The first weekend (two games) of the UFL season, I felt, was a success. No league since the USFL has had a product and structure like this league seems to have. While these guys are not jersey-buying worthy or trading card material, that’s not the goal of the league. The league is designed to bring great football with some notable faces to a fan base that yearns for more football.
Because here at NFLHouse.com we feel this league has a chance to blossom down the road, we will be your top source for the UFL season. As seen in this article and in future articles, we will go over first a quick recap of the two games per week. Also, we will including a player tracker with some notable names. These names include former NFL starters, notable rotational guys, former college greats, and some names that you may not have heard of but will be exemplified through this league.
Las Vegas Locos vs. California Redwoods
In the first ever game played in the UFL, probably the leagues biggest star had a very solid performance. JP Losman shined as the league’s most NFL prepared player, and with a recognizable name like a former 1st rounder and NFL starter, the league brought attention to itself before the first snap even occurred.
Still, this game was one of firsts. The first field goal was made by Graham Gano, a 33 yard shot to give the league its first points. Shane Boyd, quarterback for California, proceeded to score on a 4 yard TD run in the 2nd quarter to break the leagues touchdown barrier. And after a Cory Ross TD run, the Redwoods lead at the half by a score of 14-3.
The league’s star, Losman, staged a comeback and lead his team to score 24 unanswered point to start the 2nd half, with passes to Dede Dorsey and Aden Bergen. By the end of the game, the more talented team (on paper) won, as the Locos became the first undefeated team in league history on the shoulders of JP Losman.
Stars of the Week:
JP Losman, Las Vegas: 21-31 yards, 226 yards, 2 TDs, 1 Sack
Aden Bergen, Las Vegas: 4 catches, 66 yards, 16.5 YPC, 1 TD
Robert Herbert, California: 5 tackles, 7 total tackles
Florida Tuskers vs. New York Sentinels
While this game wasn’t televised, the link can still be found on the UFL site, www.ufl-football.com. These two teams don’t have the eye-popping talent, but they both are two of the more NFL-laden rosters. Both quarterbacks made starts in the NFL and were considered capable backups.
Quinn Gray was the first to strike in the QB duel, as he throw an early TD pass to former NFL player Craphonso Thorpe from Florida State. The next drive, Brooks Bollinger, QB for Florida, threw an interception that gave the Sentinels the ball at the one yard line. After two unsuccessful Cecil Sapp runs, the Sentinels fumbled the ball in the end-zone and the Tuskers recovered to swing the momentum boost in their favor.
Bollinger lead that drive to a touchdown and cut the deficit to 10-7. Gray was intercepted on the next drive, and Bollinger only needed one play to hit Taye Biddle on a 35 yard TD pass.
The Sentinels only managed to put up a field goal the rest of the game, while Bollinger finished the game with 4 scores and left week one as the best quarterback in the best offense in the league.
Stars of the Week:
Brooks Bollinger, Florida: 20-26, 225 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 2 Sacks
Tatum Bell, Florida: 15 rushes, 70 yards, 4.7 YPA, 1 TD
Simeon Rice, New York: 2 tackles, 1 sack for 7 yards
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