to pass to Smith for 8 yards and a first down.
With 0:46 remaining, Perez passed to Burnett for 3 yards, and then passed to Smith for no gain. Then, Perez passed to Smith for an 18 yard gain to the Memphis 22. On the last play off the half, Garibay kicked a 39-yard field goal to make the score 25-9 for Arlington at halftime.
The second half began with a Garibay kickoff that was returned by Swen to the Memphis 33-yard line. A holding call on the return backed up the Showboats 10 yards. Williams passed to Papale for a 3-yard gain, and then passed to Davis for a 9-yard catch and a first down. Williams passed to Papale who gained 17 yards to midfield. Williams took a high snap and managed to pass ton Papale who made 12 yards to the Arlington 37.
After another high snap, Williams kept the ball and ran for 5 yards, and then threw a swing pass to Titus Swen that lost 8 yards. On third and 13, Williams passed to Davis for 10 yards, but short of a first down. On fourth and 3, Victor rushed, but gained no yards, and the ball was turned over on downs.
Perez passed 23 yards to Payton, but an illegal block penalty brought the ball back. A handoff to Smith gained 46 yards, and then Perez passed to Smith for 13 more yards. A Lyndsey Scott handoff to De’Veon Smith scored a 1-yard touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, to make the score 31-9 for Arlington.
Swen returned the Garibay kickoff to the Memphis 42. Williams was pressured and had to throw the ball away, and then handed to Swen who gained 4 yards. On third and 6, Williams scrambled, but was sacked for a 1-yard loss. The Showboats were forced to punt.
The White punt was returned by Manigo, who only managed to get the ball to the Arlington 7-yard line. Perez handed to Smith who made 6 yards, and then passed to Cannella for an 8-yard gain and a first down. Another pass to Cannella made 17 yards to the Arlington 44. Perez passed to Vaughns who caught a 22-yard pass to the Memphis 33.
Perez passed deep to J.P. Payton for a 33-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass was caught by Seth Green to make the score 39-9 for Arlington.
The Garibay kickoff was returned by Swen to midfield. A handoff to Victor gained zero yards, and then another handoff to Victor gained 15 yards to move the markers to the Arlington 35. Williams handed to Swen for an 8-yard gain, and then another handoff to Swen gained 12-yards as he broke through into the secondary. On first down, Troy Williams ran 15-yards for a touchdown, but was hurt on the play when he went down on his shoulder.
Case Cookus came in for the two-point conversion attempt, which was good on a pass to Lee Morris. The score was now 39-17 for Arlington.
The Coughlin kickoff was mishandled by Manigo, but he recovered the ball and returned it to the Arlington 31. A handoff to Smith picked up 8 yards as the third quarter ended.
Perez handed to Smith for a 4-yard gain and a first down. A quick pass to Cannella was dropped for no gain as he was shaken up on the play. A pass to Vaughns only gained 3 yards, and then Perez passed again to Vaughns who was just short of the first down marker. The Renegades were forced to punt. The Marquette King punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
Starting on his own 25-yard line, Case Cookus’ first pass was almost intercepted, and then he passed complete to Anderson for a gain of 15-yards. Cookus handed to Victor for a `1-yard gain, and then passed to Sage Surratt for 5 yards. A 5-yard neutral zone infraction penalty against Arlington gave the Showboats a first down. Cookus passed to Adams, but the pass deflected off his body and was intercepted by Joe Powell and returned 50-yards to the Memphis 9-yard line.
Perez handed to Smith, who spinned and made it 5 yards to the Memphis 4, and then Perez passed to Cannella who pranced 4 yards into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. The two-point conversion was complete on a pass to Burnett, making the score 47-17 for Arlington.
The Garibay kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 36. Cookus passed 7 yards to Papale, and then passed to Adams who snagged the catch and ran for a 24-yard gain to the Arlington 34. A pass intended for Davis was incomplete, and then a handoff to Swen gained 6 yards. On third and 4, a pass to Papale was dropped. On fourth down, Cookus was strip sacked, with the ball recovered by Harris, who lateraled to Donald Payne who returned to the Arlington 25-yard line. The lateral was deemed to be an illegal forward pass, which put the ball on the Arlington 33.
Perez handed to Smith for a 3-yard gain, and then handed again to Smith for another 2 yards. A 17-yard pass to Vander Esch moved the chains to the Memphis 45. Lyndsey Scott came in and rushed for 5 yards, and then a false start penalty set Arlington back 5 yards. Then, Lyndsey Scott fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Memphis and returned to their own 47-yard line.
Case Cookus passed to Daewood Davis for 11 yards and a first down, and then passed to Swen for 4 more yards. A 6-yard pass to Papale moved the markers, and then a pass to Adams made 6 yards as the two-minute warning was announced.
Cookus passed to Jay Jay Wilson for a gain of 14 yards, and then passed to Swen for 4 more yards. Cookus then passed 8 yards to Vinny Papale for a Showboats touchdown. The three-point conversion failed, making the score 47-23 for Arlington.
With 1:02 remaining, instead of an onside kick, Memphis opted for 4th and 12 from their own 28. A neutral zone infraction gave Memphis 5 yards making it 4th and 7. Cookus was strip sacked on the play, and Arlington’s win was complete as they were able to run out the clock.
The final score was Arlington Renegades 47, Memphis Showboats 23.
