The Houston Roughnecks returned home field to host the Vegas Vipers. This was be the first meeting of the season between these two teams.
The Roughnecks were victorious after a hard-fought overtime win over the San Antonio Brahmas in Week 8. Returning as the starting quarterback after nursing an injury, Brandon Silvers completed 17-of-36 passes for 146 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Houston’s running game was held to only 25 yards, but the Houston defense came up big, holding off the Brahmas when they had to, recording six sacks and forcing two interceptions.
Last week Vegas lost to a surging Battlehawks squad in an entertaining overtime game. Vegas quarterback Jalan McClendon did not have Jeff Badet to throw to, but he still completed 13-of-23 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. McClendon fumbled in the third quarter, but the Vipers defense held the Battlehawks from scoring.
Vegas is playing for pride. Houston is playing to cement a home field playoff game.
The Vegas Vipers received the kickoff and quarterback Jalan McClendon got started on his own 29-yard line. An 8-yard pass to Cinque Sweeting moved the chains. Facing 4th and 1 on their own 49, Vegas punted.
The Houston Roughnecks quarterback Brandon Silvers scrimmaged the ball on his own 13-yard line. Silvers passed to Travell Harris and he was dropped for a 3-yard loss. An 11-yard pass to Owens, and then a 2-yard rush by Max Borghi gave the Roughnecks a first down. Silvers threaded the needle with a hitch over the middle to Cedric Byrd for a 3rd down conversion to the Houston 35. On 3rd and 4, Silvers smartly connected to Deontay Burnett for a 5-yard gain and another first down, and then Silvers threw 21-yards down field to Justin Smith who juggled the ball and reeled it in at the Vegas 33. Then, Silvers threw haphazardly down field and was intercepted by Keylon Kennedy and returned to the Vegas 25-yard line.
On 1st down Jalan McClendon ran the ball 14-yards to move the chains. A handoff to John Lovett was good for a 4-yard gain, and then a pass to Geronimo Allison was good for 3 more. On 3rd and 3, McClendon passed short right to Lovett wide open in the flats, and he ran for a 28-yard gain to the Houston 26. An 8-yard rush by Burt and a 5-yard catch by Mathew Sexton moved the markers to the Houston 13. A 6-yard rush by McClendon followed by another rush by Lovett put the ball on the 4-yard line, and then McClendon passed to Sean Price for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, making the score 6-0 for Vegas.
Houston returned the kickoff to their own 21. Brycen Alleyne rushed for 3-yards to end the quarter.
At the end of the 1st quarter the score was 6-0 for Vegas.
Brandon Silvers started the quarter determined to score a major. A 9-yard pass to Travell Harris was good for a first down. Then, a pass to Cedric Byrd was caught, and then fumbled. The ball was recovered by Avery giving the Vipers the ball. The play was reviewed and confirmed to be a turnover.
McClendon started at the Houston 41. A 5-yard Houston penalty and a 7-yard pass to Bryant moved the sticks. On 2nd and 9, a 20-yard strike to Geronimo Allison set up 1st and goal from the Houston 8. Jalen McClendon ran the ball to the 2-yard line, and then handed to Burt but he was stuffed. On 3rd down McClendon passed to Sweeting for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion drew a Houston penalty and the try was redone. The run attempt by Lovett failed, making the score 12-0 for Vegas.
After the kickoff, Silvers took the ball on his own 35-yard line. Houston could get nothing going and they were forced to punt. The punt was downed on the Vegas 16.
McClendon rushed for a 14-yard gain to move the markers on 3rd down, but he took a good hit when he slid at the end of the play. On 2nd and 6 McClendon was hit just before he passed. The loose ball was recovered by Beckett who ran it in for a Roughnecks touchdown. The 1-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 12-6 for Vegas.
After the kickoff, McClendon started on his own 29. He handed to Smith for a 4-yard gain that left Smith limping off the field. Then, McClendon handed to Lovett for a 5-yard gain, and handed again to Lovett on 3rd down, but Lovett was stopped for a 1-yard loss. At the two-minute warning, Vegas was about to punt.
Silvers started on his own 32. On 2nd and 11 he threw long down field to Deontay Burnett and the ball was knocked away at the last minute. The Roughnecks were forced to punt.
Mathew Sexton returned the kickoff, and with penalties by both teams tacked on, the ball was placed on the Vegas 19-yard line. Jalen McClendon passed short to John Lovett who ran the ball for a 27-yard gain. McClendon passed to Allison for 5-yards, and a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer was tacked on. With 0:35 remaining, McClendon was pressured but he escaped and rushed for 15-yards to the Houston 34. A holding penalty knocked the Vipers back 10-yards. With 0:05 left, Sloman attempted a 55-yard field goal which was no good.
At half time the score was Vegas Vipers 12, Houston Roughnecks 6.
Houston took the kickoff and Silvers got the second half started on his own 28-yard line. A handoff to Alleyne was good for a 4-yard gain, and then a Vegas face-masking infraction on Silvers gave Houston 15-yards more. A swing pass to Alleyne was good for 7-yards, moving the ball past mid field, and then 3-yard rush by Alleyne moved the chains. On 2nd down, Silvers ran for 6-yards, and then passed to Owens for a first down. Then, a Brandon Silvers pass intended for Burnett was intercepted by Keylon Kennedy and returned to the Vegas 13. This was Kennedy’s second interception of the game.
McClendon passed to Bryant who fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Ajene Harris with a scoop and score for the touchdown. The 1-point conversion pass from Silvers to Salter was good, giving Houston a 13-12 lead.
A determined Jalan McClendon started on the Vegas 26-yard line. He handed to Burt for 2-yards and then passed to Badet for the first down. Then, Houston’s defense got to McClendon, with Ellerbee and Beckett sacking him for a 3-yard loss. A handoff to Brian Burt was swallowed up by Houston’s defense as he was pushed back 7-yards. The Vipers were forced to punt, and Travell Harris was able to return the ball to midfield.
On 2nd down, Silvers passed to Alleyne for a 9-yard gain, and then backup quarterback Cole McDonald came in to hand to Max Borghi for a 2-yard rush and a first down. McDonald stayed in and rushed for 5-yards, and then Borghi rushed for 21-yards to the Vegas 14. Brandon Silvers passed to Travell Harris for a 12-yard gain to the 2-yard line, and then Borghi was given the ball and he ran it in for the Roughnecks touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 19-12 for Houston.
McClendon started on his own 35, and began to move the ball with 11-yard passes to both Sweeting and Allison. A 7-yard completion to Sexton moved the ball to the Houston 36 as the 3rd quarter ended.
At the end of the 3rd quarter the score was 19-12 for Houston.
On 2nd and 3, Houston’s C.J. Brewer and John Daka sacked McClendon for an 11-yard loss. McClendon passed to Sutton for a 12-yard gain, giving Sloman a chance to kick a 53-yard field goal, which was good. The score was now 19-15 for Houston.
After Sloman’s kickoff went out of bounds, Brandon Silvers started a Houston drive on the Vegas 45. Unfortunately, the Roughnecks went three and out and were forced to punt.
McClendon started deep in his own end with the ball on the Vegas 13. On 3rd and 9, McClendon could not connect to Sweeting down field. The Vipers had to punt, and Houston’s Harris returned the ball to midfield.
Silvers handed to Borghi for a 36-yard run, and then handed to Alleyne for a 14-yard touchdown, extending Houston’s lead. The 2-point conversion was no good, making the score 25-15 for Houston.
With McClendon starting on his own 35-yard line he was sacked for a 6-yard loss. A 17-yard pass to Mathew Sexton was good for a first down, and then defensive pass interference moved the ball to the Houston 25. From there, John Lovett ran the ball 25-yards for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed, making the score 25-21 for Houston.
Max Borghi took the kickoff and ran it back to the 34. A late hit out of bounds tacked on 15-yards giving Houston the ball on their own 49. Brycen Alleyne took the ball and ran for 6-yards, and then he was handed the ball again for a 7-yard gain. With Cole McDonald in at quarterback he ran the ball 4-yards, and then handed to Borghi for 11-yards more. Silvers came back in and handed to Borghi for a 1-yard gain. A face-masking penalty on an Alleyne run gave the Roughnecks first and goal on the Vegas 10-yard line. At the two minute warning Houston was 3rd and goal on the Vipers 8.
A Max Borghi run was stuffed for a 1-yard loss which was nearly fumbled. An Austin Jones 28-yard field goal was good making the score 28-21 for Houston.
With 1:49 remaining, the Houston kickoff was returned By Cinque Sweeting well past midfield. A holding call brought the ball back to the Vegas 25-yard line. A 21-yard pass to Jeff Badet put the ball on the Vegas 47, and then a 12-yard catch by Geronimo Allison was good for a first down. McClendon passed to Badet for a 7-yard gain and with the clock moving he passed to Badet for 8 more yards to the Houston 27.
Confusion and poor clock management left Vegas with only 18-seconds remaining. A pass to Geronimo Allison put the ball on the Houston 18, and with 0:04 left Jalan McClendon had one final chance to put the ball in the end zone. His pass to Sexton in the end zone fell incomplete.
The final score was Houston Roughnecks 28, Vegas Vipers 21.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
VGS 6 6 0 9 21
HOU 0 6 13 9 28
------ VEGAS VIPERS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Jalan McClendon 27/37 249 6.7 2 0 28 4 - 29
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
John Lovett 9 46 5.1 1 25
Jalan McClendon 5 41 8.2 0 14
Rod Smith 1 4 4.0 0 4
Brian Burt 4 3 0.8 0 8
Jeff Badet 1 2 2.0 0 2
TEAM TOTAL 20 96 0.0 1 25
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
John Lovett 4 63 15.8 0 28 4
Geronimo Allison 6 60 10.0 0 20 7
Jeff Badet 4 43 10.8 0 21 6
Mathew Sexton 3 29 9.7 0 17 4
Cinque Sweeting 4 22 5.5 1 11 6
Cam Sutton 2 11 5.5 0 12 2
Brandon Dillon 1 9 9.0 0 9 2
Martavis Bryant 2 8 4.0 0 7 3
Sean Price 1 4 4.0 1 4 1
TEAM TOTAL 27 249 0.0 2 28 35
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Jalan McClendon 1 1 0
Martavis Bryant 1 1 0
TEAM TOTAL 2 2 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Deontay Anderson 6 1 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Maurice Smith 5 1 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 1 0
Jamar Summers 6 0 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
D.J. Calhoun 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
C.J. Avery 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 1
LaRon Stokes 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Marwin Evans 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Martrell Spaight 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Jah'Sheem Martin 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jawuan Johnson 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Keylon Kennedy 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 2 0 0
Pita Taumoepenu 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Bryant Jones 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Cavon Walker 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Maximilian Roberts 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 37 8 45.0 0.0 - 0.0 4.0 2 1 1
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Keylon Kennedy 2 18 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Mathew Sexton 1 10 10.0 10 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Cinque Sweeting 4 91 22.8 34 0
Kicking
PLAYER FGM FGA FG% LNG
Sam Sloman 1 2 50.0% 53
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Michael Carrizosa 4 188 47.0 0 1 53
------ HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Brandon Silvers 16/27 105 3.9 0 2 21 0 - 0
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Max Borghi 10 74 7.4 1 36
Brycen Alleyne 12 42 3.5 1 14
Cole McDonald 2 9 4.5 0 5
Brandon Silvers 1 6 6.0 0 6
Jeremy Cox 1 1 1.0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 26 132 0.0 2 36
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Justin Smith 2 26 13.0 0 21 2
Garrett Owens 4 23 5.8 0 11 5
Travell Harris 3 18 6.0 0 12 5
Brycen Alleyne 2 16 8.0 0 9 2
Cedric Byrd 2 13 6.5 0 7 3
Deontay Burnett 1 5 5.0 0 5 7
Max Borghi 2 4 2.0 0 6 2
Ben Putman 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 16 105 0.0 0 21 27
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Cedric Byrd 1 1 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Emmanuel Ellerbee 6 5 11.0 0.5 - 1.5 1.0 0 0 0
Ajene Harris 5 1 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 1 1
Tavante Beckett 3 3 6.0 0.5 - 1.5 0.0 0 0 1
A.J. Hendy 5 0 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Raleigh Texada 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
William Likely 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Jordan Mosley 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Deandre Johnson 2 1 3.0 1.0 - 9.0 1.0 0 1 0
Chauncey Rivers 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
John Daka 2 1 3.0 1.5 - 11.5 1.0 0 0 0
Trent Harris 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jack Heflin 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
C. J. Brewer 0 2 2.0 0.5 - 5.5 0.0 0 0 0
Scean Mustin 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Glen Logan 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Caliph Brice 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Trevon Mason 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
John Brannon 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Charles Wiley 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Alexander Myres 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Brian Khoury 1 0 1.0 1.0 - 6.0 1.0 0 0 0
David Tolentino 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 36 28 64.0 5.0 - 35.0 6.0 0 2 2
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Travell Harris 3 60 20.0 25 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Max Borghi 3 77 25.7 31 0
Kicking
PLAYER FGM FGA FG% LNG
Austin Jones 1 1 100.0% 28
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Race Porter 3 129 43.0 0 3 50
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS VGS HOU
TOTAL PLAYS 61 53
TOTAL YARDS 316 237
YARDS PER PLAY 5.2 4.5
FIRST DOWNS 20 17
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 15 6
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 3 9
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 2 2
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 38.5% 50.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0.0% 0.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS 220 105
PASS COMPLETIONS 27 16
PASS ATTEMPTS 37 27
INTERCEPTIONS THROWN 0 2
YARDS PER PASS 5.9 3.9
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 2 0
SACKS ALLOWED 4 0
SACK YARDS LOST 29 0
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS 96 132
RUSH ATTEMPTS 20 26
YARDS PER RUSH 4.8 5.1
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
PENALTIES 6 6
TURNOVERS 2 3
FUMBLES 2 1
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 2
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 31:12 43:48
