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Record Margin Of Victory Keeps Mountain Lions In Contention For Championship Game

November 14, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Sacramento Mountain Lions News Release


SACRAMENTO, CA - Saturday, November 13 - Sacramento kept its championship hopes alive in emphatic fashion Saturday night. And now the Mountain Lions can only wait and watch.

Sacramento beat the Omaha Nighthawks 41-3, eliminating the Nighthawks from UFL Championship Game contention. Sacramento (4-4), which concluded its regular season, now needs Omaha (3-4) to defeat Florida (4-3) next week to advance to the UFL Championship Game against Las Vegas (5-2). Sacramento owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Florida and Omaha.

"I'm praying and hoping that Omaha comes out with a lot of pride and puts it on Florida so we can get to the championship," Sacramento quarterback Daunte Culpepper said after the game. "I told (Omaha quarterback Jeff Garcia) go play, go play for the love of the game and hopefully you get a win."

Culpepper and the Sacramento offense used an early trick play and more than 200 passing yards in the first half en route to a 20-3 halftime lead.

On the opening play from scrimmage, Culpepper took a flea flicker from running back Cory Ross and found receiver Taye Biddle for a 59-yard catch. Biddle was wide open down the right sideline, but Culpepper's pass was slightly under-thrown, allowing cornerback Ricardo Colclough to catch up and make the tackle. Four plays later, Ross ran 5 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the season.

Mountain Lions linebacker Prince Kwateng recovered the ensuing kickoff, which kicker Fabrizio Scaccia perfectly pooched to the 25-yard line, where both teams converged on the live ball. Three plays later, Scaccia kicked a 36-yard field goal. Scaccia added a 41-yard field goal to open the second quarter.

Omaha's lone first-half score came on a Jeff Wolfert 28-yard field goal with 10:31 remaining in the half.

Sacramento closed the half's scoring with a Culpepper 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tyler Clutts as Culpepper play-actioned to Ross, drawing in the linebackers and allowing Clutts to roll into the flat for the score.

Ross opened the second-half scoring with the longest run from scrimmage in the UFL's two-year history, scoring on a 75-yard burst. The Sacramento running back finished the game with 125 rushing yards on 11 carries and 39 receiving yards on six catches. He now has a league-best 56 catches on the season.

"He gets better as the season goes on," Sacramento coach Dennis Green said of Ross. "He always has. I think it's part of coming from Nebraska, where things are hard-nosed and tough. By the time November comes around it's cold and the ground's hard and they have their best games coming up. Cory always played well at the end of the year, and he still does that."

Sacramento backup running backs Steve Baylark, with a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and John David Washington, who tagged on a 2-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, capped the offensive onslaught.

The 38-point victory is the largest margin of victory in UFL history.

Additional Press Conference Quotes

Omaha coach Jeff Jagodzinski On Saturday's loss

"We got outplayed. And I'll tell you it started right at the beginning of the game."

"I told our team that turning the ball over, you're going to have a tough time winning the game. We have to find a way to block better, tackle better. We just had to play better."

On the three-game losing streak

"We're not playing discipline ball right now. We're turning the ball over and, as I mentioned before, that's not something you can do and win games. You just cant. You just wont. And that's happened the last three games. But here's the positive: We have one game left and we're going back to Omaha to play in front of the best crowd in this league.

Sacramento coach Dennis Green On Saturday's win

"This was clearly our best game of the year. I thought we had our best practice going into it. We had our back against the wall. We let a couple games get away earlier this year."

On the Sacramento fans

"The crowd was phenomenal. I'm just proud if this community who gets it, who feels that these are guys who are worth getting behind. It's a community team. Everyone comes out -- 20,000 -- and has fun, and really enjoys the game. It helps us realize were in the big time."

On Cory Ross

"He gets better as the season goes on. He always has. I think it's part of coming from Nebraska, where things are hard-nosed and tough. By the time November comes around it's cold and the ground's hard and they have their best games coming up. Cory always played well at the end of the year, and he still does that."

On Daunte Culpepper

"He played real steady, made some audible calls when he needed to, and provided great leadership on the field."

On safety Andrew Sendejo

"If there is a defensive player of the year, Sendejo needs to be in that category."

On the potential championship game

"Right now we're a pretty dangerous team. I think we're playing as good as anyone in the league right now at this stage in the season.

Daunte Culpepper On Saturday's win

"You want to start fast to get momentum and build on it. We were able to do that tonight.

On next week's game between Omaha and Florida, which determines Sacramento's championship game berth

"I'm praying and hoping that Omaha comes out with a lot of pride and puts it on Florida so we can get to the championship. I told (Omaha quarterback Jeff Garcia), go play, go play for the love of the game and hopefully you get a win."



United Football League Stories from November 14, 2010


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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