Roughnecks 37, Los Angeles 17
Roughnecks provide a much needed Houston win
Feb 8, 2020, 6:52 pm
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The Houston Roughnecks debut was a rousing success. The Roughnecks beat the LA Wildcats 37-17.
The highlights:
Quarterback PJ Walker starts the game off with a 50yd TD to Cam Phillips to put Houston on the board first for a 6-0 lead.
Edmond Robinson recovers a punt by LA to set Houston back in good field range. I hate to sound very New Orleans Saint-ish but the missed PI call on Sammie Coates that followed would have put the Roughnecks back in the lead.
At the beginning of second quarter, Burnett intercepted a pass giving Houston the ball right back. Are you guys seeing the trend here? DEFENSE.
A nice screen play to Butler for a 16yd TD puts Houston down just 2 with a little over 7 minutes remaining in the first half.
Kony Ealy comes up big with a nice stop on 2nd and 16 followed by a BEAUTIFUL hit by Cody Brown giving the ball back to PJ Walker. Let's go ahead and mark this as my favorite play of the game.
James Butler drops then recovers the ball sending the Roughnecks out of bounds at LA's 39yrd mark.
Walker under pressure is amazing, connecting to Mobley to put Houston up 18-17 to wrap up the first half.
Key Note: Only 1 conversion was successful in the first half. Walker connects with Holley for a 29yd catch putting the Roughnecks on the 3yd line… Also setting Khalil Lewis up for the 1st TD of the second half. Oh, and Houston's first successful 2pt conversion.
Nichols comes up with another big play, intercepting the ball and keeping the defensive momentum rolling.
Side Note: The WR group started off a little shaky tonight. Once they get into rhythm I think we will see a lot more big plays from this new, fast paced offense. In the meantime, let's give credit to the defense who stepped up.
Star Player: Obviously, I'm going with PJ Walker. The city of Houston has managed to do one thing correct lately, that's finding exciting and fun QB1s.
Upcoming Opponent: Your Houston Roughnecks will be back at home to play the St. Louis BattleHawks Sunday, February 16th at 5pm.Feb 8 at 6:46 PM
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.