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Florida Tuskers End Losing Streak With 33-20 Victory Over Hartford Colonials To Get Back To .500

October 9, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1) News Release


EAST HARTFORD, CT - Trailing by three points at halftime, the Florida Tuskers didn't change their defensive philosophy in the second half of their United Football League contest with the Hartford Colonials at Rentschler Field Saturday.

"It was just about playing hard defense and flying to the ball," Florida coach Jay Gruden said.

In a span of 4:33, the Tuskers (2-2) forced two turnovers and scored 10 points to seize control of the contest and snap a two-game losing streak with a 33-20 victory over Colonials before 14,468 fans.

The game was tied at 13-13 early in the third quarter when the Tuskers stripped Colonials quarterbacks Ryan Perrilloux and Josh McCown of the ball on consecutive possessions, recovering both fumbles, leading to 10 Florida points.

The Tuskers forced five Hartford fumbles and recovered three. They also intercepted McCown and sacked him four times for 27 yards.

"We weren't desperate because we know what we can do as a team," said Florida defensive end Patrick Chukwurah, who recovered a key fumble in the third quarter and sacked McCown twice in the fourth quarter. "We lost the previous two games because we didn't finish. So we knew, we had to come out and finish."

Florida had lost two games in a row, including a 20-17 loss to Las Vegas a week ago on a 21-yard field goal as time expired.

After giving up 212 yards of total offense to the Colonials in the first half, the Tuskers allowed just 93 yards and one touchdown in the final two quarters.

"The defensive line sold the deal and the secondary stepped up in their time of need," Gruden said.

With the game tied at 13-13 with 5:55 left in the third quarter, Florida's Eric Moore stripped Perrilloux of the ball and teammate McKinley Boykin pounced on it at the Hartford 19-yard line. Florida drove to the Colonial seven but Hartford stiffened, allowing just one yard on the next three plays.

Florida's Eric Novak, who set a new UFL single-game record with four field goals and 15 points scored, hit his third field goal of the game from 24 yards away for a 16-13 lead with 2:37 remaining.

The Tuskers didn't let up. On Hartford's next possession, Florida's Claude Wroten sacked McCown for a five-yard loss, which jarred the ball loose. Chukwurah outfought Colonials guard Issac Sowells for the fumble, giving Florida the ball on the Hartford 33-yard line.

"He had it but I took it away," Chukwurah admitted with a grin. "I just got up quickly with the ball."

A pass interference call on Hartford defensive back Ryan Palmer moved the ball to the Colonials two-yard line. Florida quarterback Brooks Bollinger found Jermaine Wiggins in the back of the end zone with 56 seconds remaining for the touchdown and a 23-13 lead.

Hartford (1-2) tried to rally. They drove 67 yards on seven plays, scoring on a fourth-and-goal from its one-yard line with 9:11 remaining on a touchdown pass from McCown to Ronnie Ghent, who outjumped two defenders for the ball. Florida had stopped Hartford on consecutive runs from the one-yard line.

But Hartford's defense had been pushed too much on this day. Florida marched 60 yards on 13 plays to take a 26-20 lead on Novak's 26-yard field goal with 2:29 remaining. Running back Dominic Rhodes ran for 43 of his game-high 99 yards on the drive, while Bollinger completed a key seven-yard pass to Cortez Hankton on third down and four at the Florida 39 with about five minutes remaining.

When Hartford finally got the ball back, McCown was sacked twice by Chukwurah and the Colonials turned the ball over on downs. Rhodes added a 16-yard touchdown run - his league-leading fourth rushing touchdown with 1:53 remaining to ice the contest.

"Any time, you turn the ball over four times and commit seven penalties, you're going to have a difficult time," Hartford coach Chris Palmer said. "We came back in the fourth quarter and we played hard but we didn't get any points when we needed to down the stretch."

Four sacks was a season-high for the Tuskers, who have a league-leading 11 sacks in four games. The Colonials were penalized seven times for a team-record 115 yards. Four turnovers was a team record for Hartford.

Florida led 10-3 in the second quarter before Hartford scored 10 unanswered points. Gerard Lawson intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards with 2:13 remaining in the second quarter to give the Colonials a 13-10 halftime lead.

Hartford marched 96 yards on its first drive of the game to the one-yard line. But Andre Dixon fumbled the ball, which was recovered by a teammate, and a potential touchdown pass from McCown to Markee White was no good when White could only get one foot down in the end zone.

Novak also hit field goals from 19, 42 and 38 yards. Bollinger completed 16-of-34 passes for 167 yards, one interception and one touchdown pass. Wiggins caught four passes for 18 yards and a touchdown.

For Hartford, McCown completed 18 of 36 passes for 223 yards, a touchdown and one interception. Lorenzo Booker caught five passes for 32 yards while Patrick Carter caught four receptions for 79 yards. Booker led the Colonials in rushing with 45 yards on six carries. Florida limited Dixon to 24 yards on 11 carries.



United Football League Stories from October 9, 2010


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