Florida Tuckers Remain Undefeated In 34-27 Win Over California Redwoods

Published on November 20, 2009 under United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 19, 2009) - The Florida Tuskers completed their undefeated run through the United Football League's regular season tonight by defeating the California Redwoods 34-27 before 6,837 fans at AT&T Park in San Francisco. A complete game book can be obtained [http://www.ufl-football.com/content/downloads/UFL_FLA_CA_Game_Book_0/UFL_FLA_CA_Game_Book.pdf] here.

The Tuskers will take their 6-0 record into the UFL Championship Game Friday, November 27th against the 4-2 Las Vegas Locomotives at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. (PST).

Michael Pittman's 1-yard touchdown plunge with six minutes remaining in the game proved to be the game-winner, though the outcome remained uncertain with less than two minutes to play. The Redwoods gave themselves one more chance to tie or win the game when defensive end Earl Cochran forced a fumble by Pittman, and nose tackle Jason Stewart recovered at the Florida 47-yard line.

After Redwoods quarterback Shane Boyd threw incomplete and then connected for 3 yards to wide receiver Glenn Holt, California was faced with 3^rd-and-7 from the Florida 44 with 2 minutes remaining. Tuskers defensive end Josh Cooper then put the game away by sacking Boyd and forcing a fumble that he recovered at the Redwoods' 48-yard line.

In one of the most entertaining games of the UFL's "Premiere" season, fans were treated to a variety of big plays and four lead changes. The game's first eight minutes featured two successful on-side kicks by Florida, a field goal and a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown by Stewart-a 320-pound nose tackle. His interception of Tuskers' quarterback Brooks Bollinger came on the first play after Florida had caught California by surprise with its first on-side kick, and gave the Redwoods a 7-3 lead.

After punting on their next possession, the Tuskers forced the Redwoods into a punt of their own, and Florida's Willie Andrews returned it 70 yards to the California 16-yard line. Bollinger hit wide receiver Taye Biddle for 15 yards on first down, and fullback Andrew Pinnock punched it in from there for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Tuskers a 10-7 lead.

Florida followed the touchdown with its second on-side kick of the first quarter and took possession at its own 48-yard line. The drive stalled, however, when Bollinger threw incomplete on a fourth-down attempt and California took over at its 45. The Redwoods moved into field goal range on Boyd's 20-yard completion to wide receiver Sonny Shackelford. After three straight running plays, kicker Parker Douglass capped a 6-play, 29-yard drive with a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.

Both offenses were explosive in the second quarter as Florida moved the ball 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown-a 1-yard run by Pittman-and 83 yards for a 20-yard Bryant field goal. California answered with touchdown drives of 70 and 71 yards. The first score came on a 7-yard pass from Boyd to wide receiver Doug Gabriel and the second on an 8-yard connection from Boyd to tight end Nate Lawrie, giving California a 24-20 halftime lead.

California used its momentum on the opening possession of the second half, taking the kickoff and driving 68 yards in 13 plays for a 26-yard Douglass field goal. The Redwoods' inability to turn a 1^st-and-goal situation into a touchdown was costly. Florida's defense responded by forcing three punts and two turnovers on California's remaining five possessions.

The Tuskers tied the game at 27-27 on the first play of the fourth quarter when Bollinger found wide receiver Jayson Foster for a 5-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 67-yard drive.

California appeared to be moving into position for a go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter, as Boyd converted a clutch 3^rd-and-9 play to Lawrie for 28 yards to the Florida 40-yard line. Three plays later, on 3^rd-and-3, Boyd tried to find Lawrie again but Tuskers cornerback Darius Vinnett jumped the route to intercept the pass and returned it 58 yards to the Redwoods' 8-yard line. From there, Pittman took over with runs of 5 yards, no gain and ultimately 1 yard for the score, and the 34-27 lead that would hold up over the final six minutes.

Bollinger finished the game completing 18 of 29 passes for 220 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Biddle again led the receiving corps with five receptions for 60 yards, while Foster caught three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Pittman was Florida's leading rusher with 58 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

For California, Boyd had his most effective game of the season in the finale, completing 23 of 35 for 287 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Lawrie caught a game-high six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, while Sonny Shackelford caught five passes for a game-high 110 yards.

The Redwoods outgained the Tuskers 351 yards to 298, and converted an impressive 46 percent of their third-down opportunities (7-15), but were hurt by eight penalties for 74 yards and two costly second-half turnovers. They finish their season 2-4, despite nearly pulling off victories over championship-game combatants Las Vegas and Florida in the past five days.

Below are quotes from tonight's post-game press conferences:

California Redwoods Head Coach Dennis Green Opening statement: "I think it was the third time this year we had a lead at halftime and couldn't score the sufficient number of points in the second half. The guys played hard, Florida is an excellent team and we have our moments where we can do some things but too many mistakes and we got after them and made some turnovers. Cory Ross was a little banged up and couldn't go so well but he is one of the top backs in the game. I think Dontarrious Thomas is one of the top linebackers in the game, particularly in this League. We had some other guys I thought who played really well. It's exciting to see what the NFL thinks about it, examining their rosters and seeing if they can improve. I wish we were still playing, we had every opportunity to do that and we just didn't do a good enough job, myself included."

Significance of the interception: "It was huge; you just don't give away points like that. We had the opportunity to score, that is a bang-bang play; it's tied and we're going in. In one play, they're going in. We were in a position to use the clock and kick a field goal or try to drive it all the way for a touchdown under those conditions, they are right there and ripe for the taking. "

Frustrating mistakes: "We're the youngest team in the league, I think sometimes we make more mistakes but other times we look like the best passing team in the League. When you make the kind of mistakes we made in the second half, it takes it away. We dropped a big play down the middle which should have been about a 40-yarder. One interception and takes it back to the house. There were some other things, last week we had a fumble into the end zone when we were going in to score and win the game. So those are some of the things that happened and unfortunately, we lost the game."

Shane Boyd: "He had some good plays, but I think the turnovers will hurt you as much as anything in a close ball game. You have to make smart plays. (On his fourth quarter interception),we were also in four down territory and what we had to do was get in the position for a field goal and we had about eight yards to go for that. If we didn't get the first down we would have still had third and fourth down to go for it."

Florida Tuskers Head Coach Jim Haslett On the game: "It's not typical the way we played. We made a lot of mistakes. We had too many turnovers. But we find a way to win. We've been doing that the last three weeks. I just wish we played better. They played extremely well, and we didn't play well so it was a combination of the two."

On the California Redwoods: "I think the Redwoods are the most improved team in the league by far. They do a lot of good things. Their quarterback has been playing better and it was a tough game. We knew that it would be (tough) coming in."

On remaining undefeated: "I think 6-0 is pretty good in anything you do, especially when you are playing seven (games). Six and 0 in any league, whether it's high school, college, NFL, is what you want to achieve. We need to get one more to top it off though. If we don't get that then it really doesn't make a difference."

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United Football League Stories from November 20, 2009


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