Vipers fall to Battlehawks in XFL’s first overtime game
The Vipers won’t have many fond memories of participating in the first overtime session ever contested in the XFL’s new shootout-style format.
They weren’t too thrilled with how it was officiated, either.
St. Louis scored on each of its two chances from the 5-yard line while the Vipers went scoreless in two tries in a 21-17 Battlehawks victory in front of 35,166 fans in St. Louis.
The Vipers (2-6) thought they struck first in overtime when Jalan McClendon hit tight end Cam Sutton on a slant for what was originally called a successful conversion, only to be overturned by replay. St. Louis converted its first attempt when Nick Tiano, who filled in for an injured A.J. McCarron, hit Hakeem Butler over the middle in the end zone.
The situation deteriorated from there, as McClendon’s pass to Martavis Bryant in the end zone was nullified by an offensive pass interference call. Under the overtime rules, an offensive penalty results in a conversion being deemed no good.
An ensuing argument triggered an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that put the ball inside the 3-yard line, and Brian Hill ran it in from there to clinch the win. The format calls for each team to get three tries at two points from the 5-yard line, but the third attempts weren’t necessary with the Vipers trailing by four after two rounds.
“Didn’t like the last two calls,” coach Rod Woodson said. “I think the refs need to stay out of the frickin’ game, but they didn’t. They don’t, especially when we play. And we lose.”
It was a disappointing loss for the Vipers, who never trailed in regulation.
St. Louis (6-2) forced the extra session on a 34-yard field goal by Donald Hageman with 11 seconds remaining. The game-tying drive was set up by a Vipers punt that netted just 10 yards when it went into the end zone and was brought out to the 40-yard line after a penalty just after the two-minute warning.
The Battlehawks’ only touchdown of the fourth quarter came on a fake punt with 4:55 left when Sterling Hofrichter found a wide-open Gary Jennings, who raced 64 yards down the middle for a score.
It was part of a series of special teams mistakes that also saw the Vipers miss a field goal and unsuccessfully fake another.
“We saw where the rush was coming from,” Woodson said. “I should have called timeout and canceled (the fake). I take two losses now. The Seattle loss (on March 4) is mine, too, when we should have run the ball at the end of the game.”
The mistakes overshadowed an otherwise solid effort by the defense and McClendon, who made his second straight start and just his fourth start at any level since graduating from high school eight years ago.
McClendon led an opening-drive touchdown and threw for 159 yards and a score, adding 62 more yards rushing on 13 carries. The Vipers, the only team eliminated from postseason contention, led 11-0 early in the second quarter and 11-8 at halftime.
They extended the lead to 17-8 when McClendon hit Geronimo Allison in the flat, and the former NFL receiver turned it into a 27-yard touchdown.
“He’s so talented,” Woodson said of McClendon. “He can do so much. He can run it, throw it, he’s a big physical presence in the pocket and can make plays out of the pocket. I’m glad he has a great opportunity to showcase his talents to the world. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential, but he’s competing. The guy is special, and he’s a great human.”
The defense forced three turnovers, but couldn’t get one last stop to keep the Battlehawks from the tying field goal at the end.
The Vipers next play at Houston at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
