The Memphis Showboats and San Antonio Brahmas both looked to remain undefeated in this game, as both won their United Football League opener last week.
Memphis was coming off an 18-12 win on the road in Houston, while San Antonio defended the Alamodome with a 27-12 victory over D.C. The Brahmas’ defense comes into the game without allowing a touchdown in the opener. Meanwhile, San Antonio was able to defeat D.C. by holding the Defenders to four field goals and an 0-for-3 mark on red zone trips.
The oddsmakers slightly favored San Antonio to win this game.
The Showboats received the De La Haye kickoff and Trey Williams returned it to the San Antonio 49-yard line. Memphis quarterback Case Cookus ran right for 4 yards and then passed to Sage Surratt for 9 yards and a first down. After incomplete passes, on third down Case Cookus connected to Daewood Davis for a first down. Cookus was pressured and nearly sacked on third down, but a pass interference call gave the Showboats another first down on the 16-yard line.
A 6-yard pass to Victor moved the ball to the San Antonio 9, and then a pass to Surratt moved the sticks to the 5-yard line. Cookus finished off a nice drive by throwing to Davis in the end zone for the touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt saw Case Cookus run wide left and touch the pylon with the ball for the point. The score was now 7-0 for Memphis.
The Showboats kickoff was returned by Anthony McFarland to the Memphis 42-yard line. Chase Garbers handed to McFarland for a short gain and then passed to Kirklin for a gain of 5 yards. On third down, the Memphis defence tackled McFarland for a loss and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
Brad Wing punted 37 yards to the Memphis 5-yard line where the ball was downed. Cookus handed to Victor for a 5-yard run, and the handed to Papale who lost 5 yards. On the next play, a defensive pass interference call gave the Showboats a first down on their own 20. Cookus passed short right to Adams, and then incomplete to Morris. A false start penalty set the Showboats back 5 yards, and then Cookus was pressured and flushed out of the pocket. He passed downfield dangerously and was nearly intercepted. The Showboats were forced to punt.
Starting a drive on his own 43-yard line, Garbers passed incomplete to Kirklin, and then he was stripped sacked by Maximilian Roberts at the San Antonio 35. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Roberts moved the ball back to the San Antonio 49-yard line.
Before the first quarter ended, Cookus ran for 9 yards to the San Antonio 40-yard line.
The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-0 for Memphis.
Victor ran for 3 yards, and then Cookus passed deep to Davis for a 24-yard gain to the San Antonio 5-yard line. Davis was shaken up on the play but eventually ran off the field. Victor ran for 1 yard, and then Cookus passed incomplete as he was being pressured by the San Antonio defense. On third down, Cookus passed incomplete and the Showboats’ Coghlin kicked a 23-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 for Memphis.
San Antonio returned the kickoff to their own 36-yard line. Garbers handed to John Lovett for a gain of 2-yards, passed to Kirklin for 7 more yards, and then handed to Lovett for 5 yards to move the chains. A swing pass to Marquez Stevenson was stuffed for only 2 yards and then a pass to Lovett lost 4 yards. On third down, a pass to Latimer was not enough for a first down and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
The punt was returned to the Memphis 28-yard line. Cookus passed to Surratt for 13 yards and a first down. Victor ran for 4 yards, and then caught a pass for 5 more yards. Cookus ran up the middle for 5 yards, and then fumbled when Tavante Beckett stripped the ball. San Antonio’s Darius Phillips recovered the ball on the Brahmas 35-yard line.
Garbers passed to Lovett for a loss of 1 yard, and then handed to Lovett for 2 yards. On third down, Garbers was sacked by Roberts and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
Memphis returned the punt to their own 20-yard line. Cookus passed to Davis for a 13-yard gain, and then he was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Jordan Williams who came through the “A” gap unopposed.
After the two minute warning, Cookus passed to Titus Swen for a 5-yard gain, and then ran it himself for 4 yards, but not enough for a first down. The Showboats were forced to punt.
The punt went deep and the Brahmas were pinned on their own 3-yard line. Garbers handed to McFarland which resulted in zero gain. After an incomplete pass, and another short McFarland run, the Brahmas punted.
With 0:37 remaining, Cookus started at midfield. He passed incomplete, and then scrambled 21-yards to the San Antonio 29-yard line. A pass to Davis was not caught, and then Cookus passed incomplete to Adams in the end zone, but the officials called a 15-yard pass interference penalty on San Antonio. With second and 10 on the San Antonio 13, Cookus passed to Surratt for a 6-yard gain to the Brahmas 7-yard line.
With 0:02 remaining in the half, Matthew Coghlin kicked a 35-yard field goal to make the score 13-0 for Memphis.
In the second half, Coughlin kicked off to the Memphis 20-yard line and Brycen Alleyne returned the ball to the Brahma’s 28. A pass to Latimer was complete, but was negated by an offensive holding call, then a pass to Stevenson was ran downfield for a 42-yard gain to the Memphis 40-yard line. Garbers could do no more and the drive stalled, forcing the Brahmas to punt.
After a fair catch, Cookus took over on his own 12-yard line. A roughing the passer call gave the Showboats a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, Cookus ran for 9 yards and drew another unnecessary roughness call against the Brahmas on the tackle. Unfortunately, Case Cookus was injured on the play.
Backup quarterback Troy Williams came in, and handed to Swen for 2 yards.
Case Cookus came back in and passed incomplete to Vinny Papale, and then he was sacked for a loss of 5 yards. The Showboats were forced to punt.
Garbers started a drive on his own 22-yard line, and passed to Jontre Kirklin for 5 yards. The Brahmas lost 5 yards on a false start penalty, and then Garbers passed complete to Justin Smith for 4 yards. A delay of game penalty pushed the Brahmas further back, and then a pass to McFarland was good for 4 yards but not enough for a first down. The Brahmas punted.
Jarey Elder returned the punt to the Memphis 46-yard line. Case Cookus scrambled right for a gain of 5 yards, and then handed to Victor who ran for 6 yards to move the markers. Cookus handed to Victor again, but he lost 6 yards. The Brahmas pressured Cookus and the Showboats drew a 10-yard offensive holding penalty. On second and 26, Cookus threw deep to Adams who was covered closely, but Adams came up with the catch on the San Antonio 12-yard line. The drive stalled and Coughlin kicked a 22-yard field goal to make the score 16-0 for Memphis.
After the kickoff, Garbers started a drive on the San Antonio 42-yard line. A 14-yard pass to Cody Latimer moved the markers, and then another pass to Latimer was good for 17-yards as the third quarter ended.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Garbers scrambled right for 18 yards and then passed complete to Stevenson for a 10-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was good on a pass to John Lovett, to make the score 16-8 for Memphis.
De La Haye kicked off 68 yards and Williams returned the kickoff to the Memphis 38. Cookus handed to Victor for no gain, and then passed short right to Barnes for a 7-yard gain. Cookus ran for 4 yards to move the chains, and then handed to Swen for 4 yards. Cookus kept it on the ground with a handoff to Victor for a 2-yard gain, and then passed incomplete to Adams, but a roughing the passer call gave Memphis a first down on the San Antonio 31-yard line.
Cookus delivered a 24-yard pass to Adams on the Brahmas 7-yard line. An incomplete pass was followed by a handoff to Darius Victor to put the ball on the 1-yard line. On third down, the handoff was fumbled and recovered by Cookus. Coughlin was called upon to kick a 22-yard field goal and was good to make the score 19-8 for Memphis.
With 8:24 remaining, Coughlin kicked off 67 yards and Anthony McFarland returned the ball to the San Antonio 40. Garbers passed 19-yards complete to Landon Akers. A quarterback sneak by Garbers was only good for 2 yards, and then he threw an incomplete pass. A 9-yard pass to Stevenson moved the chains. Cody Latimer caught a 9-yard pass to the Memphis 31, and then a pass to McFarland fell incomplete. On third and short a handoff to McFarland was stuffed short of the first down marker.
On fourth and short, Garbers was pressured and threw an interception caught by Delrick Abrams on the Memphis 13-yard line.
With 3:44 remaining, Memphis was trying to run the ball and kill the clock. Cookus handed to Victor again for a 13-yard gain, and then handed to Victor for 7 more yards. A San Antonio unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Showboats a first down on their own 49. After a short run by Victor, there were offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct fouls against each team, with Brahma’s Tavante Beckett ejected from the game.
On third down, Victor ran for 3 yards, but the Showboats were short of a first down. They were forced to punt with 2:47 remaining.
Garbers started a drive on the San Antonio 16 and passed downfield to Cody Latimer for a 28-yard gain to the San Antonio 44.
After the two-minute warning, Garbers passed 10-yards to Smith for a first down. A pass to Latimer was incomplete, and then a pass to Lovett was also incomplete. On third down, a 9-yard pass to Lovett was short of the first down, then, on fourth down, a 23-yard pass to Kirklin was completed on the Memphis 16-yard line.
An unnecessary roughness penalty on Memphis put the ball on the Memphis 2-yard line. A pass to Jontre Kirklin lost 3-yards, and then a 5-yard pass to Kirklin in the end zone was caught for a San Antonio touchdown. The three point conversion pass to Vasher was incomplete, making the score 19-14 for Memphis.
With 0:48 remaining, instead of an onside kick, San Antonio chose to attempt fourth and 12 from their own 28-yard line. Garbers managed to pass 12 yards to Kirklin to move the markers, and then passed 15-yards to Stevenson on the San Antonio 50.
Garbers passed short right to Stevenson, who ran the ball 26-yards to the Memphis 19-yard line, and then a 9-yard pass to Smith put the ball on the Memphis 10. Garbers completed the drive with a 10-yard pass to Cody Latimer in the end zone to give the Brahmas a touchdown. The score was now 20-19 with 0:03 on the clock. The two-point conversion was not attempted as Garbers kneeled on the 10-yard line.
San Antonio kicked off and the return was quickly kneeled down by Memphis to retain two seconds on the clock.
With 0:02 on the clock, Case Cookus fumbled the ball and was tackled after he recovered his own fumble. This ended the game.
The final score was San Antonio Brahmas 20, Memphis Showboats 19.
