Roughnecks defeat state rival Renegades 17-9
HOUSTON, TEXAS – In an epic showdown against their home state rivals, the Arlington Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks battled ruthlessly and came out on top with their first win of the season, 17-9.
With a rugged start to the inaugural UFL season, the Roughnecks are now looking to move to the 3rd seed in the USFL conference.
In the first set of fifteen, both teams struggled to get points on the board. But even through a momentum struggle, Arlington found an ounce of momentum with a 31-yard field goal to lead the Roughnecks 3-0 late in the first. Houston would come up big defensively as CB Kiondre Thomas would come up with a big interception on the HOU 8-yard line to halt Arlington’s scoring drive. Still brushing dust off their shoulders, the hometown boys could not get a profitable start offensively, as they punted the ball twice before heading into the Second Quarter.
The Roughnecks possessed the ball at the start of the new quarter, on a crucial 4th and 1. A ripple effect of vigor would begin as RB Mark Thompson rushed for 12 yards to set up the boys in blue for a much needed first down. Following a series of incompletions, Houston would settle for a 25-yard field goal to even the score 3-3. But the Roughnecks were only getting started, gaining possession of the ball again with 6:26 remaining before the half. QB Reid Sinnett would march his team down the field as WR Emmanuel Butler caught a 3-yard touchdown to put the boys in blue on top 9-3. To cement their lead going into halftime, TE Braedon Bowman would successfully complete a 2-point conversion to increase their lead 11-3.
At the start of the second half, the Roughnecks received the ball and started their ball on their 30-yard line. After a consecutive series of hefty yards gained by WR Justin Hall (15), TE Braedon Bowman (13), TE Woody Brandom (11) and WR Keke Chism (12), Houston was once again in the redzone looking to score. With the ball in the hands of RB Mark Thompson, he would kick the door down–rushing for 10-yards pushing the Roughneck lead to 17-3. The triumph would be short lived as Arlington pushed back with their own touchdown by former Roughnecks WR Deontay Burnett, bringing the score to 17-9. The ball would be punted twice more to lead into the last set of fifteen for this Texas-sized showdown.
The fourth saw a wave of yellow flags as both teams drew two penalties each. The game began to quiet down as the contest of back and forth, three and outs carried on. The final excitement of the match came in the final 18 seconds as Houston would seal the Renegades’ fate with a fumble recovery by MLB Gabriel Sewell–allowing the Roughnecks to kneel into victory.
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