California Redwoods

This Week

The California Redwoods host their second home game of the season tonight against the Las Vegas Locos.  The first time these two teams met, in the UFL opener on October 8th, the Redwoods took a 14-10 lead into the locker room before getting outscored in the second half on their way to a 3-17 defeat.  California RB Cory Ross, who leads the UFL in rushing, will be looking for some revenge against a Las Vegas defense that held him to a season low 49 yards rushing on 16 attempts in their first match-up.   Redwoods’ LB Dontarrious Thomas is proving to be one of the top defensive performers in the UFL.  A former star at Auburn and second round NFL draft pick, Thomas leads the Redwoods in tackles and has caused trouble for every offense he has faced.  The Locos bring one of the most explosive offenses in the UFL to San Jose.  Las Vegas has the second best ground game in the UFL, and is led by DeDe Dorsey who is averaging an astounding 8.5 yards per carry.  Dorsey also has turned in the best single game rushing performance in the UFL this season when he ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries against Florida.  Locos QB JP Losman is having a very solid season for Las Vegas, passing for nearly 250 yards a game, while throwing for eight touchdowns and completing 62% of his passes.  Next week, in the UFL’s final games of its regular season, the Redwoods host the Sentinels while the Tuskers travel to Las Vegas to battle the Locos.

Previously

The California Redwoods kept themselves in contention for a spot in the Championship Game with their 20-13 victory over the New York Sentinels. The New York Sentinels were welcomed in their first home game by a crowd of 10,318 at Giants Stadium. The Redwoods moved to 2-2 on the season, while the Sentinels fell to 0-3. A complete box score can be obtained here.

QB Shane Boyd directed California to an eight play, 76-yard drive to start the game, capped by Cory Ross' 25-yard touchdown reception. After an exchange of punts, the Sentinels put together an impressive drive, moving to the Redwoods 38-yard line before a Koren Robinson fumble ended their scoring threat.

Boyd gave the ball right back to with an interception by Sentinels DB Paul Pratt. New York QB Quinn Gray responded with a drive that ended with Piotr Czech's 36-yard field goal to make it 7-3. California answered with a seven-play, 65-yard drive of its own, going up 10-3 on a 27-yard field goal by Parker Douglass.

For most of the first half, Sentinels Head Coach Ted Cottrell's defense repeatedly bailed out the team with timely hits while holding the Redwoods to only two scoring drives. However, Redwoods QB Boyd scrambled for 16 yards and ran a draw up the middle for 12. He then picked his way through the middle for a 5-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining to put California up 17-3.

Gray rallied the Sentinels just before halftime with an excellent drive to set up a 45-yard field goal attempt that was blocked as time expired. The play was negated by a California timeout and Czech hit it on his second try, narrowing the deficit to 17-6.

The Sentinels were unable to carry the momentum into the second half, going three and out.  It looked as if New York was once again going to watch the game get away from them until Douglass missed on a 38-yard field goal.  Gray then led an impressive drive that featured some nice runs by LaBrandon Toefield, back after sitting out the last game, and short receptions by receiver Craphonso Thorpe. However, it was Cortez Hankton's 29-yard reception that got New York into the red zone for the first time in the game. Gray's five-yard touchdown throw to tight end Christian Hopkins on the next play were New York's first second half points this season and made it 17-13.

New York moved the ball to California's 48-yard line with 3:46 remaining in the game but turned the ball over on downs.  The Redwoods used their good field position to increase their lead to 20-13 on a Parker Douglass 44-yard field goal to close the scoring.

California RB Cory Ross had another fantastic game, rushing for 79 yards on 23 carries while catching 7 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.  Redwoods QB Shane Boyd finished the game with 192 yards on 18-23 passing, with one touchdown and one interception.

Schedule