NFL
By: Jeff Barnes
The Orlando Guardians opened the XFL season in Houston versus Wade Phillips’ Houston Roughnecks. It turned out to be a rough one at that as the Guardians were beaten 33-12. The Roughnecks’ pass rush gave the Guardians’ quarterbacks fits all night. With Deondre Francois (Hampton) inactive, Paxton Lynch (Memphis) got the start for the Guardians and played well into the 3rd quarter. Quinten Dormady (Central Michigan) came in and had some good and bad moments. The Guardians’ defense stepped up in the 2nd half limiting the Houston offense to just two field goals until they finally gave up a late touchdown run.
Paxton Lynch had an impressive start to the game as the Guardians drove right down the field to start the game. Mixing the run and pass allowed the Guardians to move across midfield and deep into Roughneck territory. Lynch would connect with TE Cody Latimer for a 27-yard touchdown pass and the first touchdown of the Guardians’ young season. That would be the highlight of Lynch’s night as the rest of him time on the field was getting sacked or avoiding the relentless Houston pass rush. Quinten Normady would come in for Lynch in the 3rd quarter and was immediately greeted by the Houston pass rush with a sack on his first offensive play. It wasn’t all bad for Normady as he would connect with WR Andrew Jamiel for a 51-yard touchdown pass giving the Guardians their first multi-passing touchdown game of the season. Both Guardians’ quarterbacks had their bright spots and their pitfalls. Besides the struggles with consistency on offense, both quarterbacks combined for 3 interceptions.
The Guardians’ defense had its ups and downs in the first half but was a bright spot in the second half as they limited the Roughnecks’ defense to field goals in the 2nd half with the lone exception being the late touchdown, they gave up on Dormady’s 2nd interception late int he game. The defense hung tough while waiting for the offense to get going. That was a big change from the 1st half where the Guardians’ defense allowed scores on four consecutive possessions.
Here are some notes from the game vs Houston:
Need to be more grounded- Guardians’ running backs combined for 78 yards rushing on 16 carries, with a combined average of 4.9 yards per carry. RB Jah-Maine Martin (North Carolina A&T) led the way with 9 carries for 41 yards rushing. RB Kelvin Taylor (Florida) chipped in with 5 carries for 28 yards. Both had long runs of 12 yards.
Living in the backfield- Guardians’ DE Jacoby Jones (Texas) got home for two sacks on Roughnecks’ QB Brandon Silvers. Jones also added 3 tackles to go along with those sacks.
Jamiel was jamming- Guardians WR Andrew Jamiel (Stonehill College) had THE performance of the Guardians receivers stacking up 80 yards receiving on 3 catches. The big highlight was his 51-yard TD reception from Normady in which he beat the cornerback on the go route, snagged the ball away from the defender, and raced to the endzone.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
ORL- 3rd & 5 on Home 27 (10:01) 6 P. Lynch pass to 11 C. Latimer for 27 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
HOU- 3rd & 5 on Visitor 10 (2:22) 12 B. Silvers pass to 13 J. Kirklin for 10 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
2nd Quarter
HOU- 3rd & 5 on Visitor 46 (10:59) 12 B. Silvers pass to 1 D. Burnett for 46 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
HOU- 2nd & 10 on Visitor 27 (6:04) 22 M. Borghi rush for 27 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
HOU- 4th & 13 on Visitor 18 (1:52) 8 H. Duplessis 33-yard FG is GOOD
4th Quarter
HOU- 4th & 6 on Visitor 14(10:18) 8 H. Duplessis 33-yard FG is GOOD
ORL- 1st & 20 on Visitor 49 (6:40) 12 Q. Dormady pass to 18 A. Jamiel for 51 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
HOU- 4th & 2 on Visitor 5 (3:08) 14 C. McDonald rush for 5 yards – Touchdown (Conversion Failed)
HOU- 4th & 3 on Visitor 3(1:23) 8 H. Duplessis 22-yard FG is GOOD
