Locos drop opener to Tuskers in rematch of ’09 finale

Taking advantage of a seldom-called rule, the Florida Tuskers avenged their overtime loss to Las Vegas in the 2009 United Football League championship game.

The Tuskers gained a 27-20 victory over the Locomotives on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium in the opener of the second UFL season before an announced crowd of 9,103.

Trailing 10-7 early in the second quarter, the Tuskers had just forced a fumble by Locos quarterback Tim Rattay and were driving for a go-ahead touchdown when running back Dominic Rhodes fumbled at the Las Vegas 1 on third down and the Locos' C.J. Wallace recovered.

However, the play immediately was placed under review and the replay revealed the Locos were guilty of an illegal defense; UFL rules do not permit more than six defensive players to attack the line of scrimmage.

While the rule is in place to protect quarterbacks, it seems to also apply to running backs. The Locos were flagged for a personal foul, giving the Tuskers first-and-goal. Rhodes dived in from the 1 on the next play and Florida went ahead, 14-10.

The call angered Locos coach Jim Fassel, who went on a tirade against the officials that would have made Lou Piniella proud, complete with tossing his hat in disgust.

The Locos tied it 17-17 midway through the third quarter when Rattay connected with fullback Bobby Rome for a 1-yard touchdown. But the Tuskers came up big just before the end of the quarter when Brooks Bollinger threw a 66-yard scoring strike down the right side to Calvin Russell, putting the Locos in a 10-point hole from which they couldn't recover.

Bollinger had a big night, completing 22 of 37 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns.

The game started well for the Locos as Las Vegas linebacker Teddy Lehman picked off Bollinger at the Florida 25 5:52 into the game and ran it back for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. A 32-yard field goal by Parker Douglass with 2:40 left in the quarter made it 10-0.

But Florida scored 17 unanswered points, led 17-10 at halftime and was still ahead by a touchdown, 27-20, with 4:49 remaining in the game.