Orlando Guardians Game Notes at STL
April 19, 2023 - XFL (XFL)
Orlando Guardians News Release
Series Notes:
- First matchup between Orlando and St. Louis.
- Cross-division game. Orlando is 1-3 vs. North Division. St. Louis holds a 3-1 record vs. the XFL South Division.
- Final game of the 2023 season for Orlando, wrapping up a two-game road swing.
ORLANDO-ST. LOUIS PREVIEW
While Orlando is out of the hunt for a berth in the XFL South Division Championship game, this game will have plenty of impact on the North Division race.
St. Louis would clinch a spot in the XFL North Division Championship with a victory. Meanwhile, Seattle would still be alive for a berth in that game should Orlando defeat St. Louis. A St. Louis loss and a Seattle victory would result in a tie for second place in the North Division, meaning tie-breakers would determine which team advances.
The Guardians boast the league's No. 2 passing offense, while St. Louis is No. 4 in passing. The Guardians are No. 3 in the league in rushing offense, while St. Louis ranks No. 7.
Orlando quarterback Quinten Dormady is No. 4 in the XFL in yards per attempt at 7.3, while Battlehawks signal-caller A.J. McCarron is tied for No. 9 at 6.7 yards per attempt.
Saturday's game is slated for a Noon ET/11 a.m. CT kickoff and will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
SAN ANTONIO -- Down by eight late in the fourth quarter, the Orlando Guardians had a shot to tie the game, but failed to capitalize on a two-point conversion, as the San Antonio Brahmas escaped with a 25-23 win.
With 7:07 remaining in the contest, San Antonio defensive lineman Drew Beesley intercepted a Dormady pass intended for Darrington and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, extending the Brahmas' lead to 25-17.
Orlando looked for the comeback in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Guardians quarterback Deondre Francois connected with wide receiver Andrew Jamiel for a three-yard touchdown pass that slashed Orlando's deficit to 25-23. A two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game was just out of reach for Thomas on a pass from Dormady. The Brahmas ran out the clock, keeping the Orlando offense on the sideline.
San Antonio racked up 389 yards of offense, while Orlando was limited to just 264 yards. The Brahmas limited the Guardians to 110 passing yards.
SCORING EXPLOSION
Orlando and D.C. combined for the most points in the XFL this season in Week 7, a 37-36 victory for the Guardians over the Defenders with 73 points on the scoreboard.
For context, it was also the second-highest scoring game in any iteration of the XFL. The only previous game with more points in any version of the XFL was the final game played in the 2020 version before the pandemic shut the league down, as the LA Wildcats and Tampa Bay Vipers totaled 75 points in a 41-34 win for the Vipers.
Orlando is averaging 25.4 points per game in its last five games. The Guardians averaged just 12.3 points per contest in its first four.
CENTURY MARK FOR DARRINGTON
Devin Darrington's 133-yard performance rushing against San Antonio last week was the second-best single-game performance in the XFL so far this season.
Only three backs this season have eclipsed the 100-yard mark for a total of four times in 36 games.
1. 218 - Abram Smith (DC) at St. Louis (3.18.23)
2. 133 - Devin Darrington (Orlando) at San Antonio (4.15.23)
3. 127 - Abram Smith (DC) at San Antonio (4.1.23)
4. 103 - Morgan Ellison (Seattle) at Vegas (3.4.23)
SPREADING IT AROUND
Orlando quarterbacks spread the wealth when it comes to number of receivers to catch a pass. In nine games this season, Orlando has led the league in different players to record a reception five times.
In Orlando's Week 7 win over the Defenders, 11 different Guardians hauled in an aerial, the most for any team in an XFL game this season. Last week, nine receivers caught passes.
Orlando has two receivers with at least one reception in each game -- Eli Rogers and Charleston Rambo.
GIVE HIM 6 ... TIMES 6
Orlando quarterback Quinten Dormady was responsible for all six touchdowns scored by the Guardians in the Week 7 win over the Defenders.
The Guardians' signal-caller rushed for 3 touchdowns and threw for 3 more. It's the most touchdowns a single player has been responsible for all season.
Dormady's three rushing TDs in a game are tied for the best mark in the XFL this season. D.C. running back Abram Smith also had three rushing scores this season, accomplishing that feat on March 18 against St. Louis.
PUNTER PASSING YARDS
If you look at XFL statistics for passing yards per attempt, Orlando punter Mac Brown is ranked No. 1 after completing a 69-yarder on a fake punt last week. In fact, No. 2 is St. Louis punter Sterling Hofrichter with a 64-yarder.
Brown's completion came on a play called "Blandino," after XFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino. Blandino approved the play for the Orlando coaching staff after reviewing their plans for it, so it was affectionately named "Blandino."
QUARTERBACK NOTEBOOK
- Quinten Dormady is No. 2 in the XFL in completion percentage among players who have attempted a minimum of 100 passes. The Orlando signal-caller has completed 67.4 percent of his passes, going 122-of-181 for 1319 yards, with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
- Deondre Francois passed for his second touchdown of the season last week at San Antonio. His fourth-quarter TD pass to Andrew Jamiel pulled Orlando within two points late in the game.
- Dormady has been responsible for a streak of nine straight touchdowns that ended Saturday in San Antonio. He passed or rushed for all six in Week 7 vs. D.C., passed and rushed for one each vs. Arlington and passed for 1 at SA.
RUNNING BACK NOTEBOOK
- Devin Darrington's 59-yard run at San Antonio last week is the 2nd-longest rush in the XFL this season. His 133 yards rushing last week is No. 2 in the XFL.
- Darrington now ranks No. 6 in the XFL in rushing yards with 294, despite missing the first three games with an injury.
- Darrington's 4 rushing touchdowns this season rank No. 5 in the league.
- Jah-Maine Martin averages 4.1 yards per carry.
WIDE RECEIVER NOTEBOOK
- Charleston Rambo's 81-yard reception from Paxton Lynch in Week Four is the third-longest play from scrimmage this season in the XFL. He leads the Guardians' wideouts at 12.4 ypc. Five of Rambo's 30 receptions this season have gone for 20 yards or more.
- Ten different Guardians wide receivers have tallied receptions this season. Andrew Jamiel, Charleston Rambo, Eli Rogers, Dontez Byrd, Stephen Guidry, Deddrick Thomas, JaVonta Payton, Lance Lenoir, Dan Williams III and K.D. Cannon have all reached the box score.
- Four Guardians wide receivers have double-figure reception totals this season. Rambo (30), Eli Rogers (30), Deddrick Thomas (15) and Dan Williams (11).
TIGHT END NOTEBOOK
- Cody Latimer is proving to be a matchup nightmare for defenses. The former NFL wide receiver is No. 2 among all XFL receivers with 558 receiving yards and 47 receptions, despite missing last weeks' game.
- Latimer has nine receptions of 20 yards or more, also the most in the XFL this season.
- Jordan Thomas made an immediate impact for the Guardians. His first catch of the season went for a 15-yard TD vs. D.C. and he added another last week.
- Logan Carter has receptions in eight of nine games so far this season.
OFFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK
- The Guardians have had seven different starting units on the offensive line in their nine games so far this season. The lone player to start each game along the offensive line is Ze'Veyon Furcron (see Start Chart - p. 8).
- The Orlando offensive line has paved the way for the league's No. 3 rushing offense. The Guardians have 858 yards rushing on the season and their 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for No. 2 in the XFL.
LEAKY DEFENSE? CALL THE PLUMMER
Linebacker Terrance Plummer has emerged as a leader on the Guardians' defense, both verbally and through his play.
Plummer leads the team with 51 total tackles. He has recorded 5 tackles or more in 7 of 9 games this season. He has at least one TFL or sack in 6 of the Guardians' 8 games. He led the team with 10 stops last week at San Antonio.
DEFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK
- Caeveon Patton leads all XFL defensive linemen with 39 tackles, which ranks No. 20 overall in the league. He had a busy day in Vegas in Week 5, tallying a game-high 11 tackles vs. the Vipers, a single-game best for the Guardians.
- Jacoby Jones tallied a TFL (tackle for loss) at San Antonio last week. Jones is tied for No. 4 in the league with 8 TFLs.
- Stansly Maponga has 6 TFLs so far this season and recorded his first fumble recovery of the season last week vs. the Brahmas.
LINEBACKER NOTEBOOK
- Terrance Plummer ranks No. 1 on the team in total tackles with 51, which is No. 7 in the XFL. He leads the LBs with 4 TFLs. He has either a sack or a TFL in 6 of 8 games this season. Plummer had 10 stops last week.
- Terrance Smith is No. 2 on the team in total tackles with 41. He tallied 4 stops, 1 sack and a forced fumble last week at San Antonio.
- Tegray Scales has 21 tackles in 5 games played for Orlando with 9 last week.
DEFENSIVE BACK NOTEBOOK
- Najeem Hosein ranks No. 4 on the team with 32 total tackles.
- Matt Elam ranks No. 5 on the team with 28 total tackles.
- Najeem Hosein's interception vs. Seattle in Week 6 was Orlando's first since Week 1.
- Elam scored the first interception in team history (Week 1 vs. Houston).
- Marcus Murphy Jr. had the other Guardians' interception in Week 1, returning a third quarter pick 22 yards against Houston.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTEBOOK
- Placekicker Jose Borregales has made six straight field goal attempts. After missing his first two field-goal attempts this season, he has made his last four. He hit a season-best 52-yarder last week at San Antonio. His 52-yarder last week was the sixth longest field goal in the XFL this season.
- Punter Mac Brown is averaging 44.2 yards per punt in 7 games played. That average ranks No. 4 in the XFL. He has also pinned Orlando opponents inside the 20-yard line 8 times. He had a 60-yard punt last week at San Antonio to mark his longest kick of the season.
- Cameron Kaye joines the team and took over the longsnapping duties in Week 6. He has delivered 18 clean snaps in those 3 games (15 punts, 3 field goals).
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