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AAF Alliance of American Football

Orlando Apollos Unbeaten Run over as Week 6 Alliance of American Football Action Begins

March 17, 2019 - Alliance of American Football (AAF) News Release


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Week six of The Alliance of American Football began with The Salt Lake Stallions securing a much-needed home victory over The Memphis Express to remain in the playoff hunt out West. In the night cap, The Orlando Apollos suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of The Arizona Hotshots.

"As we head into the second half of the season, every team will need to take their game to the next level in order to secure a playoff spot," said Charlie Ebersol, co-founder and CEO, The Alliance. "The standings are tight, every game matters. This will result in more exciting, high intensity matchups, like what we saw today in Orlando. The Hotshots and The Stallions came away with big wins to stay in the playoff hunt, and fans were highly engaged across The Alliance platforms. We expect this to continue over the coming weeks."

The Salt Lake Stallions bounced back from a heartbreaking week five loss with a 22-9 win over The Memphis Express, keeping their playoff hopes alive. Stallions QB Josh Woodrum started strong, finishing a five-minute, 75-yard drive with a touchdown pass to TE Nick Truesdell for an early 8-0 lead. Woodrum extended the Stallions lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass to TE Anthony Denham. Another successful two-point conversion made it 16-0 Stallions. Woodrum finished with 243 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Stallions TE Nick Truesdell finished with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. His playmaking ability was on display with an impressive 39-yard catch and run in the first quarter. In 2017, after multiple appearances in the Indoor Football League and Arena Football League, Truesdell was invited to the NFL Pro Player Combine - also known as veteran combine - where he impressed NFL scouts. He received nine contract offers, ultimately signing with the Minnesota Vikings. He was waived by the team before the season started and landed on the practice squad. Now, he's fighting for another shot at the NFL.

On the first play from scrimmage for The Express offense, QB Zach Mettenberger was sacked by Stallions DE Karter Schult and forced to leave the game with an ankle injury. Backup QB Brandon Silvers stepped in and threw for 242 yards and a touchdown. Express WR Reece Horn became the first 100-yard receiver in team history, finishing with eight catches for 129 yards. It wasn't enough to overcome a stout Stallions defense, which tallied seven sacks and forced three fumbles.

The Arizona Hotshots handed The Orlando Apollos their first loss of the season, holding on to a 22-17 road victory. The Hotshots defense held the league's top ranked offense to its lowest scoring output of the season and LB Steven Johnson recorded the first interception of Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert's Alliance career. In the first half, Hotshots K Nick Folk hit two field goals of over 50 yards (55 and 53) to tie the game 6-6. A nine-yard touchdown pass from QB John Wolford to RB Jhurell Pressley gave The Hotshots a 14-9 lead at the half. Pressley's second touchdown of the day, a one-yard run with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter that put The Hotshots up 22-17, proved to be the game winner.

Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert brought The Apollos back in the second half, throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to WR Jalin Marshall that gave The Apollos a three-point lead in the fourth quarter. It was a lead they were unable to hold, as Hotshots DE Rykeem Yates sacked Gilbert to force a fourth down and give the ball back to The Hotshots for the game-winning drive. The Hotshots move to 3-3 in the Western Conference, one game back of The Fleet and The Commanders in the standings. The Hotshots face The Fleet in week seven action.

Tune in tomorrow as The San Antonio Commanders take on The Atlanta Legends, who will be looking for its third consecutive win, at 4:00pm ET on CBS Sports Network. The Birmingham Iron look to end The San Diego Fleet's home unbeaten record at 8:00pm ET on NFL Network.

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Alliance of American Football Stories from March 17, 2019


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.


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