Locos eager to clinch bid in UFL final

With only four teams in the United Football League, it's easy to determine who's in good shape to reach the one-game postseason and who's not.

The playoff picture is simple as the second half of the season begins today. If the Locomotives (2-1) win at Omaha (1-2) and Virginia (3-0) beats Sacramento (0-3), Las Vegas would meet the Destroyers in the UFL title game in a bid for its third consecutive league championship.

The best Omaha could do would be a tie for second place with the Locos, who would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The championship game is Nov. 5 at a site to be determined.

Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel is taking nothing for granted, but knows that today's 5 p.m. PDT game at Omaha, Neb., is a win-and-in scenario.

"Our goal has been to defend our championship," he said. "Winning in Omaha would go a long way in helping us try to achieve that goal. But we're going to have to play better than we did last week. We have to finish off drives and not take unnecessary penalties."

In a 30-10 victory over Omaha last week at Sam Boyd Stadium, the Locos had three drives stall inside the Nighthawks 20-yard line and settled for field goals of 24, 34 and 45 yards by Clint Stitser. Las Vegas also committed eight penalties for 93 yards.

"I've always said it's not the amount of penalties that gets you beat, it's when you get a penalty at a key point that kills you," Fassel said. "We've got to be smarter and not take the kind of penalties that can kill a (scoring) drive."

Omaha coach Joe Moglia likewise has specific improvements in mind in the rematch. His team converted only 3 of 14 third downs last week.

"We've got to keep our drives going," Moglia said. "We've got to make the third-and-shorts. And our defense has to make plays and get stops. That's the other part of the equation for us."

Last week Omaha's defense didn't have to deal with Locos veteran receiver Samie Parker, who sat out with a tight left hamstring but has practiced all week and will play today. His ability to gain yardage after catches gives quarterback Chase Clement an additional weapon to go with Andrae Thurman and Cameron Colvin, who combined for 10 catches and 134 yards last week.

"Getting Samie back will be big," Fassel said. "He's one of our most consistent performers, and his experience will help Chase and take some of the pressure off our other receivers."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.