This would be a battle of winless teams in the XFL South Division. At the end of this game, one of these two teams will be the sole owner of the South Division basement.
The Orlando Guardians were coming from a game where the Houston Roughnecks completely dominated them. The 33-12 rout was the only XFL Week 1 game decided by more than four points. After completing 14 of 20 pass attempts for 125 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, Orlando quarterback Paxton Lynch was benched and replaced by Quinten Dormady. Dormady wasn’t much better, going 12-for-18 for 142 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. The Guardians know they must do better.
Last Sunday the Brahmas suffered a heartbreaking 18-15 loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks in the Alamodome, and clearly the result of San Antonio’s inability to put the game away. Jack Coan completed 25 of 36 passes for 207 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, while Kalen Ballage rushed for 84 yards on 24 attempts. The defense did a good job for three quarters, limiting the St. Louis offence to three points, but it wasn’t enough as the Brahmas ran out of gas and couldn’t stop A.J. McCarron and the Battlehawks from scoring on last-minute back-to-back drives, keeping possession after a successful fourth-and-15 conversion, which is one of the XFL’s unique rules.
Both teams were looking for an improved performance in this game.
Brahmas took over on the Guardians 46. Starting quarterback Jack Coan was sacked on third down, and had to convert a pass for the first down. On the first down Coan completed a pass to TJ Vasher for another fresh first down. Coan had a good drive with the ball now on the Orlando 18. A pass to Deon Yelder took the ball to the 1-yard line. Finally, an end zone pass to Yelder was good for the touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 6-0 for the Brahmas.
The Brahmas started with an impressive drive.
Orlando received the kickoff and Paxton Lynch took over on his own 33. Lynch took to the air for a long 32-yard pass to D. Byrd on the San Antonio 35. Then, a penalty and a sack of Lynch took the Guardians back. On third and 26 Martin ran 38-yards for the first down. Now in the red zone, Lynch threw to a wide-open Eli Rogers for the major. The 1-point conversion failed, making the score tied 6-6.
It seems the Guardians responded with an impressive drive of their own.
On the kickoff return, the ball carrier Fred Brown was rocked. Jack Coan started on his own 25. Coan connected to Jalen Tolliver, but a penalty against the Brahmas took them back. Coan passed to TJ Vasher for 9 yards, but he fumbled. The Brahmas’ Plummer recovered the ball. On 4th and 10 the Brahmas punted.
Paxton Lynch was back behind the ball, but the Brahmas defense stiffened and forced a three and out. The punt was returned to the San Antonio 28, where Coan took over. A 12-yard pass to Roberson gave the Brahmas a first down.
At the end of the 1st quarter the score was tied 6-6.
Coan could not move the ball and the Brahmas were forced to punt. Paxton Lynch took over for the Guardians but took a penalty. On third down Lynch ran for the first down, but a penalty negated the gain. A false start penalty brought the Guardians back even more. Largely because of penalties, the Guardians were forced to punt.
The Guardians defense came up big, with Matt Elam defending a long pass to Brown and then Lee sacking Coan for an 8-yard loss. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Guardians’ Deondre Francois was now in at quarterback. He was pressured and flushed out of the pocket for a 4-yard gain. Kelvin Taylor rushed for the first down. Francois could not convert another first down and the Guardians were forced to punt.
The Brahmas took over on their own 23. Jack Coan completed a 19-yard pass to Alize Mack to the San Antonio 37. At the two-minute warning the Brahmas were on their own 41.
Coan completed a pass to Roberson for a first down on the Orlando 49. Then, Coan scrambled on third down and had to throw out of bounds, but a late hit on him out of bounds gave the Brahmas a first down. On a pass attempt to Alize Mack, Orlando’s Matt Elam nearly had a pick six. Then, a 19-yard pass to Alize Mack in the end zone scored another Brahmas touchdown. The 1-point conversion pass was caught by TJ Vasher, making the score 13-6 for the Brahmas.
With less than a minute remaining in the half Paxton Lynch took over for the Guardians. With 16 seconds left, Lynch scrambled just past mid field for a first down. Then, Lynch completed a pass to Payton to the San Antonio 36-yard line. J. Borregales attempted a 56-yard field goal but was short.
At the half the Brahmas led 13-6.
In the second half, Orlando received the kickoff and Paxton Lynch went three and out. Brahmas’ Coan took over on his 25-yard line. After a 9-yard rush by Ballage, Coan ran the ball down the field for a first down. Coan engineered another running first down moving the ball to the Orlando 30. On third and four Coan threw to Jalen Tolliver at the goal line for another Brahmas touchdown. On the 1-point conversion Coan completed a pass to Yelder. The score was now 20-6 for San Antonio.
On the next drive Lynch was sacked and went three and out. On the punt, the ball was blocked by Townsend and recovered by the Brahmas’ Jeffers on the Orlando 8-yard line. Coan passed to Mack for a touchdown, but Dean Blandino reviewed the play and ruled the Brahmas only made it to the 1-yard line. On the next play Hilliman took it in for the touchdown. The 1-point conversion was good making the score 27-6 for the Brahmas.
Orlando has had 10 penalties for 80-yards so far in this game.
Francois was back in at quarterback for Orlando. A pass interference call against the Brahmas gave the Guardians a first down and extended their drive. On the next series Francois went three and out, but a roughing the kicker call on the punt led to another first down.
On the next drive Francois looked as though he would be sacked, but he escaped and scrambled for a 5-yard gain. Francois passed incomplete to Eli Rogers in the end zone, and another pass interference call placed the ball on the Brahma’s 2-yard line.
Another penalty pushed the Guardians back, but a pass to Latimer regained most of the ground.
At the end of the third quarter the score was 27-6 for the Brahmas.
The Guardians led off the 4th quarter with an end zone pass that was incomplete; however, another defensive pass interference call was made. The Brahmas challenged the call and won the challenge. On 4th down and 4 the Guardians ran it in for the touchdown, but a penalty against the Guardians negated the play. Francois went back to pass into the end zone, and was incomplete, but another defensive interference call gave them a first down on the 1-yard line.
Finally, a 4-yard pass to Latimer led to an Orlando touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, making the score 27-12 for the Brahmas.
The Brahmas’ Brown bobbled the kick return but retained the football. Jack Coan went three and out and the Brahmas were forced to punt. Francois took over on his own 25. On fourth down a pass intended for Jamiel was picked off by Ranthony Texada and returned to the Orlando 30.
Coan drove the ball well but was thwarted when he was sacked. Jon Parker Romo attempted a 40-yard field goal and was good. The score was now 30-12 for the Brahmas.
From deep in his own end, and with 4:31 remaining, Francois attempted to engineer another drive for the Guardians. At the two-minute warning, Paxton Lynch was back in at quarterback and the Guardians were 4th and 7 on their own 39.
Paxton Lynch could not convert on 4th down, but Orlando attempted a challenge for pass interference. The challenge failed, and there was a turnover on downs.
The Brahmas took the opportunity to run out the clock and end the game.
Final score was San Antonio Brahmas 30, Orlando Guardians 12.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
SA 6 7 14 3 30
ORL 6 0 0 6 12
------ SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Jack Coan 16/24 165 6.9 3 0 24 2 - 21
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Kalen Ballage 12 23 1.9 0 9
Jack Coan 3 23 7.7 0 13
Jacques Patrick 10 19 1.9 0 5
Jon Hilliman 1 1 1.0 1 1
TEAM TOTAL 26 66 2.5 1 13
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Alize Mack 4 48 12.0 1 19 5
Darece Roberson 4 38 9.5 0 12 8
T.J. Vasher 3 35 11.7 0 16 3
Jalen Tolliver 3 31 10.3 1 24 3
Deon Yelder 2 13 6.5 1 10 3
Jon Hilliman 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Fred Brown 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 16 165 10.3 3 24 24
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
T.J. Vasher 1 0 1
Jack Coan 1 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 2 0 2
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Delontae Scott 2 5 7.0 1.0 - 6.0 2.0 0 0 0
Jordan Williams 1 5 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 0 0
Tenny Adewusi 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Drew Beesley 0 4 4.0 0.5 - 3.5 2.0 0 0 0
Kamilo Tongamoa 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Luq Barcoo 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Drew Lewis 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Matthew Gotel 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jack Koerner 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Terrell Bonds 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Sean Williams 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Ranthony Texada 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Mike Tverdov 1 1 2.0 0.5 - 2.5 1.0 0 0 0
Kemah Siverand 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kameron Kelly 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Da'Sean Downey 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Riko Jeffers 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 26 26 52.0 2.0 - 12.0 10.0 1 0 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Ranthony Texada 1 30 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Darece Roberson 2 31 15.5 18 0
Fred Brown 2 17 8.5 11 0
TEAM TOTAL 4 48 12.0 18 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Fred Brown 3 61 20.3 35 0
------ ORLANDO GUARDIANS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Paxton Lynch 9/19 79 4.2 1 0 32 2 - 12
Deondre Francois 6/13 8 0.6 1 1 4 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 15/32 87 2.7 2 1 32 2 - 12
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Jah-Maine Martin 9 46 5.1 0 38
Kelvin Taylor 8 31 3.9 0 11
Deondre Francois 4 14 3.5 0 4
Paxton Lynch 1 9 9.0 0 9
TEAM TOTAL 22 100 4.5 0 38
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Javonta Payton 3 47 15.7 0 32 6
Dontez Byrd 1 32 32.0 0 32 1
Cody Latimer 5 21 4.2 1 10 8
Eli Rogers 1 8 8.0 1 8 1
Logan Carter 1 7 7.0 0 7 3
Charleston Rambo 1 4 4.0 0 4 2
Andrew Jamiel 1 3 3.0 0 3 6
Jah-Maine Martin 2 0 0.0 0 0 2
Lance Lenoir 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Deddrick Thomas 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Kelvin Taylor 1 -3 -3.0 0 -3 1
TEAM TOTAL 16 119 7.4 2 32 32
Fumbles
FUM LOST REC
0 0 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Mike Lee 8 0 8.0 1.0 - 8.0 2.0 0 0 0
Caeveon Patton 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 0 0
Marcus Murphy 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Matt Elam 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Terrance Plummer 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 1 0
Terrance Smith 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Stansly Maponga 2 1 3.0 1.0 - 13.0 1.0 0 0 0
Baylen Buchanan 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tegray Scales 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Emmanuel Olenga 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Erroll Thompson 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Jacoby Jones 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Trumaine Washington 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Josh Harvey-Clemons 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Keonte Schad 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Justin Rogers 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Gerald Willis 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 32 10 42.0 2.0 - 21.0 10.0 0 1 0
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Justin Rogers 3 34 11.3 14 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Justin Rogers 5 96 19.2 26 0
Eli Rogers 1 25 25.0 25 0
TEAM TOTAL 6 121 20.2 26 0
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS SAN ORL
TOTAL PLAYS 52 56
TOTAL YARDS 210 175
YARDS PER PLAY 4.0 3.1
FIRST DOWNS 17 14
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 10 5
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 5 4
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 2 5
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 33.3% 40.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 100.0% 0.0%
PASS COMPLETIONS 16 15
PASS ATTEMPTS 24 32
PASSES INTERCEPTED 0 1
YARDS PER PASS 9.0 5.0
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 3 2
SACK YARDS LOST 21 12
RUSH ATTEMPTS 26 22
YARDS PER RUSH 2.5 4.5
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 0
PENALTIES 6 13
TURNOVERS 0 1
FUMBLES 2 0
INTERCEPTIONS 0 1
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 43:14 31:46
