ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Defensive end Bill Duff scored on a 48-yard fumble return as the Orlando Rage improved to 4-0 with a 30-6 victory over Birmingham on Saturday night in the XFL.
Duff scooped up Casey Weldon’s fumble and raced into the end zone to give Orlando a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
“I saw the end zone and nobody around me, but I’m not so sure that I could have gone another 20 yards,” Duff said. “I might have started looking for a defensive back to pitch it to.”
Orlando opened the scoring early in the second quarter on Jeff Brohm’s 12-yard TD pass to Brian Shay. After Duff made it 14-0, Jay Taylor added a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Orlando scored again early in the fourth quarter, with Derrick Clark finishing off a 76-yard with a 9-yard run. Shay had 53 yards on the drive on three runs and a catch.
Weldon threw a 36-yard TD pass to Quincy Jackson for the Rage (2-2), but Mario Bailey returned an onside kick 42 yards for the final score of the game.
“Our defense really stepped it up,” Rage coach Galen Hall said. “We didn’t give up a big play until the very end. Whenever you make a team go the entire length of the field in little chunks, it becomes harder to score.”
Brohm completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and no interceptions. Weldon was 26-of-36 for 249 yards and no interceptions, but surrendered the critical fumble and was sacked four times.
Summary
Birmingham Bolts 0 0 0 6 6
Orlando Rage 0 17 0 13 30
Second Quarter
Bir Orl Time Scoring Play
0 7 11:07 Brian Shay 12 Yard TD Pass from Jeff Brohm (Derrick Clark 1 Point Run)
0 14 6:13 Bill Duff 48 Yard Fumble Return for TD (Derrick Clark 1 Point Run)
0 17 0:00 Jay Taylor 42 Yard Field Goal
Fourth Quarter
Bir Orl Time Scoring Play
0 23 11:50 Derrick Clark 9 Yard TD Run (Jeff Brohm Pass Failed)
6 23 1:54 Quincy Jackson 36 Yard TD Pass from Casey Weldon (James Bostic Run Failed)
6 30 1:38 Mario Bailey 42 Yard Kickoff Return for TD (Shannon Culver 1 Point Pass from Brian Kuklick)
Team Stats Birmingham Orlando
Rushes - Yards 17-48 22-147
Passing Yards 242 158
Return Yards 138 148
Comp - Att - Int 27-37-0 14-19-0
Sacks - Yards Lost 4-27 2-9
Punts 5 3
Fumbles - Lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties - Yards 7-35 4-18
Individual StatsRushing
Birmingham
Player Carries Yards TDs
Casey Weldon 1 16 0
James Bostic 12 16 0
Curtis Alexander 4 16 0
Orlando
Player Carries Yards TDs
Brian Shay 6 58 0
Derrick Clark 9 52 1
Mike Black 7 37 0
Passing
Birmingham
Player Att Comp Yards TDs Ints
Casey Weldon 37 27 269 1 0
Orlando
Player Att Comp Yards TDs Ints
Jeff Brohm 19 14 167 1 0
Receiving
Birmingham
Player Recs Yards TDs
Quincy Jackson 8 132 1
Stepfret Williams 5 38 0
James Bostic 2 35 0
Steve Smith 4 24 0
Ed Smith 3 20 0
Kaipo McGuire 4 15 0
Reggie Johnson 1 5 0
Orlando
Player Recs Yards TDs
Tony Gaiter 2 31 0
Terrance Huston 1 29 0
Shannon Culver 1 23 0
Brian Shay 2 20 1
Dialleo Burks 2 18 0
Derrick Clark 1 17 0
Lawrence Hart 3 14 0
Kevin Swayne 1 11 0
Mario Bailey 1 4 0
Missed Field Goals
Birmingham
Player Length
47
Orlando
None
Fumbles
Birmingham
Player Fumbles
Casey Weldon 1
Orlando
Player Fumbles
Mike Black 2
Fumbles Lost
Birmingham
Player Fumbles Lost
Casey Weldon 1
Orlando
None
Interceptions
Birmingham
None
Orlando
None
Punt Returning
Birmingham
Player Returns Yards
Stepfret Williams 2 -3
Orlando
Player Returns Yards
Shannon Culver 5 35
Kickoff Returning
Birmingham
Player Returns Yards
Steve Smith 2 56
Curtis Alexander 3 76
Orlando
Player Returns Yards
Mario Bailey 1 42
Brian Shay 1 23
