Post by MGB01 on Jun 21, 2021 2:07:50 GMT -5
Monarchs 34 Hitmen 27 (X-Bowl XXI: Kansas City, MO)
Case Keenum closed it as he's done all year long, and once again the Monarchs are X-Bowl champs. Keenum was 25 of 33 for 314 yards and three touchdowns as the Monarchs became the second three-peat champion in league history, joining the 2016-18 Chicago Enforcers
But it was the kind of throwback performance to the Monarchs rolling through the league undefeated in 2019 and 2020, as Sterling Hofrichter punted just once while Keenum took command
A Donnie Lewis interception started it as he brought it back to the New York 31, and in five plays the Monarchs were on the board first with a six-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, the first of two for him as he also had one just before halftime that gave Kansas City a 24-10 lead
The Hitmen were up to the challenge, actually outgaining the Monarchs per play, and Taylor Heinicke, a four-year Monarch who was Keenum's backup for the final two, went toe to toe, finishing 26 of 35 for 308 yards. Heinicke shook off the early pick by coming back to lead the Hitmen on a drive that went over nine minutes, ending in the equalizing one-yard run by J.K. Dobbins for the score
The Monarchs struck back on the next series, quickly getting into Hitmen territory on a long run by David Montgomery, then two plays Keenum swung a pass to Salvon Ahmed that went for a 44-yard touchdown. After the Hitmen answered but with just a 31-yard Graham Gano field goal they were playing from behind the rest of the way and never tied the game
In the second half they got within seven twice: Dobbins ran for 36 on New York's first offensive snap and the Hitmen found the endzone for the second time on a Gus Edwards run; then, after Montgomery put the Monarchs back up by 14 the Hitmen closed the gap again on a touchdown pass from Heinicke to Cam Phillips. But Kansas City launched a near eight-minute drive and put it relatively out of reach on a short Nick Folk field goal
The Hitmen did get three on a 50-yarder by Gano, but used up valuable time (with Heinicke being sacked three times) in doing so and needed an onside kick, which was easily recovered by Kamalei Correa
Colin Kaepernick came in to a thunderous roar from the near-45,000 in attendance, as for the second straight year he put an exclamation point on the Monarchs' championship, this time with a kneeldown instead of an attempted run
With the win Matt Nagy now stands at 66-4, just 34 from 100 and should easily be able to hit that milestone in three years (maybe even two) given the Monarchs maintain even a smidgeon of their current dynastic pace. Ron Rivera is now 1-2 in the X-Bowl, all three have been played in Kansas City (X-Bowl X was neutral site). With the win the Monarchs will host the XFL kickoff for the third straight year
Case Keenum closed it as he's done all year long, and once again the Monarchs are X-Bowl champs. Keenum was 25 of 33 for 314 yards and three touchdowns as the Monarchs became the second three-peat champion in league history, joining the 2016-18 Chicago Enforcers
But it was the kind of throwback performance to the Monarchs rolling through the league undefeated in 2019 and 2020, as Sterling Hofrichter punted just once while Keenum took command
A Donnie Lewis interception started it as he brought it back to the New York 31, and in five plays the Monarchs were on the board first with a six-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, the first of two for him as he also had one just before halftime that gave Kansas City a 24-10 lead
The Hitmen were up to the challenge, actually outgaining the Monarchs per play, and Taylor Heinicke, a four-year Monarch who was Keenum's backup for the final two, went toe to toe, finishing 26 of 35 for 308 yards. Heinicke shook off the early pick by coming back to lead the Hitmen on a drive that went over nine minutes, ending in the equalizing one-yard run by J.K. Dobbins for the score
The Monarchs struck back on the next series, quickly getting into Hitmen territory on a long run by David Montgomery, then two plays Keenum swung a pass to Salvon Ahmed that went for a 44-yard touchdown. After the Hitmen answered but with just a 31-yard Graham Gano field goal they were playing from behind the rest of the way and never tied the game
In the second half they got within seven twice: Dobbins ran for 36 on New York's first offensive snap and the Hitmen found the endzone for the second time on a Gus Edwards run; then, after Montgomery put the Monarchs back up by 14 the Hitmen closed the gap again on a touchdown pass from Heinicke to Cam Phillips. But Kansas City launched a near eight-minute drive and put it relatively out of reach on a short Nick Folk field goal
The Hitmen did get three on a 50-yarder by Gano, but used up valuable time (with Heinicke being sacked three times) in doing so and needed an onside kick, which was easily recovered by Kamalei Correa
Colin Kaepernick came in to a thunderous roar from the near-45,000 in attendance, as for the second straight year he put an exclamation point on the Monarchs' championship, this time with a kneeldown instead of an attempted run
With the win Matt Nagy now stands at 66-4, just 34 from 100 and should easily be able to hit that milestone in three years (maybe even two) given the Monarchs maintain even a smidgeon of their current dynastic pace. Ron Rivera is now 1-2 in the X-Bowl, all three have been played in Kansas City (X-Bowl X was neutral site). With the win the Monarchs will host the XFL kickoff for the third straight year
Monarchs 34 Hitmen 27
New York (E1) 7 3 7 10 27
Kansas City (W1) 7 17 7 3 34
First Quarter
KC Keenum 6 pass to Benjamin (Folk kick) 9:17
NY Dobbins 1 run (Gano kick) 0:11
Second Quarter
KC Keenum 44 pass to Ahmed (Folk kick) 12:54
NY FG Gano 31 8:19
KC FG Folk 51 4:34
KC Keenum 3 pass to Benjamin (Folk kick) 0:22
Third Quarter
NY Edwards 8 run (Gano kick) 6:19
KC Montgomery 1 run (Folk kick) 0:07
Fourth Quarter
NY Heinicke 18 pass to Phillips (Gano kick) 10:30
KC FG Folk 21 2:43
NY FG Gano 50 0:34
New York
PASSING CMP ATT YDS TD INT SK
Heinicke 26 35 308 1 1 4
RUSHING CAR YDS TD
Dobbins 14 90 1
Edwards 5 13 1
Ripkowski 1 2 0
RECEIVING REC YDS TD
Peake 9 116 0
Hikutini 4 53 0
Phillips 5 53 1
Horn 3 44 0
Crowder 3 24 0
Dobbins 2 18 0
DEFENSE TKL SK INT FR
Lawson 8 1 0 0
Robinson 7 1 0 0
Alexander 6 0 0 0
Wallace 4 0 0 0
Hankins 3 0 0 0
Jenkins 3 0 0 0
Miller 3 0 0 0
Rotimi 3 0 0 0
Armstrong 2 0 0 0
Bradham 2 0 0 0
Poole 2 0 0 0
Robey-Coleman 2 0 0 0
Parks 1 0 0 0
Cabinda 1 0 0 0
Boyd 1 0 0 0
Cox 1 0 0 0
Allen 1 0 0 0
KICKING XPM XPA FGM FGA
Gano 3 3 2 2
PUNTING NO YDS AVG BLK IN20 TB
Vogel 1 34 34 0 1 0
KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD
Hunt 5 138 27.6 0
Powell 1 14 14 0
PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD
Kansas City
PASSING CMP ATT YDS TD INT SK
Keenum 25 33 314 3 0 2
RUSHING CAR YDS TD
Montgomery 12 47 1
Keenum 5 26 0
Bell 6 20 0
Ahmed 2 7 0
Kaepernick 1 -1 0
RECEIVING REC YDS TD
McLaurin 4 98 0
Robinson,D 8 75 0
Ahmed 1 44 1
Benjamin 5 40 2
Bell 3 26 0
Butler 2 17 0
Bryant 1 8 0
Williams 1 6 0
DEFENSE TKL SK INT FR
Jefferson 7 0 0 0
Hodges 6 0 0 0
Wise 4 1 0 0
Lewis 4 0 1 0
Wilson 3 2 0 0
Robinson,K 3 0 0 0
Schult 3 0 0 0
McKinney 2 0 0 0
Davis,K 2 0 0 0
Atkins 2 0 0 0
Marshall 2 0 0 0
Correa 1 0 0 0
Bausby 1 0 0 0
Watts 1 0 0 0
Ximines 1 0 0 0
Reid 1 0 0 0
Jones 1 1 0 0
Lee 1 0 0 0
Facyson 1 0 0 0
KICKING XPM XPA FGM FGA
Gano 4 4 2 2
PUNTING NO YDS AVG BLK IN20 TB
Hofrichter 1 37 37 0 1 0
KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD
Patterson 4 106 26.5 0
Phillips 1 20 20 0
Correa 1 0 0 0
PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD
NY KC
10 FIRST DOWNS 15
20-105 RUSH-YDS 25-99
308 PASS YDS 314
4-26 SK-YDS 2-14
387 TOTAL OFF 392
26-35-1 CMP-ATT-INT 25-33-0
0-0 FUM-LOST 1-0
1-10 PEN-YDS 3-25
1-34 PUNTS-AVG 1-37
2-2 FGM-FGA 2-2
5-11 THIRD DOWN 7-11
1-1 FOURTH DOWN 1-1
30:06 TOP 29:54