Having quarterback Quinten Dormady calling plays for Orlando made all the difference to the Guardian squad in their surprise win over the DC Defenders.
The Orlando Guardians finally got their first win of the 2023 XFL season against the undefeated D.C. Defenders in the highest-scoring & arguably most entertaining contest to date… on April Fools’ Day. Surprising? Not as much as you may think, considering the circumstances. As I wrote in my game preview, the Guardians have found new life with quarterback Quinten Dormady following his return from hiatus after being falsely accused of sharing plays with a player on another team. With Dormady starting last week & playing the majority of week five against the Vegas Vipers, Orlando lost by seven & three, respectively, with unforced errors & undisciplined play being among the main difference-makers.
Last night, Dormady had the game of his life in the Guardians’ 37-36 win over a top-notch D.C. defense in which he put up 350 yards & six total touchdowns. Trailing 22-12 at one point, a QB sneak from Dormady & receiving touchdown from tight end Jordan Thomas, which had him emotional, returned the lead to the Guardians early in the third quarter. From there, teams traded touchdowns before a missed 29-yard chip shot from kicker Matt McCrane for the Defenders proved costly in hindsight. Ultimately, tight end Cody Latimer had the last score of the game off an electric 44-yard receiving touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Defenders had multiple chances to retaliate but never did. A missed last-ditch 63-yard field goal in the dwindling seconds would be the nail in the coffin.
Like has been the case in the past, Orlando left the door wide open for its opponent & fumbled twice during the fourth quarter but made up for it with a forced fumble of their own thanks to Stansly Maponga & Gerald Willis’ recovery. Excluding the costly fumble, Defenders’ star running back Abram Smith ran for 127 yards & one touchdown.
The D.C. offense came out in tempo & started the scoring in just five plays with a 32-yard receiving touchdown from Lucky Jackson. The Western Kentucky standout had another score during the fourth quarter, which put D.C. in front before the aforementioned game-winning score from Latimer on the next drive. Overall, Latimer – who has been a top target no matter the quarterback for Orlando – finished with an impressive seven receptions & 93 yards. Top receiver Charleston Rambo also impressed like he has all season for the Guardians with 63 receiving yards. Meanwhile, Dan Williams made his third appearance for Orlando and had four receptions & 47 yards. Williams was the second-best receiver in the 2020 XFL and had seven catches & 72 yards in the Tampa Bay Vipers’ first win of the season over the D.C. Defenders in week four at Raymond James Stadium.
K.D. Cannon spent time with D.C. during training camp before a knee injury put him on the Reserve List. Ironically enough, he made his XFL debut with the Guardians today & had a 41-yard receiving touchdown during the first quarter, in which he beat shutdown corner Michael Joseph. It’s crazy to imagine what the Defenders’ offense – already explosive enough with guys like Lucky Jackson & Chris Blair – could’ve looked like had Cannon never gotten injured & stayed with the team. Last night, Blair’s 86-yard receiving touchdown came as the longest in XFL history.
For D.C., Fadol Brown, Davin Bellamy & Anthoula Kelly each came down with a sack on Dormady, while linebacker Terrance Plummer had the lone sack on Jordan Ta’amu for the Guardians. Regardless of the result, Ta’amu put up the best numbers of the season – even better than last week’s performance against the Houston Roughnecks. All in all, he had 285 passing yards & a trio of touchdown passes. His complement D’Eriq King only threw one pass, which culminated in a receiving touchdown from tight end Briley Moore – who started over an injured Ethan Wolf. On the throw, King displayed his improvisation abilities, rolling out to his weak side swarmed by Guardians players, while Moore showed off his toe-drag swag on the spectacular grab in the back of the endzone.
The win comes as highly deserved for Terrell Buckley & his squad who have shown exponential improvement since the beginning of the season. The victory keeps the 1-6 Guardians’ playoff hopes alive in the wide-open XFL South. They’ll look to carry the momentum into next week’s matchup against the XFL South rival Arlington Renegades – who they lost to 10-9 in week three. Conversely, the XFL North playoff race just got interesting. Next week the 6-1 Defenders will face off against the red-hot Seattle Sea Dragons who have won five straight after losing their first two. The result could have major implications in the XFL North playoff battle with both teams neck-and-neck.
