Orlando, FL.  – Brief showers gave way to pyrotechnics as the Florida Tuskers and New York Sentinels took the field at the Florida Citrus Bowl to mark the return of professional football to Orlando.  Led by quarterback Brooks Bollinger’s four touchdown performance, Florida defeated New York 35-13 before a crowd of 11,000 plus at the Citrus Bowl.

After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the New York Sentinels wasted no time getting their offense rolling.  Quarterback Quinn Gray connected with wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe on two big pass plays, with the latter culminating in the first points of the game. The drive took five plays for 68 yards and lasted just 2:09.

Maybe it was the nerves of opening up before the home crowd, but the Tuskers’ offense struggled to get started.  On their first opportunity to score, kicker Matt Bryant missed a 35-yard field goal that gave New York the ball on their own 25-yard line.  But the Tuskers’ defense held, forcing a punt by the Sentinels.  Florida quarterback Brooks Bollinger led the Tuskers’ offense onto the field, but a sack by New York defensive end Simeon Rice dropped Bollinger for a seven-yard loss and forced a Florida punt.

The momentum remained with New York in the second quarter as Piotr Czech kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Sentinels a 10-0 lead.  Their defense then got involved in the action as cornerback Paul Pratt intercepted Bollinger and returned the ball to the Tuskers’ one-yard line.

When it seemed New York was set to take a commanding 17-0 lead, Florida’s defense had other thoughts.  Back-to-back goal line stops by defensive back Dexter Jackson and linebacker Odell Thurman set the tone.  On the next play, Tuskers’ linebacker Tim McGarigle knocked the ball free from Sentinels’ running LaBrandon Toefield and Florida defensive back Darius Vinnett recovered the ball in the endzone for what was the turning point of the game. 

Florida’s offense came to life and Bollinger led his unit down the field, finding wide receiver Frank Murphy for the Tuskers’ first points of the UFL’s “Premiere” season.  The momentum clearly shifted to the side of the home team from that point forward.  Cornerback Fakhir Brown intercepted Gray on the Sentinels’ next possession.   Bollinger then orchestrated back-to-back touchdowns as he connected with a wide-open Taye Biddle for a 35-yard score that gave the Tuskers a 14-10 lead.  New York added a field goal to pull within one, 14-13, at the half.

The third quarter opened with Florida going 76 yards on 10 plays to take a 21-13 lead as Bollinger completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chas Gessner.  On New York’s first possession of the third quarter, Toefield fumbled for the second time on the night and McGarigle recovered. After Tuskers’ running back Michael Pittman gained 15 yards to the New York two yard line, Bollinger connected with tight end Ryan Neufield for the quarterback’s fourth touchdown of the game.

Florida continued to dominate on offense. In their next offensive series, running back Tatum Bell put the exclamation point on the Tuskers’ victory with a one-yard touchdown run that capped off a 10 play, 71 yard drive.   On the game, Bollinger went 20-26 with 225 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.  When the clock expired, Jim Haslett’s Florida squad had topped Ted Cotrell’s New York team 35-13.

Florida (1-0) heads to Las Vegas (1-0) for a match-up between the UFL’s two undefeated team’s on Wednesday, October 14 at Sam Boyd Stadium.  New York (0-1) will travel to the west coast to face California (0-1) on Saturday, October 17 at AT&T Park.