The Lycans got back on track with a lopsided victory over the Jacksonville Kings in Sunday night SFL action by a score of 45-16. Robert Johnson banged his way for two touchdowns and 164 yards on the ground, while the offense overall was on-point throughout the game. Sully Richardson played the role of field general perfectly, with no turnovers and his highest QBR of the season. The LA defense kept legendary QB Marcus Dunhill in check, except for a late TD pass against the backups. Jared Willis was bottled up all night by the stingy Lycan defense.
It looked like it might be all Jacksonville (3-2) on the first possession of the game. The Kings marched down the field, but the drive stalled at LA's 23-yard line. Jordan Bradshaw would connect from forty yards out giving the Kings an early 3-0 lead with 7:51 left in the first quarter.
The ground game of Los Angeles (2-3) would take over from there, with Robert Johnson pounding the defense for 48 yards on their opening drive. Tommy Ramen also chipped in with three yards. Then Sully Richardson went to the air, finding Davius Reid for five yards, and Elzie Pryor on a 23-yard strike in the endzone to put the Lycans out in front 7-3 after Rob Emms’ PAT with 5:30 to go in the opening quarter.
Once again Jacksonville had a promising drive on their next possession. A 13-play drive with a mix of runs and passes took the Kings to the Lycans 22-yard line. However, a big stand by the LA defense forced another field goal attempt. Bradshaw was good again, this time from 39 yards away. The score at the end of one quarter of play was Los Angeles 7 Jacksonville 6.
The Lycans started the second quarter with an impressive drive to extend the lead. Richardson found five different receivers as the passing game took over on this possession. Johnson, Reid, Chris Lee, and Jack Flash accounted for 70 yards on the drive; but, it was Elzie Pryor again finding paydirt with a six-yard TD reception. The Emms’ PAT gave the Lycans a 14-6 advantage with 7:18 to play in the second quarter.
Both teams would trade three-and-outs on their next possessions before the Lycans defense would begin to get to Dunhill. After Los Angeles punter Sid O’Lindy pinned the Kings deep in their own territory, Ryan Yoseph would pick off Dunhill on a deflection from Rachelle Colston. On the very next play, Johnson would show why they call him the “Bowling Ball”, running over and through at least three defenders before breaking away for a 61-yard TD run. With the score, the Lycans extended their lead to 21-6 with 1:34 remaining in the second.
The rest of the half was the Rachelle Colston show. On Jacksonville’s ensuing possession, Colston picked off Dunhill at the 29-yard line and took it to the house for a Pick 6. Emms’ PAT put LA up 28-6 with 1:28 to play before the half. Two plays later, Dunhill would again find Colston for her second interception of the half. This time, however, the Lycans would not capitalize on the turnover, and the half would end with Pack leading 28-6.
The Kings would dent the scoreboard on their first possession of the second half. After the Lycans were forced to punt, Dunhill and company advanced the ball to LA's 15-yard line; however, they could get not advance any further. Bradshaw would hit his third field goal of the game, bringing Jacksonville closer at 28-9 with 5:54 to go in the third quarter.
The Lycan offense continued to struggle, with another three and out. This time the defense picked them up. After a couple of Dunhill completions, Mike Scott stepped in front of Greyson Willis for another Lycan interception. Richardson found Lee for nine yards, then it was all Johnson. RoJo picked up the first down with an eight-yard carry, then was stopped for no gain. After an offsides penalty against the Kings, Johnson rumbled for twenty-three yards to the endzone, his second TD of the game. Emms’ PAT extended the LA lead to 35-9 with 1:31 left in the third quarter.
Jacksonville could not get anything going on their next possession before having to punt the ball away to the hungry Lycan offense. An 11-play 56-yard drive would seal the deal for the home-standing Lycans. The Kings defense was able to slow Johnson on this drive. Richardson and his receiving corps picked up the slack: Jack Flash for thirteen yards, Elzie Pryor for eleven, and then Chris Lee to cap it off with receptions of fifteen and seven (the latter being for a score). The Lycans were on top with an insurmountable 42-9 lead following Emms’ PAT with 7:21 to go in the game.
The two teams would trade punts before the Los Angeles defense would harass Dunhill again. This time it would be generic FS Chet Longshanks getting in on the action.
Longshanks would pick off Dunhill for the fifth Lycan INT of the game. The Lycans would bring in backup QB Nico Squirrel to be its signal caller for the rest of the game. After a three-and-out, Marcus Dunhill would finally get going against the Lycans backups. Dunhill completed four passes on the drive, finding Shea Carroll on a sliding grab from twenty yards out for the score. Bradshaw’s PAT made the score 42-16 LA with 2:09 left in regulation.
After a failed on-sides kick by Jacksonville, the Lycans generic RB Tommy Swagger would find some room on the ground. Swagger ran for nineteen yards on four carries before Squirrel took a knee twice to put the ball at the Kings 25-yard line. From there, Rob Emms’ connected on his lone field goal attempt of the game, a 42-yarder to set the final score at 45-16.
Marcus Dunhill was 29 of 45 passing for 274 yards, with one touchdown and five interceptions. Jared Willis had a tough go of it, amassing just 62 yards on 19 totes. He did have 12 receptions for 47 yards. Greyson Willis was the Kings leading receiver with six grabs for 92 yards. Shea Carroll accounted for lone touchdown with a twenty-yard TD. Defensively, John Martin and Greg Gaines led the way with eight tackles apiece, with Martin having two TFLs. Jordan Bradshaw connected on his three field goal attempts and his lone PAT.
Sully Richardson was in command all game, going 16 out of 24 for 166 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Robert Johnson was stellar on the ground, with 164 yards on 21 attempts and two touchdowns. He also caught three balls out of the backfield for fourteen yards. Tommy Ramen carried the ball once for three yards. Elzie Pryor was able to find the endzone twice on three receptions for 40 yards. Chris Lee hauled in five balls for 46 yards and a TD, while Jack Flash contributed two catches for 41 yards and Davius Reid grabbed three for 25 yards. Rookie Terrance Weary was held in check with no receptions on two targets. Kevin Brackett led the way with eight solo tackles for the Lycan defense. Danny Stinson and Ryan Yoseph had six stops apiece, with the former getting a TFL and the latter an INT. Buddy Blaze and Rachelle Colston had four tackles each, with Blaze having two TFLs and Colston with two INTs, one being a Pick 6. Brogan Speraw had three tackles, while Tazzy Blackwell, Mike Scott and Jack Hacksaw had two apiece, with Scott picking off a pass and Hacksaw with two PDs. Gary Marx’ lone tackle was a TFL, and Ryan Proster had one stop as well. Ace Blackwell had an assisted tackle and provided pressure in the backfield all game. Sid O’Lindy had his best game as a Lycan punter, with two punts inside the twenty. Rob Emms was solid again, knocking down his only field goal attempt and all six PATs.