LOS ANGELES — One week after dismantling the XFL’s best team, the Los Angeles Xtreme dismantled the league’s best defense.
Tommy Maddox threw four touchdown passes in the first half as the Xtreme clinched a playoff berth with an exciting 35-26 victory over the Las Vegas Outlaws.
Fresh off handing the Orlando Rage their first loss of the season, the Xtreme were not intimidated by a defense nicknamed the “Dealers of Doom” that was allowing 11.1 points per game.
Maddox, the league leader in passing yards and touchdowns, had little trouble shredding the Outlaws’ defense, throwing three of his four TD passes in the second quarter to help the Xtreme open a 26-14 advantage.
Led by Maddox, Los Angeles joined Orlando as the only teams in the league to secure playoff berths. The Xtreme (6-2), who have won six of seven, have a two-game lead over second-place Las Vegas and San Francisco in the Western Division.
“It was a good effort. We played hard,” Maddox said. “It was nice to clinch a playoff berth at home. We do have momentum, but it is easy to lose that momentum. We get better each week.”
Maddox completed 25-of-36 passes for 252 yards with an interception. Maddox found seven different receivers.
“We’ve stuck with everything we started the season with except we narrowed our offense some to do what we do best,” Los Angeles coach Al Luginbill said. “Maddox had to give up some individualism for the team and he’s done that. The difference between quarterbacks is not statistics but wins.”
Ryan Clement threw three touchdown passes to tight end Rickey Brady for the Outlaws, who have lost three of its last four games, including both meetings with Los Angeles.
Facing the league’s top offensive team, the Outlaws (4-4) immediately put themselves at a disadvantage when Chrys Chukwuma fumbled the opening kickoff and Ricky Parker recovered on the 17-yard line.
Two plays after the turnover, Maddox found Jermaine Copeland with a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving Los Angeles a 6-0 lead. Copeland, the league’s top receiver, had seven catches for 91 yards.
“It is evident that this is the best receiving corps I’ve ever had,” Maddox said. “That’s why it’s fun to play with these guys. I can choose to toss the ball to three to four different guys on every down. It’s fun to play in that kind of offensive system. Also, each receiver can make a big play — that’s important.”
“High power. Best in league. Trust me,” commented Copeland on his club’s offense.
Las Vegas recovered on its next possession as Rod “He Hate Me” Smart scored on a 21-yard run for a 7-6 lead.
After the teams traded scores, Los Angeles took the lead for good, 18-14, with 6:58 left in the second quarter on Maddox’s 13-yard touchdown toss to Frank Leatherwood.
Moments later, Los Angeles converted another miscue when Jeff Russell busted through the line untouched and blocked a punt by Paul McCallum. The ball bounced threw the end zone for a safety, making it 20-14.
Maddox capped his big half with a two-yard TD pass to Darnell McDonald 32 seconds before intermission.
The Outlaws closed within six points in the third quarter on Clement’s six-yard toss to Brady. Jose Cortez kicked a 42-yard field later in the period and connected from 32 yards early in the fourth, pushing the advantage to 32-20.
Clement hooked up with Brady from four yards with 5:28 to play, pulling the Outlaws within 32-26. But Cortez kicked a 44-yard field goal with 53 seconds left to seal it for Los Angeles.
Clement was 17-of-31 for 190 yards and an interception while Brady had six catches for 71 yards.
The game featured 27 penalties totaling 261 yards.
SUMMARY
Las Vegas 26 Los Angeles 35 – Final
1 2 3 4 Total
Las Vegas 7 7 6 6 26
Los Angeles 6 20 3 6 35
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Los – Td, Jeremaine Copeland 10 yd pass From Tommy Maddox (Pat Failed), 1:24. Drive: 2 Plays, 15 Yards In 1:11. Key Plays: Parker 3-Yard Return Of Chukwuma Fumble To Las Vegas 15. Los Angeles 6-0
Las – Td, Rod Smart 21 yd run (Rod Smart run For Converison), 6:34. Drive: 9 Plays, 79 Yards In 5:10. Key Plays: Clement 17-Yard pass To Brady On 3rd-And-8 To Las Vegas 40; 21-Yard Pass Interference Penalty On Los Angeles To Xtreme 21. Las Vegas 7-6
Second Quarter
Los – Td, Saladin Mccullough 19 yd pass From Tommy Maddox (Pat Failed), 1:12. Drive: 8 Plays, 49 Yards In 4:48. Key Plays: Stuckey Interception at Las Vegas 49; Maddox 10-Yard pass To Rachal To Las Vegas 39. Los Angeles 12-7
Las – Td, Rickey Brady 3 yd pass From Ryan Clement (Ryan Clement pass To Rickey Brady For Converison), 6:07. Drive: 2 Plays, 16 Yards In 1:03. Key Plays: Tauapolo 16-Yard Interception Return To Los Angeles 16. Las Vegas 14-12
Los – Td, Frank Leatherwood 13 yd pass From Tommy Maddox (Pat Failed), 10:01. Drive: 7 Plays, 44 Yards In 3:54. Key Plays: Rachal 42-Yard Kickoff Return To Las Vegas 44; Maddox 10-Yard pass To Mcdonald On 3rd-And-1 To Las Vegas 28. Los Angeles 18-14
Los – Safety, 11:45. Los Angeles 20-14
Los – Td, Darnell Mcdonald 2 yd pass From Tommy Maddox (Pat Failed), 14:28. Drive: 6 Plays, 36 Yards In 2:43. Key Plays: 15-Yard pass Interference Penalty On Outlaws’ Scott To Las Vegas 2. Los Angeles 26-14
Third Quarter
Las – Td, Rickey Brady 6 yd pass From Ryan Clement (Pat Failed), 6:43. Drive: 5 Plays, 60 Yards In 3:32. Key Plays: 44-Yard pass Interference On Xtreme’s Parker To Los Angeles 6. Los Angeles 26-20
Los – Fg, Jose Cortez 42 Yd, 11:40. Drive: 7 Plays, 41 Yards In 4:57. Key Plays: Maddox 17-Yard Pass To Mcdonald To Los Angeles 48; Maddox 12-Yard pass Mcdonald To Las Vegas 33; Maddox 9-Yard pass To Mccullough To Las Vegas 24. Los Angeles 29-20
Fourth Quarter
Los – Fg, Jose Cortez 32 Yd, 3:32. Drive: 8 Plays, 57 Yards In 4:23. Key Plays: Mccullough 11-Yard run To Los Angeles 41; Maddox 28-Yard pass To Copeland To Las Vegas 40; Maddox 24-Yard Pass To Copeland To Las Vegas 16. Los Angeles 32-20
Las – Td, Rickey Brady 4 yd pass From Ryan Clement (Pat Failed), 10:01. Drive: 9 Plays, 91 Yards In 6:29. Key Plays: Clement 25-Yard pass To Brady To Las Vegas 30; Clement 18-Yard pass To Murphy On 3rd-And-10 Los Angeles 25. Los Angeles 32-26
Los – Fg, Jose Cortez 44 Yd, 14:13. Drive: 8 Plays, 44 Yards In 4:12. Key Plays: Maddox 12-Yard Pass To Copeland To Las Vegas 35. Los Angeles 35-26Att: 20,128
BOXSCORE
Team Statistics LAS LOS
FIRST DOWNS 17 20
Rushing 4 5
Passing 10 13
Penalty 3 2
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0 0-0
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-0 0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS 245 304
Total plays 45 53
Average gain 5.4 5.7
NET YARDS RUSHING 55 60
Rushes 14 16
Average per rush 3.9 3.8
NET YARDS PASSING 190 244
Interceptions-returns 1-16 1-0
PENALTIES-YARDS 15-119 12-142
FUMBLES-LOST 2-1 0-0
TIME OF POSSESSION 27:59 32:01
Player Statistics
Missed field goals :
None.
Las Vegas rushing :
Rod Smart 13-57, Team 1-minus 2.
Los Angeles rushing :
Saladin Mccullough 15-54, Tommy Maddox 1-6.
Las Vegas passing :
Ryan Clement 17-31 for 190 yards, 1 INT, 3 TD.
Los Angeles passing :
Tommy Maddox 25-36 for 252 yards, 1 INT, 4 TD.
Las Vegas receiving :
Rickey Brady 6-71, Yo Murphy 5-61, Rod Smart 2-24, Eric Guliford 2-20, Mike Furrey 1-8, Ben Snell 1-6.
Los Angeles receiving :
Jeremaine Copeland 7-91, Saladin Mccullough 6-47, Darnell Mcdonald 5-42, Damon Gibson 3-39, Latario Rachal 2-12, Frank Leatherwood 1-13, Damon Dunn 1-8.
Las Vegas tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial) :
Kevin Scott 6-3-0, Jamel Williams 5-1-0, Chris Bayne 4-2-0, Joseph Tuipala 4-0-0, Angel Rubio 4-0-1, Hurley Tarver 3-0-0, Jason Kaiser 3-0-0, Mike Crawford 3-0-0, Kelvin Kinney 3-0-0, Brandon Sanders 3-0-0, Ben Snell 1-1-0, Jonathan Jackson 1-1-0, Toran James 1-0-0, Carl Simpson 1-0-0, Rickey Brady 1-0-0, Kory Blackwell 1-0-0, Paul Mccallum 1-0-0, Kelly Herndon 1-0-0.
Los Angeles tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial) :
Ricky Parker 4-3-0, Ron Carpenter 4-1-0, Jeff Russell 4-0-0, Rico Mack 3-1-0, Reginald Durden 3-0-0, Chad Pegues 2-1-0, Dell Mcgee 2-0-0, Shawn Stuckey 2-0-0, Leomont Evans 2-0-0, Eric Johnson 1-0-0, Errick Herrin 1-0-0, Tinker Keck 1-0-0, Jose Cortez 1-0-0, Chris Brymer 1-0-0, Ramondo Stallings 1-0-0, Damon Gibson 0-1-0, Matt Keneley 0-1-0, Team 0-1-0.
Interceptions :
Las Vegas (Joseph Tuipala 1 for 16 yards); Los Angeles (Shawn Stuckey 1 for 0 yards).
Fumbles lost :
Las Vegas (Chrys Chukwuma).
Opponent’s fumbles recovered :
Los Angeles (Ricky Parker).
Officials :
Referee-Steve Pamon, Umpire-Richard Brown, Head linesman-Derick Bowers, Line judge-Tod Reese, Back judge-Scott Helverson, Side judge-Michael Sheahan, Field judge-Michael Banks.
