Destroyers Earn First Win In Team History In United Football League Debut
September 16, 2011 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Virginia Destroyers News Release
OMAHA, NE - Capitalizing on the opportunities presented to them in the 2011 United Football League season opener and first game in team history, the Virginia Destroyers claimed an historic 23-13 victory over the Omaha Nighthawks in front of 15,836 fans at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Marty Schottenheimer, the sixth winningest coach in NFL history, marked his first game at the helm of a UFL franchise with a victory as his Destroyers pounced on Nighthawks turnovers and penalties.
"I think it was a terrific performance by our football team," said Schottenheimer. "We had some opportunities to make some big plays, and while we failed to do it at times, we made enough that gave us the opportunity to come out with the victory.
"I was particularly pleased with our ability to run the football on the offensive side and I thought we did some good things. We had four or five throws that were just a hair off, but I thought for the most part Chris Greisen did a terrific job for us."
Running back Dominic Rhodes became the all-time touchdown-scoring leader in UFL history, adding an end zone dash to the 10 times he broke the plain for the Florida Tuskers last season.
Making the transition from boardroom to sideline, former TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia was unable to guide his home Omaha team to a win in their new home, despite some promising signs in the second quarter.
"I'm not sure anyone else beat us, but our penalties and turnovers lost the game tonight," said Moglia.
"The field goal before halftime was off a turnover. We were moving the ball, turned it over, they got the ball and kicked a field goal. To me it is less about the three points and far more about our making the mistakes that gave them those opportunities.
"It would have been easy for a team to quit under those circumstances tonight. We weren't able to get it done tonight, and our goal is still to put a team on the field that Omaha will be proud of and while we weren't able to get it done, we did give it everything we had tonight."
Former Nebraska hero and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Eric Crouch, who started for the Nighthawks and shared time with rookie Jeremiah Masoli, said of his return to the field: "Overall it was good just to break the ice and play in the game, but obviously the dropped passes and turnovers hurt us.
"In a system like we have, the quarterbacks are going to be running and are going to be hit, so two quarterbacks have to be ready to go. One of the major things I saw tonight was that our offense spluttered and I'm going to be focused on getting the ball into the end zone."
The Destroyers did just that, but not until after the opening 15 minutes was controlled by the defenses with both teams combining for just 114 yards total offense and no points.
The second quarter saw 24 points put on the board and the visiting Destroyers edged ahead first, putting together a three-play, 81-yard drive to strike with 11:08 left in the opening half. After a 5-yard run by Rhodes, Virginia quarterback Chris Greisen connected with Aundrae Allison for a spectacular 73-yard pass and catch, the longest single play of the half.
Rhodes then scored the first touchdown of the season and significantly in Destroyers history, forcing his way across the goal line after a 3-yard run before Delbert Alvarado tagged on the extra point.
Omaha put together their own scoring drive on the very next possession, using a 70-yard drive to knot the game at seven. Led by quarterback Masoli, the Nighthawks momentum was kept alive with an 11-yard run by Shaud Williams and was capped off by an 18-yard pass from Masoli to Chad Jackson. Masoli became only the second rookie quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in the UFL, joining Ryan Perrilloux, who threw a scoring toss for the Hartford Colonials last season.
Greisen then orchestrated a 14-play, 62-yard drive, ending with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half to put the Destroyers up 14-7 with a 5-yard end zone pass to Bill Latsko. No play in the scoring drive went for more than 10-yards, as the Destroyers combined four runs by Rhodes with 10 completions by Greisen.
A Jerome Carter interception of Crouch ended the Nighthawks' threat to even the score in the half. The Destroyers pounced and added a 42-yard Alvarado field goal with 14 ticks left on the clock to take a 17-7 lead into the locker room.
The Destroyers put up the first threat of the second half, marching downfield and setting up for a 23-yard field goal attempt by the Alvarado. Ricardo Colclough of the Nighthawks had other ideas, rushing off the near side and blocking the attempt to keep the game at 17-7.
After an exchange of possessions, which included another Destroyers interception, this time by Tony Taylor on the 18-yard line, Virginia added to their lead. The Omaha defense kept Greisen and company out of the end zone, but a 22-yard field goal by Alvarado extended the lead to 20-7.
Virginia continued to make the most of Nighthawk miscues. After Crouch fumbled a handoff on the Nighthawks 35-yard line, the visitors marched downfield, using a 26-yard pass interference penalty on Demarcus Faggins and 21 yards on four more Rhodes carries to set up another 20-yard field goal by Alvarado.
Omaha put together the final scoring drive of the night, starting on their own 8-yard line, but the comeback attempt came with too little time on the clock. Masoli completed three consecutive passes and ran for a first down, moving the Nighthawks down the far sideline, approaching midfield. Omaha moved into Destroyers territory, completing the pass to Chris Davis and a 16-yard completion to Greg Orton put the Nighthawks on the five-yard line before Masoli scored on a quarterback keeper with 1:22 left in the game.
A failed two-point conversion left the score at 23-13 as the Destroyers took a knee to run out the clock.
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United Football League Stories from September 16, 2011
- Destroyers Earn First Win In Team History In United Football League Debut - Virginia Destroyers
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