Orlando Guardians Game Notes
April 6, 2023 - XFL (XFL)
Orlando Guardians News Release
Series Notes:
¬Â¢ Renegades hold a 1-0 lead in the series, after a 10-9 victory over Orlando in Week 3.
¬Â¢ First of back-to-back games vs. North Division opponents the Guardians are chasing in the playoff hunt.
¬Â¢ This is the final game of a three-game homestand for Orlando and the final home game of 2023.
ORLANDO-ARLINGTON PREVIEW
Saturday afternoon's contest at Camping World Stadium is huge for both Orlando and Arlington as it pertains to the race for a berth in the XFL South Division Championship game.
Arlington is currently second in the division, with the top two teams in each division moving to the divisional championship game.
But Orlando faces the two teams in front of it in the standings and victories over the Renegades and San Antonio could put the Guardians in position for a berth in the divisional championship game with a win in St. Louis in Week 10.
It's the second matchup of the season between the Guardians and Renegades. Arlington edged Orlando 10-9 in Game 3 in Arlington.
Orlando is averaging 19.7 points per game, while Arlington scores 13.7. However, the Guardians are averaging 29.3 points per contest through its last three outings.
Saturday's game is slated for a 4 p.m. p.m. ET kickoff and willl be broadcast on ESPN.
LAST TIME OUT
ORLANDO -- The Orlando Guardians made history last week at Camping World Stadium. Not only did the Guardians pick up their first win in franchise history, but they did it against the previously-undefeated D.C. Defenders. The Guardians held on in a 37-36 offensive fireworks display.
Orlando took the lead for good with 8:50 remaining in the game. Cody Latimer came across the middle and took a Quinten Dormady pass 44 yards to give the Guardians a 37-36 lead. But it wasn't easy from there.
After forcing a punt on the next D.C. possession, the Guardians lost a fumble with 6:03 remaining in the game. But as the Defenders were driving for a potential go-ahead score, Stansly Maponga forced a fumble at the Orlando 23-yard line. The Guardians' offense was able to run all but 30 seconds off the clock. The Defenders had one last shot at victory, advancing to the Orlando 45-yard line with four seconds left. But D.C. kicker Matthew McCrane's 63-yard field goal attempt came up well short, setting off a wild celebration on the field for the Guardians.
SCORING EXPLOSION
For the second time this season, Orlando was part of the highest-scoring game in the XFL this season.
Unlike the last time the Guardians were part of the highest-scoring game, a 35-32 (67 points) loss at Vegas, Orlando was on the right side of this one with a 37-36 victory over the D.C. Defenders and 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.
WELCOME TO ORLANDO, FELLAS!
Tight end Jordan Thomas and wide receiver K.D. Cannon were signed by the Guardians on Monday, March 27. On Saturday, April 1 both played for Orlando and both made an immediate impact.
On their first receptions of the season, both scored touchdowns.
Cannon got the party started, scoring the Guardians' second touchdown of the game on a 41-yard scoring strike from Quinten Dormady. Thomas waited until the third quarter, but he made a circus catch over a D.C. defender for a 15-yard touchdown reception.
Both touchdown catches gave Orlando the lead when they were scored.
SPREADING IT AROUND
Orlando quarterbacks spread the wealth when it comes to number of receivers to catch a pass. In seven games this season, Orlando has led the league in different players to record a reception five times.
In last week's win over the Defenders, 11 different Guardians hauled in an aerial, the most for any team in an XFL game this season.
Orlando has three receivers with at least one reception in all each game -- Cody Latimer, 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 last week's 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.
FLAG ON THE PLAY
One of Orlando's biggest issues through the first six games was penalties. Coming into the game, Orlando was averaging 10.2 flags per game. Four of the six previous games had seen double-digit penalties against the Guardians.
In last week's win over D.C., Orlando trimmed that number to just six.
QUARTERBACK NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Quinten Dormady leads the XFL in completion percentage among players who have attempted a minimum of 100 passes. The Orlando signal-caller has completed 70.2 percent of his passes, going 85-of-121 for 969 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
¬Â¢ In his three games since returning to the team, Dormady is even hotter. In Weeks 5-7, he has completed 71 percent of his passes with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
¬Â¢ Paxton Lynch and Deondre Francois were both inactive last week, the first time those two signal-callers were both inactive for a game. Orlando's other QB last week was Quinton Flowers, who saw action on a conversion attempt.
RUNNING BACK NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Devin Darrington's 43-yard TD run vs. Seattle is the 3rd-longest rush in the XFL this season.
¬Â¢ Darrington's three rushing touchdowns this season are tied for No. 5 in the league, along with his teammate and quarterback Quinten Dormady.
¬Â¢ Jah-Maine Martin and Darrington each average 4.1 yards per carry.
¬Â¢ Martin was Orlando's leading rusher vs. DC, toting it 11 times for 52 yards.
WIDE RECEIVER NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ 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 tallied three catches for 63 yards last week and leads the Guardians' wideouts at 13.8 ypc. Five of Rambo's 24 receptions this season have gone for 20 yards or more.
¬Â¢ 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.
¬Â¢ Three Guardians wide receivers have double-figure reception totals this season. Rambo (24), Rogers (18) and Thomas (13).
Charleston Rambo
TIGHT END NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Cody Latimer is proving to be a matchup nightmare for defenses. The former NFL wide receiver is No. 1 among all XFL receivers with 488 receiving yards. Latimer is No. 2 in the league in receptions with 40.
¬Â¢ Latimer has eight receptions of 20 yards or more, tied with D.C.'s Lucky Jackson for the league lead in that category.
¬Â¢ Jordan Thomas made an immediate impact for the Guardians. His first catch of the season went for a 15-yard TD and he added an 11-yard reception as well.
¬Â¢ Logan Carter has receptions in six of seven games so far this season. Cody Latimer
OFFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ The Guardians have had six different starting units on the offensive line in their seven games so far this season. The lone player to start each game at his position along the offensive line is center Ze'Veyon Furcron.
¬Â¢ The Orlando offensive line has paved the way for the league's No. 2 rushing offense. The Guardians have 679 yards rushing on the season and their 9 rushing touchdowns are tied for No. 2 in the XFL as well.
LEAKY DEFENSE? CALL THE PLUMMER
Linebacker Terrance Plummer has emerged as a leader on the Guardians' defense, both verbally and through his play.
Plummer led the team in tackles in Week 4 vs. Houston with 7 and tallied 7 more the last two weeks. He has recorded 5 tackles or more in 5 of 7 games this season. He has at least one TFL or sack in 6 of the Guardians' 7 games. Gerald Willis
DEFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Caeveon Patton had a busy day in Vegas in Week 5. He recorded a game-high 11 tackles vs. the Vipers, a single-game best for the Guardians. He added six more tackles last week vs. D.C., leading the defensive line.
¬Â¢ Stansly Maponga and Jacoby Jones each tallied a pair of TFLs vs. D.C. Jones is tied for No. 4 in the league with 7 TFLs, while Maponga has 6.
¬Â¢ Gerald Willis made a huge play with a fumble recovery vs. D.C., getting the takeaway at the Orlando 23-yard line with four minutes left in the game.
LINEBACKER NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Terrance Plummer ranks No. 1 on the team in total tackles with 35. He leads the linebacker group with 4 TFLs and has also added 2 sacks. He has either a sack or a TFL in 6 of 7 games this season. He had 7 stops in the win vs. D.C.
¬Â¢ Terrance Smith is No. 2 on the team in total tackles with 34. He tallied 5 stops last week vs. the Defenders.
¬Â¢ Erroll Thompson has tallied 11 tackles this season in a reserve LB role.
DEFENSIVE BACK NOTEBOOK
¬Â¢ Matt Elam led the team with 8 total tackles, including 7 solo stops, last week vs. D.C. Elam has 19 total tackles for the season.
¬Â¢ Tye Smith has tallied 15 tackles in his four games as a Guardian.
¬Â¢ Najeem Hosein's interception vs. Seattle in Week 6 was Orlando's first since Week 1.
¬Â¢ 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
¬Â¢ Placekicker Jose Borregales has made four straight field goal attempts. After missing his first two field-goal attempts this season, he has made his last four. He hit a 26-yarder in the first quarter last week vs. Seattle and a season-best 50- yard bomb early in the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game, 20-19.
¬Â¢ Punter Mac Brown is averaging 44.5 yards per punt in five games played. That average ranks No. 4 in the XFL. He has also pinned Orlando opponents inside the 20-yard line five times.
¬Â¢ Cameron Kaye joines the team and took over the long- snapping duties in Week 6. He has delivered 10 clean snaps in those two games (8 punts, 2 field goals).
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