Post by MGB01 on Jun 14, 2020 14:34:09 GMT -5
PERFECTION AGAIN, MONARCHS TAKE RAGE APART
Monarchs 49 Rage 21
KANSAS CITY, MO--For the fifth time, the X-Bowl will reside in Kansas City, but this time the Monarchs set a new record.
For domination.
They set two X-Bowl records: margin of victory and points scored and once again capped an undefeated season with a 49-21 thrashing of the Orlando Rage in X-Bowl XX. Case Keenum completed his first 13 passes and finished with 321 yards and four touchdowns; Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 109 yards and two scores in the first half alone; and David Montgomery, after a slow start, finished just short of 100 yards as the Monarchs brutalized the Rage from beginning to end, a somewhat more decisive victory than their first meeting seven weeks ago.
The Monarchs showed how quickly they can get it started when, after a Rage three and out, Darius Phillips took Riley Dixon's punt back 49 yards, and four plays later Keenum hit Brice Butler for a six-yard score.
Orlando had their brief opening when Samaje Perine broke a couple of tackles and busted loose for a 66-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second Rage series, tying the game at 7-7, but much like San Francisco last week, they couldn't follow up on their quick burst. A seven-play Kansas City drive, featuring a third and 13 conversion--a 21-yard pass from Keenum to Kelvin Benjamin, ending in the first of two Hill touchdowns put the Monarchs back up 14-7, then the defense stepped up, as Dre'mont Jones and Oshane Ximines sacked Brad Kaaya on consecutive plays to end the Orlando threat.
Keenum threw another touchdown pass to Hill to push the lead to 21-7, and even as the Monarchs got in their own way with a couple of penalties on their next series, the only one in the first half they punted on, the Rage were still incapacitated by the Kansas City pass rush, as Gerald Hodges and Geno Atkins took Kaaya down.
Still looking to add on the Monarchs faced a fourth and three on their 37, and as they had done on their previous scoring drive they converted as Keenum went up top to Brice Butler for 33 yards, and after a pair of Montgomery runs couldn't get the Monarchs in Keenum did so himself with 30 seconds left, pushing the lead out to 28-7.
That became 35-7 on a Nyheim Hines touchdown as the Monarchs weren't about to let up, although the Rage did finally stop the bleeding with their first sustained drive of the game on a Dion Lewis touchdown from four yards out, though even that nearly ended in disaster as he fumbled but got it back. Instead of an onside, the Rage kicked deep and the Monarchs would once again add on as Montgomery, who rushed for 77 of his 96 yards in the second half, took it in from 14.
Keenum's fifth touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Derel Walker, made it 49-14 before the Rage got another big run, a 40-yarder by Lewis that ended the scoring.
After Trevon Wesco recovered an onside kick Colin Kaepernick entered the game, and if he had his way the scoring wouldn't have ended. He threw one incomplete pass, but an offside penalty on Anthony Zettel negated it. Buck Allen ran for a first down, and then Kaepernick took off, with Tyson Graham just getting enough of of him to knock him.out of bounds. While Kaepernick didn't throw he tried to get into the endzone, being stopped three yards short on the final play of the game.
Asked whether he would have been insulted by Kaepernick scoring, Kris Richard laughed it off, "No, it would have been big for Colin with everything that's gone on. He got his (ring), but you can tell he wanted more, and if he can do it no offense taken. We had shots, it's cool".
Now it's on to the offseason, which invites a few questions: Will Hill, who is likely one-and-done as a Monarch, stay in the XFL or make the jump to the NFL with a reported offer of $18 mil per on the table from Kansas City's other team? Does a team, or maybe more accurately which one, come(s) after Kaepernick, who posted a 129.7 passer rating (and actually bested Keenum in that department) and started two games with Keenum out?
While those questions are being answered the Monarchs will simply have one request: kiss the ring.
NOTES: With the win, Matt Nagy will officially go for win #50 in the Monarchs 2021 season opener, which will be at home for the third straight year--Kansas City also began the 2019 campaign at home against New York, who will be a trendy choice for the Monarchs' week one opponent except for the fact that ex-Monarch backup Taylor Heinicke might be fighting to keep his spot on the team much less his starting job. Plus any team that Kaepernick goes to, if he's traded, would likely be one of the two midseason Thursday night games anyway. The X-Bowl rematch in Orlando will likely happen closer to midseason too. The Monarchs ended up with five sacks despite missing Karter Schult, one of their big three this season. The Rage however clearly missed tight end Ryan Griffin with an ankle injury. Alize Mack received just one target and Ray Ray McCloud caught just two passes for 14 yards, whether this affects Orlando's off-season plans with Griffin, an upcoming free agent, is to be seen. A trio of Monarchs added to their recent championship collection as DE Willie Jefferson and OT Stanley Bryant, who won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders last November, and LB Darron Lee, who won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, got the honors.
Monarchs 49 Rage 21
KANSAS CITY, MO--For the fifth time, the X-Bowl will reside in Kansas City, but this time the Monarchs set a new record.
For domination.
They set two X-Bowl records: margin of victory and points scored and once again capped an undefeated season with a 49-21 thrashing of the Orlando Rage in X-Bowl XX. Case Keenum completed his first 13 passes and finished with 321 yards and four touchdowns; Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 109 yards and two scores in the first half alone; and David Montgomery, after a slow start, finished just short of 100 yards as the Monarchs brutalized the Rage from beginning to end, a somewhat more decisive victory than their first meeting seven weeks ago.
The Monarchs showed how quickly they can get it started when, after a Rage three and out, Darius Phillips took Riley Dixon's punt back 49 yards, and four plays later Keenum hit Brice Butler for a six-yard score.
Orlando had their brief opening when Samaje Perine broke a couple of tackles and busted loose for a 66-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second Rage series, tying the game at 7-7, but much like San Francisco last week, they couldn't follow up on their quick burst. A seven-play Kansas City drive, featuring a third and 13 conversion--a 21-yard pass from Keenum to Kelvin Benjamin, ending in the first of two Hill touchdowns put the Monarchs back up 14-7, then the defense stepped up, as Dre'mont Jones and Oshane Ximines sacked Brad Kaaya on consecutive plays to end the Orlando threat.
Keenum threw another touchdown pass to Hill to push the lead to 21-7, and even as the Monarchs got in their own way with a couple of penalties on their next series, the only one in the first half they punted on, the Rage were still incapacitated by the Kansas City pass rush, as Gerald Hodges and Geno Atkins took Kaaya down.
Still looking to add on the Monarchs faced a fourth and three on their 37, and as they had done on their previous scoring drive they converted as Keenum went up top to Brice Butler for 33 yards, and after a pair of Montgomery runs couldn't get the Monarchs in Keenum did so himself with 30 seconds left, pushing the lead out to 28-7.
That became 35-7 on a Nyheim Hines touchdown as the Monarchs weren't about to let up, although the Rage did finally stop the bleeding with their first sustained drive of the game on a Dion Lewis touchdown from four yards out, though even that nearly ended in disaster as he fumbled but got it back. Instead of an onside, the Rage kicked deep and the Monarchs would once again add on as Montgomery, who rushed for 77 of his 96 yards in the second half, took it in from 14.
Keenum's fifth touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Derel Walker, made it 49-14 before the Rage got another big run, a 40-yarder by Lewis that ended the scoring.
After Trevon Wesco recovered an onside kick Colin Kaepernick entered the game, and if he had his way the scoring wouldn't have ended. He threw one incomplete pass, but an offside penalty on Anthony Zettel negated it. Buck Allen ran for a first down, and then Kaepernick took off, with Tyson Graham just getting enough of of him to knock him.out of bounds. While Kaepernick didn't throw he tried to get into the endzone, being stopped three yards short on the final play of the game.
Asked whether he would have been insulted by Kaepernick scoring, Kris Richard laughed it off, "No, it would have been big for Colin with everything that's gone on. He got his (ring), but you can tell he wanted more, and if he can do it no offense taken. We had shots, it's cool".
Now it's on to the offseason, which invites a few questions: Will Hill, who is likely one-and-done as a Monarch, stay in the XFL or make the jump to the NFL with a reported offer of $18 mil per on the table from Kansas City's other team? Does a team, or maybe more accurately which one, come(s) after Kaepernick, who posted a 129.7 passer rating (and actually bested Keenum in that department) and started two games with Keenum out?
While those questions are being answered the Monarchs will simply have one request: kiss the ring.
NOTES: With the win, Matt Nagy will officially go for win #50 in the Monarchs 2021 season opener, which will be at home for the third straight year--Kansas City also began the 2019 campaign at home against New York, who will be a trendy choice for the Monarchs' week one opponent except for the fact that ex-Monarch backup Taylor Heinicke might be fighting to keep his spot on the team much less his starting job. Plus any team that Kaepernick goes to, if he's traded, would likely be one of the two midseason Thursday night games anyway. The X-Bowl rematch in Orlando will likely happen closer to midseason too. The Monarchs ended up with five sacks despite missing Karter Schult, one of their big three this season. The Rage however clearly missed tight end Ryan Griffin with an ankle injury. Alize Mack received just one target and Ray Ray McCloud caught just two passes for 14 yards, whether this affects Orlando's off-season plans with Griffin, an upcoming free agent, is to be seen. A trio of Monarchs added to their recent championship collection as DE Willie Jefferson and OT Stanley Bryant, who won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders last November, and LB Darron Lee, who won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, got the honors.