(Photo by Rob Tringali / XFL.com)

After securing their first win of the season last weekend, the LA Wildcats flew out to the East Coast for a match-up with the underwhelming New York Guardians. Many Wildcats fans and some of the players came into the weekend confident, after finding their stride against the red-hot DC Defenders, but former Wildcat Luis Perez had other plans. Perez’s play as starting quarterback for the New York Guardians and several missed opportunities on special teams by the Wildcats ended up being the difference-maker in this tough match-up.

The game started with the New York Guardians being able to run and pass efficiently, chewing up the clock with long drives, thanks to Luis Perez (18/26, 150 yards) and Darius Victor (82 yards, 18 carries) having their way with the Wildcat Defense. The ‘Cats looked hungry for big plays like last weekend against the Defenders, but the lack of an effective pass rush (outside of DE Devin Taylor’s 1.5 sacks) exposed the pass coverage and led to lots of short catches with gains on the ground. The defense simply had a hard time bringing down the Guardians’ playmakers when they had the ball in their hands.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats started out 7-7 on passing plays, before stalling on the last drive of the half in an attempt to tie the game. Wildcats QB Josh Johnson didn’t have much time to work as the Guardians’ defense was able to get through the interior line, forcing pressured throws or improvised rollouts to the side. Even with WR Nelsen Spruce and RB Martez Carter inactive due to injury on offense, the Wildcats were still able to put up 330 yards through the air, and Tre McBride looked like a bonafide WR1 (8 receptions, 127 yards, 1 TD). The Wildcats offense also got notable production from WR Jordan Smallwood (5 receptions, 75 yards) and WR Saeed Blacknall, who came through with a 42 TD reception for his first score of the season.

However, while the passing game was strong, the team lacked a balanced attack, as the Wildcats were only able to manage 40 net rushing yards compared to the Guardians’ 122.

(Graphic by XFL.com)

Wildcats HC Winston Moss delivered a fiery halftime speech that even the XFL had to mute and shy away from, and the Wildcats came out of halftime looking inspired. Moss kept the energy through the half, and showed it during the 2nd possession, going for a 4th down conversion on the LA 28 (!!!). The resulting play was a deep shot down the field which drew a pass interference call, leading to a new set of downs. LA wasted no time and dialed up a big play, with Josh Johnson launching a 42-yard pass into the arms of Saeed Blacknall, and followed that up with a 2 point conversion to Jordan Smallwood.

Winston Moss before going for it on fourth down on his OWN 28.



L E G E N D pic.twitter.com/MCTUzljQx9— XFL (@xfl2020) February 29, 2020

The game was tied 14-14 going into the 4th quarter, when an interception by New York led to a new drive where RB Darius Victor was able to power his way into the range of Kicker Matthew McCrane. The NY Guardians went up 17-14, putting the ball back in the Wildcats’ hands to come back and tie the game. WR Tre McBride delivered the catch of the game and got the Wildcats within scoring distance.

However, the Guardians’ defense was able to stop the drive by harassing Josh Johnson in the backfield. Kicker Nick Novak came in to tie up the game and missed a 44-yard opportunity. This missed opportunity, paired with a blocked FG at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, ended up being all the difference in this tight East vs. West match-up.

Wildcats HC Winston Moss didn’t mince words after the game, saying “I thought we had our opportunities to win the game, and we did not take advantage of them.” After dealing with another tough loss, the Wildcats travel back to LA to recover and prepare to host a resurgent Tampa Bay Vipers squad, fresh off their first win of the season, during a prime time match-up on ESPN.

There is reason for hope next week. Through three weeks, XFL teams do their best work at home. The stats for Weeks 1-3 show that teams score the most points (and tend to win) when playing at home.

Plus, the Wildcats may be getting back two of their big offensive weapons from injury in WR Nelsen Spruce and RB Martez Carter.



Game 5 kicks off at 6 p.m. PST on Sunday, March 8th, 2020.