Saturday afternoon’s contest at Camping World Stadium is huge for both Orlando and Arlington as it pertains to the race for a berth in the XFL South Division Championship game. Arlington is currently second in the division, with the top two teams in each division moving to the divisional championship game. But Orlando faces the two teams in front of it in the standings and victories over the Renegades and San Antonio could put the Guardians in position for a berth in the divisional championship game.
This is the second matchup of the season between the Guardians and Renegades. Arlington edged Orlando 10-9 in Game 3 in Arlington. Orlando is averaging 19.7 points per game, while Arlington scores 13.7. However, the Guardians are averaging 29.3 points per contest through its last three outings.
What should we look for?
Last week, in a matchup of the XFL’s top passing team in Seattle and the league’s 2nd-best defense in Arlington, it was the Sea Dragons’ offense proving to be too much for the Renegades in a 24-15 loss Friday night at Choctaw Stadium. As a team, Arlington established season highs on the offensive side in both passing (215) and rushing (124) yards, but the Renegades gave up season highs on the defensive end in passing (256) and rushing (115) yards, in addition to equaling a season-most points allowed and not forcing Seattle into a single punt. Arlington RB De’Veon Smith rushed for a season-high two touchdowns and a year-best 61 yards, and QB Drew Plitt threw for a season-most 213 yards on 19-of-29 completions. But, Seattle QB Ben DiNucci delivered 266 passing yards and rushed for another 52 yards in leading the Sea Dragons to their fifth-straight win after opening the season 0-2.
The Renegades defense has forced a turnover in all 7 games this season, this after safety Will Hill picked off Seattle QB Ben DiNucci in the 3rd quarter on Friday. Arlington’s 14 forced turnovers rank 4th in the XFL, and the team’s 8 interceptions are tied with Houston for most in the League. This season, the Renegades have scored 48 of their 93 points (52 percent) off turnovers.
Arlington Renegades LB Donald Payne (58 tackles) is the XFL’s second-leading tackler through 7 weeks, trailing only San Antonio LB Jordan Williams (65). Arlington running back De’Veon Smith rushed for a season-high 2 touchdowns and a year-best 61 yards on Friday vs. Seattle, becoming the team’s first non-QB with multiple scores in a game this season. After averaging under 3 yards per carry through the season’s first 5 weeks, Smith has carried the ball 22 times for 103 yards (4.7 yards per carry) over the last 2 games.
The Renegades have seen a lot of movement at the quarterback position of late, as the team’s current 3 signal-callers have thrown a total of one pass for the team. QB Luis Perez was acquired in a trade with Vegas on March 28. QB Kevin Anderson was inactive for the team’s first 6 games before serving as the backup last week and throwing one pass in relief of an injured QB Drew Plitt. QB Kelly Bryant was signed to the active roster on Monday. Plitt (placed on Reserve/Injured List on Monday) and QB Kyle Sloter (released on March 27), the team’s top 2 QBs heading into the season, are no longer on the active roster.
Arlington TE Sal Cannella has been the team’s top target during the 2023 season, hauling in 32 catches for 282 yards through 7 weeks. Cannella enters Week 8 among XFL leaders in receptions (T6th) and targets (T4th, 48). Among tight ends, he is among the league leaders in catches (2nd), receiving yards (2nd), and targets (2nd). The only TE currently edging him out is Orlando’s Cody Latimer (40 rec., 488 yds., 52 targets).
The Orlando Guardians made history last week at Camping World Stadium. Not only did the Guardians pick up their first win in franchise history, but they did it against the previously-undefeated D.C. Defenders. The Guardians held on in a 37-36 offensive fireworks display with the Guardians taking the lead for good with 8:50 remaining in the game when Cody Latimer came across the middle and took a Quinten Dormady pass 44 yards to give the Guardians a 37-36 lead.
Orlando quarterback Quinten Dormady leads the XFL in completion percentage among players who have attempted a minimum of 100 passes. The Orlando signal-caller has completed 70.2 percent of his passes, going 85-of-121 for 969 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Dormady was responsible for all six touchdowns scored by the Guardians in last week’s win over the Defenders. The Guardians’ signal-caller rushed for 3 touchdowns and threw for 3 more. It’s the most touchdowns a single player has been responsible for all season. Dormady’s three rushing TDs in a game are tied for the best mark in the XFL this season. D.C. running back Abram Smith also had three rushing scores this season, accomplishing that feat on March 18 against St. Louis.
Orlando Running back Devin Darrington’s 43-yard TD run vs. Seattle is the 3rd-longest rush in the XFL this season, and his three rushing touchdowns this season are tied for No. 5 in the league, along with his teammate and quarterback Quinten Dormady. Jah-Maine Martin and Darrington each average 4.1 yards per carry and Martin was Orlando’s leading rusher vs. DC, toting it 11 times for 52 yards.
Conclusion
For the second time this season, Orlando was part of the highest-scoring game in the XFL. Meanwhile Arlington’s offense quelling defense will have something to say about it… meaning the O/U of 42.5 is pick ’em. With Orlando being given a measly 1.5 point spread to win this game, I would take the Guardians to win this and make the Southern Division playoff race just that more interesting.
