CARSON, Calif. – Despite a slow start, several turnovers, and an injury-ridden game, the LA Wildcats pulled off a 41-34 victory over the Tampa Bay Vipers on Sunday night during week five of the XFL season.
“We talk a lot about belief, believing in each other, and not necessarily chasing the wins or loses; you are just playing for your brother,” said Coach Winston Moss about the win. “You work hard, you have fun, and good stuff normally happens. As long as we stay in a brotherhood mindset, that’s tough to beat.”
But in the beginning, a win didn’t seem possible. On the first drive of the game, Josh Johnson threw an interception setting up the Vipers for a field goal by No. 10 Jake Schum to put three points on the board.
“The first play, things happen, it’s not always going to be perfect,” claimed quarterback Josh Johnson when asked about the interception. “It was a test for us, and we just had to respond”
And respond they did but after two more Wildcat turnovers. Jordan Smallwood provided a glimmer of hope when he caught the ball and ran for fifty- three yards setting up No. 26 DuJuan Harris to score the first Wildcats touchdown. Then a fumble by No. 15 Tre McBride set the stage for a Viper touchdown bringing the score to Tampa Bay 24, LA Wildcats 6 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
And that’s when the ‘brotherhood’ bonded together.
Within minutes, the LA Wildcats scored not one, but two touchdowns from No. 88 De’Quan Hampton and No. 80 Brandon Barnes. And despite the Vipers dominating on defense and special teams, gaining 15 points off of turnovers in the first two quarters, the Wildcats only trailed by four points going into the half with a score of 24-20.
“Keep doing what you are doing, we are in this thing, you guys are learning how to play through adversity,” said Coach Moss of the pep talk he gave in the locker room at the half. “We’ve got the momentum, keep having fun, keep playing loose, and we will get this one.”
The ‘brotherhood’ rally continued in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown by No. 15 Tre McBride, despite suffering a hip injury earlier in the game, and culminated in the fourth quarter with a strip-sack of Vipers quarterback No. 4 Taylor Cornelius that was recovered by Linebacker No. 91 Boogie Roberts who ran the ball in for a touchdown.
“Ya’ know, it’s every fat boy’s dream to get in the end zone,” said Roberts when asked about the moment. “I saw the ball on the ground, and it was just like practice. Shout out to Cedric Reed, he got the sack, and without him, there wouldn’t have been a fumble, so it was a team effort.”
When it was all said and done, the LA Wildcat’s “brotherhood” prevailed overtaking the Tampa Bay Vipers 41-34. The Wildcats now stand 2-3 halfway through the season, and we’ll see if the ‘brotherhood’ can stand-up against the Seattle Dragons when they play next week on Sunday, March 15th at 4 pm PT at CenturyLink Field.
Written by Deborah Whitcas
