Locos lose second straight going into UFL title game

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Locomotives are reeling as they prepare to defend their United Football League title.

And now they don't know who their starting quarterback is.

Instead of regaining momentum entering the championship game this week, Las Vegas was outplayed by the Hartford Colonials and suffered a 27-14 loss in the UFL regular-season finale Saturday.

The Locos (5-3) will carry a two-game losing streak into the title game against the Florida Tuskers (5-3) on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The Huskers have won three straight.

"We don't look like a team going to the championship game," Locos coach Jim Fassel said. "I'm very disappointed."

Fassel's most pressing matter is deciding on a starting quarterback after a poor performance by Chase Clement in his first start. The Colonials returned two of Clement's three interceptions for touchdowns, and he also fumbled.

Clement was 9-for-23 for 111 yards before being replaced by Drew Willy for the fourth quarter. Willy was 10-for-16 for 109 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown to Andrae Thurman.

So who will start the title game?

"It's definitely up in the air," Fassel said. "I don't know. It's going to take me a night's sleep and a lot of thinking. Based on ... I don't know what to base it on."

After a five-game winning streak, Fassel is at a loss to explain the Locos' late-season skid, which includes a 27-24 loss to Sacramento at home two weeks ago.

"We just got to go back to work," Fassel said. "I'm upset right now, but it's my job to get these guys ready to play."

Aside from a 39-yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Tyson DeVree on the final play of the first half, the Locos' defense was mostly solid. The unit otherwise held the Colonials (3-5) to two field goals and 214 yards.

The interception returns were costly. Hartford linebacker Danny Lansanah ran one back 48 yards for a touchdown to make the score 10-0 late in the first quarter, and Quintin Demps had a 73-yard return for a touchdown in the third.

The Colonials won without leading rusher Lorenzo Booker (410 yards), who sat out in protest over the UFL's player transfer policy with the NFL. The UFL plans to charge NFL teams a $150,000 transfer fee for any player who signs an NFL contract, even after the end of the UFL season.

Some Omaha players had considered sitting out their game against Florida on Friday. Booker was the only UFL player who followed through on his boycott.