Post by MGB01 on Jun 25, 2023 22:01:49 GMT -5
Monarchs 41 Colonels 24
SEATTLE, WA--It's not that the Carolina Colonels didn't adhere to the old adage about not missing when going for the king, or Monarch in this case, but there was only so much that could be done against a team that has now run the complete table three times in five seasons.
Jalen Virgil returned a kickoff 101 yards late in the first half, Case Keenum tossed a pair of second half touchdowns, and the best takeaway defense (by far) in the league this year picked off Kyle Trask three times as Kansas City made it five straight X-Bowls with a 41-24 win over Carolina, a game they trailed 14-0 and were actually dominated most of the first half.
Trask, named the league's Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week, came out on fire and did plenty to justify winning it over Case Keenum, completing his first 11 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns, both to Tee Higgins. The Monarchs, after an empty first possession, went to work in a rare 'must' possession, going 13 plays and taking it down to the 5. Jeremiah Ledbetter stopped David Montgomery for no gain on third and 1 however, leading to the first decision of the game. This time Montgomery took a pitch right and got the corner for daylight and a touchdown to halve the deficit with 4:48 left.
Carolina answered with a Dustin Hopkins field goal, after some deliberation, but in ten seconds it was a three-point game as Virgil found a hole at the 30 and raced through untouched from that point on. Luckily for Carolina, the Monarchs didn't add to that after Trask was picked off by Tariq Woolen, giving Kansas City a shot at more points as they took over at the 43 with plenty of time left to make that happen. But two plays later Keenum was sacked by Chase Winovich and then Alim McNeill as he looked to go deep on the last play.
Montgomery's second touchdown run capped a ten-play 72-yard drive to open the half and give the Monarchs their first lead, but it would stay at 20-17 after T.Y. McGill blocked the extra point. Then Sterling Hofrichter kicked the ball out of bounds to set the Colonels up at the 40. After a pair of Jordan Howard runs a delayed blitz by Mack Wilson forced an incomplete pass as Trask tried to hit Kenneth Gainwell on a short wheel, leading to another decision. Kevin O'Connell's decision to punt would ultimately pay off as the Monarchs' lone turnover of the game took points off the board after Keenum was strip-sacked by Marquis Haynes, who would also come up with the recovery.
But the ensuing possession ended up just as disastrous, as Wilson returned the favor only Trask recovered his own fumble, and while the Colonels would recover enough to get a first down as Trask hit Ian Thomas for 13 on the next play Trask was picked off by Xavier McKinney, the league's Defensive Player of the Year--thus setting up the battle of irresistible forces. The Monarchs cashed in as Keenum hit Terry McLaurin from 19 yards out for what was regarded as the back-breaking score. It was punctuated on Carolina's second play when Trask, who had a pair of two-interception games but not three, was picked off for the third time and Jaquan Brisker took it in for the pick-six.
Trask's third touchdown pass, a long strike to Diondre Overton, got Carolina back to within ten but they couldn't make a necessary stop as the Monarchs ate up nearly eight minutes on their next series, with Keenum once again hitting McLaurin for the score. Carolina drove into the redzone but ended at the 7.
Keenum had just 87 yards passing at halftime and Kansas City just nine rushing at the half, mostly reflecting the Colonels' plan to keep him off the field in the first half but Carolina also ended up sacking him four times, resulting in the Monarchs having a season-low 74 yards through 30 minutes of play. The second half would be a different story as Keenum ended up 24 of 28 for 259 yards and two touchdowns and other than a quick-play drive that temporarily stopped the Carolina bleeding the Monarch defense owned the second half. Trask would finish 33 of 40 for 318 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions as O'Connell, coaching in the game 14 years after leading the Colonels to it as quarterback, would face questions as to why he abandoned the run--Carolina's last run play was a four-yard run by Gainwell, his only carry of the second half, with under three minutes to go in the third quarter in a three-point game.
With the win, Matt Nagy moves past Rex Ryan with his fifth X-Bowl. He also will have a chance at his 100th win early next season, most likely in week two--the Monarchs haven't lost a season opener since 2018, the last time they didn't win the X-Bowl.
A magical season comes to an end for the Colonels, 12 wins and a division title in O'Connell's third season at the helm. It's also the third time Carolina's season has ended at Kansas City's hand, having lost to them in the playoffs in 2011 and 2019.
NEXT WEEK: CAR (13-5) end of season; KC (18-0) end of season
SEATTLE, WA--It's not that the Carolina Colonels didn't adhere to the old adage about not missing when going for the king, or Monarch in this case, but there was only so much that could be done against a team that has now run the complete table three times in five seasons.
Jalen Virgil returned a kickoff 101 yards late in the first half, Case Keenum tossed a pair of second half touchdowns, and the best takeaway defense (by far) in the league this year picked off Kyle Trask three times as Kansas City made it five straight X-Bowls with a 41-24 win over Carolina, a game they trailed 14-0 and were actually dominated most of the first half.
Trask, named the league's Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week, came out on fire and did plenty to justify winning it over Case Keenum, completing his first 11 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns, both to Tee Higgins. The Monarchs, after an empty first possession, went to work in a rare 'must' possession, going 13 plays and taking it down to the 5. Jeremiah Ledbetter stopped David Montgomery for no gain on third and 1 however, leading to the first decision of the game. This time Montgomery took a pitch right and got the corner for daylight and a touchdown to halve the deficit with 4:48 left.
Carolina answered with a Dustin Hopkins field goal, after some deliberation, but in ten seconds it was a three-point game as Virgil found a hole at the 30 and raced through untouched from that point on. Luckily for Carolina, the Monarchs didn't add to that after Trask was picked off by Tariq Woolen, giving Kansas City a shot at more points as they took over at the 43 with plenty of time left to make that happen. But two plays later Keenum was sacked by Chase Winovich and then Alim McNeill as he looked to go deep on the last play.
Montgomery's second touchdown run capped a ten-play 72-yard drive to open the half and give the Monarchs their first lead, but it would stay at 20-17 after T.Y. McGill blocked the extra point. Then Sterling Hofrichter kicked the ball out of bounds to set the Colonels up at the 40. After a pair of Jordan Howard runs a delayed blitz by Mack Wilson forced an incomplete pass as Trask tried to hit Kenneth Gainwell on a short wheel, leading to another decision. Kevin O'Connell's decision to punt would ultimately pay off as the Monarchs' lone turnover of the game took points off the board after Keenum was strip-sacked by Marquis Haynes, who would also come up with the recovery.
But the ensuing possession ended up just as disastrous, as Wilson returned the favor only Trask recovered his own fumble, and while the Colonels would recover enough to get a first down as Trask hit Ian Thomas for 13 on the next play Trask was picked off by Xavier McKinney, the league's Defensive Player of the Year--thus setting up the battle of irresistible forces. The Monarchs cashed in as Keenum hit Terry McLaurin from 19 yards out for what was regarded as the back-breaking score. It was punctuated on Carolina's second play when Trask, who had a pair of two-interception games but not three, was picked off for the third time and Jaquan Brisker took it in for the pick-six.
Trask's third touchdown pass, a long strike to Diondre Overton, got Carolina back to within ten but they couldn't make a necessary stop as the Monarchs ate up nearly eight minutes on their next series, with Keenum once again hitting McLaurin for the score. Carolina drove into the redzone but ended at the 7.
Keenum had just 87 yards passing at halftime and Kansas City just nine rushing at the half, mostly reflecting the Colonels' plan to keep him off the field in the first half but Carolina also ended up sacking him four times, resulting in the Monarchs having a season-low 74 yards through 30 minutes of play. The second half would be a different story as Keenum ended up 24 of 28 for 259 yards and two touchdowns and other than a quick-play drive that temporarily stopped the Carolina bleeding the Monarch defense owned the second half. Trask would finish 33 of 40 for 318 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions as O'Connell, coaching in the game 14 years after leading the Colonels to it as quarterback, would face questions as to why he abandoned the run--Carolina's last run play was a four-yard run by Gainwell, his only carry of the second half, with under three minutes to go in the third quarter in a three-point game.
With the win, Matt Nagy moves past Rex Ryan with his fifth X-Bowl. He also will have a chance at his 100th win early next season, most likely in week two--the Monarchs haven't lost a season opener since 2018, the last time they didn't win the X-Bowl.
A magical season comes to an end for the Colonels, 12 wins and a division title in O'Connell's third season at the helm. It's also the third time Carolina's season has ended at Kansas City's hand, having lost to them in the playoffs in 2011 and 2019.
NEXT WEEK: CAR (13-5) end of season; KC (18-0) end of season
* Championship * 06-25-2023 Lumen Field Temp:77 Wind:0-10
1 2 3 4 Tot
2023 Kansas City (2-0) 0 14 6 21 41
2023 Carolina (1-1) 7 10 0 7 24
Scoring Summary
1 10:22 Carolina TD Trask 6 pass to Higgins (Hopkins) (7-66-4:30) 0-7
2 14:16 Carolina TD Trask 9 pass to Higgins (Hopkins) (11-67-6:39) 0-14
2 4:48 Kansas City TD Montgomery 5 run (Folk) (15-75-9:28) 7-14
2 0:56 Carolina FG Hopkins 41 (10-55-3:36) 7-17
2 0:46 Kansas City TD Virgil 101 kick return (Folk) 14-17
3 9:08 Kansas City TD Montgomery 11 run (no good) (10-72-5:43) 20-17
4 14:12 Kansas City TD Keenum 19 pass to McLaurin (Folk) (5-31-2:22) 27-17
4 13:08 Kansas City TD Brisker 18 interception return (Folk) 34-17
4 10:47 Carolina TD Trask 41 pass to Overton (Hopkins) (4-75-2:21) 34-24
4 2:44 Kansas City TD Keenum 19 pass to McLaurin (Folk) (14-82-7:55) 41-24
KC CAR
First Downs 21 24
Rushes 27-92 14-80
Passes 28-24-259 40-33-318
Sacked 5-27 2-17
Fumble 2 1
Penalties 2-10 2-20
Turnovers 1 3
Missed Tackles 6 5
Dropped Passes 0 0
Bad Passes 0 1
Passes 25+ 2 1
Runs 10+ 1 2
Blitzers 20 32
Challenges 0-0 0-1
Time 34:33 25:27
Third Down 9-14 6-8
Fourth Down 2-2 0-0
Red Att/Td/Fg 5/4/0 3/2/0
Net Offense 324 381
Kansas City Monarchs Carolina Colonels
Passing Att Cmp Yds 25 In Td Sk Rate Passing Att Cmp Yds 25 In Td Sk Rate
Keenum 28 24 259 2 0 2 5 129.0 Trask 40 33 318 1 3 3 2 93.5
Rushing Att Yds Avg FD 10 Lg TD Rushing Att Yds Avg FD 10 Lg TD
Montgomery 19 68 3.6 5 1 11 2 Gainwell 5 39 7.8 2 1 20 0
Carter 7 21 3.0 2 0 5 0 Howard 6 30 5.0 1 1 10 0
Price 1 3 3.0 0 0 3 0 Ford 3 11 3.7 0 0 4 0
27 92 3.4 7 1 11 2 14 80 5.7 3 2 20 0
Receiving No Dp Att Yds Avg FD 25 Lg TD Receiving No Dp Att Yds Avg FD 25 Lg TD
McLaurin 8 0 8 85 10.6 6 0 19 2 Renfrow 7 0 7 93 13.3 6 0 23 0
Carter 5 0 5 58 11.6 2 1 26 0 Thomas 6 0 6 59 9.8 5 0 20 0
Montgomery 4 0 4 26 6.5 1 0 9 0 Higgins 6 0 9 49 8.2 3 0 12 2
Robinson 3 0 4 44 14.7 2 1 25 0 Johnson 4 0 5 24 6.0 2 0 7 0
Wesco 1 0 1 3 3.0 0 0 3 0 Overton 3 0 3 56 18.7 2 1 41 1
Beckham 1 0 2 8 8.0 1 0 8 0 Herndon 2 0 2 18 9.0 1 0 14 0
Ferguson 1 0 2 11 11.0 1 0 11 0 Howard 2 0 2 11 5.5 0 0 9 0
Virgil 1 0 1 24 24.0 1 0 24 0 Gainwell 2 0 4 11 5.5 2 0 6 0
Price 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Battle 1 0 1 -3 -3.0 0 0 0 0
24 0 0 259 10.8 14 2 26 2 Wilcox 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
33 0 0 318 9.6 21 1 41 3
Fumbles No Rec TD Fumbles No Rec TD
Keenum 1 0 0 Trask 1 1 0
Beavers 1 0 0 Haynes 0 1 0
Wattenberg 0 1 0
Kick Returns No Yds Avg Lg TD Kick Returns No Yds Avg Lg TD
Virgil 3 149 49.7 101 1 Nailor 3 69 23.0 36 0
Beavers 1 10 10.0 10 0 Armah 1 10 10.0 10 0
Punt Returns No Fc Yds Avg Lg TD Punt Returns No Fc Yds Avg Lg TD
Turpin 1 0 13 13.0 13 0 Renfrow 0 1 0 0.0 0 0
Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts
Folk 0-0 0 5-6 5 Hopkins 1-1 41 3-3 6
Punting No Yds Avg Tb 20 Bk Lg Punting No Yds Avg Tb 20 Bk Lg
Hofrichter 1 47 47.0 0 0 0 47 Hayes 1 44 44.0 0 0 0 44
Defense Tkl Sk Def Stf Hur FF INT Defense Tkl Sk Def Stf Hur FF INT
Woolen 9 0 0 0 0 0 1-0 Davis-Gaith 14 0 0 0 1 0 0-0
McKinney 7 0 0 0 0 0 1-4 Winovich 5 1 0 0 1 0 0-0
Wallace 7 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Carter II 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Owusu-Koram 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Stone 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Brisker 4 0 1 0 0 0 1-18 Okoronkwo 4 1 0 0 0 0 0-0
Wilson,M 4 1 0 0 0 1 0-0 Brown,M 4 1 0 0 0 0 0-0
Schult 3 1 0 0 0 0 0-0 Summers 4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Bausby 3 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Jackson 3 0 0 0 0 1 0-0
Lynch 2 0 0 0 1 0 0-0 Haynes 2 1 0 1 0 1 0-0
Elliott 2 0 1 0 0 0 0-0 Dean 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Rhodes 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Madubuike 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Davis,J 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 McNeill 1 1 0 0 2 0 0-0
Elliss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 McGill 1 0 0 0 1 0 0-0
Jones,D 0 0 1 0 0 0 0-0 Ledbetter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Jones,J 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
McClain 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Barcoo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0