HOUSTON – Two teams looking for their first win of the season, and their first-ever United Football League win, met here at Rice Stadium Sunday, in a game where defense was king (at least in the first half).
In the second, the Houston Roughnecks’ offense led them to a 17-9 win over coach Bob Stoops’ visiting Arlington Renegades, leaving Stoops still searching for the 200th overall win of his coaching career.
Houston (now 1-3) has a big task next week: they get the unbeaten Birmingham Stallions (4-0). They’ll host Birmingham Saturday night at 7 p.m. Eastern / 6 Central on FOX.
Arlington drops to 0-4, and they’ll host San Antonio (3-1) at that same time next Saturday.
The Roughnecks had a slow start but would find their groove, led by the quarterback Reid Sinnett, who went 18-of-28 for 191 yards and a touchdown. He hit his guy, Cyril Grayson, three times for 62 yards, found Keke Chism four times for 30 yards, and Justin Hall four times as well for 35 yards.
The ground game wasn’t really a big factor, with Houston having just 76 rushing yards. Mark Thompson had 34 yards on nine carries and TJ. Pledger IV had 30 yards on 10 carries.
The defense helped, only allowing nine points to an Arlington team that has thrown the ball very well all season, in spite of the winless record.
Arlington honestly had a good showing in the loss. Quarterback Luis Perez, one of the league’s best signal-callers, had 144 yards passing on 15-of-28 completions, hitting Deontay Burnett four times for 58 yards and a score. He found Leddie Brown four times, as well, for 41 yards, and De`Veon Smith three times for 31 yards.
The run game was not much help to the Renegades either, as Houston held them to only 40 yards.
Tight end Sal Cannella for had 17 yards receiving on the first drive, but that’s all Arlington could manage on the game’s first drive, and had to punt.
The Roughnecks fumbled the ball on the return, though, and Arlington would recover at their own 21-yard-line. They would settle for a 31-yard field goal by Jonathan Garibay, giving the Renegades a 3-0 lead with 10:37 left in the first quarter.
Houston would take the kick back to their own 38, but couldn’t get going, a three-and-out. Arlington`s Juwan Manigo would return the punt for 12 yards, but their offense stalled, as well, and we had another punt.
Houston`s Justin Hall muffed the kick, but got it back, then fumbled it out of bounds at his own 34, with 6:39 left in the first quarter. Houston would then go three-and-out again.
You get the idea: the offenses for both teams just couldn’t get going.
On the next Arlington possession, Perez would throw a pick to Houston`s Kiondre Thomas and set the Roughnecks up on Arlington’s 40. Houston got a big pass from Sinnett to Anthony Ratliff-Williams, to Arlington’s 19, as the quarter ended.
Houston got a big run from Thompson to the Renegades’ 7-yard-line to open the second quarter, but ultimately settled for a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 3.
Arlington’s next drive ended on a failed fourth-down conversion, and the Roughnecks would take advantage of the fourth-down miss and go for 43 big yards threw the air, a pass Sinnett to Grayson, setting the ‘Necks up at the Arlington 21.
Looking to break the 3-3 tie, they would: a handful of plays later, they got into the end zone with a 3-yard pass from Sinnett to Emmanuel Butler.
The two-point conversion was good, and the Roughnecks took an 11-3 lead with 3:38 left in the half. That would eventually turn into the halftime score.
The Roughnecks took the second half kickoff, and went on an 11-play 70-yard march, and they capped it with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Thompson.
This time, though, the conversion would fail, leaving Houston up 17-3.
Arlington needed to score to have any chance to stay in the game, and did: a six-play, 41-yard drive, the clincher a 7-yard connection between Perez and Burnett for the score with 5:04 left in the third quarter. The key play on that drive: a 21-yard pass from Perez to Brown.
The Roughnecks would take the ball into the fourth quarter, trying to increase that lead with a 52-yard field goal by J.J. Molson, but Molson but would miss, wide left, leaving Houston up 17-9 with 12:34 remaining.
On the next Arlington drive, the Renegades were able to benefit from a big pass interference call and a huge 12-yard catch from Tyler Vaughns that put them at the Houston 23, but a big flag on fourth down would stop the drive and force a punt.
Houston took over with 8:11 left, and was able to run and bleed the clock down to almost the two-minute warning before having to punt back to the Renegades.
Arlington got a nice return on the punt, but a penalty brought them back to the 2-yard-line, meaning they’d have to go 98-yards for the score, of course.
Perez found Burnett for 21 yards on first down, with 1:26 left, then Burnett again for 25 more yards, giving them the ball at midfield.
A false start would back them up with only 36 seconds left. Perez dropped back and was stripped of the ball, and Houston’s Gabriel Sewell recovered, giving the Roughnecks possession. They were able to kneel out what was left of the clock, giving them their first win of the season.
