HOUSTON (Florida Sports Wire) – The Orlando Guardians dropped their XFL season opener, suffering a 33-12 loss to the Houston Roughnecks Saturday night at TDECU Stadium.
Orlando opened the scoring when quarterback Paxton Lynch threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cody Latimer less than five minutes into the contest. Orlando’s 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Guardians on top 6-0.
Houston answered with a touchdown drive of its own with under three minutes left in the first quarter when QB Brandon Silvers located Jontre Kirklin for a 10-yard touchdown pass that evened the score at 6-6.
The Roughnecks added 15 points in the second quarter and 21 straight after Orlando took a 6-0 lead. Silvers connected with Deontay Burnett for a 48-yard touchdown and Max Borghi scored on a 27-yard run before a 33-yard field goal extended the Roughnecks’ lead to 21-6 going into halftime.
The Roughnecks made it 24 straight points with another 33-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Guardians looked to mount a comeback. With 6:40 left in the game, Quinten Dormady fired a 51-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Jamiel to cut Orlando’s deficit to 24-12.
But Houston added another touchdown and a field goal en route to a 33-12 victory over the Guardians.
Paxton Lynch was 15-of-21 passing for 136 yards and one touchdown, while Quinten Dormady was 12-of-18 passing for 142 yards and one touchdown. Silvers finished the contest with 265 passing yards, completing 26 of 42 throws.
GAME NOTABLES: Latimer hauled in five passes for 68 yards, including a 27-yard TD catch from Lynch in the first quarter…Jamiel caught three passes for 80 yards, including a 51-yard TD catch from Dormady in the fourth quarter…Martin led the team in rushing with nine carries for 41 yards, while Kelvin Taylor followed with five carries for 28 yards….Nick Coe and Shaquille Wiggins led the Guardians with six total sacks each, while Tegray Scales tallied five…Eli Rogers and Charleston Rambo recorded four receptions each for 42 yards and 22 yards, respectively…Matt Elam and Marcus Murphy registered one interception each..defensive end Jacoby Jones registered three tackles, including 2.0 tackle for loss.
(Thanks to Andy Seeley, Dir of Team Communications/Media Relations, XFL Orlando Guardians)
