ARLINGTON, TEXAS — It was a rematch of the 2023 XFL championship game, however there was a different result Saturday afternoon as the DC Defenders took down the Arlington Renegades 29-28 in a wild finish.
The Renegades had a 28-18 lead with under two minutes left when Defenders returner Chris Rowland took the kickoff all the way to the Renegades 35-yard line, putting the offense in prime position to score quickly. They did so to cut the lead to two before converting the 4th and 12 alternate kickoff conversion. The very next play, Renegades CB Duron Lowe had a prime opportunity to seal the deal with an interception but it slipped right thru his hands. Instead, it landed in the hands of Defenders receiver, Kelvin Harmon as he took it to the 26-yard line. From there it was enough for Matt McCrane to hit a 49-yard FG as time expired.
After the game Renegades Coach Bob Stoops pointed out a couple plays that didn’t go their way stating “our execution wasn’t good enough.”
Despite the loss, Renegades QB Luis Perez had a productive day, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Tyler Vaughns 9 times for 109 yards and 1 TD. In addition to that, backup QB Lindsey Scott Jr. energized the offense, converting a 3rd down on three different occasions, one including a 13-yard rushing TD. He spoke on the spark plug that he is for the offense stating he, “being that…6th man that comes off the bench and hits the dagger that hurts.”
Penalties were a big factor to the Renegades downfall, as the Renegades committed nine of them for 75 yards.
The Renegades now sit at 0-3 as they head back to the drawing board. After that, they will head to Houston to take on the Roughnecks next Sunday, a rematch of last year’s playoff game
