Colonials Finish Season Strong With 27-14 Victory Over Championship Bound Locos
Published on November 20, 2010 under United Football League (UFL 1)
Hartford Colonials News Release
EAST HARTFORD, CT - Saturday, November 20 - The 2010 United Football League championship game is less than one week away and Las Vegas Locomotive head coach Jim Fassel isn't a happy man.
His defending UFL champion Locos dropped their second straight game Saturday in a disappointing 27-14 loss to the Hartford Colonials at Rentschler Field. And Fassel has no idea who he will start at quarterback next Saturday when Las Vegas (5-3) takes on the Florida Tuskers (5-3) at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. Locos starting quarterback Chase Clement threw three interceptions, two that were returned for touchdowns. A fumbled snap that lost six yards helped set up Hartford's first scoring drive.
Clement made his professional start because of the strong performance he had in relief of Drew Willy in an overtime loss two weeks ago against Sacramento. In that game, Clement helped the Locos erase a 19-point deficit by leading them to three touchdown scores.
Willy played the fourth quarter in relief of Clement against the Colonials and looked sharp, completing 10-of-16 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
"It's definitely up the air," Fassel said of his quarterback situation. Asked when he would decide on a starter, he said, "I don't know. Perhaps after a good night's sleep and a lot of thinking."
After getting off a 5-1 start and clinching a spot in the UFL championship game, Las Vegas has lost two straight. In two losses, they've turned the ball over six times.
"Our formula for winning isn't that hard," Fassel said. "It's not that we're the best team. At the end of the day, we win games because we play smart, we don't turn the ball over, we get turnovers and we play well on special teams. In the last two games, we've handed teams leads and that is hard to overcome."
In an overtime loss to Sacramento, the Mountain Lions took advantage of three fumbles to build a quick 21-0 lead. On Saturday against the Colonials, Clement threw a pair of interceptions in the first half to help Hartford built a 13-0 lead.
The Colonials (3-5) finished with two wins in the last three games. And Colonial players and fans can only wonder about what slipped away this year. Hartford dropped a one-point decision to Omaha in week two and fell in overtime to Las Vegas in October. A week ago, Hartford was eliminated from the playoff race with an embarrassing 35-point loss to Florida.
"I was very proud of the guys," Hartford coach and general manager Chris Palmer said. "They could have the car running in the parking lot (to return home). They came out and played and did a nice job."
Defensive tackle Jonas Seawright said, "We played for each other."
Hartford did play without its leading rusher Lorenzo Booker (410 yards rushing, 650 total yards). He was upset over the decision by UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue that would require the National Football League teams to pay a $150,000 transfer fee for players to sign with an NFL team before their UFL contracts expire on February 1. There is no transfer fee for players to join an NFL practice squad.
"He wasn't comfortable with the situation and didn't want to play," Palmer said.
"That is his prerogative. If you're going to play this game, you have to have your heart and soul into it whether your're coaching or playing. It has to be a 100 percent effort."
Palmer got a 100 percent effort from the Colonials, who didn't have a turnover for the first time this season.
Leading 3-0, Hartford's Danny Lansanah intercepted Clement and returned the ball 48 yards to give the Colonials a 10-0 lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half.
On Las Vegas' next drive, Clement was picked off again by Hartford safety Tra Battle, who raced in to grab the underthrown pass. The Colonials responded with an 14 play, 61-yard drive that concluded with Sam Swank hitting his second field goal of the game from 20 yards away for a 13-0 lead.
Clement completed just one of his first six passes, lost six yards on a fumbled snap and threw two interceptions.
Still, after a dismal first half, Las Vegas put themselves in position to contend. Clement led Las Vegas on a quick, four play touchdown drive that ended with DeDe Dorsey scoring from the seven-yard line with 45 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 13-7. The drive began with Clement completing a 37-yard pass to Andrae Thurman.
Hartford got the ball back and scored on a 39-yard bomb from quarterback Josh McCown to 6-foot-5 Tyson DeVree in the end zone with no time left on the clock.
DeVree outjumped two of his own teammates and three Loco defenders for the ball. That gave Hartford a 20-7 lead.
"When the quarterback is out of the pocket, it's not pass interference to knock down the receiver until the ball goes into the air," Fassel said.
Hartford extended its lead to 27-7 when Quintin Demps returned an interception 73 yards with 11:32 remaining in the third quarter. Clement's pass deflected off the hands of Dorsey right to Demps. Clements was able to run the ball, scrambling for team-leading 57 yards on five carries. Dorsey ran for 45 yards on 10 carries.
McCown completed 7-of-14 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Colonials.
Markee White pulled in five passes for 45 yards while DeVree caught two balls for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Tory Harrison rushed for 45 yards on 14 carries while former University of Connecticut star Andre Dixon returned to the lineup and ran for 42 yards on 13 carries. The Colonials picked up a key first down on a four-yard run by Ryan Perrilloux to help cement the victory.
Hartford drew a team record 14,554 fans for its season finale. In four games this season, the Colonials averaged 14,366 fans at Rentschler Field.
United Football League Stories from November 20, 2010
- Colonials Finish Season Strong With 27-14 Victory Over Championship Bound Locos - Hartford Colonials
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
