Reid Sinnett #7 congratulates Mark Thompson #8 of the Houston Roughnecks after his touchdown run against the Arlington Renegades during the third quarter at Rice Stadium on April 21, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/UFL/Getty Images)
Arlington Renegades (0-3) at Houston Roughnecks (0-3)
Sunday, April 21 at 1:00 PM CT (2:00PM ET)
Rice Stadium, Houston, TX
Attendance: 7,179.
Network: FS1
Announcers: Kevin Kugler (Play-By-Play), Joel Klatt (Booth Analyst), and Devin Gardner (Sideline Reporter)
The Houston Roughnecks met the Arlington Renegades for the fifth time and the first time under head coach C.J. Johnson. Houston is 3-1 versus their North Texas neighbors. The last time the two teams met was in the 2023 XFL South Division Championship, ending in a Renegades 26-11 win.
Technically, this was the first meeting between the two franchises, if you consider how the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks is a rebranding of the former USFL Houston Gamblers.
Both teams were 0-3, and in the basement of their respective conferences. One of these two teams would soon put a notch in the win column, and the other would sink further into the conference standings as a winless team.
J.J. Molson kicked off 72 yards and Juwan Manigo returned the kickoff to the Arlington 30-yard line. Arlington Renegades quarterback Luis Perez tossed a pass to Sal Cannella for a 17-yard gain, and then handed to De’Veon Smith who lost 3 yards. A throw to Manigo down field went incomplete and the Renegades were forced to punt.
The Marquette King punt was returned by Isiah Hennie who fumbled the ball. The fumble was recovered by Bunmi Rotimi at the Houston 21-yard line. Perez handed to J.P. Payton for a 3-yard gain, and then handed to Smith for 3 more yards. Perez tossed to Seth Green but he was stopped for no gain. Jonathan Garibay kicked a 31-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 for Arlington.
The Garibay kickoff was returned by Justin Hall to the Houston 38-yard line. Houston Roughnecks quarterback Reid Sinnett handed to T.J. Pledger for a 1-yard gain, and then went back to Pledger, but he went nowhere. On third and 9, Sinnett went deep downfield to Keke Chism but the ball went over his head. The Roughnecks were forced to punt.
Manigo returned the punt to the Arlington 21. Perez passed short right to Leddie Brown for a 6-yard gain, and then handed to Brown, but he gained zero yards. On third and 5, Perez floated a pass to Isaiah Winstead but it was incomplete. The Renegades were forced to punt.
The ball was bobbled as it went off the fingertips of Justin Hall. There was no return as the ball was fumbled out of bounds, and the Roughnecks started their drive on their own 34. Sinnett was sacked for a 3-yard loss, and then threw a swing pass to Mark Thompson for a 5-yard gain. On third and 8, Sinnett was pressured and tried to connect a pass to Thompson, but it fell incomplete. The Roughnecks were forced to punt.
Manigo returned the punt to the Arlington 20-yard line. Perez handed to Brown for a 5-yard gain, and then threw a screen pass to Smith for 10 yards and a first down. Perez tossed the ball to Deontay Burnett who made 8 yards, and then passed to Smith for a 14-yard gain. A defensive unnecessary roughness penalty tacked on 15 yards, putting the ball on the Houston 30. Then, a pass downfield was intercepted by Kiondre Thomas and returned to the Arlington 40-yard line.
Sinnett passed to Anthony Ratliff-Williams for a 13-yard gain, and then rushed for 3 yards to the Arlington 24. Sinnett passed incomplete to Chism, and then passed to Chism again, and this time Chism made 6 yards as the first quarter ended.
A handoff to Thompson was good for a 12-yard gain, and then another handoff to Thompson was stopped for no gain. Sinnett’s passed was tipped and fell to the turf, and then another pass by Sinnett was tipped and the ball fell incomplete. A Molson 25-yard field goal was good making the score tied 3-3.
The Molson kickoff was returned by Manigo to the Arlington 34. Perez passed incomplete twice. On third down, a neutral zone infraction granted the Renegades 5 yards, and then Perez could not connect a pass to Tyler Vaughns. The Renegades went three-and-out and Marquette King punted.
Houston took a fair catch putting the ball on their own 10-yard line. Sinnett passed to Chism and he was tackled for a 1-yard loss, and then handed to Pledger for a 4-yard gain. On third down, Sinnett passed to Cyril Grayson but he was short of the first down marker. The Roughnecks went three-and-out and Hunter Niswander punted.
Manigo had a good return to the Houston 45-yard line. A handoff to Payton made 1 yard. Backup quarterback Lindsey Scott came into the game and carried the ball 2 yards. Perez came back in and could not connect a pass to Burnett. On fourth and 7, a pass to Winstead was made, but it was 1-yard short of the first down marker. Arlington head coach Bob Stoops challenged the play for defensive pass interference, and the challenge failed.
Reid Sinnett started his drive on the Houston 41-yard line. He passed 44 yards down field to Grayson, and then passed again to Grayson for 11 more yards to the Arlington 10-yard line. Sinnett was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and then made a short pass to Justin Hall, who scrambled for a 10-yard gain. A 3-yard pass to Emmanuel Butler scored a Houston touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful on a pass to Braedon Bowman in the end zone, to make the score 11-3 for Houston.
The Molson kickoff was returned by Manigo. A holding penalty subtracted 10 yards, putting the ball on the Arlington 20-yard line. Perez passed to Manigo for a 3-yard gain, and then handed to Smith for one yard as the two-minute warning was announced.
On third and 10, Perez was sacked for a 9-yard loss, and the Renegades were forced to punt.
The punt was returned to the Houston 41. Sinnett passed to Hall for no gain, and then Sinnett was sacked for a 7-yard loss. Loose clock management by Houston caused the time to run out before they could have a chance to score more points.
At halftime, the score was 11-3 for Houston.
To begin the third quarter, Garibay kicked off 74 yards and Hennie returned the ball to the Houston 30-yard line. Sinnett handed to Thompson for a 6-yard gain, and then handed again to Thompson, but the play lost 2 yards. On third down, Sinnett passed to Hall for 15 yards and a first down.
Sinnett handed to Pledger for a 1-yard pickup, and then tossed to Bowman for a 13-yard gain and another first down. Sinnett handed to Pledger for a 3-yard run, and then passed to Woody Brandom for a gain of 12 yards. Sinnett was pressured, but he passed to Pledger and the ball was dropped. A pass up the middle was caught by Chism for a first down on the Arlington 10-yard line.
Sinnett handed to Thompson for no gain, and then handed to Thompson again, who ran 10-yards for a Houston touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and the score was now 17-3 for Houston.
Manigo returned the Molson kickoff to the Arlington 44. Lyndsey Scott entered the game and handed off to Leddie Brown, which was good for a 5-yard gain, and then another handoff to Brown gained 7 yards and a first down. Scott went back to Brown, but he lost 2 yards, and then he passed to Brown for a 21 yard gain. A roughing the passer penalty tacked on 15 yards and the ball was spotted on the Houston 10.
Scott kept the ball and gained 3 yards, and then Luis Perez came back in and threw 7 yards to Burnett in the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 17-9 for Houston.
Ratliff-Williams returned the Garibay kickoff to the Houston 27. Sinnett handed to Thompson for a 3-yard gain, and then passed incomplete to a well-covered Butler. Roughnecks head coach Curtis Johnson made a challenge for defensive pass interference, and the challenge failed. On third down, a Sinnett pass was deflected and nearly intercepted, but fell incomplete. The Roughnecks were forced to punt.
The Niswander punt was returned to the Arlington 44-yard line. Perez handed to Smith for a 4-yard gain, and then went back to Smith for 3 more yards. On third and 7, Perez threw downfield to an open Manigo and the pass could not be caught. On 4th and 3, Arlington was called for an illegal snap and they were forced to punt.
The Marquette punt was returned by Hall to the Houston 32-yard line. A handoff to Pledger gained 5 yards, and then Sinnett passed to Hall for 10 yards and a first down as the third quarter ended.
A pass to Pledger gained 12 yards to the Arlington 41, and then a pass to Butler gained 9 more yards. Sinnett was pressured and he threw the ball away, and then a handoff to Pledger lost a yard. On fourth and 1, J.J. Molson attempted a 52-yard field goal and he missed wide left.
Perez started a drive on this own 43, and passed incomplete to Vaughns. A handoff to Brown lost one yard and then another pass to Vaughns was incomplete, however a defensive pass interference call gave the Renegades a first down. Perez passed to Vaughns for a 12-yard catch, and then handed to Brown for 3 yards. Another handoff to Brown gained 5 yards, and then Scott came back in and went back to Brown for no gain. On fourth and 1, a short pass to Brown gained 6 yards and a first down on the Houston 17. However, Arlington was called for a crack back block and penalized 15 yards, nullifying the first down catch. Facing fourth and 17, the Renegades punted.
From his own 8-yard line, Sinnett handed to Pledger for a 14-yard gain. Sinnett handed to Pledger again and the play lost a yard, then Sinnett passed complete 13 yards to Chism for a first down. A handoff to Thompson gained zero yards, and then a pitch to Grayson gained 3 yards. On third down, Sinnett ran for the first down marker and made it. A defensive holding call tacked on 5 yards to the Roughnecks drive.
Sinnett handed to Thompson for a 4-yard run, and the handed to Pledger for 4 more yards. On third and 2, a pass to Hall was incomplete. On fourth and 2, the Roughnecks punted.
Manigo had a good return, but an illegal blindside block by the receiving team brought the ball back to the Arlington 2-yard line. With 2:04 on the clock, Perez passed incomplete as the two-minute warning was announced.
Perez completed a 7-yard pass to Smith, and then threw 13 yards to Burnett on the sideline at the Arlington 22. Perez passed to Smith, but the pass was dropped, and then passed deep to Burnett on the Houston 48. Another pass to Burnett was incomplete and almost picked off, and then Perez passed to Brown for a 5-yard gain. On third and 5, a false start penalty made it third and 10.
With 0:36 remaining and no timeouts left, from his own 49, Perez passed to Leddie Brown for 11 yards. On first and 10, Perez was stripped sacked and the ball was recovered by Houston’s Gabriel Sewell.
The Roughnecks killed off the time remaining.
The final score was Houston Roughnecks 17, Arlington Renegades 9.
